commercials

Better Ads = More Buying Power

/ Duane Christensen

You want to advertise, but you also want to invest WISELY.

Let me help you spend your money. Just kidding. Let’s help you get MORE for your advertising investment, eh?

Here’s how this works.

Let’s say you were going to hire an AVERAGE or below average advertising person. They’ll gladly take your money…and then sloppily put together some ad with no idea about whether that ad might work or not. OR they’ll tell you that you have to air 42 ads a week regardless of your type of business or your local competitive situation. You’ll end up spending more money…and getting less in return if you go with this option.

What’s the other way to go? You can have better ads (or commercials – whatever you want to call them) When you have better ads and a better overall strategy fueling your ads, then you don’t have to BUY as many ads to air each week. Seriously. I’m not makin’ this crap up!

When you’re actual advertising message “hits the mark” with your targeted prospects better…then they have more impact. Here’s a totally made up scenario…

You’re told that you have to buy a lot of ads to make it work. So, you buy 45 ads a week. The ad itself is nothing special. But you’re “getting your name out there”, right? You’re disappointed with the results.

Then, you decide to do it better. You call me. We talk. You understand how advertising works a lot more just because we had a 20-minute conversation. You’re a bit more optimistic, hopeful, or maybe even excited now. I put a plan together for you. Instead of 45 ads a week on the radio per radio station, I suggest 24 to 30. Then, I come up with a better ad. Or series of ads. And then those ads start working. They’ll start working when a lot of thought is put into the plan in the beginning. There’s a foundation at the heart of it that will allow everything to work better, faster, and just plain WORK!

So, I’m not only going to be able to save you money initially, but you should be MAKING more because the advertising you’re doing with me and Results Radio will be pulling in more profitable customers to you. Then, all you have to do is make those customers happy and tell a few people about you…and Boom things start really crankin’ for you. Life is good!

With the money you’re saving initially on fewer ads each week…you could probably advertise on a 2nd radio station for the same money that the “average” ad person would have proposed!

Image courtesy of "stockimages" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “stockimages” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
MORE BUYING POWER!

Do you understand now that BETTER ADS WILL GIVE YOU MORE BUYING POWER?

BUT…none of that has a chance to become reality until you call me for an initial 20-minute conversation. Maybe it’s over coffee. Maybe it’s in our cozy little library at Results Radio. Maybe it’s in our top-secret brainstorming room with cushy, colorful chairs.

I’m a nerd about this stuff. I’m YOUR nerd…if you’ll have me. Let’s chat. I’d love to help out! I’d like to help you reach your business goals. What? You don’t have any? You should get some, because then you can get excited when you reach them. What’s your Sioux Falls or surrounding area market potential? Can you double your revenues? Triple them? Set some goals. I want to help you reach them.

Thanks for reading. Have a groovy day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media (8-station radio group)

Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

Let me add a little disclaimer here. Not every situation is the same, but this is a pretty frequent scenario I just talked about. And no, not every ad person will help waste your money faster. But I’ve seen too many who do not have your best interest at heart…or not have the knowledge to make your advertising work for you.

Little Things

/ Duane Christensen
Image courtesy of "bulldogza" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “bulldogza” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As I WROTE…

And RE-WROTE…

And SCRIBBLED a few new radio scripts for a fitness center type of client, I realized how much the scripts improved as I made changes. Sometime little changes. And it wasn’t too difficult, it just took some extra time and care. For example,

I was writing something about “obsessing about weight” …and it was boring. So, I started cruising around Google looking for a “spark” regarding weight or weight loss. And that brought me to some information about the gravity on the planet Mars – a 250-pound person here on Earth would only weigh 95 pounds on Mars. Ta-da! A brand new angle for the ad that would definitely get some extra people’s attention…and stick in a listener’s mind a little better.

Then, I started writing another script for that same client and mentioned couch potatoes. It was a good intro, but towards the end I wanted to bring the listener back to “the couch potato thing”. But I wanted to do it differently. So, I paused. And thought about couches. Then, I pictured the love seat in my own home. A love seat is a smaller couch, right? And couch potatoes aren’t all the same size. That was what I needed. Now, my radio script mentioned couch potatoes AND love seat potatoes. It’s nice when things work out. But it usually doesn’t happen on the first try.

