Monday Memo: Are Your Weekend Promos Upside-down?
By Holland Cooke
Consultant
Avoid THE most-common mistake I hear in promos for talk stations’ weekend ask-the-expert shows: Opening with the Close.
I coach attorneys/real estate agents/personal finance advisors and other pay-for-play weekend hosts, both on-behalf of client stations, and working directly with these professionals in other markets. Done right, these shows ROI like crazy… but too often they’re well-kept secrets. So, it’s important that weekday promos invite weekend tune-in.
Tip: DON’T begin the promo with the host introducing him/herself and naming the show and when it airs. Instead: Like good commercial copy, the Close (asking for tune-in in this case) comes at the end of the promo.
Open by stating the listener issues that tuning-in can help inform. Examples:
Attorney: “Have you been injured? Before you accept the insurance company’s offer…”
Real estate agent: “Are you shopping for your first home? Or downsizing?”
Money-talk host: “Is there too much month left at-the-end-of the money?”
Note The Two Magic Words: “you” and “your.”
Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working at the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. He is the author of “Confidential: Negotiation Checklist for Weekend Talk Radio” and “Close Like Crazy: Local Direct Leads, Pitches & Specs That Earned the Benjamins.” Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn.
