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Talk radio interviews aren’t what they used to be.

Back “in the day”, hosts would invite guests into the studio for 30 minute or longer interviews. A guest would be able to do a handful of interviews and see their sales go through the roof!

Marsha Friedman, CEO of Event Management Service Inc , a national publicity firm says, “Sadly, those days are gone. Unless an author is a truly big name nowadays, the chances of hitting pay-dirt with just a couple of big radio interviews are history.”

The reasons are two-fold.

The first element is that the number of talk radio shows with a guest format has dwindled over the years. Friedman adds, “Next, the time each show allots for guest interviews has been drastically cut.” Blame the research. Researchers found that listeners are more likely to stay tuned if there are three 10-minute guests on a show instead of just one 30 minute guest.

When it Comes to Talk Radio Publicity, Quantity Still Rules.

Let’s think about this fact. Marsha Friedman says, “There are thousands of radio stations out there!many just 1,000 watts or so and without a big-name host. But that certainly doesn’t mean you should thumb your nose at them.”

Look at it this way. “If a 1000-watt radio station had, say, only 100 listeners, you’d probably think it wasn’t worth the trouble, right?” adds Friedman. Think about this. If you were booked to speak at a conference that had 95 people would you do it? Of course you would.”

See the quandary here? So decide not to pass up an interview, whether big or small. You’ll be building lots of selling momentum!and something else, too”, add Friedman.

Get Your Feet Wet in the Small Markets Before Taking the Plunge With the Majors.

Marsha Friedman says, “I have found in my nearly 20 years in talk radio public relations that is takes generally 10-12 talk radio interviews before clients feel totally comfortable being interviewed in the air. So it’s far better to make your first inevitable mistakes on a smaller stage than a bigger one, and that’s where the little stations come in. The small stations give you a fantastic practice field when it comes to radio pr.”

Having a large number of interviews under your belt will definitely give you experience. What is meant by practice is that you will be able to gather your thoughts, your pitch and interview style and sound like a pro in no time.

Typical errors for first time guests include not giving out their website address or the title of their book, or not mentioning it frequently enough. It’s also a mistake to mention these too often and upset the host, who will let you know that the show is not an infomercial.

Technical clients have a tendency to slide into techno-babble, and even good guests inevitably walk out of their first few interviews knowing they could have done better. But if you are going out to smaller stations initially, you won’t have a national audience hearing your mistakes.”

Sure, there can be pitfalls with smaller stations. Be prepared to run into some hosts who are unprofessional, and make sure you confirm an interview at least twice before you’re scheduled to be on the air.

But hey, what can prepare you for the 500 watt station in the middle of nowhere that’s hosted by a recent college grad. Many hosts won’t be as prepared as their big-league counterparts. So you may have to walk them through the major points of your topic.

Marsha Friedman says, “When it comes to these situations, your approach should be as if you have met the person for the first time and you need to explain what your topic is to this stranger. Don’t leave everything up to the host. Always be prepared for the interview. But remember; don’t talk down to the audience of a small radio station. You may be offending some very intelligent people without even knowing. Win over your audience, no matter what the size of the station!”

The bottom-line here is that small-station interviews not only can generate sales, they can prepare you for the big time.

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook “How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest” visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.

- Marsha Friedman

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