Make some extra passes at your radio ads. Come up with some ideas…and then expand on them. Take yourself down a rabbit hole until it gets too weird, and then back up just a step or two. But the main reason my ads improved was because I didn’t say, “That’s good enough” after just the first or second drafts. And to be honest, I came up with the basic script ideas weeks ago…but let them marinate a while before I sat down to finish them.

The little things…can make a big difference.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

Ad Writing / Ad Strategies / Digital Advertising / Radio Sales

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

I’m a radio marketing guy at Results Radio Townsquare Media. I write this blog on behalf of my Sales & Marketing career at Results Radio Townsquare Media. I truly enjoy helping businesses get from their Point A to their Point B in an efficient manner. And Radio Advertising is just one of those ways that has worked wonderfully well for my radio clients. We have 8 radio stations within our group to help you reach the people you’re looking for within Sioux Falls and the surrounding area.

Frequently Asked Questions

/ Duane Christensen

Frequently Asked Questions

I think most FAQs are dumb. So, why not try to create one that's valuable to someone? This is a work in progress.

I think most FAQs are dumb. So, why not try to create one that’s valuable to someone? This is a work in progress.

How much does radio advertising cost?

It varies. The thing is…you’re not a “cookie-cutter” business…so we don’t provide cookie-cutter advertising solutions. It’s custom. You might need 60-second ads telling stories about you and your business to make people feel best about you when they need what you sell. Or maybe 30-second commercials are ok. There are even 15-second sponsorships to consider. And the number of competitors you have and how much advertising power or “voice” they have in Sioux Falls is a factor in how many ads you need to be airing each week to take a bite out of their market share. But don’t be afraid. We’ll talk. You’ll ask questions. I’ll ask questions. And get to the bottom of what it will take to make your Sioux Falls radio advertising work!

Which radio stations should I be on?

This is a question that’s kind of important…but not as important as you might think. At Results Radio Townsquare Media we have 8 radio stations. Stations that cover a

pretty wide variety of people. But you never really know exactly who’s listening to what. There are Grandmas listening to… >>>

>>> Read the rest here. http://duanechristensen.townsquareinteractive.com/frequently-asked-questions/ OR…if you’d rather read about something else besides the rest of the FAQs…poke around some other page of the site.

I’m sending you to my Townsquare website because there is a whole other hodge-podge of info there that a small business owner might like to see…instead of trying to cruise through some of these blog posts looking for answers. Ya know?

And if you’re a radio person or marketing person who reads this… let me know if you approve of anything or if you might disagree with something. I’m open to opinions and discussion!

AND…if there’s a question you’d like added to the list…let me know. I just added it, so I’m sure there will be more and more added to the list over time.

Thanks!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media guy (who writes this Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog at 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday nights)

605-940-7984

http://duanechristensen.townsquareinteractive.com/

 

Your Radio Headline

/ Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog…

Your Radio Headline

“It all starts with the snotty noses and green boogies.”

“I talk trash all day long.”

“Chainsaw juggling…”

“We have some fantastic sewing machines that are barely street legal.”

Image courtesy of "Ian Kahn" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “Ian Kahn” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“When your car gets a case of the crinkles…” 

“What did the dog psychologist say to the dog patient?”

“Every year, there are more than 40,000 toilet-related injuries in the U.S…and I hope I’m not one of them this year.”

THESE are just a few radio ad headlines from past ads that my clients were daring enough to go with. They may not seem “daring”…but you wouldn’t believe how “SAFE” most business owners want to play. And if it came right down to it, I bet you would hesitate for a minute (or a week) before you gave the OK on one of these headlines.

But you know what? A headline that catches people’s attention like these…is part of the formula. Yes. I have a formula. Or I think it’s about 4 or 5 different radio ad formulas. Subconscious though. I wouldn’t now how to even explain them.

For example…

I don’t even remember why chainsaw juggling came to mind…but it caused me to compare chainsaw juggling to all of the things small business owners juggle every day.

I pictured in my mind what a smashed up car looked like. It was crinkly. So…that’s where the “crinkles” line came from for the body shop ad.

And what better way to lighten up a “psychology conversation” than with a dog psychologist joke?

I’m not a good organizer…I’m not a list maker…I’m not an accountant… so I think that makes me better at some of the creative stuff. Of course, I still have lots to learn. Even though I’ve been writing radio ads for about 9 years, I can see how I improve year after year. If you don’t strive to improve and learn consistently, you’ll get left in the dust. I don’t plan on getting left in the dust, I plan on being ahead of as many marketing people as I can. But… (I’m off track) back to the HEADLINES!

