One of the hardest parts of writing a great radio ad isn’t deciding what to put in.

It’s having the guts to decide what to leave out.

Especially when you’re writing a branding ad – one designed to make a business known, liked, trusted, and remembered over time.

Too many radio ads try to accomplish six things in 30 or 60 seconds. And when an ad tries to do everything, it usually does nothing particularly well.

I recently read an article by storytelling coach Phillip Humm that offered a wonderfully simple formula for telling a short story: one character, one challenge, one specific moment, and one clear takeaway.

That translates beautifully to writing radio ads.

One Character.
Give listeners someone to identify with. Your customer. The business owner. The frustrated homeowner standing ankle-deep in something they really don’t want to be standing in.

One Problem.
Don’t try to solve everything the business does in one commercial. Pick a problem people actually care about (or can relate to) and build the ad around it.

One Specific Moment.
Don’t say, “We offer emergency plumbing service.”

Say, “It’s 2:13 in the morning and water is coming up through the basement drain.”

Now I can see it. That’s powerful.

Specifics are sticky. Generalities slide right through our brains like a greased watermelon through our hands.

One Big Idea.
When the ad ends, what ONE thing do you want the listener to remember?

Not six things. One.

That doesn’t mean your client only gets to talk about one thing forever. Write another ad. Then another. Over several commercials, you can tell a much bigger story about the business.

But each individual ad should have a job.

And if you give one radio ad twelve jobs, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t do any of them very well.

Before you send your next script to production, ask yourself:

What is this ad’s ONE job?

If you can’t answer that, your ad probably isn’t finished yet.

Better ad writing makes your clients’ money go further and work harder. Don’t they deserve a little more of your time – and an ad that does its ONE job really well?

Duane Christensen
Ens Media

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at [email protected] to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.