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Whether you are just now entering leadership or are a veteran, boot camp helps. Boot camp, basic training, is designed to toughen those who will eventually be assigned a station in the military. Whether you’re going to crunch numbers or lead with your on-air presence, basic training is recommended.

Military.com suggests that all those entering boot camp prepare themselves mentally and physically. This translates well into our world of ministry. If you step into leadership, you are going to be followed. Your every move is scrutinized, analyzed, measured up and likely criticized. The same people who pay you lip service may give you lip on the way out. People you trust will falter. Theymight even abandon you. So how to prepare?

STEP ONE: FOCUS

Be strong in the Lord. Prayed up. In the Word. That’s step one. You can’t make a move without God. The Bible says, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps”[Proverbs 16:9] and “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes”[Proverbs 16:9]. You can be a strong person, but when it comes to the Lord, you must be pliable, attentive, and in constant contact. “Take heed if you stand lest you fall”[1^stCorinthians 10:12].

STEP TWO: CHECK YOUR SIN AT THE DOOR

When you enter basic training, the military requires that you leave the following at home: family, pets, expensive personal items, non-prescription drugs or drug paraphernalia, weapons, obscene or pornographic material, alcoholic beverages, gambling materials and tobacco products. That’s great advice! As Christians, we need to take it one step further. Check your sin at the door! As a leader, if you’re harboring sin that hasn’t been dealt with, the entire organization will have to deal with it. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump”[Galatians 5:9]. A clear description might be two drops of tobasco sauce in a glass of milk. It ruins the entire drink. Unchecked sin affects you, your family and your organization.

STEP THREE: LEARN PERSON-TO-PERSON COMMUNICATION

The majority of our communication is done in the digital realm. But as a leader, you’re going to have to communicate in the physical, face-to-face. That means learning to say the hard things. Learning to read people. Learning what it means to give an in-person presentation.

CONCLUSION

The apostle Paul lacked some personal communication skills, and yet he became an amazing, God-inspired writer, teacher and leader. Moses had difficulty communicating, and yet he was able to stand up to Pharaoh. David’s sin with Bathsheba cost not one, but two lives. Yet God called David, His chosen king “…a man after His own heart”[Acts 13:22]. David was the least of his brothers and yet he was chosen for the throne.

God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things, but He doesn’t do it without putting us through boot camp. If you want to be used, if you want to lead, prepare yourself thoroughly. Rest assured, it’ll be a journey you’ll never forget.

It’s happened to all of us: you’re in the car, at the grocery store, or just about to fall asleep at night when a flash of inspiration hits you. It’s the best idea you’ve ever had, and you’re giddy with your own brilliance.

But then, by the time you get out of the car, bring the groceries home, or wake up in the morning, the idea is gone and you can’t bring it back! It’s almost as if it never occurred at all.

While some people generate ideas like popcorn, the muse hits others only once in a blue moon. Wherever you fall on this spectrum, if you’re producing content for a living, you need a way to record these ideas and organize them in a way that will allow you to easily find them later—before they disappear!

Bottom line: If you’re struggling with a sticky note infestation and need a new idea tracking method, here are some ideas for you to consider.

When it comes to recording your ideas, you have two basic options: paper or electronic. If you prefer paper, a good option is to carry a small notepad and pen around with you—small enough to fit in your pocket or purse. Also keep a pen and paper close to your bed, since ideas tend to strike when we’re relaxed and trying to fall asleep.

Electronic note-taking can let you streamline the organizational process. Evernote and OneNote both provide desktop and phone apps so your notes show up across your devices. In the age when most of us have our phones essentially glued to our hands, this can eliminate the extra weight or bulk of pen and paper. Phone apps like Speechnotes or iSpeech will even save you the time it takes to type your idea out. Just speak into the app, and it will convert it to text for you. Be careful with this in public places though—if it’s a really innovative idea, you may not want someone to overhear it!

Once you’ve established your preferred method of recording your ideas, it’s important to find a way to organize them. After all, the whole point of recording the idea in the first place is so you can find it again later. Without organizing, it will be more difficult—and in some cases impossible—to find that one idea when you want it.

For paper notes, designate a place for them to go. A box or file of some kind will cost you the least amount of extra organizational time. You’ll be able to simply tear the note out of your notepad and put it directly into the file. For a little more structure, try a 3-ring binder. Transfer your idea to a larger sheet of paper and then add it to the binder. This will let you organize your ideas by type, date, feasibility, or any other way you want. You can even add section tabs to let you easily search through them later.

