Finding Free Radio Advertising Space

With the expanse of technology, there are many options for advertising. One of the most profitable is radio advertising. While many companies have the opinion that it is difficult to find radio advertising space with popular radio broadcast stations, it is actually much easier than it seems. As a matter of fact, radio talk show hosts make it a determination of their job description to find companies who want radio advertising space on their shows.

According to studies, the average radio show will last around 3 to 4 hours each day. When totaled, that is about 20 hours of material that radio show hosts and their producers have the task of planning. It is difficult for the talk show hosts to find interesting information that can fill the entire 20 hours. Therefore, they seek guests for their programs or companies who are seeking radio advertising space to fill in the commercial breaks.

When you are searching for radio advertising space with a radio station, keep the following in mind for successful results:

1. The Main Concern of the Radio Host is their Radio Show

While this might sound a bit harsh, the radio talk show host might not necessarily be interested in your product or service. Instead, they care about what interests their audience. In order to receive free radio advertising space with the station, you need to care about their audience as well. Know what the target audience is and adhere to that.

It would be best to seek radio stations that have a similar audience as the audience that you are targeting. If you are able to entertain the radio talk show host’s audience, then you will be asked to advertise with them again, possibly for free.

2. Always be Interactive

If you are going to be a guest on the radio talk show, instead of in a radio commercial time slot, then you need to be very interactive. Radio talk shows are best known for how interactive they are with their guests or their callers. This is one of the main reasons why the host is always announcing the studio phone number. While the host might not have many questions for you, the audience will. Be prepared for all types of calls on your product or topic. The more that you are able to involve the audience with your interview, the more that they will trust you and your product or service.

3. Leave the Announcing to the Host

Keep in mind that if you are a guest on a radio talk show for your product, you are not doing an infomercial. This means that you are not the only announcer or host. You were invited on the program to entertain the station’s audience. You will not be able to successfully do this if you are selling your own product. Make sure that you leave all of the announcing and telling of your product to the host. Your job is to show the audience that you are an expert on your product topic or subject. By showing them that you have the answers to their questions, or helping them with their problems, then they will be more likely to follow up with you later. Allow the host to announce where the audience can contact you for more information. Most importantly, if you let your interview sound like a commercial, the audience will more than likely change the station.

Finding free radio advertising space is possible. While it might not be as simple as having a time slot for a commercial, and you might have to be a guest on a radio station in order to get the word out, it will pay off in the long run. In the end, you will save more money for your company if you seek free radio advertising space.