Editor's note:This video is the third in a series that lays out some best-practices not only for radio in a digital age but also for marketing and advertising generally.

Quick! I want you to recite the first five billboards you saw on your drive to work this morning. What? You don't remember? OK, then, let's try this: Tell me the first three headlines you saw on your favorite news source. No? Nothing?

OK. One last chance: Tell me one commercial you saw on TV last night. Just one.

Now we're getting somewhere!

Our capacity to remember is a primary consideration when writing radio copy. Too often, advertisers cram multiple copy points into a spot. Don't! Restrict yourself to one big idea. Just one. If the seven copy points they want in that :30 are really that important, then they each deserve their own spot. But nobody—nobody—is going to remember seven items from one spot. (Or even three.)

If you want your radio spot to work, follow Rule 2: Focus on One Big Idea. (For more, watch the following three-minute video.)

Radio Rule 2, Exemplified:

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Videos in this series:

  1. The Five Rules of Great Radio: Rule 1

  2. The Five Rules of Great Radio: Rule 2

  3. The Five Rules of Great Radio: Rule 3

  4. The Five Rules of Great Radio: Rule 4 (a)

  5. The Five Rules of Great Radio: Rule 4 (b)

  6. The Five Rules of Great Radio: Rule 5

  7. How to Get Your Creative Approved

  8. Should You Appeal to Your Audience's Right Brain or Left Brain?

  9. Dialogue Writing, Part 1: Chaos Is Good!

10. Dialogue Writing, Part 2: Where to Start

11. Think Landing Page, Not Phone Number