Another option is to scan or type your written notes into the computer. Using a scanner or phone to capture an image of your note will give you an electronic file that takes up no physical space. You can also title the idea in a way that will let you easily find it later through the computer’s search function.

Typing your note into the computer using something like Word or Google docs will let you type additional “tags” in the document that will help you search for it later. For example, if you own an ice cream shop and have an idea for bubble-gum-flavored ice cream cones, you might add a line of words like “upgrade,” “add-on,” “invention,” and “expansion.” That way, when you’re ready to tackle an upgrade in your ice cream shop but can’t remember what your idea was, you’ll be able to search for “upgrade” on your computer and it will pull up that document in the results.

Another way to organize electronically is with a spreadsheet. You can have all of your ideas in one workbook, separated into different worksheets according to type. Or you can have them all on one worksheet, but with a column describing the type of idea—“business,” “personal,” “travel,” etc. Then you can sort them however you want. Add a column with tag words to let you easily search when the list gets long.

Evernote, OneNote, and other similar applications will let you organize in the same instant you record your idea. From your phone or computer, you can group ideas together, add tag words, and put text, audio, and pictures in the same file to remember what inspired you in the first place.

Whatever your preference is, paper or electronic, simple or structured, find a way to record and organize your ideas that works for you. Most of us have had a brilliant idea—but couldn’t try it because we just couldn’t find it again! Choose your method and start it today. And if it’s simply a box or file that you toss your ideas into, then that’s the right choice for you. At least they’ll all be in one place when you need them!

Watch the Video >>

Finney Media will host a Why Listen?® Survey webinar Tuesday, September 25 Noon Central, zeroing in on changes from the 2016 survey to the just released 2018 survey. Register HERE.

You are praying and pondering how to lead your ministry, station and network. And, you know your listener continues to change. You know we live in challenging times. And, you know your vision is to connect deeply with your listener—to be there to help them on life’s journey. It’s your Mission! Join Finney Media President Chuck Finney as he outlines the changes we see in Christian radio listeners since the 2016 Why Listen survey. With the 2018 survey now history, we can trace our listener’s feedback changes—dramatic changes in the past two years.

Chuck will remind us of where we were two years ago, and observe specific questions that produced nearly the same response, and key questions that highlight how your listener has adjusted to the atmosphere since 2016. Has your listener become less patient? More web focused? More demanding? Spiritually intense? More demanding on tone? More narrowly focused on what she wants as options grow?

He will zero in on what your listener wants from you now in 2018—what she wants you to plan to to spend your time strategizing and producing, to create, to air.

Register TODAY. It’s $59 for the first 75 webinar registrants, so register today. Save the Date. Tuesday, September 25TH at Noon Central.

This is an hour that your listener will thank you for setting aside. Grab your lunch, gather your team, and plan to attend!

In the Why Listen® 2018 Survey, we asked 26,800 people from four different formats – music stations, teaching/music stations, all-teaching stations, and teaching programs – about why they listened, what caused them to give and how they depended on their station for spiritual growth. But the survey also included questions about the person who was filling in the survey. Here’s a roundup of important information from the more than 16,000 who identified themselves as music format listeners.

Most were women (76%).

In the survey, the average age of Music listeners is 52, which means Music listeners are more likely to be in the “Gen X” generation.
About a third indicated they have children under the age of 18 living in the home. Yes, that’s correct. You heard that right. Two thirds who participated don’t have school aged children living in their home.
Music listeners are most likely listening to Christian radio in their cars. Think busy, distracted listeners.
They are less likely to listen through an app on their smart-phones or tablets or on their home or office computers using a station’s website than to listen to the radio in the car.
One in four (25%) Music listeners say they also want to hear teaching/talk programming, but not necessarily on the same station.

The vast majority – an average of 97% – of Music listeners hold what would be considered orthodox beliefs on three key doctrines: Who Jesus is, the Bible as the inspired Word of God and how to get to heaven (only through Jesus).
Nearly three in four are married for the first time or re-married.

The majority (90%) are white.
A majority (54%) are either non-denominational or Baptist. Yet overall, Music stations appeal to a broad cross-section of people from many denominations, including mainline Protestant denominational, Pentecostals, Catholics

Food for thought as you see your listener in your mind’s eye. How are you meeting her today?

