Get on Radio
First way is to go to your local radio station and apply for a job as a disc jockey. Duh. Amazingly enough, if your timing is right, it could happen. Normally the radio station will want an “air check”, that is a tape, cd, or mp3 file of you talking between records. I know, you don’t have one of those because you’ve never been on radio. That’s okay because many stations will take you into a studio and have you read some news or an ad just to see if you can read and talk at the same time. They would prefer that you be able to read and have it sound like you are not reading, that you are just talking. So maybe before you apply at a radio station for a job, you might want to record yourself on a tape machine or on your computer using a microphone and a free program like Audacity and listen to your recordings of yourself until you can read and talk at the same time, without it sounding like your reading!
The second way to get on radio is to get to be friends with people who are on radio. Don’t stalk those people on air and constantly harass them about getting to talk on the radio. Find ways you can help them. You would be amazed at what bringing a pizza to the station can do for your chances of getting on the air. Listen to your favorite disc jockeys and talk hosts and find a way to talk to them, not as a groupie, but just talk to them about things they talk about on the air. If they mention on the air that they are looking for something and having a hard time finding it, whatever it is… “Tickle Me Elmo” or whatever, get one, take it to them and quite possibly they will put you on the radio and let you talk with them. If that happens, forget that you are in front of a microphone and ignore the headphones they may have you put on and just keep telling yourself that it’s just you and them having a conversation. Thoughts of thousands of people listening to you will probably only cause you to suddenly choke, stammer or do a lot of other embarrasing things that you thought were only possible while doing karaoke at a club without drinking.
Third: Go to station remote broadcasts. This is a great way to get on the air with hardly any effort at all. Talk to the disc jockey while they aren’t on the air. Be interesting and talk to them about things going on at the remote broadcast, or give them a testimonial about one of the products that is at the remote broadcast and there’s a good chance they will talk to you “live” on the air. Normally disc jockeys at remote broadcasts run out of interesting things to say early on and other than repeating all the talking points that the sales department gave them, they want to talk to somebody, anybody that might be able to entertain them and better yet, their audience!
The fourth way to get on the air is to become a spokesperson for your club or community organization or church group. This way you will be the “go to guy” or girl that the radio people talk to when they are getting information to put on the air. Write the press release about what your group is doing and then put on the bottom, “For More Information or for an interview about xyz, contact (your name here) at 555-1212.” If you are interesting, you might get a chance to come on the radio station for more reasons and more often.
The fifth way to get on the radio is to use a great form of bribery… trade them something they want for the chance to be a disc jockey. I have a friend who is a good writer and photographer. She recently asked me how to get on the radio. I told her a couple of ways to do it, and then I told her to offer them stories and pictures for the station website in exchange for getting to be on the air. As short handed and tight budgeted as most stations are, it could work for both them and for you.
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