by Jon Hull, Audience Growth Consultant
At least once a day, a special image shows up on my social media feed. These images are all different, but I recognize them because they’re radio studios. Generally, there’s no automation evident in the picture. There’s a control board with rotary pots, a couple of turntables, a reel-to-reel tape machine, and a microphone.
What strikes me about those pictures is the familiarity. I have memories of cutting my teeth (and a lot of ¼” audio tape) in studios like that.
While radio studios today are very different from when radio was king, the content we create today is what can reinvigorate and keep radio king. It just requires us to remember three simple principles that successful radio personalities inherently seem to know:
- Be great at your craft. Good really isn’t good enough anymore. This means prayerfully and purposefully thinking about every element that makes up your show before you walk into the studio. It means sweating the small things, such as editing listener calls (or talk breaks) to make sure you’re always giving your listeners your best effort.
- Touch the controls. You can’t let automation totally take the reins. Appreciate automation for giving you more time to think about your next break. But also dislike automation when it keeps you from paying attention to the segues between songs or the lyrics your audience is absorbing in real-time. Here’s an idea: For one hour a week, take a chance. Turn the automation off and become a live DJ again. Segue your songs manually, listen to what the artist is singing, let it move you, and relate to it in that way. Your listeners have probably been moved by the music. You can be as well.
- The pictures on the radio are so much better. Theater of the mind is still a real thing. You can still create vivid images for your listeners. Your words, the music beds you choose, and the amazing gift of vocal pacing can be harnessed by gifted communicators, like you, to create radio that is not only memorable but can be (by God’s grace) life-changing.
I’ll be praying for your efforts. They really do make a difference. Sometimes, an eternal one. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to REACH OUT.
I’ll be sharing more details about this and more in an upcoming Webin8 on Tuesday, November 11th. REGISTER, take notes and let’s Grow Audience together.
Jon