Writing is a skill used in just about every industry. Whether you’re producing content for a program, writing for the company blog, or just sending an email, putting words together in a cohesive manner is an important ability to have. And few of us got English degrees. For some of us, the last time we attended a writing class was in high school—and if we were being honest, we didn’t pay much attention.

Fortunately for us, the internet is rife with tools to help us communicate at our best.

Here are a few of the ones we like and recommend:

Grammar and Style:

For those who write published content frequently, a style guide is a must to have on hand. The AP Stylebook, used by the journalism industry, is a good choice for most blogs and websites, and is available online as a subscription or in spiral-bound printed form.
If you don’t write very often and just need a quick reference guide, find a free style guide such as Tameri, which is based off the AP Stylebook and gives general tips and examples—including a word usage list—without a subscription fee.
If you’re in a position where you can’t get a second pair of eyes on your work, Hemingway App can give you a general idea of its readability. It will highlight basic grammatical errors, overly long or complex sentences, and any place where passive voice is used. It also gives you word, sentence, character, letter and paragraph counts, and an estimated amount of time it would take to read what you’ve written.
If you need to self-check your writing often enough and have the budget, Grammarly is a popular resource that checks your work for punctuation, grammar, context, and sentence structure, specific to the genre you’re writing for. For any suggestions it provides, it gives a detailed explanation of the grammar rule in question. It also gives vocabulary suggestions and checks for plagiarism. It’s available for $12 a month for an annual subscription.

Word Tools:

Every writer needs a go-to thesaurus, such as Power Thesaurus. This one lists synonyms that have been voted on by users to rate their relevance and usefulness. You can also narrow it down to parts of speech or search for antonyms, definitions, and examples.
While looking up the definition to a word is usually as simple as a quick internet search, check out OneLook’s reverse dictionary feature for those times when that one word is eluding you. Enter the definition or description of the word, and it tries to find it for you by pulling up a list of related items.
The Headline Analyzer by CoSchedule is a free tool that does just what it says. It provides an analysis and breakdown of your blog title or email subject, including structure, readability, and types of words used, and explains the various facets of what makes a successful headline based on market research.

Productivity Tools:

If you are easily distracted when you write, try a software like Q10. It’s a program that allows your writing to take up the entire screen, so you can focus more easily on your project. This one is free, and comes with other features like customizable fonts, colors, and formatting, a timer, an auto-save feature, and typing sound effects.
Try boosting your productivity on any project with the Marinara Timer. Based on the concept that working in set increments of time with short breaks in between helps you get more done, it provides several types of timers. Just choose your timer, your alarm sound type, and you’re ready to go. It can also be used across multiple computers for team projects.

That’s quite a list—perhaps select one or two of these tools to use starting right now!

Let’s face it together.

Is your air talent is not getting coaching like you know they should? Is it your responsibility to make sure it gets done?

Maybe no one is saying anything. Because your boss probablythinksit’s happening.

The talent wants the coaching, but also feels that bringing it up is just asking for criticism.

You’re so busy that weeks and weeks pass by and it seems like days.

Maybe you don’t have confidence in your coaching ability. Maybe you think it’s the consultant’s job, or maybe you don’t have a consultant.

You can keep going like this and nothing will change. Or you can fix it. Right now.

Let’s fix it.

The first way we’ll fix it is by adjusting your expectations. If you think of coaching as a big commitment of time and energy, then as a busy PD it’s natural to avoid it. You think it’s a huge project or you do nothing. So let’s make it a smaller, less intimidating project.

Here are five simple things you can do right now and keep doing in just 45 minutes per week.

Repent.

Agree that air talent coaching is super important and that you’ll do something about it.

Commit to engage your air talent and their performance.

Commit to making sure they WILL be coached regularly. Be confident that consistent, small engagement can make a big difference.

Guess what! Two steps are done and you’ve taken hardly any time! Now for the simple, practical 45-minute per week steps:

Listen to 3-4 breaks with a pad and pen and write down what you notice.That’s 15 minutes.

Write down things you like and why. Write down things you don’t like and why.

Now organize your observations into 3 lists of 2-4 points each:

List 1. Hugs – the stuff you liked and why

List 2. Grow – the stuff you think needs to change and improve, and why

List 3. Goals – a short summary of what to keep doing and what to improve in

This is another 15 minutes.

