Promoting the Show

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ocd

OCD is often misunderstood and  we have a tendency to criticize things we don’t know about.  Here’s a look into my wacky life.

I have OCD.  It’s an odd disease that has many interesting obstacles and hurdles.  My mom always asks me “How can I help you?”  Truth is there isn’t a cure but it can be treatable but it can also lead to other disorders such as social anxiety disorder and general anxiety disorder (yes I have those as well.)

I vacuum all the time can muster and own a container of glass plus for every room in the house.  I don’t count steps or make sure my door is locked five times but I am an unforgiving perfectionist which is good in my work experience as long as I don’t expect the same of others.  I do have to have everything in its place and I need things in rows and columns or I experience fear which turns into anxiety and turns into self doubt.  I know this sounds negative but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.  We all have problems and daily tests we must handle in order to better ourselves as human beings and contributors to society.  I don’t have all the answers so that’s why I hide behind a sense of humor while asking question from the wise that can help me complete my mission.  I would write more but I have lists to make.  As always thanks for listening.  🙂

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Danny beardI’ve been lackadaisical in my blog.  For that matter I have been lackadaisical in my life for the past four months.  I have become obsessed with what direction I wish to take next in life.  Just over four years ago I told management at my last station that people don’t want eight songs an hour…they want content…GREAT content.  We agreed to disagree and went our separate ways.  Guess what?  The show in there now isn’t playing any music.  It wasn’t a surprise to me because I knew I was right then but now I’m truly at a crossroads.

I don’t own a radio.  I only listen to content so that forces me to listen to podcasts at my leisure.  Same thing is happening to TV.   I have had numerous offers to return to radio but they want me to run these “features” like “Three things ya need to know”. “College of Knowledge”, “Skirt with the Dirt”, etc.  I have no desire to waste the listener’s time with such predictable content.  I also don’t find someone making an ice cream sundae in their pants on a street corner to be very compelling either.

Okay jackass.  You just spent two paragraphs ranting about the problem what is the solution.  Simple….I want to make people react.   I’m an open book.  I’ve made many mistakes and bad choices in life but those pitfalls taught me so much.  I have been diagnosed with OCD, social anxiety disorder and general anxiety disorder.  I don’t say that to gain your sympathy I just lay it out there so anyone else struggling with it knows they are not alone.

I truly believe that we are living in times that are quite frightening.   The dumb asses out there that are following Kim K and Kanye need to pay attention to events/stories that really affect our lives.  I don’t want to discuss politics all the time.   I know a little about a lot.  I wanna make you laugh, cry, agree, disagree, love me, hate me, love to hate me but above and beyond I want to learn from you.  That was an answer I gave a General Manager in a large market about 6 months ago when he asked me “What type of show do ya do?”   He looked at me like I just spoke a foreign language.

I have a decision to make very soon.  Hold out for a radio gig that will let me loose and employ my strengths or enter the podcast world where there are no rules or parameters.  On paper it looks like a no-brainer but I hate to walk away from something I love even it appears to be unfixable.

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Xmas musicI tell the truth.  Many people tell ya what ya “wanna hear” and I’ll tell ya the truth again….I don’t like those people.  They won’t support you in your time of need, they aren’t truly your friend and they are only in life for their own personal gain and benefit.

During the past couple of weeks some of you have asked “Why do some radio stations switch to all Christmas music weeks before the actual holiday.”  From an industry standpoint I should shut my mouth and not be honest with you but that is not what I am about.  Is it because they are so into the holiday spirit they can’t resist changing the playlist to feature nothing but holiday classics?  Pardon me while I roll on the floor at the absurdity of that claim.  The truth?  To manipulate the ratings system.

