Mark Twain has some script writing advice for Southwest Florida small business owners who depend on radio advertising to market their goods and services.

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter - 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning," advises Mr. Twain.

In other words, fill your commercials with lightning, not bugs!

Currently, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, there are 171,476 words in the English language. A handful of these words, Fort Myers area small business owners can't use in their radio commercials. The Supreme Court of the United States says so.

Of all the words that can be used in broadcast advertising, however, there is one word that should be shunned: 'get' and all of its nasty derivative forms including 'got' and 'gotten'.  Here's why.

The typical 60-second commercial on Fort Myers radio consists of 160 words.  Depending on the station, each word in that ad could cost around $1.00.  It is important, then, that each word is carefully selected to engage listeners and then compel them to action.  This is especially crucial when using verbs. 

"One of the best ways of grabbing and keeping an audience is to use strong, descriptive verbs," says the Writing Center at the University of Houston.  'Get' is not that kind of verb.

This year marks 79 years since WFTM became the first radio station in Fort Myers.  From that time, Southwest Florida small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services.

So, it is a fair question for a 21st-century business owner to ask: Is Fort Myers radio still relevant in the life of SWFL consumers?

"You wouldn’t know it from all the media coverage focused on streaming video and streaming music," said media expert Doug Schoen in Forbes Magazine, "but recent Nielsen data shows radio actually has the most reach among American media consumers." 

Last week, for instance, significantly more SWFL consumers tuned-in to a Fort Myers radio station than watched local TV, read a local newspaper, or logged-on to a streaming audio site like Pandora and Spotify.

The National Retail Federation has predicted that this year's back-to-school shopping season will set a new record. Households with school-age children are expected to spend, on average, $696.70 preparing their kids for the first day of classes. This tops the previous record set in 2012.

For Southwest Florida small business owners, this means there is $162,864,000 of back-to-school bucks in play between now and the first bell of the school year.

According to the NRF, here's how the $696.70 per household will be spent.

• Clothing & Accessories: $239.82
• Computers & Electronics: $203.44
• Shoes: $135.96
• School Supplies: $117.49

To grab the largest share of back-to-school spending will require small business owners to advertise.  By any metric, advertising on Fort Myers radio stations will be the most effective.  Here's why.

Striking a wrong note is a potent tactic that a Southwest Florida small business owner can use when advertising on Fort Myers radio stations. This can ensure commercials are heard and remembered.

At the very second a radio commercial starts, 10,999,950 other pieces of data are battling for the attention of the listener's ear. To win the fight, an advertisement must do the unexpected. Why?

Humans don't have earlids.  This means every sound a person is exposed to makes it as far as the brain. But, the brain can only process about 50 pieces of information at a time. If you do the math, that means 10,000,050 bits of information per second are turned away.

Making it past the brain's gatekeeper requires the information to strike a wrong note or violate what is expected  This filter supports the basic survival instinct. It's why someone will leap out of bed if they hear a stranger's soft footsteps while sleeping, but will snore right through their clanging alarm clock.

Here's a quiz for Southwest Florida small business owners:

Which of these online sites reach more adults each month than Fort Myers radio stations: Google? Netflix? ESPN? YouTube? Twitter Facebook?

The answer may be a surprise. Radio reaches more adult consumers every month than all websites and apps.  This is critical information for SWFL business owners to knows to be able to choose the best way to advertise their goods and services.

The number one media characteristic that contributes to the success of an advertising campaign is reach. This is a measure of how many different people are exposed to an advertiser's message.

Southwest Florida consumers are expected to buy $22.5 billion worth of local goods and services over the next 12 months. To claim the largest share of those dollars requires small business owners to advertise.

“Think you have a great product?” asks the Small Business Administration. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”  The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business."

According to the eBook Seven Steps for Success, "There are many ways for small business owners to advertise. Options include local newspapers, local magazines, local television, and online."

"But to achieve the “3-Rs” of advertising success, Reach, Recall, and Return, no other medium delivers results as effectively and efficiently as advertising on Fort Myers radio."

For budget-conscious small business owners, there are three tactics that can be employed to make sure every advertising dollar spent on Fort Myers radio stations works as hard as possible.

Forty-percent of contractors nationwide report that they have turned down jobs this year because they don't have enough skilled blue-collar workers. In Florida, over one-third of contractors say they would add 25 more employees this year if they could recruit qualified candidates.

The labor crunch isn't confined to construction. Overall, half of all Southwest Florida employers say they are having difficulty hiring enough blue-collar employees to fulfill the increasing demand from customers. This includes truck drivers, plumbers, HVAC technicians, electrical workers, machinists, metal workers, landscapers, janitors, and mechanics.

SWFL business owners can benefit from a study by The North Carolina Works Commission. The NCWC found that the recruitment efforts of many employers in that state are failing because they depend on hiring strategies from a time when qualified candidates were plentiful.

These failing strategies include posting on job boards like Monster and Indeed; publishing employment ads in local newspapers; and pleading on social media pages. Some small business owners still depend on hanging help-wanted signs.

What many local business owners on the west coast of Florida have discovered is that the best way to recruit blue-collar workers is by advertising on Fort Myers radio stations.

Advertising on Fort Myers radio stations is the best way for local small business owners to reach the lucrative, local mother market.  Here's why.

Southwest Florida consumers will spend $22 billion over the next 12 months. Forbes magazine reports that it is moms who control 85% of all household purchases. Locally,  there are more than 143,000 mothers with children under the age of 17 at home.

SWFL small business owners need to pay special attention to these mothers and their wallets. For example, compared to the general population, over the next 12 months, local moms live in households that are

• 122% more likely to purchase a mattress
• 92% more likely to buy furniture
• 15% more likely to purchase a car or truck
• 44% more likely to take a family vacation
• 50% more likely to buy a major appliance
• 48% more likely to look for a new job
• 44% more likely to move
• 42% more likely to buy a house or condo
• 59% more likely to get married
• 35% more likely to purchase a pool or hot tub

Thousands of Southwest Florida small business owners depend on radio advertising to claim their share of the $22.5 billion local consumers will spend this year. Cha-ching.

These advertisers have, typically, 30 or 60 seconds to convince the 807,219 listeners who tune-in to Fort Myers radio stations each week to become customers. So, it is essential to know how to use that time effectively.

Gathering a sample of 6003 respondents, Westwood One in partnership with audio testing experts Veritonic studied how different elements of award-winning radio commercials affect a listener's intent to buy the products or services advertised. 

Here are the results of the study that SWFL business owners could find useful.

Professional advice is always welcome. Especially when you are a Southwest Florida business owner investing your own money trying to capture a larger share of the $22.5-billion local consumers will spend this year.

Thousands of business owners depend on Fort Myers radio stations to market their goods and services.  What they say in their commercials and how they say it are the most critical factors for turning listeners into customers.  This is referred to by the professionals as the "creative."

A study by Nielsen indicates that the creative elements of a commercial are responsible for 47% of an advertiser's sales result. 

Creative, it turns out, has a more significant effect on sales for SWFL small business owners than does reach, targeting, or branding elements. 

Producing and judging effective creative, though, can be a challenge for an SWFL business owner. So, here is some advice from an award-winning, advertising professional.