How To Get Free Radio Advertising

The greatest expense you're going to incur in conducting asuccessful business is advertising.
You have to advertise. Your business cannot grow and flourishunless you advertise. Advertising is the "life-blood" of anyprofitable business. And regardless of where or how youradvertise, it's going to cost you in some form or another.
Every successful business is built upon, and continues to thrive,primarily, on good advertising. The top companies in the worldallocate millions of dollars annually to their advertisingbudget. of course, when starting from a garage, basement orkitchen table,you can't quite match their advertisingefforts---at least not in the beginning. But there is a way youcan approximate their maneuvers without actually spending theirkind of money. And that's through "P.I" Advertising.
"P.I." stands for per inquiry. This kind of advertising mostgenerally associated with broadcasting, where you pay only forthe responses you get to your advertising message. It's verypopular--somewhat akin to bartering--and is used by many moreadvertisers than most people realize. The advantages of PIAdvertising are all in favor of the advertiser because with thiskind of an advertising arrangement, you can pay only for theresults the advertising produces.
To get in on this "free" advertising, start with a loose leafnotebook, and about 100 sheets of filler paper. Next, eithervisit your public library and start poring through the BroadcastYearbook on radio stations in the U.S., or Standard Rate and DataServices Directory on Spot Radio. Both these publications willgive you just about all the information you could ever want aboutlicensed stations.
An easier way might be to call or visit one of your local radiostations, and ask to borrow (and take home with you) theircurrent copy of either of these volumes. To purchase themoutright will cost $50 to $75.
Once you have a copy of either of these publications, select thestate or states you want to work first. It's generally best tobegin in your own state and work outward from there. If you havea moneymaking manual, you might want to start first with thosestates reporting the most unemployment.
Use some old fashioned common sense. Who are the people mostlikely to be interested in your offer, and where are the largestconcentrations of these people? You wouldn't attempt to sellwindshield de-ice canisters in Florida, or suntan lotion inMinnesota during the winter months, would you?
At any rate, once you've got your beginning "target" area decidedupon, go through the radio listings for the cities and towns inthat area, and jot down in your notebook the names of generalmangers, the station call letters, and addresses. be sure to listthe telephone numbers as well.
On the first try, list only one radio station per city. Pick outthe station people most interested in your product would belistening to. This can be determined by the programmingdescription contained within the date block about the station inthe Broadcasting Yearbook or the SRDS Directory.
The first contact should be in the way of introducing yourself,and inquiring if they would consider a PI Advertising campaign.You tell the station manger that you have a product you feel willsell very well in his market, and would like to test it beforegoing ahead with a paid advertising program. You must quicklypoint out that your product sells for, say $5, and that duringthis test, you would allow him 50% of that for each response hisstation pulls for you. Explain that you handle everything forhim: the writing of the commercials, all accounting andbookkeeping, plus any refunds or complaints that come in. Inother words all he has to do is schedule your commercials on hislog, and give them his "best shot." When the responses come in,he counts them, and forwards them on to you for fulfillment. Youmake out a check for payment to him, and everybody is happy.
If you've contacted him by phone, and he agrees to look over yourmaterial, tell him thank you and promise to get a complete"package" in the mail to him immediately. Then do just that.Write a short cover letter, place it on top of your "ready-to-go"PI Advertising Package, and get it in the mail to him withoutdelay.
If you're turned down, and he is not interested in "taking on"any PI Advertising, just tell him thanks, make a notation in yournotebook by his name, and go to your next call. Contacting thesepeople by phone is by far the quickest, least expensive and mostproductive method of "exploring" for those stations willing toconsider your PI proposal. In some cases though, circumstanceswill deem it to be less expensive to make this initial contact byletter or postcard.
In that case, simply address you card or letter to the person youare trying to contact. Your letter should be positive in tone,straight forward and complete. Present all the details in logicalorder on one page, perfectly typed on letterhead paper, and sentin a letterhead envelope. (Rubber-stamped letterheads just won'tget past a first glance.) Ideally, you should include aself-addressed and stamped postcard with spaces for positive ornegative check marks in answer to your questions: Will you orwon't you over my material and consider a mutually profitable"Per Inquiry" advertising campaign on your station?
