Talk radio is a great avenue for getting your message in front of a wide audience. With such an abundance of shows airing on terrestrial stations, online stations and satellite radio, and covering such a wide range of topics, you're sure to find many that will be a good match for your message.
Here are six tips designed to get you talking:
1. Tie your message to current news. You need to follow the news. What are people talking about? What is the media saying? What's the buzz? When you know what's current, you can package your message to fit the news, making you an attractive guest for a talk show. Your job is to scan newspapers, the network and cable news channels, look at news websites, and, most importantly, monitor the talk radio landscape. As you follow the hottest stories in the news, think of ways you can relate your product or service to them. Look for controversy or big names, big money or even relationship issues. These are always tantalizing topics for talk show hosts (and their listeners).
2. Never pitch yourself or your product. The pitch letter to radio hosts and producers should focus on the issue about which you are an expert, or the problem which your product addresses. Radio hosts are interested in what you can do to inform and entertain their listeners, not what the host can do for you. Your credibility and expertise in your field is important, but it's secondary to the topic you'll be discussing. Pitch the segment, not yourself, and you'll be on the same page as the host.
