Happy spring fellow radio professionals! 

In economically challenging times like now, air personalities become stressed, worried, and can forget to "keep the on-air light shining".  There seems to be more meetings, more demand for profitable promotions, and the need for more ideas to drive web traffic.  Yes, those things are important, BUT, please remember...there will be fewer people to go to your site, fewer people to participate in a promotion... if you've got a bland, content-less on-air presentation.

Bring in new listeners with a great promotion, or great music.  And keep them with interesting content.

CONTENT is what its all about.  In your last hour on the air, what did your listeners get out of it?  Nothing?  Your station name, the forecast, details on a station promotion...anything else?  If not, it may be time to work a little harder, think a little more, and dig a little deeper for something interesting to say.

You can fit a whole bunch of info on a 15 second ramp!  Give your listeners something beyond Radio-isms (liner card, song intro, and positioning statement).  Give them personality.  Give them something that makes them think, laugh, occasionally even cry.

Here is a quick list: 

Artist info (bio, discography, tour)
Song info (writer, remake?, subject of the song)
Sports (update your listeners on the score of current game)
Celeb news
Just funny stuff (one liners are great for radio)

Do a joke, but reword it so it sounds like its just a story about your disfunctional uncle.

Work at getting great content, and work at creatively wording the same old things.  Get so good at it so your listeners don't want to turn you off because they might miss something.

Being director of Radio1 Broadcast School, www.radio1school.com , I get to help mold new radio professionals into air personality machines.  Its great seeing these eager young people graduate, ready to make radio more fun and interesting.

OK.  Make all your air shifts great ones.  And please call or email if you'd like to talk about me being your personality coach, or to consult your radio station in many aspects.

Joe Casper Deschler
507-450-4604