1. One hook, not five ideas
The best jingles say one thing. Pick the single idea you want remembered — the specialty, the promise, the vibe — and build the hook around it. Cram in five selling points and none of them stick.
2. Sing the name, clearly
People have to catch your name on the first listen, in the car, half-distracted. It should be the clearest, most-repeated word in the whole jingle.
3. Match the genre to your stations
A country version for the country station, rock for rock, pop for top-40. A jingle that sounds native to the station it plays on gets heard as content, not an interruption.
4. Write every length natively
A :30 isn't a chopped :60. Each length — :60, :30, :15 — should be written to breathe and land on its own runtime.
5. Get a donut
A donut is a sung open and close with an instrumental gap in the middle for a live announcer read. It lets the station drop in this week's offer over your jingle without re-recording anything — the most flexible, pro format there is.
6. Repeat the hook
Repetition is what moves a tune from 'heard it' to 'can't unhear it.' The hook should come back at least twice, ideally topping and tailing the spot.
7. Revise until it's right
The first take is rarely the keeper. Room to tweak the lyrics and the sound is what separates a jingle you tolerate from one you love.
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