Unlike other formats people, don’t tune to your radio station because of WHAT YOU ARE. They tune to you because of who THEY are.

After more than 20 years in the format, I’m used to people ignoring me when I share that idea. It doesn’t make sense to them. That’s because they can’t read the label from inside the bottle. And you, my friends, are inside the bottle.

I first loved baseball because my dad loved baseball. In fact, my first game ever was a really big deal – I got to see my baseball hero Mickey Mantle get the first hit in the very first indoor baseball game: at the Astrodome in Houston. My dad simply said, “You should see this.”

I love classical music because my mother was a professional violinist and shared her love for classical music. I loved watching the high school marching band because my daughter played her saxophone in it. I have even learned to bowl (not very well) because a dear friend loves bowling. In fact, he gave me my own bowling ball.

Do yourself a favor and watch this remarkable video:

I love the way Donald Miller says it in “Blue Like Jazz.”

“Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.”

People love your radio station because they love something else. In fact, Christian radio is the only music format where people come to it primarily because they love something else.

That one factor has significant impact on how your station can attract new listeners and create greater loyalty with your current listeners. They love you because they loved something else first.

Now you know “the secret” as to how a Christian music station can become a market leader. Are you simply going to ignore it?