Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #508 – Programming Advice From The Real Expert – Mom!

Leave a comment

They say opinions are like noses; everyone has one.

The boss, the Facebook posts from listeners, the sales manager, or the weekend disc jockey, everyone has an opinion on what your station should be doing to be better. At least for them.

On this Mother’s Day, I wonder what advice we could get from Mom.

Be a good friend

Friends make others feel welcome. Friends don’t talk down to others. Friends don’t have conversations that exclude others. Friends encourage.

Don’t be selfish

The moment we think the station is all about us, we lose perspective. Your station’s values are reflected in what’s hanging in the hallways. Is it all about you? Your station ultimately exists to serve others. The word for being self-focused is “ego.”

Continue reading →
Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #361 – Not Wasting Words

Leave a comment

One of the most powerful building blocks in becoming a great talent is not wasting words.

It’s kind of like learning to drive.  On one side is the curb – saying TOO little, so nothing was said that made your Content “pop.”  On the other side is the double yellow line – belaboring a subject where there’s nothing new left to say, but you’re still talking.  That’s a head-on collision waiting to happen.

The cure: prep to where you get what you want to say down to the most concise form possible.  Then just let it “breathe” a little when you do it on the air.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #507 – Do you promise?

Leave a comment

Our world has changed. Perhaps you’ve noticed.

People are anxious. Many are fearful. There is a new normal and we’re not quite sure what it is.

Our vocabulary is filled with concepts unfamiliar just a few months ago. Social distancing. COVID-19. N95 masks. Even the mention of places in the world like Wuhan.

During this pandemic I’m sure your radio station is doing some good stuff. Many stations are doing lots of good stuff. But the more important question is… are you fulfilling a promise?

Continue reading →
Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #360 – The Better Idea

Leave a comment

The Better Idea.  That’s what always wins.  Apple.  Streaming.  Social media.

As an air talent, limiting yourself to just trying to match the other guy, or just trying to do a decent job… well, that’s setting the bar too low.

What you should want to do is get better, get clearer on what you want to do, and get more proficient at doing it.  Here are three easy steps toward getting better in just one month:

Step 1 – be able to tell someone, in detail, what your listener’s life is today.  The more you know about the listener, the more relevant you can be.  Relevance is ALWAYS the better idea.

Step 2 – do what the format allows, but make sure that you come across as a person, not just a voice.  This is multi-layered, because we’re also voice actors, to a degree.  Start with trying to sound ON the air just like you sound OFF the air.

Step 3 – Reject the typical or the easiest thing to do.  Keep adding stuff all the time.  Burn material like jet fuel.  Try something this week that you’ve never done before.

That should jump start things. ⏱

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #359 – Your Station and…Relevance

Leave a comment

You can’t MAKE yourself seem more relevant.  You have to just BE relevant.

No ‘slogan’ (like “Favorites of the Eighties, Nineties, and Today”) will do this.

And it’s not confined to radio.  A TV station where I live uses “On Your Side” as their slogan.  I wasn’t aware that I took any particular side, but after watching their hapless evening news team, I don’t WANT them on my side.

Kleenex.  That name probably has relevance to you.  Lysol = hugely relevant, especially as COVID-19 proved.

At some point, your NAME has to STAND for Relevance.

So remember that what happens when the mic opens – usually in the first 10 seconds or so – is what either keeps the listener here, or chases that listener away.  Say something relevant.

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #505 – We’ll Never Have More In Common

Leave a comment

The bleaker the news headlines the more your listeners will be eager to celebrate the good news and the heroes! It’s like gasping for fresh air. It’s why the flight attendants say to put on your oxygen mask before helping others. We need oxygen to be able to help others, and your station can be that for your community.

Tommy Kramer, my brilliant friend of more than 40 years, puts it this way…

“The Coronavirus isn’t the subject of every single break (you still want to be entertaining, too), but the virus IS the ‘backdrop’ of everything.

If a large portion of the content is people sharing about what the virus means in their lives, then remember that it’s not just their sweet stories, but also their concerns, and what that means in terms of being a good wife/husband/neighbor.”

Sports stations will never have fans that aren’t also sports fans.

Country stations will never have fans that aren’t also country music fans.

Christian stations will never have fans that aren’t also devout Christians…

…unless…

Continue reading →
Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #358 – The More You Learn…

Leave a comment

Watching one of the 700 “home renovation” shows my wife loves recently, I was caught up in what a worker said.

This is a guy who runs one of those machines that excavates earth at an alarmingly fast rate.  But he was interested in learning other things, too.  So, even though he’s just starting out in a landscaping career, he apparently has an eye for the future as he said, “The more you learn, the more you’re worth.”

Continue reading →

Frost Advisory

Frost Advisory #504 – For Such A Time As This

Leave a comment

It’s the new normal. We’ve adapted to working remotely, conference calls on Zoom that look like we’re on the Brady Bunch, and to dealing with social separation at the grocery store and Home Depot.

Let’s hope it won’t last much longer.

Patrick Lecione shares interesting insight on leadership during such a time as this on a recent podcast with Andy Stanley. While his concepts are focused on organizational leadership I believe you’ll see valuable lessons that can be applied to a station’s relationship with its listeners, advertisers, and donors.

He shares…

Continue reading →