Meet with your air talent and encourage them.This is about ten minutes.

Start with a few true words about their value, strengths, and potential. Start positive because they’re nervous and convinced this is going to be about what they’re doing wrong. So show them what they’re doing right. Let them know you believe in them.

They are doing art, and artists need confidence.

Then go thru your Hugs, Grow, and Goals lists.

Sometimes use some audio to illustrate your points.

Major on the positive and let them hear and feel what they did right. Be blunt and brief about change and improvement, then finish with something positive.

Follow up with a brief, positive email summary of your points.There’s the final 5 minutes.

In the email just summarize what you talked about from your Hugs, Grow, and Goals lists. The email is a reminder that reinforces your meeting. Keep it short and encouraging, yet straightforward about change and improvement.

Good things will happen from this 45 minute per week habit!

Your air talent and station will improve and you’ll serve listeners better.
Talent will not despise and avoid coaching sessions. They may even grow to sort of like it! (Maybe. We hope.)
They’ll respect you for doing your job.
It’s good for them to know you’re listening, paying attention, and that you will hold them accountable.
YOU’LL grow in confidence as a coach.

And that’s it. You are on your way.

Pssst…if this is still too much, call us about our Talent Coaches who will listen to you and then focus on your Talent.

As we look at what you have on-air, there are detours that can send your listener away from your well-maintained radio or program highway. Respondents in the Finney Media Why Listen?(r) 2018survey rated twelve possible elements of radio programming that might make them want to tune away from a Christian radio station.

Here’s the way to read the graph below. The “tuneouts” at the top – the ones coded on green – are lower reasons for respondents leaving. The “tuneouts” at the bottom – the ones in red – are higher reasons for respondents leaving.

The road sign with the biggest flashing “DETOUR” warning sign hanging on a huge reflective barricade regards dealing with subjects in a harsh, negative, angry or judgmental tone. It’s good to know, however, that in response to a separate question, nearly nine in ten (89%) listeners said the “tone” of Christian radio programming theylisten to was extremely positive. Most stations and programs are not perceived as conveying a negative tone—but it is important to notice the big size of this flashing warning sign.

Announcers who talk about things I’m not interested in and announcers who talk too muchare tuneouts also. Taken to a further conclusion . . . announcers who talk too much about things the listener isn’t interested in are the deadly duo. Want them to leave? Meander on the air about things she’s not interested in. and music the listeners don’t like are the two major reasons they would tune away.

All of the music tuneouts are lower, but the data points to the importance of testing music to align with listeners’ tastes.

Reviewing these warning signs can save you from tune-out. Consider including these in discussion with staff or with focus groups.

The Why Listen?® 2018 Survey Total format results say this: The #1 main reason for listening to your program or radio station is because “It helps her worship God throughout the day”. And no matter the format, this reason falls in the top tier.

Worship is automatically associated with the one hour we attend church on Sunday—and that’s just one hour out of the 168 hours we have to spend each week.

Yet radio pervades our lives every day—that’s an opportunity seven days a week to help someone focus on our great God. Think about it–the worship band at church only has one half hour and the full service about one hour!

Jesus says, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” Matthew 4:10

Most of us are bombarded by images of brokenness. A little girl stunned and traumatized. People worshiping false gods. Fake romance. War. Violence. Add to all this this the real-life curveballs of illnesses, accidents and angry people, and it’s easy to get lost in the hopelessness.

The daily discourse gets coarser, scarier and less edifying.

And yet. Think about it. This opens up our path to ministry—for us to turn hearts toward worship. Turning to God and honoring Him. A chance to help others focus their hearts and minds when “alone” with their thoughts—and their radio.

“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.” Psalm 149:1

Your work is seven days a week, helping an audience in hard times be daily worshippers. Minute-by-minute worshipers. Right now worshipers. Providing highly interesting/relational content to your listener, presented it in a way that is Biblically bold, spiritually encouraging and widely accessible.

We can help lift holy hands in an unholy world.

Seven day a week worshipping.