Usually the station or stations that make this move aren’t doing well in the ratings.  The switch to all holiday music a month and a half before Xmas increases their listenership, helps them for about 45 days in the ratings, gives them a temporary boost, then the station uses those results to increase their advertising rates afterwards until their ratings drop and return to normal.  Now don’t get me wrong.  From a business standpoint it’s a great idea but if they are telling you the reason is because “it’s time to get into the season” that’s what I refer to as a “Cleveland steamer.”  To further insure maximum revenue in switching to all holiday music the station may also have this feature “sponsored” by a client.  Why?  You guessed it…..all about the almighty dollar.

I hope this clarifies your question and that you all have a wonderful holiday.  Please wait a while before asking me why so many stations like to feature a “Song of the Day.”

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coffinSo what is killing radio??  Simple….radio.  In this socially media active society there are many things that compete for someone’s attention.  Radio can save radio if it just embraces the change in technology and uses social media to promote their content.    CONTENT.  Content is now more important than ever.

Content doesn’t mean music.  If you have a smart phone you basically have your own music station in your hand.  People get up in the morning and they check their facebook page.  They are not sitting on the couch with some Funions listening to your radio show.  Use facebook to promote what you will have that is worth tuning in when they get in the car but make sure it’s on facebook before they get up and hit their news feed.

Use twitter to remind them why they should tune in when they are out the door and on the road but ya better deliver.  If I tune into a radio station I want one of three things:  1)  to laugh  2)  to learn  3) or to agree/disagree on a topic.  People want to be ENTERTAINED.

There is a reason that music radio stations are slowly disappearing and being replaced by talk and sports stations.  Technology is here to get the music for free while not having to wait for your favorite song or sit through commercials.   Great content, however, will give them a reason to tune in and sit through the screaming car dealership ads.

Competition for an individual’s attention (listenership) will increase ten- fold when the internet is available in vehicles.  Think that won’t affect radio?  Look what the internet has done to newspapers.

People can sense bullshit.  People want honesty.  People want to be engaged and they want to freaking laugh or react.  One thing that everyone has is an opinion.  Radio needs to utilize that simple fact to stay relevant.

I could go on and on but a radio station playing in the background is asking for caller number nine to win a $100 laser hair removal gift certificate.  Compelling huh????   NOT!

Danny Czekalinski is the host of DANNYLAND heard Thursdays at 9AM EST on mysourceradio.com

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amanda-bynesIs Amanda Bynes crazy is or is she just freaking brilliant?  I’m starting to think she is crazy like a fox.  There is no such thing as bad publicity—unless ya end up pulling an Aaron Hernandez.  In the past year Amanda has pulled all kinds of stunts that may lead you to think she should reside in a rubber room but she has yet to be in trouble with the law.

It’s no secret that I am looking for a talk radio job—whether that be in topical talk or sports talk.  I’m honestly thinking of getting a blonde wig, wandering around the streets of Buffalo mumbling incoherently and throwing a flower vase outside of my window.  Sadly we live in a society where good news and talent doesn’t necessarily lead to us to rewards.  If I dress up like Sideshow Bob, get on a pogo stick, weave a few baskets out of cooked spaghetti and juggle a few bowling balls on a street corner I’m gonna be able to get my name out there because I know the local TV stations will send out the satellite trucks for a live shot at five.

They say ya gotta be crazy to want to be in radio today—maybe I need to put a stop at the wig store on my “to-do” list for today.

 

Danny Czekalinski does a weekly radio show every Thursday at 10AM EST on MySourceRadio.com.  Click on the DANNYLAND link to access show archives.

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Years ago people laughed when they said “music will only be heard on the FM dial.”  Look what happened.  We, as the radio industry, are our own worst enemy.  You can’t fool the listener.  You can’t TELL the listener what they want.  So why not ASK the listener what they want.  I did that recently on my facebook page.  If interested the comment line is HERE

Morning radio USED to be the way people would start their day.  What happened?  Some stations cut back on talent and added more music.  Some stations got greedy and loaded up on commercials.   Technology has made it possible for the listeners to super serve themselves.  Most everyone has a smart phone.  That means they have access to Pandora and their own iPod.   If the aforementioned can provide the best music without commercial interruption MORE music is not the answer for morning radio.  More music in the morning will only accelerate the demise of that station.

