Audio radio ads, podcasts

Radio ad scripts and podcast script writing

A radio ad script is written differently from website copy: nobody reads it. People hear it once, with no chance to go back. We write radio ad scripts for 15, 30 and 60 second spots, audio ads for streaming services and podcast episode scripts. The writer writes for the ear, and the editor reads every line aloud with a stopwatch. You get two or three options with timing. A spot is from $300.

A sample script

01 For the ear

What writing for the ear means and how a radio ad differs from website copy

Copy for the ear is text that a narrator reads and a listener takes in once, by sound. That means short sentences, simple words, the name repeated and no parentheses. Sometimes a station is handed text from a brochure “with a few cuts.” Below are three places where such text falls apart the moment it is read aloud. Pulse Studio is invented and the examples are for illustration.

A long sentencestart of the spot

Pulse Studio, which has been offering group classes in yoga, Pilates and functional training for adults of all fitness levels for more than ten years, invites anyone interested to a free trial class.

No energy in the morning, no time at night. But you still need to move. Pulse gives you a free first class, and you can come after work.

why: in the long sentence there are twenty words between the subject and the verb, and a listener loses track of who is inviting whom. The short version gives the listener's situation first, then the offer.

Numbersterms of the offer

12.5% discount on an 8-class pass if paid by 11/30.

Through November, classes seven and eight are half price.

why: “twelve and a half percent” still has to be worked out, while “half price” is understood at once. The narrator would spend eight seconds on the fraction and the date, and the listener would remember neither.

Contact detailsend of the spot

Call (555) 010-0123 or (555) 010-0124. Open Mon–Fri 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Pulse Studio. Twelve Pine Street, by the station.

why: a phone number eats a quarter of the spot, and nobody driving can write it down. The name and a landmark stick, and the rest is found on a map.

02 Script

Radio ad script example: a 30-second spot

Radio spot · 30 seconds · option 1 of 3

0:00 SOUND: an alarm clock, a sigh.

0:03 WOMAN, sleepy: The gym? Not today.

0:06 NARRATOR, calm: Sound familiar? No energy in the morning, no time at night.

half-second pause

0:13 NARRATOR: Pulse Studio runs classes after work, at seven and at eight. Yoga, Pilates, functional training. Your first class is a gift.

0:25 NARRATOR: Pulse Studio. Twelve Pine Street, by the station.

about 55 words in 30 seconds

This is one of the two or three options you receive. It is a story version: a short scene plus a narrator. The second option for the same job is usually informational, a single narrator and no scene. A third may begin with the offer rather than a complaint. Each carries the seconds, notes for the narrator (pace, pauses, stress on names) and sound effects. That sheet is enough for a recording studio to record the spot without questions.

03 Timing

Radio commercial length: how many words fit in 15, 30 and 60 seconds

For a calm pace we plan on about two words a second. A fast read can squeeze in more, but then the listener can't make out the name, and the name is what the spot was recorded for. We settle the exact length by reading aloud with a stopwatch.

We count numbers the way they are spoken: “$250” is one token on paper and four words on air. A music intro, sound effects and required disclaimers, such as in medicine ads, take seconds too.
Length	What has time to be said	Words
15 seconds	One offer and the name, twice. No room for a scene.	25–30
30 seconds	A problem, an offer, the terms, and the name with an address or a site. Or a short scene for two voices.	55–65
60 seconds	A story with a beginning and an end, two or three benefits, a call to action. Suits a complex product or a narrative.	110–125

04 Where it plays

Radio, streaming, store speakers: which audio ad you need

All of these are listened to, but in different circumstances. A driver in a traffic jam, a person in headphones and a shopper at a shelf each hear an ad differently, and we write for them differently.

01Radio ad script15–60 sAn informational spot where the narrator reads an offer, or a dramatized one with a scene for two voices. The name is said at the start and at the end, because part of the audience tunes in halfway through.
02Streaming and podcast adsup to 30 sThe person is listening in headphones, so there is no need to shout. If the host reads the insert, we write talking points that they say in their own words.
03In-store announcement10–20 sThe shopper is busy and listening with half an ear. One promotion, one department, one verb: “stop by the cheese counter.”
04Company audio spot30–90 sFor a website, a trade show, a phone line on hold. A short account of what you do, without “we are the market leader”: one story, one detail, one address.
05Podcast episode scriptby lengthThe plan of the conversation, an intro, questions for the guest, an ad insert and an outro. More in the next section.

How to choose between radio, streaming and a podcast

Radio gives a wide but accidental audience: the listener didn't choose your spot and hears it between songs. So it needs a vivid start and a repeated name. Podcasts and streaming give a smaller but interested audience that listens closely and for longer. There a spot can be softer and the story longer. With a small budget we advise starting with one format and one spot, hearing how it sounds on air, and only then making a series. For that, ordering the script is enough, and we'll suggest which slot to put it in.

If you're preparing a launch, it pays to make the spot together with the site and the ads: the same authors write the landing page and the ad copy, so the promise on air matches the promise on the page the listener lands on.

05 Podcasts

Podcast script: what we write word for word and what as an outline

A podcast script is the plan of an episode: an intro, conversation blocks, questions, an ad insert and an outro. You can hear a host reading from a page within the first sentence. So a podcast script doesn't look like the text of a radio spot. Only what costs a lot if it goes wrong is written out in full. The rest takes the form of an outline that is easy to talk from.