Creating Love at First Sight with your SEO Copy – The Final Chapter: Body Beautiful

In our SEO Blog Part One we talked about laying the groundwork for an SEO revamp. We talked about brainstorming, setting your station apart and developing stronger, more genuine traits. We discussed what it takes to get noticed. We encouraged you to clear the ground around you and create a niche that’s genuine and personal. In ourSEO Blog Part Two we explored the art of creating copy that is both persuasive and discoverable … words that help listeners feel like they’re being “cared for” rather than “catered to”.
THE FINAL CHAPTER: SEO META DESCRIPTION & COPY

Now we begin the final chapter. You’ve laid the foundation and created a fabulous title. Now you’re ready to create the meta-description and body … inviting and greeting hungry sheep who are seeking new pastures, and causing them fall in love with your webpage.
START WITH WHAT YOU PROMISED, NOT WITH CONFUSION

Notice we said your webpage. They don’t want pop-up windows or ads which interrupt their thought-flow and hostage their CPU’s. Confused and frustrated people won’t stick around. They won’t come back and they won’t tune in. They’ve read your headline promising green grass. When they click on your website, what do they seek? GREEN GRASS.
They want what you’ve promised. So meet their expectations, right off the bat. Match your landing copy to your ad copy. It’s friendlier to search engines, and it’s more cohesive to your seeker. If your headline says “24-7 Commercial-Free Christian Radio. All Your Favorite Music, Worship and Hymns”, then your webpage should greet them with “Welcome to Commercial-Free Christian Radio! Your Favorite Music, Worship and Hymns, 24-7.”That way, your visitors know they’ve entered the right house. If your welcome copy doesn’t match your headlines, there’s a disconnect. People click, expecting to find one thing. Instead they find another.

God is not the author of confusion. “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints …” 1 Corinthians 14:33

MUTUAL AGREEMENT – SHAKE HANDS

Your audience should internally agree (resonate) with everything you write in this initial greeting. Good copy will steer and guide your reader’s focus down to the desired result. Their desires then become harmonious with the very thing you want them to do.

Think of it as a funnel. You start with the wide, broad attraction, funnel the focus into what you promised, deliver the promise, and then require them to make their move. The “move” should be simple. In other words, a simple submit-email-and-click gives them access to you for free.
There should be a FREE. Even if the subscription is only free for one month, it should be free. Emotionally, both teaching and music are associated with freedom … freedom from despair and freedom from sin. People love the word FREE; they love the idea of being FREE, so feel free to use it!

STOP THEM IN THEIR TRACKS

Here are some important tips when creating heart-stopping Meta description and body:

Name dropping, striking words and eyebrow raising copy, along with a sense of urgency will stop your potential audience in their tracks. There’s nothing wrong with mentioning the name of Jesus, Casting Crowns, Charles Stanley or anyone else you think will attract your desired audience’s attention.
Make sure your copy is both descriptive and persuasive.
Make sure your keywords are in the Meta description.
It’s okay to ask a question. “TIRED OF BAD NEWS? SWITCH TO GOOD NEWS.”
Provoke curiosity. Lead them into the funnel with an irresistible reveal.
Include language that identifies with her spiritual and emotional needs.
Use out-of-the-box powerful phrases like “HEAR THE LOVE – HEARTFELT HITS THAT HEAL.”

TECHNICAL STUFF

There are many, many aspects to SEO writing. It is a marriage between the creative and the technical … with a little strategy thrown in.

Here are technical bullet points to consider:

Length: Approximately 512 pixels if possible
Keywords: Your most crucial keywords should go towards the front of the title tag with least important bringing up the rear.
Confusion: Does your copy accurately describe the content?
Cannibalization: Are your title tags unique to each page? Is only one page on the site optimized for a given keyword? Your answer should be YES to both.
Stuffing: Are you repeating the same word over and over? Don’t do it.
The Showstopper: Use powerful words, emotions, sensationalism and urgency

SUMMER LOVE: FALL IN LOVE WITH WORDS
There is untold power in human language. It’s so powerful in fact, that God Himself had to step in and confuse our language at the Tower of Babel. Otherwise, as He observed in Genesis 11:6, there would be no limit to what we as humans could accomplish.
Now we speak different languages. There are barriers. But if your goal is to unselfishly spread His hope, joy, knowledge and peace to a lost and dying world, He will guide you to get your message across.

In the end, you have to be in love with words. You have to love shuffling them around. When creating effective copy, make sure your heart is one of joy, curiosity and awe.
May more and more people fall in love with your webpage, your station, and with Jesus Christ!

Leadership: Boot Camp Needed!

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