The good news is there is a way to SAVE radio. Content will save radio.  Content cannot be duplicated.  Content is what the listener wants.  It HAS to be good content.  It HAS to be compelling content otherwise it’s just boring talk and the result will be the same;  “people shutting off the radio.”  I truly believe that in five years FM radio will be mostly content.  When I turn on the radio I’ve always want one of three things:  to laugh, to learn something or to be engaged in the conversation.  What listener is going to sit through five minutes of commercials to hear a Lady GaGa song they already have on their iPod.  Ask me to wait five minutes and I’ll learn how to drop ten pounds without exercising and I’ll excuse the commercials.  Getting people to LISTEN to the radio is not that difficult.   We better start listening to the listener or there won’t be any listeners left!

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I’m a social media junkie.  Find me HERE on facebook.  Follow me HERE on Twitter.  As I was surfing the net today I found a site that will predict your next tweet based on the DNA of previous tweets.  The site is HERE.

I thought I would see what happens and here is the post I was supposed to tweet:  I’m driving heather INSANE. : I can never applied Ben gay bar When people are LOSERS!

Now I’ll admit that is an interesting tweet but there are a few inaccuracies:  1)  I don’t know any Heathers  2)   You can’t drive someone crazy, they are already crazy and you just may push them over the edge and 3) I HAVE been to a gay bar and given the choice I would rather bask in the warm glow of Ben Gay the analgesic.

I look at Twitter like I do a break on the radio.  Your tweet should do one of three things:  1)  Make me laugh  2)  Make me learn something or  3)Call me to some sort of action.  Based on the many tweets I see during the day people don’t follow these rules and that will make someone “unfollow you.”  The “unfollowing” in Twitter is the same as changing stations in the radio business.  Either outcome is not desired.

Just some of the things I have learned with my short time on Twitter. Will YOU offer suggestions to ME?  Now I’m off to make some food so I can tweet a picture of it before I eat it (someone wanna explain that logic to me?)  🙂

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No matter what your line of work may be, chances are it involves some sort of sales technique.  Even the pimply faced kid at Best Buy will try to sell ya that extended warranty for that DVD player ya got on sale for twenty-nine bucks.

Not everyone is successful at sales.  I believe you can INCREASE your sales success by following three simple bullet points:

1)  RESEARCH:  What’s the history of the company or person?  What is their passion?  Where did they come from and what are their goals?  What are their strengths?  What are they lacking?

2)  LISTEN:  Your presentation is VERY important but don’t overdo it.  Brevity.  Make your pitch but don’t “talk to just talk.”  If you don’t LISTEN to what your potential client has to say, how are you going to know what they need?

3)  OFFER A SOLUTION:  If you did your research and listened to your potential client it should be simple to offer a solution.  You want to reinforce their strengths and address their needs (that sounds so much better than “weaknesses”).

Apply these three bullet points to “selling situations” in your life and I guarantee your success rate will increase.  Unless you’re from Omaha Steaks, calling me at home for a third time in one day, I don’t care if I get a free ham with a shipment of ninety-nine dollars or more, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!  🙂

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Passion is not just for lovers.  Passion is a key ingredient for success in your station’s morning show.  Does your morning show volunteer to go on a sales call when a client isn’t sure if they will buy your radio station?  Does your morning show eagerly volunteer to host an appearance that will put them in front of potential new listeners but will not pay them a talent fee?  Does your morning help brainstorm a sales promotion that will actually benefit the programming department by making turning the promotion into something that isn’t “clutter?”  If you answered “no” to any of these questions then you need to question the “passion” that your morning team has, or in this case, severely lacks.

Radio is a fun business but the bottom line is it’s still a business.  The great thing about passion is it is highly contagious.  Show me a station that has passion in the halls and I will show you a winning station.  Does YOUR station have the passion?