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down to Bill's Transmission Emporium."

Overcome objections - "Bill and his crew can fix your car affordably"

Close the sale - "So come down to Bill's today."

Using this basic format will keep your copy clean. Most will mention the name of the business at least three times.

But, what if you want to get creative? Here are some tips:

-Use a short jingle. It needs to be a catchy ten second or less melody that will stick in the customer's head. The downside? Not all musical tastes are created equal. Some may actually hate it and tune out.

-Use personification. It's cute and catches the ear. "Hi, I'm your transmission. Why haven't you taken me to Bill's Transmission Emporium yet?"

-Use a conversation. "Hey Mary, how's the car?", "Not so good Fred"

-Mimic the news. "9 out of 10 car owners use Bill's Transmission Emporium"

-Use comedy or satire. (You do so, at your own peril, by the way) "Hey knuckleheads, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk"

-Use a gimmick. "Mention this ad and get a free t-shirt" Owners like this one, by the way. It gives them a measure of how well the ad is doing.

Whatever approach you adopt, you'll need to read it out loud before presenting to a client or giving it to the vocal talent. It may READ just fine, but SOUND terrible. Certain words like "procrastinate" sound really ugly out loud. "Putting off until tomorrow" is more poetic and sounds better.

GETTING CLIENT APPROVAL

You need to get the client's approval to work out any legal matters. A rewrite may be in order due to wording in the commercial that may be inaccurate. Most importantly, you'll need them to sign off using pen and ink. A verbal or a text message is no good. You want evidence on the contract that this is the work they've asked for.

PRODUCTION

Use professionals. Always use vocal talent with experience. The same is true of engineers. Professionals will get it right the first time and actually save you money.

Be organized. Make sure there are copies of the script. Make sure the timing is right. This is where reading it out loud pays off. You'll already know how it sounds and you won't have to spend valuable studio time re-writing dialogue.

Adding music is usually done in post production after the vocal talent has been dismissed. The same is true for any sound effects.

Sound effects can be tricky, by the way. Sometimes they are lost in the ambient noise of the car or home. Low deep sounds tend to get lost over the hum of a car engine or refrigerator. High treble tones will cut through to the listener. Use a flute instead of a tuba, a bird instead of a tiger, and a whistle instead of a fog horn.

SCHEDULING AND DEMOGRAPHICS

During the initial client meeting, you'll have talked about who they are trying to reach. Now you need to schedule the spots to reach that audience. If you are at an agency, you will already have contacts at various stations. If you work at the station, schedule according to which demographic you want to impress. However, spread the wealth with first timers. Sometimes, the owner is wrong about the customer base.

"Success" is difficult to define for a radio commercial. You don't always know how effective it actually is sometimes. Most times, the owners will get feedback from friends and customers. Success would therefore be one that keeps the client happy.

For you, personally, the goal is to create a clean sounding, professionally done commercial that promotes the client's products and services. Stay focused on that goal, and you can't help but be successful.

Learn more about this author, Neal Acito.
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