One of the best ways to keep your radio commercial on track during the writing process is to simply imagine that you are writing the message to be heard by just one person who might be interested in the product or service that you are advertising. Now imagine that this person is actually sitting across from you as you write the commercial.  They are wearing a t-shirt with the acronym "W.I.I.F.M.?" plastered across the front of their shirt.  The arms of your prospect are folded signifying to you that they are not yet convinced of the merits of your product.  Your job in writing the radio commercial is to paint a picture in this person's mind in just sixty seconds about how your product or service will benefit them personally and do it with such power that upon hearing the radio spot, your stubborn  friend will immediately unfold their arms, drop them to their side and lean forward in their chair to hear more about what you have to offer.

The letters on the shirt of your prospect stand for the most important maxim of any advertising campaign namely-"What's In It For Me?"  We must always remember in the writing of radio advertising copy that the prospect has a choice to "tune us out" at any time. They are bombarded with thousands of messages every single day and they have the capacity to filter which messages they will really listen to and which one's they will ignore.  Therefore, if the commercial you are writing is not rich with personal benefit, there is little chance that it will move the listener to take action.

The U.B.O. or Unique Buying Opportunity that I have spoken about in previous blogs is really just the main benefit of the product and it must be stated as a benefit and not just as a feature. Where we usually stumble as writers is that in an attempt to tell our audience what's in it for them, we state advantages as features and features do not prompt a listener to take action.  So what's the difference between a feature and a benefit and how do we state the unique opportunities of a product as benefits? 

Simply put, a feature is what it is; a benefit is what it does. Features don't move listeners...benefits do. Therefore, a well-stated benefit does a better job of answering "W.I.I.F.M.?" and moves the listener to take action.  Here's an example of what I am saying.  

In writing a radio commercial to try to convince a potential reader to subscribe to my blog, the U.B.O. stated as a feature could be something like this:

"At Christian Radio Advertising dot com, there is information available online designed to help you achieve radio advertising success."

Stating the same idea as a benefit, it could say:

"When you learn the simply steps of effective radio advertising at Christian Radio Advertising dot com, you will be selling more widgets with less effort than you ever thought was possible!"

Notice how much more interesting to the listener this commercial just became.  I didn't just tell the listener what the blog is, I told them what the blog does. I.e.- I told them what the blog would do for them personally (sell more widgets). 

Next week, we'll put together everything we've been sharing to create a powerful and effective radio commercial.  Apply these elements to your radio advertising copywriting and you too will be selling more widgets than you thought was possible!

In my opinion, the ultimate UBO is "Peace on earth, good will toward men!"  This message did not come from a radio station although thousands of them across America and around the world will have songs that contain this message at this time of year.

Indeed, the Ultimate UBO came from angels hovering over a little town that was about as obscure as Marion, Iowa (that's where I live!).  This message is truly unique because it stands as an uncommon message of hope in a hopelessly suffering world. I've got to tell you, I like the idea of peace and how it feels to my soul.   And for someone to tell me that God has got something good for me (and an angel no less), that's an advertisement that's pretty special don't you think? That's the kind of "good will" that we need every day.  The best part of all is that we don't have to buy it, because it's already been paid in full by someone with unlimited riches.  In that sense, it's truly a gift that has infinite worth and eternal ramifications. WOW!

If you're thinking about the true meaning of the Christmas message for the first time this year, I'd encourage you to try to see it for what it really is. The "UBO-Unique Buying Opportunity" of a lifetime! A unique opportunity to have your shortcomings erased forever and you don't even have to do anything to earn it. Just receive it as the Father's gift to you.

I promise you this. Once you open this gift, your excitement and joy will know no bounds and you'll find the real reason for the season.  May God bless you as you unwrap this heavenly package of hope.  And from Christian Radio Advertising dot com, we wish you a Merry Christmas!

"And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."  Luke 2: 15.

Apparently Nielsen research was able to effectively demonstrate that Nationwide, the insurance and financial services firm created more buzz than other advertisers in last years Superbowl. It's hard for me to imagine any ad being worth 2.7 million dollars but one thing's for sure. The real Superbowl winners in advertising are not those who entertain you and your friends long after the game has become lopsided and boring but it will be rather those fortunate companies who have identified their own "UBO" (unique buying opportunity) and then created memorable advertising to make it the singular main point of the commercial.