Word for word

The introduction, 30 to 60 seconds: what the episode is about and what the listener will know at the end. This is the passage people use to decide whether to keep listening.
The guest introduction: name, role and one reason to listen to them.
The ad insert, if there is one.
The outro: a two-sentence summary and one request to the listener.

As an outline

Conversation blocks with an approximate time for each.
Questions for the guest from simple to hard, with two or three spares.
Facts and figures the host has to give exactly. We check these against sources.

For solo episodes, where the host talks alone, the structure differs: a topic, three or four points with examples, a bridge between them and a summary. Podcasts are now listened to both in audio apps and as video on YouTube, so we mark the places in the script that are easy to cut into short clips for social media.

After the recording, the conversation can become a blog article and several social media posts: the material has been collected, and it only has to be written for readers.

06 Brief and mistakes

What we need for a radio ad script and the mistakes we fix

A short spot has no room for anything extra, so the brief is short too: four questions. And the mistakes in the “before” column repeat so often that we turned them into a list.

Brief

Four answers from you

How much airtime you bought, and on which station or platform the spot will run.
What the listener should do after hearing it: visit, call, go to your site.
One main offer and its terms, with a date.
Who will voice it, and any limits on voices: one narrator, two voices.

Typical mistakes

What ruins an audio ad

The company name is said once, in the middle.
Three offers in one spot instead of one.
Hard words and abbreviations the narrator can't say without stumbling.
A phone number and a long web address at the end.
Forty seconds of text for a 30-second slot: the narrator rushes and the listener doesn't catch the name.

Radio is rightly seen as a tight format. With no picture, every word weighs more: the listener keeps one offer and one name in memory. So at the start we don't ask you to tell us everything about the company. We ask for the single reason a person should call you, and then we build the spot around it.

07 Limits

What we do and what the recording studio does: recording, narrator, music

The idea and concept of a spot or of a series of episodes.
The text in 2 to 3 options with timing.
Notes for the narrator: pace, pauses, stress in difficult words.
Sound effects and the music bed, described in words.

Not part of our work

Recording and casting the narrator, the sound engineer's work.
Music, editing, mastering.
Airtime booking and media planning.

A recording studio or the station itself does this. From us it receives a sheet with seconds, pauses and stresses, so there are usually no questions about the text during the session. For video there is a separate service: video scripts.

08 Prices

Audio ad script rates and how long it takes

A spot is from $300, including two or three options with timing. You pick one, and we take it through to the recording. The text is ready 3 days after the brief. A podcast episode script is priced after the brief, because it all depends on the length of the episode and the number of guests.

Recording the narrator, music and airtime aren't in the price. That is the work of the recording studio and the station.
Service	What's included	Turnaround	Price
Audio ads and podcast scripts	2–3 timed script options	3 days	from $300 / spot
Video scripts	Concept, timed script, voice-over text	3–4 days	from $350 / script
Ad copy	Several headline and body variants sized for each platform	2–3 days	from $0.28 / word
Slogans and taglines	Brief, 10 options, rationale, one refinement round	5–7 days	from $900 / project

Why $300 for half a minute of text

The price looks high for a text of sixty words. But what you hold is not words, it's three finished approaches. The writer studies the product, the listener and the station, drops the obvious, writes and reads aloud, and the editor checks the timing and the facts. A weak spot costs not this difference but all the airtime you paid for. That is why we think the script is the part of the budget where saving does the most damage.

09 Questions

Questions about radio spots and podcasts

How many words are in a 30-second radio ad?

As a guide, 55 to 65 words at a calm pace, about two words a second. We check the exact length by reading aloud with a stopwatch, allowing for pauses, effects and music.

What does the price of an audio spot include?

Two or three versions of the text with timing, notes for the narrator and a description of sound and effects. Recording and airtime are not included.

Do you write for radio and for ads on Spotify and YouTube?

Yes. For streaming platforms and podcasts the tone is softer, because the listener has headphones on, and the text is shorter. We agree the format and the length of the insert at the brief.

How do you write copy for the ear?

With short sentences and simple words, and with the name repeated at the start and at the end. We turn figures into spoken phrases: “half price” instead of “50% off.” Words that are hard to say are replaced.

Do you write podcast episode scripts, intros and outros?

Yes. The intro and outro are written word for word, and the conversation blocks and guest questions are given as an outline. If there is an ad insert, we prepare a draft of that too.

How many episodes are in a package?

A package isn't fixed: for a series we estimate the cost after the brief, depending on episode length and the number of guests.

Do you cast the narrator?

No, we write only the text. The recording studio or the station chooses the narrator. For them we prepare a sheet with stresses and pauses.

Can I take a video script and put it on the radio?

Usually not. In a video the picture carries half the meaning, and without it the text becomes unclear. If your campaign runs on radio and in video, order both formats together: a video script and an audio version built on the same idea.

Can the spot give a phone number?

It can, if the number is short or easy to remember. An ordinary long number takes four or five seconds, and almost nobody manages to note it down. More often we recommend a name and a landmark: a neighborhood, a simple web address.

Do you write the tagline that stays with a brand?

Yes, but it's separate work: a short phrase that has to last for years needs more options and checks than the text of one spot. See the page on slogans and taglines.

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