RADIO INTERVIEW 101 Announcing Your Contact Info

Rounding out a good interview, is the making sure that listeners can find you. The number of sales you make from your interview is going to be directly proportional to the number of times you give out your contact info on the air. And sales is why you are doing interviews in the first place, so make every attempt possible to announce your contact info. Here are some ways to do it.

First, when scheduling your interview (or when you call in, just before you go on,) ask the host or the producer if it's OK for you to refer to your site or 800 number, especially if you have some free info to give to callers. Matter of fact, that's why you create free info... so you have a reason to give out your contact info to get it.

Before the interview, mail a stickie-note or some other easily kept note to the secretary, and on it put your contact info. She'll need it during and after your interview.

During your interview, every five minutes or so, somehow work your way away around to saying "and if you'd like the free info I was speaking of, you can call 800-123-4567 or email me bob@aol.com". The first time you announce it during the interview, don't sound like you knew you would be able to do it... instead, ask out loud if it's OK.

Every thing else is done after your interview. First, the day after the interview, call the secretary to say thanks for the help, and then ask to be put through to the producer/host so you can thank them too. Then, if pertinent, ask the host/producer if they would like a quantity of your products (i.e., books) to give away during the subsequent days after your interview. If they want them, get the product delivered immediately so the giveaways can be done while the audience remembers you. Of course, you could have done this ahead of time if you felt that the producer/host would really want to do it.

Mail a thank-you card to the secretary, and a separate one to the host/producer, and in the card include another stickie with your contact info. You could also include the cards (instead) with the give-away packs when you send them.

Next, talk with the station's webmaster or PD to see if they can link their site to your site, in return for you linking to theirs (which you would have done anyway, in order to show people how much media coverage you have been getting.) Also, if they do a mass-email to their listener base, ask if they'll put your link (and maybe your description too) in one of them.

Some other things you might do if the interview is local to you, is to volunteer to go to the station and answer their phones for them after your interview. You can either fill-in while the receptionist is out, or more likely, just take the calls from people who are calling about you anyway... this way, you get to talk to them yourself, and the station ends up looking like a real provider of service!

And in the spirit of connecting with listeners, you can also volunteer to appear at station remotes (maybe sitting at their table,) or at your own little table, answering questions from those who heard your interview. Don't be offended if the station doesn't want to do this though... they usually charge for these kinds of things.

Lastly, when you've done as much as you can after your interview, you might consider sending a station some specialty promotional items that have your name/topic printed on them. Things like pens and writing pads for the secretary, CD openers for the Program Director, and stickie-notes for the morning show hosts and producer.

Next topic: Getting Your Own In-House Publicity Staff