The folks at Nielsen World Headquarters tell us there are more “religious” radio stations than any other format category. They also say those religious stations have fewer listeners than any other. Gulp!
Having been involved in the CCM format for more than twenty years, I suggest that there is something we can learn from Easter.
A radio station cannot grow unless it is designed to grow. And that requires a different kind of thinking. Strategic thinking.
Continue readingThe execution of something is far more important than the thinking of it. When the time comes (when the mic opens), you have to be able to Stand and Deliver.
All the great ideas you’ll ever have won’t matter if you can’t put ’em across to the listener. Even something as simple as saying the name of the station needs to be sincere, slightly different every time, and polished.
That’s why the biggest gap is between Good and Great.
And that’s why I coach. I love helping people get to Great.
A Samsung Galaxy S21 commercial made me think. Of all messages communicated not one centered on the features of a cell telephone. Wow! A commercial about a cell phone that never mentioned a cell phone.
Made for the epic in everyday.
Continue readingA few weeks ago, I went to Dallas and sat in on guitar at the House of Blues for a couple of songs with my dear friend Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Kenny is an amazing blues guitarist. I’ve known him since he was five years old, and first started showing him some things about guitar when he was seven.
Kenny talked about that experience as he introduced me, and said “He even showed me the principles, like the real foundation of what’s important about playing.”
Not just “licks” or running scales. Not WHAT to do so much as WHY you do it.
The same as radio. You go from ‘just another voice quacking’ to someone the listener bonds with because of WHY you do what you do. People FEEL more than they hear.
And as Kenny Wayne Shepherd shows his audience every night he plays, expertise is fine (and he’s brilliant), but the emotion behind it is what counts.
Philip Yancey shares in his book “Vanishing Grace”:
Continue reading“Mark Rutland whimsically recalls a survey in which…
Americans were asked what words they would most like to hear.
He predicted the first choice: ‘I love you.‘
Number two was ‘I forgive you.‘
The third choice took him by surprise: ‘Supper’s ready.‘”
It dawned on Rutland that these three statements provide a neat summary of the gospel story.”
“A recent survey says…”
“A new poll shows…”
“According to the latest statistics…”
Those references put us to sleep more times than not. The words themselves are boring. Numbers and percentages even more so.
So here’s what works better (because it’ll will sound more conversational):
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.
Continue readingSo think about this…
How many times in a year did you just do the info, but nothing else? “98.1 The Rock with AC/DC.”
Ho hum. Okay, I’ll give you an escape route. Here are two, no – three, no – make that four questions to ask yourself:
That question probably doesn’t mean what you think. I am not talking about the X’s and O’s that constitute the formatics of your station’s clock.
Let me explain.
Continue readingIn the last tip, I addressed what seems like a lack of Production skills in radio today. If you really want to make an immediate impact, let’s start with show Promos (particularly Morning Shows, but any show you want to promote).
The Kramer Rules: Continue reading
