AMERICAN IDOL SYNDICATION

This is where it all begins...

Become an American Idol... or create your own American idol Radio show using Network Talk Radio.

Here's how to make it to the big-time:

1. Create Your Show. What will be the theme and concept of your show? How will your unique knowledge, talents, and abilities work best on the air?
2. Create a Marketing Kit and Demo CD. You'll want to be sure your marketing kit looks professional. And you'll need a good-sounding demo tape of your show.
3. Market Your Show to Stations Nationwide. You've got to tell the radio industry about your show. Stations have to know the show exists, if you want them to put it on the air.
4. Sign Up Stations. A syndicated show is only as good as its list of affiliates. Syndication success is built by signing up stations to carry your show.
5. Take Care of Business. Once your show is underway, there are things to do. But the rewards of doing your own nationally syndicated radio show can be significant.

Create Your Show

You probably have ideas for your new show. The first thing to do is focus and clarify those ideas.

First, what qualifies YOU to host a syndicated radio show? Are you an expert in something? Do friends say you've got the "gift of gab"? Is there a subject you feel passionate about? Do you like discussing ideas and sharing opinions with others? Do you enjoy entertaining people? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you can host a syndicated radio show. There are syndicated radio shows on topics as diverse as alternative health, scuba diving, healthy herbs, politics, spirituality, computers and the Internet, small business, pets, law, dating, and the list goes on and on. There are successful hosts who never hosted a radio show before getting into syndication.

What's the theme and concept of your show? Check out the competition. Try to find a unique niche for your show. Be as original as possible. For example, if you want to do a health talk show, decide what might make your show different from other health talk shows.

How can you best apply your special knowledge, talents, and qualities on the air? In other words, play to your strengths and decide if your show should be two-way telephone talk, guest interviews, or something else. Will you have a co-host? Will you script everything, or do a stream-of-consciousness monologue? Will the show be funny, serious, or a little of both? And so on.

Will your show be broadcast daily or weekly? Consider your time, your resources, and your budget too. A daily show obviously takes more of each than a weekly show, especially at the beginning. You may want to start with a weekend show and then expand later to a Monday through Friday schedule.

Think about your goals in doing the show, and don't assume you need to do a long show in order to achieve them. If you decide to do a long show, consider starting with one hour and building from there.

What will you name your show? A common approach in syndication is to give short feature vignettes somewhat unique names, while long talk or music shows are named for the host or hosts, as in "The Sally Smith Show." But a more creative name for a long show works well too, as long as it explains the theme of the show to listeners.

How will you make money from your show? Besides advertising revenue from selling commercials within your show, there are other cash streams you'll want to explore. For example, you might find an affinity advertiser who wants to be an umbrella sponsor for your show, as well as for your related activities, such as your speaking appearances. Example: if you do a show on pets, a pet food company might want to be an affinity sponsor. You can also make money by selling tapes of your shows, by publishing a listener newsletter, by writing a book, by doing a related TV show, and so on.

Create A Demo "Tape"

Now, most of the people in your audience will never get to see your face, let alone your show's marketing material. Lucky for them, right? However, the PD's and GM's will want to see your marketing material and a photo of you, before they put your show on the air. Since you can't travel to every station in the country, your sales kit has to be your ambassador.

Research has shown that people gather most of their information visually. Yes, this is even true of radio managers, perhaps more so because they deal with so much non-visual material. So it's important to make a good visual first impression with potential affiliates. Remember what your mom used to say, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

To put it another way, you don't want to look like an amateur. You want to make sure your marketing kit and everything in it looks professional. So, forget the cheesy folders from the discount office store. You might consider getting some glossy, colorful sales folders with a logo of your show. This doesn't have to be expensive, if you use the right vendors.

You should include a high quality photo of yourself in your marketing kit. You want a picture you will be proud to use in your marketing kit, and everywhere else too.

Of course, your sales kit must include a quality demo CD of your show. In our experience, the best demos are fast-paced, full of energy, and not too long. Five minutes is a good length. Even if your show is three hours long, you need a short demo that presents your best stuff. Your best bits should go at the top, because if you don't grab the ear right away, you've lost them. Some program directors will want to hear a full length show, so have copies of your best show available. But send out the short demo first. Your marketing kit should also contain your bio, details about your show, press clippings, and so on. But be careful not to put too much in there. You don't want to lose them or confuse them with reams of reading material.

You'll also want to create a digital version of your demo kit, which can be emailed to stations that request it. And it's a good idea to have your demo kit available online, too. But we believe there's still no substitute for having an actual demo kit that can be sent to station executives. When that glossy demo kit lands on their desk, it will say more about you and your show than any electronic file possibly can. That's why our company always creates a custom, glossy color marketing kit with CD demo for every show we syndicate. If you decide to work with a syndication firm such as ours, be sure they will include a high quality, physical demo kit in their national marketing efforts, for maximum impact.

Marketing

Marketing's just another word for promotion, and few syndicated shows succeed without it.