Radio is no different than television. In fact, it is my opinion that Christian radio and other niche markets have thrived at least in part because well-trained radio marketers have led the way in advertising for their clients better than those for other radio formats. Knowing how to make radio work for the client is more important than how many listeners a station has. Knowing how to make radio work is what keeps me busy with clients who need and want what I can offer them.   Show me someone who knows how to make radio work, and I'll show you a radio marketer in very high demand because companies will beat his door down to benefit from his services.  Making radio work is about doing radio advertising better than your competition and that's nothing more than showcasing your "Unique Buying Opportunity" or UBO in a way that is remembered by potential buyers of your product or service.

So now that you know what a UBO is, you can gauge how effective a Superbowl 

commercial really is not by how funny or entertaining but by how well the ad communicates the distinctives of the business being advertised. 

Next week, we'll talk about the ultimate UBO. You won't want to miss it!

Depending on the format of the radio station that your commercial will be heard on, your writing may need a different approach,  I.e. a different set of words or phrases to communicate exactly the same idea to two different people who listen to two different radio stations. Follow along closely now as I explain because even though this can be a bit complex, it's an important distinction to note.

Remember that a radio station's format speaks to the particular lifestyle of the person who listens.  Good radio copy must speak to the felt needs and preferences of the individual. Therefore, a listener who listens to Christian radio is attracted by a different set of advertising word pictures than someone who listens to Classic Rock for example.  Knowing "the language" of the listener based on their unique social structure will equip you to write better radio copy to the audience that you want to reach. Let me illustrate.

Let's compare the use of two phrases that have nearly the same meaning. The first phrase is "where your family comes first" and the second phrase is "where you come first".  At first glance the meaning of these two phrases seems only slightly different however a phrase like "where your family comes first" may be more likely to capture the attention of the Christian radio listener than a phrase like "where you come first". That's because it is part of a Christian father's social structure to "value family" over personal gratification. A Classic Rock radio listener on the other hand may have no problem with the phrase "where you come first" (even though he is as good of a husband and father as the Christian radio listener) and may not find it offensive.  Let me reiterate that that this has absolutely nothing to do with the actual character of each individual listener but is rather a function of how they desire to see themselves in their own social structure. 

What's more, it's not that the product being advertised isn't perfectly suited to the needs of both radio listeners equally, but using the correct words or phrases in each case will make you more effective in persuading more listeners to become buyers.  

Tomorrow we'll talk about the most important element of any radio ad that you write. It's called the "U.B.O." (hint: It's not a flying saucer!)

Spot copywriting has its own writing style and it begins with writing like you speak and also like you think.  Even though we might find value in writing in a book using bigger, lesser used words, the same does not apply to radio commercials for two reasons. Number one, radio is heard, not seen and therefore we need to write like we talk. Number two, you only have a limited amount of time to develop a complete thought in a radio spot. Usually around 180 words for a sixty second commercial.

Here's an example. If I'm writing about my experience of driving a brand new car, I might use the phrase "smelled like new" in a radio commercial to describe this idea simply. No more is needed here because most everyone has experienced that smell; it paints a picture in the person's mind using 5^th grade words. However if I were writing a book, where time is not an issue, I could say something like, "I inhaled slowly and the waft of luxurious leather filled my nostrils with an exquisite aroma of indescribable elegance." The phrase is descriptive yes, but what does "waft" mean? People don't think "waft", they think "smell". And don't forget, "smelled like new" takes about a second whereas the latter takes approximately 7.4 seconds.  Stay tuned for more tomorrow on the magic of writing great radio spot copy. 

Writing great radio copy is simple but it's not easy. By that I mean that the principles of great copy are simple to understand and when you see them, you readily see why they work so well but staying on track and keeping to the basics is often most difficult especially if you consider yourself to be a decent writer and communicator. 

What's the point?  The most important thing to remember is that a great radio spot is a lot like a rhinoceros.  It only makes one point but it does so very effectively.  Most radio copy, tries to do too much, say too much, give too much information.  The best copy sticks to the main thing and brings it back again and again throughout the message.

