Do you have a way with words and expressions that make others smile? If so, you might have what it takes to become a successful jingle writer.

Jingles are the catchy tunes set to music that are used in advertisements and product promotions. These jingles are often heard on the radio and on television ads. Successful jingles grab consumers attention and make them remember the product and purchase it the next time their in the store. Some jingles even make it into popular culture and have a life longer than the product they are advertising.

Writing jingles is an art form that requires musical ability and strong writing skills. The jingles they create can utilize blues singers, background vocalists, country stars and even guitarists. Jingle writers could even work outside the adverting realm and work with music therapists to create helpful rhymes and rhythms used in therapeutic sessions.

Typically, jingle writers work with advertising agencies that serve as ‘brokers’ to match companies with appropriate jingles. The advertising agency will provide basic guidelines to the jingle writer such as the length of the jingle, the preferred style of music, keywords they want in the jingle and any business style requirements. The jingle writer will come up with short jingle and back musical accompaniment. They will often create a short demo of the work and then return it to the ad agency to review with their client. Well-established jingle writers can become freelancers and work directly for businesses, or take contracts from ad agencies.http://musiced.about.com/od/musiccareers/p/jinglewriter.htm

Successful jingle writers that are able to help companies drastically improve the sales of their products can make a great deal of money, but many jingle writers earn a little for each jingle they write. The most lucrative assignments are through contracts that include residual fees based on product sales. While jingle writers won’t go on music tours and have lots of roadies, jingle writing can give people with a love of the music industry, but insufficient performing talent a way to make a lucrative career creating art that people can enjoy.

Musical Skill Professional jingle writers must be able to craft simple melodies and tunes that enhance their written phrases. Creating these musical pieces can be self-taught, but is most often developed through musical study. Take classes on musical theory, vocal training and music classes. While formal lessons and in-classroom training can be extremely helpful, jingle writers can also be self-taught. You can find resources online to help learn to play instruments and even how to develop your voice. While a good voice is not a requirement for a jingle writer, it can help when crafting demos for business review. It also helps to have some technical knowledge of how music is created such as sound engineer skills.

Music Knowledge Expand you knowledge of different musical styles and genres by listing to a variety of music. Listen to classical, blues, rock, rap and all contemporary music. You must understand music history and common lyrics, phrases and musical phrasing that people can related to with your jingles. The jingles you create must be able to capture someone’s attention quickly and one good way to do that is to link your jingle with music or phrases people have already heard.

Writing jingles is closely related to writing poetry or lyrics for songs. The writing utilizes short blocks rather than long sentences and must condense many thought and implications into a small space. You studies should focus on expanding your vocabulary and learning tricks of phrasing and allusion. Read as much poetry as you can. Consider taking poetry classes to help understand the meanings and tools used by poets to connect to readers.

Study musical lyrics and historic jingles. You can purchase a book on jingles, or find jingle resources online such as listed on TVParty.com.http://www.tvparty.com/comjing.html Study the way jingles connect to the product they are describing. Listen to the melodies used and determine what types jingles work better than others. Study the top performing jingles and see what kind of patterns you see so that you can replicate the same success.

Research consumer products and understand marketing strategies. Take classes on advertising to help boost your understanding of the goal of marketing campaigns. Practice writing your own jingles for consumer products you routinely see advertised.

Find a Job Getting jobs as a jingle writer without experience can be difficult. Consider offering your services for local businesses and friends, even if you have to do it for free to gain valuable experience and exposure. Use your work to create a portfolio of your jingles to show to potential clients and advertising agencies. Proactively send your resume and portfolio to advertising agencies. If your work sparks their interest, they will contact you for potential assignment.

Start Your Own Company If you have difficulty cracking the existing jingle writing market, consider creating your own company and finding your own work. Approach businesses that have jingles that are not performing well. Discuss your ideas and offer your services. This can be especially effective in local markets with small and medium-sized businesses. Over time, your work will speak for itself, and you will have companies seeking your skills. Money speaks and if your jingles can sell products, you will become a hot commodity.