HOW CAN I PARLAY MY PODCAST INTO A RADIO SHOW?

[AudioLoveMagic]

I had done college radio for a decade before I moved away.
I produce a podcast to satisfy that jones.
Now I want to be in the air again.

Except this time, for money.

Is there a way to avoid a cookie cutter radio gig and get on the air?
Can I present my 2 years of podcasts as some form of 'tape?'

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I don't think anyone can give you a formula for doing this. In fact, at the risk of raining on your parade, Jerry Del Calliano is advising people in radio and recently pushed OUT of radio to move FROM radio to Podcasting.

You a trying to find a way IN while others are being advised to find a way OUT.

I don't know that you have any better option right now that presenting your recent Podcasts as evidence that you have some talent to offer.

I wish you well in your efforts.

 

[AudioLoveMagic]

Thanks.
It's just so sad watching radio willfully rot.
Disappointing.

Are there any podcast directories that you've come across?
Besides podcast alley, podomatic or get a podcast?


NOTE FOR MOD: Sorry about posting in the wrong thread. Thanks for the reasonably worded, flame-free note.

 

[AudioLoveMagic]

Since I see other people are posting links, I'm going to go ahead and post mine:

This is my podcast: www.AudioLoveMagic.mypodcast.com

And while I'm at it, this is my blog: www.AudioLoveMagic.com

 

[BoomerBuzz]

I'd tend to agree with Goat Rodeo Cowboy. As a radio refugee with over 30 years of national, major and medium
market on-air and management experience who has been a "radio refugee" for the last two years, my focus is away from terrestrial broadcast radio and toward the coming opportunities in Internet radio. I haven't heard your podcast yet but if you keep developing your talent and your content away from satisfying your personal ego-driven needs and toward your end-users' needs you're going to have some valuable skills that will be useful
to an Internet radio organization.

 

[AudioLoveMagic]

"toward your end-users' needs"

What does this mean?
Aren't I supposed to do what I do and if people latch on they do, if not, accept it and keep going?

I've read the books about serving a specific audience. Is this what you're referring to?

I'm open to advice from anyone that's made any kind of progress.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Aren't I supposed to do what I do and if people latch on they do, if not, accept it and keep going?

I've read the books about serving a specific audience. Is this what you're referring to?

If you are a genius at knowing what people will latch on, then yes.

Think of the restaurant business. You decide to go to some town that you find attractive as a place to live, to be, to hang out, and you open a restaurant. You decide to cook "what I do" and open the doors. After a few months your business is pretty, well.... pretty dead.

I come to the same town. I visit the various restaurants to see what they have on the menu. I eat slowly so there is some turnover and traffic while I am eating. I pay close attention to what people are ordering. I listen to what they have to say about the food. Somehow I get some local people aside and I do a survey: What are you looking for when you eat out? What do you not find locally? I visit some nearby towns or nearby neighborhoods if you are in a city. What are people eating there? Pretty soon I have a feel for what people will order from a menu and what they will NOT order a second time!

I find some people who cook who can teach me how to cook the foods I've never worked with before.

NOW! I am ready to sit down and decide which of the marketable foods I find to be fun to work with. Which menu can I be proud of. What menu can I have the will result in me waking up each day excited that I am going to love being the chef today... and I am confident people are going to enjoy being "foodies" over.

If you go to Maine and start serving biscuits 'n gravy along with grits, you may not have a thriving business. If you go to Alabama and start serving Boston Clam Chowder and Rack of Lamb, you may not be putting much into your retirement fund over the next five years.

Among the right people, "doin watc'cha do" may be a winner. Or you may fall on your face.

Does that add anything to what the previous poster said?

P.S. Back when towns had a lot of local mom and pop restaurants, my example made sense. Today in a town that only has McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut, watching what others order is NOT instructive. They really have no choices.

Listening to radio today and looking at audience studies may not be instructive. It only tells you what people order when the menu is limited.

We're back to the question: Are you a genius? I hope so.

 

[TheBigA]

The key part of this challenge is to do it "for money." That's what you're asking.

Here's my question: Do you mean you want a station to hire you to do your podcast? Or do you want to sell your podcast to an advertiser. Because they are two different things.

Take what you do and demonstrate that there's an audience for it, and sell it to a sponsor. Then take your sponsored feature to a radio station as free content. I bet you'll find a taker.

I know a guy who is a technical writer. He does product reviews of electronic devices (cell phones, laptops, HDTVs, etc). He has a popular web site, does a series of podcasts, and has sponsors lined up down the street. I bet he could take what he does to the local talk station and they'd sign him up.