You must find ways to affordably market your show to the entire radio industry, on an ongoing basis. That's right, you want to get your message to ALL stations, not just some stations in certain formats. We believe it's important to make EVERYONE in the industry aware of your show. With the many ownership changes, format flips, and personnel moves happening in radio today, you simply cannot predict which decision makers will be the ones to add your show. If you do the right marketing, it's very affordable to reach the entire radio universe.

This strategy, used by the most successful syndicators, works for you in two important ways.

First, it pre-sells all radio stations on your show, and makes you and your show familiar to them. Many stations may not be ready to add your show today. They may be considering a format change, and quietly scouting around for syndicated programs. An FM music program director may suddenly get handed the reins to a news/talk station, and be on the lookout for fresh shows. Sudden changes like these happen daily, and they mean opportunities for you. If you've marketed your show well, stations will add your show because they know about it. Remember, people choose products that are familiar to them.

Second, your marketing will provide you with "warm leads". These warm leads are radio people who are urgently seeking syndication for their station. When these people see your marketing, they grab the phone and ask for your marketing kit. Now your valuable marketing kit can be sent directly to interested decision makers, so you get the biggest bang for the buck. If you don't keep up your marketing, you'll never hear from these active seekers, and you'll miss many opportunities.

Somebody once said, "Nothing happens until you advertise." This statement is especially true when it comes to radio syndication. Get the word out, and your show will grow.

Sign Up Stations

A syndicated show is only as good as its list of affiliates. Netwrok Talk Radio' Affiliate Relations experts have decades of experience in this challenging and rewarding field. Our skilled staff has the proven ability to sign up radio stations to carry all forms of syndicated programming.

Affiliate relations is by far the most difficult part of syndication. If you decide to try it on your own, be prepared for a real challenge.

If your marketing is effective, stations may be calling for your demo. You then follow up by phone with these "warm leads".

Major market stations may be reluctant to sign up. They require persistence and a personal touch. Your calls to larger stations might end up in voice mail jail, but some will return your calls. Be positive and friendly, but persistent. Ask them to consider your show for their next opening.

You may enjoy the challenge of getting stations to add your show. A few may sign up without a moment's hesitation. Others will seem to take forever to decide, and just when you're about to give up on them, they'll surprise you by signing up. Still others will tell you they have absolutely no interest in your show, or refuse to take your calls.

In Affiliate Relations, rejection is part of the game. Logic says not every station will want your show. There are about 10,000 commercial stations in America. You must get past the uninterested stations, and find the ones that want your show. For example, our in-house staff places calls to hundreds upon hundreds of station executives every single week. After trying several dozen calls on your own, you may decide a professional firm such as ours would get better results for you.

If you wish to attempt affiliate relations by yourself, make it fun. Celebrate every new station you get. Put a graph on the wall and chart your upward progress. Mail out a press release if you are lucky enough to sign an important affiliate. As you keep adding stations, your show can grow into a real winner.

Take Care of Business

Once your show is up and running, there are things to do! Commercials need to be sold, clients need to be billed, the show has to be produced and distributed, and you have to get paid. You want all the important things to happen automatically without lots of time or effort on your part. You want a system to handle the sale of commercials in your show, billing, production and distribution of your show to stations, and more. This gives you the freedom to do a great show and to build more revenue streams!

Syndicated radio shows have details that must be taken care of for ongoing success and profits. At the beginning, you may wish to handle all of the production, sales, affiliate relations, and other details involved in your show. This is not only most affordable, but it's fun to build a show from the ground up. Plus, it lets you learn first hand how syndicated radio works. You can do it with a little advice from others in the business.

If you're like most syndicators, eventually you'll find that your time could be better spent on other things. For example, if your show is a recorded feature, you might want to edit and upload, or copy and mail the shows by yourself. But after a while, as your list of stations grows, these tasks will become routine. At that point, you're better off letting someone else do it, and using your time for more productive things.

If you're smart, you will eventually systematize all routine matters of your show. Systems should take care of selling commercials, client billing, commercial affidavits, and of course, weekly or monthly payment to you. Systems can handle the production and duplication of your show, and delivery to stations. Set up a system for ongoing marketing of your show, and for signing up new affiliates. This frees you to create more cash streams.

Once your show is underway, you'll want to "expand your empire" with an array of projects. Examples include writing a book, selling products, creating a catalog, doing paid speaking, writing magazine columns, making television appearances, selling a newsletter, starting a tape-of- the-month club, hosting seminars, being a product spokesperson, and so on. (If you already do a few of these, be sure to tie them into your show.) Every new project will take time to set up properly. Once each is in place, you want to systematize it, so your time and effort can turn to the next project.

Your rewards for following this strategy can be remarkable, adding up into multiple, steady streams of passive income. Your income multiplies repeatedly, thanks to the growing cash flow from your related ventures. And all the ventures can in turn build your syndicated show, through the synergy that results when individual parts add up to a greater whole. You've probably seen this same strategy used by superstar performers in other fields, such as in sports, the media, and entertainment. With a successful syndicated show, you follow the same rewarding path.

Good Luck! And, please contact Network Talk Radio for expert assistance in syndicating your radio program!