How to Make a Radio Ad

Instructions

1

Get your radio voice on. Part of making your ad sound good is getting the appropriate tone with the sound of your voice. You'll notice that for both men and women, a slight deepening of the voice is preferred for a warm, ambient ad voice. Some more aggressive ads use a louder, higher vocal approach, but only for an ad purely aimed at grabbing the listener's attention. Decide which of these styles you want to use.

2

Have your script ready. Write the ad out, including all concepts, strategies and specific verbatim phrases and when you will use them. Your script is your map to the ad. Make sure any strange sounding words are phonetically spelled out.

3

Practice your script until you feel confident and ready to record your radio ad. Think about everything that was left in and everything that was left out, keeping the door open for needed last-minute changes.

4

Make all studio arrangements. Know what time to be at the studio to record, and how the ad will be used and what times it will run. Good organization helps you to keep on top of a radio ad campaign.

5

Bring props. Don't be afraid to venture into that territory that has always been the standard of the radio industry: ambient sound. Getting good background sound into your ad is key. You may need some additional staff to produce noises on cue or you may just use a digital sound device to provide background. Make sure these things are on hand when it's time to record.