But if you're looking for a job, and the podcast is your demo tape, you wait in line and take a number with the other 865,473 others. Unless you have a built-in audience of people who will seek you out.

 

[George Jetson]

Here's what to do. First you need to clean up the podcast a bit. Some coaching would also be an advantage.

#1 - How many times do you say "you know" "umm" and "like"? Program Directors hate this. Do some editing and cut it. Practice and rehearse often so you sound more relaxed and natural.

#2 - The internet is global but radio stations have a limited reach and a specific listener demo that must fit with your program.

#3 - The tapes should be short and quick. A "best of" program with 5-10 minutes of program and a supplemental package of a few of your best shows. Remember, Mr.PD has very limited time and thousands of tapes to go through.

#4 - You want to make money without being treated like a factory worker. The only way to do this is to show proof you can build an audience. There are plenty of places you can use to document your internet ratings. PD wants to be sure you can bring in the numbers.

#5 - Do you like sales? If so try to get a foot in the door working as an account executive. The station will kiss your a** and you will get to know the advertisers well enough to bring them to your show. If not, maybe a board op or production job will get you closer to the air studio and the staff gets to know you. Forget about collage radio, you want to go commercial, you need to understand how the commercial station is different than collage radio.

#6 - Don't rush things and don't give up. You need a thick skin in this business and it gets tougher every day.

8)

Good Luck!!
George J.

 

[AudioLoveMagic]

Thanks for your thoughtful responses.

My problem (stubbornness) is based in the fact that I want to have fun with what I'm doing.
The fun I'm having doesn't fall within the lines of what's acceptable in terms of what is the broadcast standard.
I see the standard, aka what passes for radio, and I don't like it, which draws me further away - and at the same time off the mark for what will appeal to someone hiring.

The idea is to make my thing work so well that people have to have it as I present it.
Even if it's not me, I want/need someone to come along to change the way radio's being done because it currently is not working.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Via the night time skywave bounce I listen to WGN in Chicago quite a bit at night. WGN is sometimes discussed on R-I boards and many talk about the age of the people doing the programs, which they assume translates to talk about the age of the audience. When the heavy-duty personalities are on vacation or out for illness, WGN unleashes another genre of personality. Some younger folks who apparently are doing some weekend work, some of them during the day. They are a pretty edgy bunch!

AudioLoveMagic.... your podcast reminds me of the style of the younger crowd at WGN. I guess the first image that came to my mind as I listened was some of the stand-up comedy guys who seem to have such a detached, dismissive attitude in their voice. The world is trying to figure out what to do with this mechanism known as the Podcast. What will it morph into next? Will it be the "radio killer" or will radio make peace with podcasting and be part of a rosy future.

I am not going to suggest that you quit looking for a radio opportunity. I am going to suggest you are going to feel like you are banging you head against the wall until some breakthrough may or may not arrive. I would be cautious about "drawing the curtains" and isolating yourself while trying to discover the holy Grail of Podcasting. Find other people who seem to have some genius for this new medium (and you I think have some of that genius) and collaborate with them.

In small town radio we used to lament over the poor voice style of a lot of high school coaches and county agents. But I came to the conclusion that if they sounded like radio announcers they would lose their credibility. One of the self proclaimed gurus of the future says the last thing a Podcast should sound like is a radio broadcast. So, maybe you have a head start on the rest of us.

 

[TheBigA]

I see the standard, aka what passes for radio, and I don't like it, which draws me further away - and at the same time off the mark for what will appeal to someone hiring.

Here's the thing: You can't tell them they suck, and then ask them to pay you.

I know a singer who hates commercial radio, yet she wants to have her music played there. Why? So she can make money. Her choice is either to make music she hates to get them to play it, or make music she likes that they won't play. If you take their money, you have to do what they want. No one pays you a lot of money to have fun. That's what my plumber tells me as he fixed my toilet. If, however, you bring your own money, then you get to make the decisions. That's the concept behind the commercial. You bring your money, and you can say what you want. Even if it doesn't fit the station's format. If you want to do what you want, you're going to have to give them something they want. And to be honest, the only thing they really want is money.

 

[George Jetson]

Try a non-commercial station. There's enough of them near the cities and you might earn some small pay. Also maybe you can buy airtime on a smaller short wave station. If the show gets bigger you can always put it on more stations. Try WBCQ short wave, 7.415 MHZ, (Maine) They charge about $35 an hour, but you may get a better deal if you buy a big chunk of time.
George J.

