Why Advertising your station on this list is a WASTE

[Chris @ RCN]

Get yer attention?

I have been thinking about this for WEEKS since I started back on these forums.

99% of us reading these forums ARE part of a station or want to become part of one. We're not looking at this list for the "PERFECT" station to listen to. If one of us tunes in, it's to hear what the other guy is doing.

So, is advertising your station here the best use of your resources? Nope.

Think of it this way:

You go to a ice cream convention. each booth has a sample of "Rum Rasin" because it's the big thing or somethin (go with it.. it's an example)

You walk around to 50 booths, and eat 50 different samples of the same flavor. Some have a stronger flavor of rum, some have more raisins then other booths. But it's all Rum Raisin. Ya dig?

Ya got to sample the same basic thing. And you didn't go to the convention for ice cream samples of Rum Raisin, you went to see what new ice cream producing products the booth owners have.

Same with this list. Those that advertise non-station offerings (Voice over work, web design, marketing, audio equipment, etc.) are using this list to an advantage because they are offering a service that is of use to us.

Now... I am not saying advertising your station is WRONG> HELL NO!

Here's FIVE simple Guerrilla Marketing ideas to use.

1) Put your station name and website on your email signature.

You send emails to family, friends, TRL, whatever - why not use that space in your email to pimp yourself?

2) Contact your local newspaper.

Newspapers are not just a group of people waiting for a 3 alarm fire to happen. There's business writers, tech writers, etc. that are always looking for content for a story. YOU, my friend, are a PIONEER! How many people do you know that OWN a RADIO STATION? Think about it! How many people have heard of INTERNET RADIO? It's INTERESTING STUFF! It's also FREE PR (Public Relations).

Don't sit there and think "I'm not some company with money, a suit to wear and a office - they won't talk to me!" Henry Ford started his first gas powered engine in his kitchen! Apple Computers started in a Garage (and Woz HATES suits!)

I called up a local paper here in Madison, WI (#97 market in the US) and talked to a business writer. She came to my apartment, interviewed me for 2 hours, send a staff reported to take pics of me broadcasting, and WALLA! Front Page of the Business section. And that paper has a circulation of 110,000.

Smaller town? They're more itchin to get your story! Can't write about the guy who parks the wrong way on Main Street every week!

3) Newsgroups and Website forums

Ya found this forum. Great! now, go to GOOGLE, do a search for your genre and use terms like "Fan" "discussion" "forum" and "Message Board". See what sites come up.

Example. If I go to Google, and type in "Pink Floyd" (my genre is Classic Rock), "Fan" and "message boards" I will come up with plenty of fan sites. POST THERE! Contact the owner of the site and ask to have them put a banner ad for your station on their site. Give them a plug on air as a return for the favor or put them on your site.

Yahoo Groups is a great place. I did this a few months ago and hit over 60 groups in one morning (I stopped - I had other stuff to do) and posted in each an invitation to listen and offer feedback to me of what they thought. The more constructive (READ: LONGER and INTELLIGENTLY WRITTEN) the post, the more likely you will be treated like a person that knows their stuff and a member of their community and less like a spammer

---- NOTE! DON'T SPAM! SPAMMING can equal DEATH for a station! ----

4) Got $5?

Make a quick flyer up on your computer. Something that is 1/4th of the page in size. Put four of them on a page and go to a UPS Store or Kinko's and make copies (These places are CHEAP for making copies!) and have them cut them or do it yourself. Then go to a music store (NON-CHAIN) or the local place that has baseball cards and those Magic cards. Ask to please put those little flyers on the counter next to the YU-GI-GOH! display and offer the owner a spot on your site or some advertising on air (AIR is CHEAP for the return on the investment and you got plenty of it). People will grab the flyer and take it home - curious about what they just got and look at your site (another topic completely)

If you make real nice nice with the owner, he'll make the copies for you and put them in the bags with the purchases. He's getting advertising, remember and will reach those customers for repeat biz.

---- NOTE: Don't talk to "Jimmy" behind the counter. Ask for the OWNER. If the owner never comes, ask for the Store Manager (not manager on duty - that might be Jimmy). and do the deal with them. Having "Jimmy" do the ok for the placement of your flyers can result in the owner/manager coming in and saying "What the hell is this?" and throwing your stuff away. Opportunity Lost, my friend.

5) Get out there and talk yourself up!

There's plenty of ways you can ride another's PR. You see people do it all the time on TV. There's a LIVE SHOT of a reporter at a basketball game at a high school and there's kids behind them. Get in that crowd and hold up a sign with your logo and URL. Wear a HAT with your logo and URL. SAME with a SHIRT. It costs the cost of the clothes to be a walking billboard. (www.cafepress.com can get you individual orders of such merchandise - no big orders necessary. Also check out the guy in your nearby mall that makes those embroidered hats)

I entered a Texas No-Limit Hold 'em tourney that a local FM Classic Rock station had. Wore my 9412 hat and shirt. Carried cards with the URL, logo and what the station was. People asked - I handed it out. Talked to the FM guys as well and let them know that I was on their level. Also talked to a few beer vendors that sponsored the event and the owner of the pub about having a banner placed in the pub. There's no rules about what you can wear so be proud of what you do!

Go TWO steps further. Visit the local Radio Shack, Best Buy and locally owned computer store (every town has at least one of these three) and talk to the manager and sales staff. Let them know who you are. You are a resource for people to enjoy on a NEW COMPUTER with NEW SPEAKERS and that Internet Connection they want. Pitch to the sales staff that you are one of many cool things the customer can experience with the new PC on the sales floor. People never heard of Internet Radio will go "Really??"

It's real cool when the sales guy has a copy of the newspaper article of you and your station to give to the customer to go with his or her pitch.

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There's a lot more you can do! If you are a country station, see if you can advertise with a 4-H club or FFA chapter. Religious station? Talk to the churches in your town about space in the weekly bulletin and offering to run the pastor/rabbi/iman 's sermon on air (you need material, right?) Rap station? How about going to clubs and clothing stores and getting them to put up a sign? Top 40 stations? Talk to a tavern in town (if you are over 21) and see if you can broadcast from there LIVE

The bottom line is take a few hours and put some work into promoting yourself. Get out there, let people know in the real world about your station - not those that already have a grasp of what Internet Radio is.

Thanks for taking a few to read this. Hope it helps. Good luck with your station!

Chris J. Popp
Station Manager
9412 - The Rock Station
www.9412.com

Owner
ConXis Technologies
www.conxis.com