|
RADIO INTERVIEW 101: Radio Referrals |
|
|
|
|
Saturday, 12 June 2004 |
After your interviews are underway, there are some very useful
things that you can use the stations for while you are still
promoting yourself to them.
frustrated with the lack of results you are looking for in regards to your
music. However when you stop and really think about it, you haven't
effectively communicated what the messages are in your songs. You
hoped people would "get it" by simply hearing your music. As you have
learned, that doesn't work the way you hoped it would.
After your interviews are underway, there are some very useful
things that you can use the stations for while you are still
promoting yourself to them.
Radio Referrals to Press, Speaking Engagements, and Retail.
After your interviews are underway, there are some very useful
things that you can use the stations for while you are still
promoting yourself to them. Amazingly, these techniques
sometimes actually work better with smaller stations, especially
non-commercial public and college stations, than with the large
commercial stations that everyone always wants. These
techniques can also work quite well with stations that have not
even interviewed you yet, just so long as they are familiar with
your topic/angle.
Besides radio, there are three other main parts to marketing
yourself... press, speaking and retail... which can be quite difficult
for a new author, expert, or website owner to get started. But
fortunately, radio can be used to get these areas going, by using
radio referrals. Here's how it works; we'll start with radio referrals
to press...
After the stations have been contacted for several weeks, and
thus they are aware of (and hopefully considering interviewing)
you, they can be asked what local magazines, newspapers or
websites they would recommend that the you should be reviewed
in. Since the people at the station reside in the station's local
area, and since these folks are involved heavily in their locals
happenings, they are the perfect people to tell you where to try to
get reviewed. And of course, these station people are going to
be looking forward to reading these reviews that they helped set
you up with.
Then there is speaking. Same process: After the stations are
aware of (or are interviewing) you, the stations are asked what
venues or businesses you could be booked at in the stations'
local areas. With non-commercial college stations, some of the
places might even be on campus; this is an advantage for the
right kind of speaker since college venues sometimes pay more
than venues off campus. Another plus for referrals to college
venues is that sometimes the college stations can participate in
promoting the engagement for free.
Lastly, there is retail. Not recommended unless you already have
the speaking and the press working, because retail is the most
difficult to do. But for those that do want to get radio referrals to
retail... the process is the same, except that the stations are
asked for mom-and-pop retail stores that are friendly to
consignment. (It's above the level of this article to talk about
getting real product distribution.)
College and community station people are unpaid, and thus they
work jobs in their communities. So not only do these folks
provide much knowledge of what's available in their town,
sometimes they are the same people that you need to talk to at
the stores, companies, or venues in the first place. Same goes
for smaller commercial stations in smaller markets... they are more
connected with their community, and thus their referrals are more
powerful.
What do you do with the referrals once you get them? Try this:
If Bob at WXYZ says he recommends that you speak at the
Rotary, then you call up the Rotary and say, "You know the radio
station WXYZ there in your town?... Well Bob over there has
been considering interviewing me, and he said that I should call
you up since you might be interested in booking me to speak.
Would you like a kit to review?" It works great.
For press, it's "you might be interested in reviewing our
book/site/topic." For retail, it's "you might be interested in
consigning our type of product."
Either way, one thing is very important: Once you have the
referrals, you have to use them right away. One of the reasons
the referrals are being given to you is because the station people
want to feel they are making something happen for you. If
nothing happens, they feel let down.
| Comments () >> |
 |
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 June 2004 )
|
