Small AM stations are hungry for content. Talk radio is still hot and
hosting your own radio show throws you to front of the expert
line in a heartbeat.
There are a couple of ways to go about this one.
1) Find a really hot topic and go around pitching it to radio producers to
see if they want to bump Rush off the air. You would be doing us all a
big fat favor if you were successful, but my guess is you would just wear
out your shoes.
2) Find a really hot topic and then find some advertisers who would
just love to sponsor a show on that topic. This is a great way to do get
the attention of a radio station.
3) Find a really hot topic and then go buy an hour or a half hour time
slot. Oh, you didn’t know about that one. My guess is that a majority
of the AM talk shows are sold in this manner.
But, here’s the pay off. When you are on the air, you are an expert, and
experts get to charge more money…so that may be reason enough to
buy your way on. Hey, and maybe you get a new client or two out of
the deal as well.
And, when you are a radio host another funny thing happens. People
return your phone calls. Almost any business owner, author, or guru
will call you back when you leave a message asking for an interview.
All of a sudden the roles get a bit muddy and you get some power.
Now I’m not suggesting you should abuse this roll, but access leads
to more access and more introduction, and maybe even joint ventures
and the like.
The funny thing is, it doesn’t really matter if many people listen to the
show or where it is. (Sure a great show, in a big city is nice but…)
Your search to become a radio rock star stars with the
Radio Locator site. (Formerly the sexier named MIT list of radio stations
on the Internet)
I’m sure there are others, but get started.