Your time is limited.  Remember that you only have about 180 words for a sixty second commercial; 90 for a thirty second commercial so once you know what you want to say, then you need to engage the listener and say it clearly and using words that are easy to understand.

Are you smarter than a 5^th grader?  Whether you are or not, you should write a radio commercial at about a 5^th grade level. That's right. The KISS rule (Keep it Short and Simple) applies to all radio copywriting. Don't use long words that might require a dictionary to interpret.  Tomorrow, I'll give some examples of good word usage vs. bad so stay tuned!

Merry Christmas from Christian Radio Advertising dot com.  I thought to get us in the mood of the season and because it's consistent with our topic of how to build a better radio commercial, that I'd share a little song with you that you can sing in your head.

This little gem by author "Unknown" goes out to all of you professionals, both copywriters and production engineers who have had to endure those well-meaning clients who want to stuff too much information into a thirty or sixty second commercial.

So sing along to the tune of "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" this copywriting favorite that's sure to become a classic, called.

"The Client Made Changes Once Again"

Commercials fat and getting fatter

They're adding words that just don't matter

They say fit it in or we'll replace you, Tim

The client made changes once again.

Commercials done.now revisions

Their adding words that were missin'

It's already tight.this could take you all night

The client made changes once again

Once you're done they'll ask around their office

Can any one suggest another change?

They watch TV so that makes them an expert

And so it's left to you to rearrange

"Just get it done with all your sound tricks!"

But I can't change the laws of physics

They have to make cuts. their driving me nuts

The client made changes once again

It'll time out, if we fudge it

They've got a script, but no more budget

Wait cancel that fix. they prefer your first mix

The client made changes once again.

Ho.Ho..Hope this was helpful. Bye for now.

I won my first Addy Award in the 80's for a radio spot that I entered that featured the voices of my three oldest children ages 7, 5 and 4. It was a cute sixty second commercial for a pizza restaurant.  It took hours to produce as we had to dictate the lines one at a time to the kids which they then said back with childlike humor into the microphone. Oh, the power of splicing tape and a great producer/editor!

I was proud of the fact that we won that award together as a family. I was honored to be recognized by some of the brightest advertising minds in the market but looking back on it now, I was most excited that the ad itself used proven advertising principles and a strong "call to action" in the body of the spot itself.  Additionally, the copy was woven together with a single theme that showcased clearly defined benefits to the consumer.  In other words, the ad was not just cute.  It effectively sold pizza for my client.  It worked for the advertiser not primarily because it was cute, but because it made you want to eat at that particular restaurant.

It was nice to receive an Addy but looking back now, I am glad that my client didn't suffer in my attempt to win an award by my trying to be too cute with the copywriting.  Had I been more interested in winning an award than selling pizza, I could have created an Addy Award winner that was a "pizza selling loser".  I'm sorry to say that I won other awards later that were only cute but not so successful at convincing new customers to shop at the business.

In the blogs to follow, we will be reviewing some principles that if followed properly will show you how to write radio commercials that sell. Great radio advertising starts with great copywriting. Let's review how to do it better than your competition does so that whether you ever win an Addy, you will sell more of your product or service no matter what it is.  Stay tuned. Tomorrow we get started.

RAEL, the Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab came out with a study recently that confirms what we've also seen in our advertising experience, namely that when radio advertising is used in conjunction with Internet as opposed to an "online only" campaign, the recall of the advertising is almost four times greater.  Although there are a variety of factors that seem to contribute to this "top of the mind" advantage, certainly the power of radio to appeal to emotions as well as its' ability to target various demographic groups and strong one-on one appeal with a well crafted message make it a good consideration for adding it to any Internet-driven campaign.  

One of my most successful clients is a filtering software company.  Fulfillment is entirely web based.  The client spends a small percentage of his budget in paid search and in search engine optimization.  The bulk of his advertising is spent utilizing a well-crafted radio advertising message that creates brand awareness and has a clear call to action driving would be customers to the website for more information and conversion.  The developer of the software told me that if he had to choose where to spend his advertising dollar between search and radio that he'd take radio every time because of radio's ability to convince consumers of their need for his product before they ever get to his website.  Radio's personal delivery generates credibility and credibility is king in advertising effectiveness.