Don’t be afraid to be different with your headlines. They’re like the ad for the rest of your ad. If you don’t hook’em at the beginning…you’re screwed. And then…keep ’em interested all the way through. Don’t bore us to tears with the rest of the ad. Tell me something I don’t know. Tell me something that could cause me to make a new decision based on new information. Then wrap that around strong words and voices and inflections and realness and sincerity. A bit of humor doesn’t hurt once in a while either (but don’t go overboard – most national advertising is all humor and no selling – big fat wastes of money).

So, that’s the end of this hodge-podge blog post. Maybe my headlines I listed could give you a few sparks of your own. Just don’t be too “safe” with your headlines and your advertising in general. Being too “safe” is what will let your competition pass you by.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

(I work for Results Radio Townsquare Media – call me)  🙂

605-940-7984

duane.christensen@results-radio.com

…

8 radio stations – radio commercial writing and production – strategy – sales – yada yada yada (whatever is right for you…that’s what we’ll do)

Of course you have questions. Rates? Cost? Stations? Just ask.

Up For Grabs

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

I absorbed a Roy Williams (Wizard of Ads) Monday Morning webinar thingy recently. He said something once about all the people “up for grabs”. So, it got me thinkin’.

Up For Grabs

Image courtesy of “Sura Nualpradid” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There are a lot of people “up for grabs” …if only you would say something to them that doesn’t completely insult their intelligence.

“Up for grabs?” you say?

I don’t care what size of market you’re in… the majority of the advertising could be a heck of a lot better. Which means the ads aren’t working too well on people. These people are “up for grabs”. You could begin a well-thought-out advertising plan to win over a healthy portion of those people.

These are people who don’t know WHERE to go for a product or service… so they search the internet. And what do they usually find? A list of hopefully relevant businesses in which they most likely know nothing about. It’s a crapshoot. See? They’re up for grabs!

Now… if you only knew what kinds of things you should say in your ads, right? What could you say to people in your small business advertising efforts that would be the start of a profitable long-term relationship?

Hint: It’s not about you! It’s about THEM. How can you help them? How can you tap into their emotions so they begin to trust you before they even meet you?

You can’t make a friend by announcing, “Hey! I need a friend!” And successful advertising is no different.

There are more people “up for grabs” than are not up for grabs. It’s a big number. Why not go after the lion’s share of that group? These are people who would love to trust a good company like yours.

The biggest difference maker you have in making your advertising work… is saying something in your advertising that will “move” people.

SAY SOMETHING RELEVANT.

SAY SOMETHING SINCERE.

SAY SOMETHING MEMORABLE.

And I usually like to do those things with Radio. Oh my gosh…radio still moves a lot of mountains for local businesses! Yes, the world has more “audio options”, but the numbers (the people listening) have remained constant. The “other options factor” just means that we need to be even more focused on creating a better advertising message (no matter where you advertise).

Don’t bore people’s socks off. Either you have a revolutionary / unique / eyebrow-raising point of difference to share with audiences OR you need to lasso people’s emotions and help them love you before they meet you.

So…who’s ready to talk to that big group of “up for grabs” folks?

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls

 

Small Business Advertising: Horsepower & Flavor

/ Duane Christensen / 1 Comment

What if you decided to give $20 to the first 100 people who called a special phone number? No strings attached. You call…you get twenty bucks.

  • So, would an online ad work to advertise this cash giveaway? Absolutely.
  • Would newspaper work? Yup.
  • Would Radio work. You bet it would.
  • TV, Billboard, or Facebook ads? Dang right it would.

All advertising mediums give you access to an “audience”. You get access to PEOPLE. When you buy advertising space or spots, you are renting an audience. Some ad mediums just have bigger audiences than others. It’s part of the reason why one might cost more than the other.

Image courtesy of "M - pics" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “M – pics” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So, doesn’t that help you realize that all advertising mediums can work? All you’re trying to do is reach people with a persuasive message.

Think of it this way…

The Porsche 911 Turbo – everything about it drips performance, class, and testosterone. But what if the legendary Porsche engine is replaced with something you would find in an old Yugo? Performance just went down the toilet. It’s the same with your advertisements. The MESSAGE IS THE ENGINE. The message is what drives your advertising success. Without a message that has “beefyness” to it…you might as well save your money.

