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If you\u2019re a seasoned writer, you may not agree with this. However, if you are an untrained media rep or a new rep, writing a basic ad can be frightening and hard. Writing a good ad is even more difficult. And writing great ads takes a unique talent.<\/p>\n
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I think everyone would agree that there are way too many \u201cbad ads\u201d on local media. This isn\u2019t just radio; it very much includes newspapers, magazines, digital, and especially local TV ads.<\/p>\n
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Many times in small and medium markets, it\u2019s the sales rep that is writing the ads for their clients. While I actually subscribe to this, most reps aren\u2019t trained on how to write basic ads, much less on how to insert meaningful creativity into an ad. And, creating effective campaigns is almost unheard of.<\/p>\n
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When I work with media reps and we are discussing the creative side of their job, I always emphasize that writing an ad is the hard part. Fixing an ad is easy and I teach them ways to do this.<\/p>\n
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In most small to medium-sized markets, the average rep has way too many clients on the air each month, with way too small of schedules (that subject is for another day) to devote the required time and effort to write good, effective ads.<\/p>\n
One of the things that make radio stations sound bad is all the boring, redundant, clich\u00e9-filled ads with useless words, and oftentimes, way too many words.\u00a0Here is a simple example\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cBen\u2019s Bargain Barn – Located at the corner of 10th<\/sup>\u00a0and Main in Downtown River City\u201d.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This sentence has a total of 15 words, 6 of which are useless and not needed. It should read,\u00a0\u201cBen\u2019s Bargain Barn, 10th<\/sup>\u00a0and Main, Downtown River City\u201d.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The words \u201clocated at the corner of\u201d and \u201cin\u201d have no bearing on the message you are trying to get across.\u00a0The only reason we write them into a script is that we assume we should use proper grammar while writing radio ads.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n When it comes to writing ads for radio, using proper grammar can, and often times will make the ads too \u201cwordy\u201d.\u00a0Taking the connecting words out and instead using a pregnant pause will have a more dramatic effect and will grab the listeners\u2019 attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c \u00a0<\/p>\n It should read\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201dThe biggest dress sale of the season\u2026 find hundreds of dresses – all sizes and\u00a0colors – drastically reduced prices!\u00a0Sale ends Saturday – hurry in<\/p>\n today while the selection is best\u201d.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In this example, it\u2019s 10 words less than the original, and that\u2019s only two sentences.\u00a0If you do this with three or four of the sentences in a typical 30-second ad, you could find an additional 10 to 20 words that could be used to say something more profound to grab someone\u2019s attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Keep in mind that these are basic ads. We didn\u2019t take a bad ad and make it great; we simply made it a little bit better.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard for untrained media reps to write an ad, but if you know the process, it\u2019s easy to fix bad ads and make them respectable.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nIt\u2019s\u00a0<\/s>the biggest dress sale of the season.\u00a0You will<\/s>\u00a0find hundreds of dresses\u00a0in<\/s>\u00a0all sizes and colors\u00a0at<\/s>\u00a0drastically reduced prices.\u00a0The<\/s>\u00a0sale ends\u00a0this<\/s>\u00a0Saturday,\u00a0so\u00a0<\/s>hurry in today while the selection is\u00a0at its<\/s>\u00a0best\u201d.<\/p>\n