How to make a commercial for your business (without a crew)
To make a commercial for your business, write one message and one call to action, plan a 30-second story in 4 parts (hook, what you do, proof, call to action), film 15–20 short clips of your real business on a phone, and edit them to music with your name and details on screen. Make a horizontal 16:9 version for YouTube, connected-TV and the Facebook feed, and a vertical cut for Reels and TikTok. You don't need a crew for a local commercial anymore: a production company typically charges a small business $5,000–$15,000 to produce a 30-second spot, while the footage below cost nothing but a morning of filming. Below is the 4-part structure, a shot list, how to edit it, where to run it, and a real 30-second coffee shop commercial and its vertical cut.
16 clips of a coffee shop's morning became a 30-second commercial for YouTube and streaming TV, then a 15-second vertical cut. Sped up. Phone-size version.
The 30-second structure
| Time | Part | What goes there | Coffee shop example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 s | Hook | Your best-looking moment and your name | Latte art being poured, "Copper Kettle Coffee" |
| 3–15 s | What you do | The work, in the order it happens | Grinding, tamping, steaming milk, the pour |
| 15–25 s | Proof | A customer served, happy, coming back | Serving a regular, the menu board going out |
| 25–30 s | Call to action | Name, where, when (or a website) | "214 Main Street · Open daily 6am–4pm" |
One message per commercial. "Roasted in small batches, every week" is a message. A list of everything you sell isn't.
Write it first (5 minutes)
Answer four questions on paper before filming:
- Who is it for? "People who drive past us to work."
- What should they remember? One line: "Roasted in small batches, every week."
- What should they do? Visit, call, book, or go to a website.
- What proves it? The shots that show it's true: the roaster, the pour, the regular.
Then turn the answers into a shot list. If a line can't be shown, cut it or put it on screen as text.
What to film (one morning, one phone)
- The signature moment, close and in good light: the pour, the cut, the finish.
- The process in 4–6 steps, each 5–10 seconds, in order.
- People: your team at work, and a customer being served (with their OK).
- The place: your sign, your door, your street, at its best time of day.
- One wide shot that shows the whole space.
Film horizontally if your main commercial is for YouTube or TV, and add vertical clips for social. If you only have vertical clips (like most of ours), an editor can crop them to 16:9, but they'll look softer. That's the main thing to get right before you shoot.
The example: a 30-second coffee shop commercial
We uploaded 16 clips of a coffee shop morning (grinding, tamping, steaming milk, latte art, serving, the menu board), almost all vertical, to Novacut. The shop name, address and hours are made up. We wrote:
Make a 30-second commercial for my coffee shop, Copper Kettle Coffee, in horizontal 16:9 for YouTube, Facebook and our local streaming TV spot. Open on the barista pouring latte art in close-up with the title "Copper Kettle Coffee" in the first three seconds. Then tell the morning in order: grinding the beans, tamping, steaming the milk, the latte art, serving a customer at the counter, and the menu board going outside. Cut on the beat of a warm acoustic instrumental. Add one line of text in the middle: "Roasted in small batches, every week". End on a card: "Copper Kettle Coffee" with "214 Main Street · Open daily 6am-4pm" underneath for the last 4 seconds. Most of the footage is vertical, so crop each vertical shot in on the hands and the coffee so it fills the 16:9 frame.
Novacut built the morning in order on the downbeats of an acoustic library track, with the title over the pour, the line over the latte art and the address card for the last 4 seconds. It was frank about the limits of the footage: the vertical clips had to be zoomed about 3× to fill a 16:9 frame, so they're softer at full size, the "grinding" clip shows beans being poured rather than the grinder running, and the latte art appears twice from the same clip. It offered to upscale the footage as a separate step. That's exactly the trade-off to know before you film for a horizontal commercial.
The vertical cut for Reels and TikTok took two more messages. The first was the request below; Novacut then asked whether to replace the 16:9 timeline (it builds the new version in the same project), and we said yes after exporting the 16:9 file: "Make a 15-second vertical version for Instagram Reels from the same story: the latte art, steaming the milk, serving the customer, and the end card, with text in the middle of the frame."
Where to run a local commercial
| Where | Format | What it costs to run |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube (in-stream ads) | 16:9, 15–30 s | Any daily budget; you pay per view |
| Streaming / connected TV | 16:9, 15 or 30 s | Usually a minimum spend through a CTV ad platform |
| Facebook and Instagram | 16:9 feed, 9:16 Reels | Any daily budget |
| Local broadcast TV | 16:9, 30 s | Roughly $200–$1,500 per 30-second spot in small markets |
| Your website and Google Business Profile | Any | Free |
For most local businesses, YouTube and social ads aimed at a radius around the shop are the cheapest way to get a commercial seen. What a commercial costs to make and run →
Mistakes that make a commercial forgettable
- Starting with the logo. Start with the best moment; the name can sit on top of it.
- Saying everything. One message. Three lines of text at most.
- No call to action. Name, where, and when, on screen for at least 3 seconds.
- Filming vertically for a horizontal commercial. It works, but softer. Shoot horizontally for TV and YouTube.
- Music you can't use. Ads need licensed music. Music licensing basics →
FAQ
How long should a local commercial be?
30 seconds is standard for TV and YouTube, with a 15-second version for pre-roll and a 6-second bumper. Social versions work best at 15–20 seconds, vertical. Reels ad specs →
Can I make a commercial with my phone?
Yes. Every shot in the example was filmed on a phone. Film in good light, hold steady, shoot more than you need, and shoot horizontally if the commercial will run on TV or YouTube.
Do I need a voiceover in a commercial?
No. Many local commercials work with music and three lines of text, as the example does. A voiceover helps when the message needs explaining. If you use one, record it in a quiet room, or have the owner do it.
How much does it cost to make a commercial?
Doing it yourself costs a morning of filming plus editing software. Local production companies typically charge small businesses $5,000–$15,000 for a 30-second spot, and running it on broadcast TV costs extra per airing. Full cost breakdown →
What makes a good commercial for a small business?
A single message, real footage of your business and your people, a strong first 3 seconds, and a clear call to action with where and when.
Sources: Vibe, local TV advertising costs for small businesses; Adwave, local TV ad costs. Checked November 2026.
Footage: Mizuno K on Pexels (Pexels License). The coffee shop is fictional; the people shown don't endorse Novacut.