Okay, let’s go to work on why a topic (if we must use that word) clicks on the air, or just falls kind of flat.
Case in point, a husband-and-wife afternoon show I’ve coached for several years. They have lots of chemistry and a good sense of who the listener is, but like everyone, they need a little reminder now and then.
The beginning of a new year is a good time to review the basics. At my church the pastor takes the first two Sundays of each year to restate the purpose and vision of the church. Fitness clubs and diet plans often base their marketing on people’s desire to return to the basics and embrace new habits.
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi began every training camp with the words, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”
Continue readingIf you fly a lot, you get perks, upgrades, free beverages, hot towels, and great seats. If you don’t (like me), you’re crammed into the “cattle car” seats with Jabba the Hut sitting next to you with his elbow in your ribs the entire flight. There’s that curtain between coach and First Class that says, “You’re not welcome here.”
The point being that often, a business concentrates so hard on pleasing the core customer that it treats the others like they’re not particularly wanted, except to buy a ticket. Continue reading
Those are the candid words of a top talent I was attempting to lure into the Christian music format.
I reckon he knew how to get my attention.
“If your station can be transformative in someone’s life as you claim, then why do you spend 99% of your time focusing on the nuts and bolts, the songs, the artists, the deejays, and features any radio station in any format can do.
Why don’t you focus on what matters most?” he says from an outsider’s perspective.
One of the things that keeps coming up in my coaching sessions is this imaginary concept that you want to spread a wide blanket over your Content, keeping it accessible to the masses. “Broad” Subject headings, not too personal, is the way a lot of stations sound. I can’t name any right this moment, because they’re too generic to remember.
Here’s what’s actually true: the more intimate your Content is, the more people you attract.
In reaching the milestone of 700th weekly Frost Advisory (polite applause please) and having it coincide with the very first Advisory of the new year I reckon’ I better put together a doozie of a missive ’cause folks are not going to wait for them to get better.
So…
Continue readingIf you need a good example of how NOT to bring more people into the fold, Sports broadcasting is it.
The other day, I watched an NFL game, and the “color” commentator said, “They’ve got a linebacker there playing three-technique…”
Huh? What does that mean? The average viewer (or listener) has NO CLUE. Apparently, it means that some linebacker either has three legs, or just ordered three pizzas from Dominoes.
I’ve heard that the most common New Year’s resolutions are about losing weight, quitting smoking, and getting more exercise.
I have an idea! What if we took those same resolutions to help give our radio stations a fresh start in the new year? They say it’s easier to disrupt a habit if you reframe it as a fresh start.*
Continue readingAs your career advances, radio changes you. Early in your career, you might think that everything needs to be stressed. So it’s easy to talk about something in a way that makes it seem like you’re battering me with things. A little too much “hype.”
The Christmas season brings our format’s greatest opportunity to welcome new listeners. While this may seem a no-brainer, it is not something to be taken for granted.
No other format has the opportunity to eliminate its biggest barrier for growth (that it plays unfamiliar music for new folks) while also doubling down on the core “why” of the format – that God became man and changed history (even for unbelievers).
So, how does a first time listener become fan? More specifically how does someone that doesn’t know Big Daddy Weave from Bo Diddley become a fan of your station?
Continue reading
