The Lowdown on Radio Advertising

Radio advertising offers you the opportunity to deliver a simple yet powerful message to a targeted group of consumers that may be interested in your product or service. You can write and produce the ad yourself with minimal effort and then identify those stations that best serve your market.

If you are lucky, you might even find a popular radio DJ with a large following to take a personal interest in your product or service and deliver the message on air during his or her show. This will give an extra "endorsement" boost to your radio spot.

The cost of a fifteen-, thirty-, or sixty-second radio commercial will depend upon the frequency of the ad broadcast and the time of day that the announcement runs. Morning and evening drive times are usually more expensive than middle-of-the-day or late-night spots because the radio audience tends to peak during commuting hours.

The type of station you choose to advertise on should be determined by your target market. If you are looking to appeal to men between the ages of eighteen and thirty, for instance, you might want to consider advertising on an all-sports station or an FM rock station.

There are production costs to consider in addition to the spot expenditure. These will be determined by your need for music backgrounds, sound effects, and use of professional or amateur actors, such as yourself, to read your copy.

In general, since you know your product or service better than anyone else, you should write the copy yourself. Make sure you communicate the benefits of your product or service in such a way that listeners will immediately identify with your product.

Source: Streetwise Small Business Start-Up