Usually it's too long. You see, I time myself reading. So I have to start chopping words.

When you have to make a script fit into a certain time frame, it's amazing how many words you suddenly discover can be deleted. Or replaced with simpler, shorter words. Or how many sentences can be trimmed. Or phrases made more concise.

As you can imagine, writing radio has really honed my editing skills.

3. Writing for ear. Writing for ear is different than writing for eye. The eye is far more forgiving. Oh that sentence is a bit too long, but it's okay. Hmm, yes I do see that awkward phrase, but I'm fine with it.

Not ear. The ear is brutal. It's like one of those headmasters from a Dickens' novel, standing in front of classroom with a stick and banging it every time a student stutters on an answer.

The ear catches everything -- sentences that are too long and don't allow you to take a breath; sentences that don't flow properly; long, complicated five-dollar words that twist tongue in a knot and much, much more.

Focus on writing shorter sentences. Simpler sentences. Vary your sentences. Use simple words.

And that's just plain good old writing advice no matter what you happen to be writing.

Creativity Exercises -- Write a Radio Ad

Now it's your turn. Time to sit down and write a radio ad.

First, choose something you want ad to be about. Maybe one of your products or services. But choose only one. More than one and you're just asking for trouble. (Rule of thumb -- one message per ad. No more. Otherwise you run risk of losing your target market. Pick one message and make it very simple and very clear.)

Now do what I do. Write ad. Start by keeping it under a general word count -- 100 words for a 30-second ad and 190 words for a 60-second spot.

Finished your first draft? Great. Now read it. And time yourself. (Those clocks on computer desktop are great for this.)

What, you went over your limit? Better start cutting. See how many words you can take out and sentences you can tighten. Or replace words and phrases with something shorter.

Now read it again. Still too long? Or maybe now it's too awkward. See previous paragraph. Keep repeating until you end up with something that sounds smooth and fits in allotted time.

If you are an agent, sales person, etc., in an office that already has a listing, use your cell phone, home office, or other personal contact number to register; as your office number is tied to your office's listing. Unless you are owner, your office owner may not be pleased that you have taken over their listing. You can also enter your other contact numbers, website, email address, and business description.

If you are owner, edit your listing to include all your applicable information including your product and services descriptions, website, fax number, that are missing from your listing.

The following is an example of how you want your information to be displayed:

Jane Doe – ABC Realty, Inc. 100 Main Street, Any town, MA 00000 888-666-9999< your contact number 888-888-3333< your office number 888-333-4444 (fax) Email: myemail@mydomain.com Http://www.mywebsite.com

You will receive a password to edit your listing. Start and keep a file on internet passwords. Then, if your phone number changes, you get a website, or change companies, you can edit your listing and your old clients can find your new contact information.

It takes about 24 hours to appear on Superpages.com and several days to weeks, for information to propagate internet, so you will have to wait to see final results. However, you can search Superpages.com day after you register by your name, then your company name, then your business type, and always see your listing appear.

By adding your website information you created a link for users to find your site. You also added a link to increase your web page ranking with search engines for “normal” world wide web searches. The listing will also appear under these “normal” searches in search engine results and local search results. All this for free and in fifteen minutes!

If you liked results, you should register at several other directories. There are hundreds of directories and many, if not most, are pay sites. There is no reason to get extreme and register everywhere. The idea is to have an internet presence so your clients can find you and that gives you a positive, credible, image if “googled”. After a while you are just duplicating your efforts for little effect. I recommend following sites:

Yahoo – Yahoo uses its own local search directory. As current #2 search engine by a small margin and quickly catching up to Google, you want to be listed here. There are free and pay for listings.

US Counties – A directory run by a Husband and Wife team, but picked up well by major search engines. By registering, you are listed on their Valuecom.com/Acclaim Search site as well. If you are in real estate, you will also listed on RealEstateExclusive.com and CountyRealEstate.com. Registering is free and relies on your donations for support. Be a sport and donate $15 to cause. There aren’t many trusting people these days that give you something for free and then hope you will make a donation. Also, for only $15 you get four directory references.

“Google” yourself once every month to check on your status. Having an internet presence is not going to supercharge your sales, but it may get you several more clients a year. It is just one part of your overall marketing program.

About Author Norman Rosskothen is Branch Manager of Mortgage Trust Group, Inc., in Waltham, MA. He has over 13 years of real estate and mortgage experience. Before entering mortgage industry, he sold real estate under Century 21 and RE/MAX systems. He can be reached at norman@mtgmortgages.com - www.mtgmortgages.com