 

[eric_tomorrow]

i have been asking myself that for 4 years now.
my show has been in the top 100 audio comedy podcasts for 3 of those 4 years. featured on page one for most of that time as well. went to streaming live, have been very successful with that as well. loyal listeners worldwide listeners. advertisers, sponsors. all of this from having started with ZERO listeners, all promotion done by myself and my co-hosts, we didn't have the luxury of turning on a transmitter to start out with a listener base. i feel like i have hit the upper limit of what i can do with a podcast/streaming format, but don't get the chance to battle in commercial radio.

i have a solid aircheck. i have sent it to several people in the industry i know, they seemed to think it was on par.
i have sent it to PD's that were hiring, no reply, sent it to PD's that didn't have job postings up, no reply.

i stopped calling my show a podcast in 2006, podcast has a negative air to it. from what it seems to me people in charge of hiring in radio don't view it as valid experience.

 

[AudioLoveMagic]

How about this one: I’ve heard of your show.
It’s a memorable name.
I’m listening to your August 5 show right now.

First impression – your website is awesome!
Makes me wish I had the interest in learning how to do web design.
All I have is a simple wordpress template.

2 puppies in a tub, huh?
It’s like There’s Something About Mary – “how did you get the beans above the frank?”

Good luck to you.

 

[eric_tomorrow]

How about this one: I’ve heard of your show.
It’s a memorable name.
I’m listening to your August 5 show right now.

First impression – your website is awesome!
Makes me wish I had the interest in learning how to do web design.
All I have is a simple wordpress template.

2 puppies in a tub, huh?
It’s like There’s Something About Mary – “how did you get the beans above the frank?”

Good luck to you.

well thank you, good luck to you as well.

here is the secret to the website, you get a listener to do it for you. he actually have a full redesign almost done.
i give him all the new merch when it comes out, and he does an amazing job on the website.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

i stopped calling my show a podcast in 2006, podcast has a negative air to it. from what it seems to me people in charge of hiring in radio don't view it as valid experience.

You may be out in front of the herd and don't yet recognize it. There are some industry gurus who are advising radio people to embrace the podcast.... and do your best NOT to make it sound like a radio broadcast.

Today people ask people at a radio station: Do you guys own a website?

I think we are coming upon the day when people ask people at a website: do you guys own a radio station.

 

[mikeyscar]

I had done college radio for a decade before I moved away.
I produce a podcast to satisfy that jones.
Now I want to be in the air again.

Except this time, for money.

Is there a way to avoid a cookie cutter radio gig and get on the air?
Can I present my 2 years of podcasts as some form of 'tape?'

In a word; don't. I wish these were still the days of being given a fair shake on the air, but it's very political and rarely do talented radio personalities stay on the air for very long. The odds are against you.

Instead, promote the hell out of your podcast. Get a following going, a good rule of thumb is 1,000 regular listeners. While getting those listeners, create a website and host affiliate ads to generate some income. Once you have a following, move into a free/pay feature. Meaning that people can listen to 50% of your podcast for free via iTunes or Podcast Alley, and then if they want more they can subscribe to a pay scheme.

A very successful model is the one used by Tim Hensen of 'Distorted View Daily'. While the content is built for the internet and mostly racey, he has a large following of fans who pay $5 per month or $50 per year to hear exclusive show content and paid member only shows.

Take a paid subscriber feature was a few affiliate programs and perhaps release a 'Best Of' mp3 on iTunes for $3.99 or something and you can stand to make a living doing podcasts. Just try not to saturate the show with commercials. Like any media, people only have so much patience. Lately the "SModcast" podcast by Kevin Smith (the director) has turned into 10 minute intros of ads that have people dropping the feed. Space it out like it's actual radio and you can take advantage of a still very young market.

 

[petsy]

I gave up trying to find work in terrestrial radio about three years ago. Got 7 years of college behind me and managed to get 2 real radio gigs of perhaps a total of 6 months, all this in a timeframe of 4 years after college. I don't know what it's like in the US, but here in my corner of Europe, it's virtually impossible to find work in the business anymore. Most don't care about quality beyond what's acceptable and your "talent" doesn't really matter. There's always someone else standing in line to replace you when you go and you won't be missed. That's just how it is. All that matters is who you know and if that person can get you in somewhere. I talked to some old radio pros and heard their stories of how they got jobs straight out of high school and shit... they might as well have read the Lord of the Rings out loud, it was like a saga from ancient time. Shit's just not like that anymore.

Anyway, I gave it up since I already had gotten that initial "stamp of quality" and knew I was at least as good as anyone else. I knew that the job thing wasn't really my fault. Now I do internet radio only and I couldn't care less is network bosses like it or not. Bitter? Not at all, not the slightest. I haven't had more fun in my radio "career" ever.

 

[pellmell]

I guess AudioLoveMagic didn't have much success with his podcast. It's missing in action.

I love podcasting.