But before you just pick an ad medium to get your message across, you need to understand that each have different ways to be most effectively used. Some allow you to use a lot of words. Others are for short, direct messages where the point you’re trying to make doesn’t need a lot of explaining. Radio and TV can tap into emotions and make a huge impact when used properly. Personally, I like Radio most of the time versus TV for small businesses. It’s easier to produce an ad. And cheaper. Plus, you can make people visualize whatever you want in a Radio ad.

The greatest branding gets us emotionally involved. Print and Internet advertising can make things happen pretty fast when you use a picture of a product, a punchy headline addressing a problem, a possible solution, and a sweet bonus offer at the end. They each have strengths and weaknesses and

Image courtesy of "lemonade" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “lemonade” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

have different rules to be followed regarding placement, the number of ads you buy, and the length of time you run those ads.

Just remember that the message is what drives advertising success. Give your message some FLAVOR! Are you going to serve up some high school cafeteria turkey loaf? Or would you rather give them a piece of Mom’s blueberry pie that causes them to sit back, shut their eyes, and roll them back into their head? If you want above average advertising results, you have to advertise with horsepower and flavor.

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media (marketing rep)

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Patience and Diligence When Starting Your Radio Advertising

/ Duane Christensen
  • What should your radio ads sound like?
  • What kind of style?
  • Who should voice them?
  • Should you use humor or no humor?
  • Emotion or intellect?

These are all good questions. And they are questions that won’t get answered all at once. The more I talk to you, the more the answers will surface. Or sometimes smack me in the face. It’s amazing how many times I’m talking to a Sioux Falls business owner, and I’m asking questions left and right and listening, wondering where the “gold” for the radio ads will come from. And then… from out of left field, they’ll say something that dang near makes me fall out of my chair. They’ll say something that could possibly be the shiny nugget to make it all work. Almost as if it was sent down from the heavens (and they don’t even know they said anything important).

And then, another and another, and pretty soon I have 3 to 5 pages of scribbly notes with circles and underlines and capitals and exclamation points.

sioux falls advertising

Image courtesy of “digitalart” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It doesn’t always happen in the first meeting. Usually not. But this is what you need to expect when you’re calling someone for local advertising help. You should expect it…you just won’t usually get it. So, LOOK OUT… Most will sell you an ad package and then give a few notes to a production person back at their office. They’ll say, “Make an ad out of this. It starts tomorrow.” Can you see where your results may be non-existent from this method?

I won’t start a radio advertising campaign for you if I’m not completely confident it will “move the needle” for you. If it takes a month to get it right, that’s better than pulling the trigger prematurely and wasting your money, wouldn’t you agree?

If you’re a local Sioux Falls area business person who would love to stop “shootin’ from the hip” with your ad budget…and finally start making more from what you’re investing…then we need to talk. Are you just a teensy weensy bit competitive? It really helps. It’s almost required. If you’d like to grow your sales, an intelligent and creative advertising campaign would most likely make you a much happier human being. I’d like to help make that happen.

How much can you grow? How fast? What will it take? All good questions that I’d love to help you answer. Radio advertising isn’t a one size fits all sort of thing. If you’re sold a package by someone else and then put on “auto-pilot” …don’t expect too much for “results”.

What do I do for my clients who are on the radio right now? What would I do for YOU once you’ve started with an exciting new radio plan? I always have my radar up for the next great ad idea that can move someone a lot closer to doing business with you. We change the ads up about once a month depending on how heavy your ads are scheduled. There’s a limit to the number of weeks an ad can run before it gets “played out”. So, we keep it fresh – it’s in your best interest.

Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

605-940-7984

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

https://siouxfallsradioadvertising.com/

What Are You Saying in Your Sioux Falls Radio Advertising?

/ Duane Christensen

I live, work, and play in Sioux Falls. Usually, I listen to the radio for the music, the sports talk, or the news talk. Mostly the music. But once in a while I scan all the radio stations I can tune in… and listen to the radio ads. Because I’m a geek, I know. But you gotta know what’s out there, right?

Radio Advertising What You Say

Image courtesy of “stockimages” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Anyway, I realized that there are a lot of businesses being under-served. They need help. They’re being sold “radio” instead of being offered a way to grow their business – a way for their advertising to actually work. Can you imagine if you KNEW that your radio advertising was working for you? Instead of just thinking of it as a necessary evil. Wouldn’t that be nice.

