Teleprompter / Free tools / Words in a 30-second script
Words in a 30-second script
About 60 to 90 words. At a commercial read of 165 words a minute a 30-second spot holds about 82 words; at a calmer 130 it holds 65. Leave room for the logo, the legal line and a breath.
On this page
Words by pace
| Kind of read | Sample pace (words a minute) | Words in 30 seconds |
|---|---|---|
| Keynote | 120 | 60 |
| Self-tape | 130 | 65 |
| Piece to camera | 140 | 70 |
| Voiceover | 150 | 75 |
| Commercial read | 165 | 82 |
| Fast read | 180 | 90 |
These are sample paces: our own starting points for each kind of read, and no study measured them as averages. Your pace is your own, and the reading pace test gives it to you in a minute. Then the budget is your pace × 0.5.
What usually runs 30 seconds
| Job | Words to aim for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A TV or radio spot | 65 to 80 | The slot is fixed to the frame, and a legal tag or a website takes its share |
| A social ad | 60 to 75 | The first three seconds carry the hook, and people read the captions |
| A station promo | 75 to 90 | Promos are read briskly |
| A video voicemail or a quick update | 60 to 70 | Conversational, with a pause before the ask |
How 30 seconds divides
| Part | Time | Words at 150 a minute |
|---|---|---|
| The hook | 0 to 5 s | About 12 |
| The one message | 5 to 22 s | About 43 |
| The ask and the name | 22 to 28 s | About 15 |
| Breathing room | 28 to 30 s | None |
One message is the rule. A 30-second spot that tries to say three things says none of them.
A 64-word example
> Every morning at five, before the first ferry, Maria checks the ropes on every boat in the harbor. She has done it for twenty-two years. Nobody asked her to. This is her quay, and these are her boats. This summer, come and meet the people who keep the harbor running. Harbor Days, the first weekend of June. Free entry, all weekend, on the waterfront.
At 150 words a minute that runs about 26 seconds, which leaves four seconds for the logo at the end. Paste it into the script timer to try other paces.
Fitting a spot
- Cut words and keep the pauses. A spot read without a breath sounds like a legal disclaimer.
- Count the tag. "Terms apply, see the website for details" is seven words, or three seconds at 150.
- Read it against the picture. A 30-second spot often has a few seconds of picture with no words at the start or the end.
- Make the 15 too. Write the 15-second cut-down at the same time: about 30 to 40 words, the hook and the ask.
Other lengths
1 minute · 2 minutes · 3 minutes · 5 minutes · 10 minutes
Speaking rate, explained · All free tools
Questions people ask
How many words is a 15-second ad?
About 30 to 45 words: 33 at 130 words a minute, 41 at 165. Keep it to the hook and the ask.
How long is a 75-word script?
About 30 seconds at 150 words a minute, 35 seconds at 130 and 27 seconds at 165.
Can a 100-word script fit 30 seconds?
Only at 200 words a minute, which is faster than most people read clearly. Cut it to about 75.