Talk Radio Public Relations: Every Station Counts!

By:Marsha Friedman

Interviews on talk radio aren't what they used to be.

Back "in the day", hosts would invite guests into the studio for 30 minute or longer interviews. A talk radio guest could just knock off a couple of those interviews and sales would instantly hit 'turbo.'

Sadly, those days are gone. In the current market, without a stellar name, a handful of interviews won't set your sales afire. The main question is: why? There are two reasons for this.

First, there just aren't as many talk shows with a format for guests as there used to be. "Secondly, the amount of 'per-guest interview time' has shrunk." Blame the research. The result of much research found that the shorter the segment, the more the audience will stay involved.

In talk radio, quantity rules!

Let's think about this fact. "There are thousands of radio stations out there!many just 1,000 watts or so and without a big-name host. But that certainly doesn't mean you should thumb your nose at them."

Think about this point of view. "If a 1000-watt radio station had, say, only 100 listeners, you'd probably think it wasn't worth the trouble, right?". "But what if you could go to an auditorium and talk to 100 people about your book, would you go? Absolutely!"

See the contradiction here? So decide not to pass up an interview, whether big or small. This is a fabulous way of creating a solid consumer base and awareness".

A rookie baseball player doesn't throw his first pitch against the New York Yankees, does he? Of course not!and the same applies to radio.

"I have found in my nearly 20 years in talk radio public relations that is takes generally 10-12 talk radio interviews before clients feel totally comfortable being interviewed in the air. So it's far better to make your first inevitable mistakes on a smaller stage than a bigger one, and that's where the little stations come in. The small stations give you a fantastic practice field when it comes to radio pr."

Also, doing lots of interviews gives you a fantastic on-air experience. You'll be able to crystallize your thoughts on your product better!get your presentation down to a few succinct words!sound like a pro instead of a floundering amateur.

There are many mistakes made by "rookie" talk radio guests such as not mentioning your product or website enough, or being too salesy. It is a huge mistake to undersell and/or oversell!so avoid that at all costs!

Technical clients have a tendency to slide into techno-babble, and even good guests inevitably walk out of their first few interviews knowing they could have done better. But if you are going out to smaller stations initially, you won't have a national audience hearing your mistakes."

Of course there could be problems using the smaller stations. It is important to get yourself ready because sometimes you will run into unprofessional situations. So make sure that you reconfirm your interview a couple of times before you are due to appear on-air.

And, nothing can save you from the 500 watt or 1,000 watt radio station in Peoria that's hosted by a kid right out of broadcast school, so be ready for what an unprofessional host will throw at you. Many hosts won't be as prepared as their big-league counterparts. So you may have to walk them through the major points of your topic.

"When it comes to these situations, your approach should be as if you have met the person for the first time and you need to explain what your topic is to this stranger. If the hosts aren't as prepared as they should be, you still need to be on your toes. Very bright people listen to some very small radio stations; so don't ever talk down to your audience."

The bottom-line here is that small-station interviews not only can generate sales, they can prepare you for the big time.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: book publicity, book promotion, book sales, best selling book, bestseller, new york times best

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

For 20 years Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations as CEO of EMSI. Go to http://www.publicitythatworks.com to claim your free "Power of Public Relations" video today!

Top Public Relations Articles
1). How to Become the Most Interesting Conversationalist Around By : Tim Wright Learn exactly how to become the most interesting conversationalist around - and attract people like never before!
2). Finding the Right Equipment Supplier Paramount to Success in the Restaurant Industry By : Kingston Amadan Most companies with any degree of overhead know that finding the right supplier of products necessary to run their business is of the utmost importance. For most businesses, it can mean a substantial savings and reduce the headaches often associated with searching for a reliable equipment dealer. For restaurants, however, finding the right equipment supplier can mean the difference between success and failure in the industry.
3). How To Turn the Spotlight On Your Company In a Top Newspaper By : Sharon Dotson Article tells readers how to get publicity by writing letters to the editor.
4). How to have lasting relationship with clients? By : CD Mohatta Clients are the most precious assets for a business. Without clients, there can be no business. With poor quality of clients, the business will be poor and if you manage to get very good clients and retain their loyalty, your business will only go up and up. This all sounds very exciting. But it is not easy to get very good clients and all the more difficult to retain them.
5). Public Relations - and what it means for your Franchise By : Walter Raleigh The First Rule for building a Successful Franchise Business is to establish a great PR operation. You need to build a good reputation and as quickly as possible. You have to understand the value and the overwhelming benefits that flow from having an impeccable, transparent and reliable reputation so make this a major goal, as the continued success of your franchise business depends on it.
6). Change Your Tone - Media Coverage Shouldn't Be Toned By Software By : Chris Morrison The world of PR is benefiting from dramatic changes in the way media coverage is being delivered electronically to your computer desktop or PDA of choice. Perhaps the nuisance of ink on your fingers is being replaced by a bad case of "BlackBerry thumb" -- but nevertheless getting your media coverage electronically has never been easier or more mobile.
7). What is Human Resources Consulting? By : Maureen Cook Human Resources: sounds depersonalizing, doesn't it, to describe workers in this way? It smacks of older attitudes to the workforce which are now seen as increasingly outdated.
8). Protection from Protectors By : James Hayes This article discusses the vulnerabilities and security holes introduced by security suites, the very programs that are supposed to protect a PC, not make it more vulnerable!
9). It's More Valuable Than Money - Your Community. By : Dannielle Brantley When you're enjoying dinner and dancing at your company's annual event or that Mojito at your associate's loft you are building something more valuable than your business bank account..."
10). Come Boldly! By : Ann Stewart Ask Him for whatever you need!

