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Dear Radio Fanatic,
Thanks to everyone for the great feedback! We had a good turnout for our first free teleseminar ... many of you have taken advantage of our free aircheck review offer ... and what's especially nice, folks are getting good results!
To get more information about how I can help you, visit www.killerjock.com.
Thanks for reading,
PS: Feel free to forward this newsletter to all your friends and colleagues. If you received it from someone else, click here for your own subscription.
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NEW FREE TELESEMINAR!
Join me for an hour chock full of performance guidance that you can use the very next day!
DATE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2008
TIME:
- 8:30 PM EASTERN
- 7:30 PM CENTRAL
- 6:30 PM MOUNTAIN
- 5:30 PM PACIFIC
- 1:30 AM GMT (FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8)
To register, visit www.killerjock.com/register. Act now - attendance is limited.
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Tossing the Crutches
In going over your air work, it's easy to identify all those little crutches that take up time but don't contribute much to your performance - you know, things like
- "here with you"
- "on a Monday night"
- "degrees outside"
- "here in the capital city"
- etc., etc.
But as I've said before, I don't get too upset when one of these radio clichés creeps into a break from time to time ... but when breaks become a bunch of crutches strung together, it's symptomatic of a bigger problem.
The biggest danger about these crutches is that they mean you've disengaged your mind from what you're doing; you're running on auto-pilot. And on some level your listener knows it!
Okay: Crutches, bad. Auto-pilot, bad. So we're going to eliminate the clichés and stay connected ... but now what?
We have to say something, right? What's going to replace the crutches? The answer is simple to say but requires some effort to do: whatever interests your listener.
We'll explore that in a minute ... but first ... [TOP]
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FREE AIRCHECK REVIEW!
I will give you a telephone* review of your air work with no obligation. All you have to do is ask! To find out more, visit www.killerjock.com and click on the "Free Airchecks" link.
*We work with you on the phone because it gives us a chance to dig deeper into why certain things crop up and how to deal with them; usually it takes a two-way discussion to get there.
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This question has come up in several aircheck sessions: "Who is my listener? I get calls from men and women, young and old ... how do I talk to them all?"
It's a two-part question, and there are two parts to the answer:
- How to identify your ideal listener
- How to connect with all your listeners
Your Ideal Listener
Your station has a target demo; if you don't know what it is, ask your PD. The answer will probably something like, "Adults 25-44." Fine. That's a start.
The next question is, "What is the primary demo?" Is it men or women ... 25-34, 35-44, 30-40, or what?
Once you've narrowed the age/sex range, build your own listener and make him or her real to you.
Let's say that you are creating a 31-year-old woman. Is she married? Single? Does she have kids? How many? Does she work? What does she do? What does she like to do? Watch? Listen to?
Your ideal listener may not coincide perfectly with the station's - although she should be in the ballpark for sure - but she is your listener ... someone you can relate to and be friends with.
Once you have built your ideal listener and become comfortable talking to him or her when you're on the air, you'll be amazed at how much better you'll sound!
Connecting with All Your Listeners
While the bulk of your audience is - hopefully! - a close match to your ideal listener, you are really talking to a bunch of very different people. The key to this is to embrace the diversity in your audience. Don't fight it and don't sweat it!
Look at it this way: when you're at a family gathering, you're talking to Grandma one minute and your nephew the next ... but you are always you.
So don't worry about trying to be different people for different people. Be yourself ... but become an expert on your ideal listener. [TOP]
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WE'RE NOT JUST FOR JOCKS
Are you in news? Sports? Talk radio? I've worked with lots of air personalities who have never jocked, and I'd love to work with you. I hope you'll take advantage of my free aircheck review offer to see how I can help you take the next step up.
To find out more, visit www.killerjock.com and click on the "Free Airchecks" link.
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One jock told me she was having another kind of difficulty nailing down her audience: "I work different shifts," she said, "so I have different listeners at different times of day."
As we discussed her experience, it became clear that it wasn't that she had another set of listeners in another daypart ... but her listeners had a different energy level and a different mood.
Take morning drive: When we wake up, we want our radio station to, well, wake us up ... and to bring us up to speed so we don't act like idiots when we get to work and people are talking about the big game, Britney's latest self-destructive act, and so on. We also need information about what to expect climate-wise and whether we're on time. So morning drive is usually a crisply-paced, information-rich presentation - to match the listener's wants, needs and energy.
Now take, say, evening: We are unwinding, relaxing, using our radio station as the soundtrack of our web surfing, reading or working on a hobby. We are the same person, but we're in a different place mentally, emotionally and metabolically.
So when you work different dayparts, you don't have to worry that you have to establish yourself with a whole bunch of different people. Allowing for the fact that people do listen at different times, in general you are talking to the same type of listener ... just make sure your style and approach matches the time of day. [TOP]
Well, that's it for now. If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know!
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RADIO VOICES is a free monthly service of Jay Mitchell & KillerJock.com, dedicated to the betterment of radio air talent. Copyright © 2008 Jay Mitchell Associates, Inc. Permission to redistribute all or part of this document, with credit to "Jay Mitchell, www.killerjock.com," is hereby granted.