Once you have an agreement from your contact at the radio stationthat they will look over your materials and give seriousconsideration for a PI program, move quickly, getting your coverletter and package off by First Class mail, perhaps even SpecialDelivery.
What this means is at the same time you organize your "radiostation notebook," you'll also want to organize your advertisingpackage. Have it all put together and ready to mail just as soonas you have a positive response. Don't allow time for thatinterest in your program to cool down.
You'll need a follow-up letter. Write one to fit all situations;have 250 copies printed, and then when you're ready to send out apackage, all you'll have to do is fill in the business salutationand sign it. If you spoke of different arrangements or a specificmatter was discussed in your initial contact, however, type adifferent letter incorporating comments or answers to the pointsdiscussed. This personal touch won't take long, and could paydividends!
You'll also need at least to thirty-second commercials and twosixty-second commercials. You could write these up, and have 250copies printed and organized as a part of your PI AdvertisingPackage.
You should also have some sort of advertising contract writtenup, detailing everything about your program, and how everythingis to be handled; how and when payment to the radio station is tobe made, plus special paragraphs relative to refunds, complaints,and liabilities. All this can be very quickly written up andprinted in lots of 250 or more on carbonless multi-part snap-outbusiness forms.
Finally, you should include a self-addressed and stamped postcardthe radio station can use to let you know that they are going touse your PI Advertising program, when they will start runningyour commercials on the air, and how often, during which timeperiods. Again, you simply type out the wording in the form youwant to use on these "reply postcards, and have copies printedfor your use in these mailings.
To review this program: Your first step is the initial contactafter searching through the SRDS or Broadcasting Yearbook. Actualcontact with the stations is by phone or mail. When turned down,simply say thanks, and go to the nest station on the list. Forthose who want to know more about your proposal, you immediatelyget a PI Advertising Package off to them via the fastest waypossible. Don't let the interest wane.
Your Advertising Package should contain the following: 1. Cover letter 2. Sample brochure, product literature 3. Thirty-second and sixty-second commercials 4. PI Advertising Contract 5. Self-addressed, stamped postcard for stationacknowledgement and acceptance of your program.
Before you ask why you need an acknowledgement postcard when youhave already given them a contact, remember that everything aboutbusiness changes from day to day---conditions change, people getbusy, and other things come up. the station manager may sign acontract with your advertising to begin the 1st of March. Thecontract is signed on the 1st of January, but when March 1 rollsaround, he may have forgotten, been replaced, or even decidedagainst running your program. A lot of paper seemingly "coveringall the minute details" can be very impressive to many radiostation managers, and convince them that your company is a goodone to do business with.
Let's say that right now you're impatient to get started withyour own PI Advertising campaign. Before you "jump off the deepend," remember this: Radio station people are just asprofessional and dedicated as anyone else in business---even moreso in some instances--so be sure you have a product or servicethat lends itself well to selling via radio inquiry system.
Anything can be sold, and sold easily with any method you decideupon, providing you present it from the right angle. "hello outthere!Who wants to buy a mailing list for 10 cents a thousand names?"wouldn't even be allowed on the air. However, if you have theaddresses of the top 100 movie stars, and you put together anidea enabling the people to write to them direct, you might havea winner, and sell a lot of mailing lists of the stars.
At the bottom line, a lot is riding on the content of yourcommercial---the benefits you suggest to the listener, and howeasy it is for him to enjoy those benefits. For instance, if youhave a new book on how to find jobs when there aren't any jobs:You want to talk to people who are desperately searching foremployment. You have to appeal to them in words that not only"perk up" their ears, but cause them to feel that whatever it isthat you're offering will solve their problems. It's the product,and in writing of the advertising message about that product aregoing to bring in those responses.
Radio station managers are sales people, and sales people theworld over will be sold on your idea if you put your sellingpackage together properly. And if the responses come in yourfirst offer, you have set yourself up for an entire series ofsuccesses. Success has a "ripple effect," but you have to starton that first one. We wish you success!