New Public Relations Articles
1). Guerrilla Marketing By : Jaci Rae How you can use guerrilla marketing, tips, tricks and ideas that will help you make money and sell online.
2). Your Expertise is Boring! By : David Avrin I see your lips moving, but all I hear is “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” I know it’s not what you want to hear, but quite simply, if you are a speaker, author, consultant or other "expert" I see being interviewed by the news media, your expertise just isn’t very interesting. Information is a dime-a-dozen and yours is no different. So in this age of round-the-clock, on-demand, blue tooth, on line, high def.
3). One of America's brightest leaders and thinkers By : eyelogic Marshawn Evans, J.D., has garnered a reputation as an inspiring, articulate and intelligent orator. In the same mode as multitalented trailblazing women such as Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric, Tyra Banks and Kimora Lee Simmons, Marshawn is a: media personality, distinguished entrepreneur, passionate youth advocate, inspirational speaker and up-and-coming litigator.
4). Are You Ignoring Your Customers' Requests? By : Willie Crawford Copyright 2006 Willie Crawford Many Internet marketing experts will tell you that the best way to find out what your customers want from you is to ask them. While that may be true, I believe that an even more accurate way is to just listen to what they're telling you, and to what they're asking you for. To illustrate my point, I'll use a couple of examples from one of my own niches.
5). Send Business greeting card this holiday season By : thomsonchemmanoor The holiday season is around the season. There are lots of cards and gifts being exchanged, with lots of money being spent in the air. This is the season to be jolly, and also to make others jolly through greeting cards and phone calls. When the holiday season comes, one starts deciding on whom to send business greeting cards to, and on whom not to send cards to.
6). How to Create a Better News Release By : Robert F. Abbott Many organizations and businesses want media coverage of their activities, and at the same time many newsrooms are looking for local (or even national and international) topics to cover. If you're belong to an organization that wants coverage, you can increase the odds of getting it by following a few simple news release (or press release) conventions.
7). Public Relations - and what it means for your Franchise By : Walter Raleigh The First Rule for building a Successful Franchise Business is to establish a great PR operation. You need to build a good reputation and as quickly as possible. You have to understand the value and the overwhelming benefits that flow from having an impeccable, transparent and reliable reputation so make this a major goal, as the continued success of your franchise business depends on it.
8). How to Remove Barriers To The Sale By : Bernadette Doyle Copyright 2006 Bernadette Doyle When a client is thinking about hiring you, two major questions in their mind are: ‘Can this person deliver what they say they can deliver?’ and ‘Will their approach work in our particular business?’ The trouble is no client can really answer these questions until after they have hired you. And that’s the catch 22. This is a major stumbling block which can delay if not totally grind the sales process to a halt.
9). Public Relations Strategies For Manufacturers and Industrial Suppliers By : Conrad Bailey By Conrad Bailey What you are about to read here is not what you would expect to learn about marketing industrial products via public relations, or what you would normally find from other PR sources. The reason is because the majority of public relations articles you'll find online are nothing more than hidden sales pitches from PR firms that offer advice based on what's best for their agency - and not the client.
10). Communication & Corporate Social Responsibility By : Robert F. Abbott In the past few years, the anti-corporate movement (including those opposed to globalization) has gained a bit of steam. What many people in the movement promote now is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the idea that corporations should be responsible to all of society and the environment, as well as to shareholders. It's a shame they've gained momentum.