The way to make it work is to FIRST take what you “think” radio advertising should sound like… crumple that up into a ball… throw it on the ground… and grind that into oblivion. Then burn it. There is a lot of radio advertising out there where I can pretty much guarantee that it’s a big waste of money. All because you’re not saying the right things in your ads. You’re not saying anything worth listening too.

People aren’t listening to radio ads like I do. Remember, I’m the geek that purposefully listens intensely to advertising – nobody else does that. You need to say something that inspires, is creative, tells a story, shares new valuable information in an understandable way, is authentic, or makes people smile… or all of the above.

When you say something worthy in your radio advertising in and around Sioux Falls… you’ll be shocked at what it can do. I’d name off all of the things I hear in ads that is utter nonsense and completely snooze inducing, but the list is too long.

How would your best customer sell someone on your products, services, your employees, or your company as a whole? Start there. Or call me. I’d love to talk about your local advertising woes… and help you out.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

https://siouxfallsradioadvertising.com/

Need more small business advertising advice? You could try this: Small Business Advertising Kapow

Will You Be Missed?

/ Duane Christensen

I had a great meeting with the lead pastor of a local Sioux Falls church recently.

One thing he said will stick with me for a long time. He said…

“We asked ourselves, if our church was gone tomorrow, would we be missed? Would anybody in the community notice?” 

Image courtesy of "Michelle Meiklejohn" / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of “Michelle Meiklejohn” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Whoa. That’s powerful. What a great question to ask yourself.

He was asking me about radio advertising. I feel that we hit it off. I’m going to enjoy working with these people.

He said six years ago they decided to change what they were about. They wanted to make a difference in our community. They wanted to help the children and people of Sioux Falls to make this a better place. So, now they ask, “What do you need?” And then, they put their thinking caps on to see how they can fill that need. It was an inspirational meeting for me. These are good people. People who want to make a difference.

Do YOU want to make a difference? It doesn’t have to be something colossal. Start small. Volunteer. Mentor. Help a friend. If we all did one small thing to help our community on a consistent basis, imagine what that would look like.

I love working with businesses, business owners, and non-profits who want to help people and provide products and services that will improve their customers’ lives…or take away their customers’ pain. In fact, I seek out those good people. It’s not about the money. It’s about making a difference. If I can help good, honest people help more people (their customers), then I’m a happy man.

This church is doing so many wonderful things in our community. If they were gone tomorrow…they WOULD be missed.

I also have current radio clients who help the community. They sponsor worthy charities. They do a little something extra. They have good hearts. They take extra time out of their lives to help others. I know we feel like there’s not enough time in the day sometimes…but we have to make time. It’s worth it.

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Workin’ for: Results Radio Townsquare Media – Sioux Falls

605-940-7984

https://siouxfallsradioadvertising.com/

 

…

I’m a passionate radio and marketing guy at Results Radio Townsquare Media in Sioux Falls. If there’s anything I can help you with, just give me a shout. 🙂

The Cheapest Advertising

/ Duane Christensen
Cheap Advertising

Image courtesy of “Stuart Miles” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The cheapest advertising…is still a waste of money if you don’t get any benefits from it. The cheapest radio advertising…is still a waste of money if it doesn’t work.

I’ve had plenty of business owners want to meet with me…and they say, “What kind of deals do you have?” They’ve been trained by advertising executives and salespeople to ask that question. And that’s because most ad people have nothing else to offer except, “deals”, “packages”, rankings, etc. Nobody asks the tough question. “How will we make this work?”

The local advertising playing field is filled with “joes” and “janes” who think that what they sell is their advertising medium. They’re thinking about getting that next sale for themselves and keeping their Sales Manager happy. They fail to focus on creating ads that will actually work…hence making the customer happy…and buying from them again and again and again.

Why not do it right the first time? Hey Ad Sales people… Why not figure out how to best help your advertising client attract new, profitable customers. They’ll love you for it!

And for you business owners… start thinking RESULTS… not how cheap or flashy an advertising package might be. Yes, there are people out there who know what I’m talking about. And if you can’t find anyone in your area…give me a shout. I’d love to help out or point you in the right direction.

I think it was Brian Tracy who said, “You can always find something cheaper…if you’re willing to take that risk.”

Have a great day!

Duane Christensen

Results Radio Townsquare Media

Sioux Falls, SD

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