The new book SYNDICATION NATION (Harmony House, 2011) is the first-ever guide to content syndication in all major media, including radio, television, Internet and print.  The author is Chris J. Witting, veteran syndicator and CEO of Chicago-based Syndication Networks Corp. Witting is also the host of two syndicated radio shows: The Success Journal (a daily feature heard on150 stations), and InfoTrak (a weekly interview show airing on 485 stations).

 ”Years from now,” said Witting, “I believe media experts will look back at the present era and call it the ‘Golden Age of Syndication’. As I explain in the book, now may be the best time ever for anyone to get their content in front of audiences nationwide. My hope is that the book will open the door for those who have the dream of being nationally syndicated.”

Witting’s career has primarily been in broadcast radio, so for the book he interviewed experts and researched other forms of media, including television, Internet, satellite radio, public broadcasting, and print syndication. Along with the steps to syndicate content to various forms of media, the book includes chapters on monetizing content, working with networks, using social media, marketing to local outlets, and even a brief, entertaining history of media syndication.

Getting a radio show into national syndication on terrestrial radio is a goal for many personalities looking to expand their audience. There are a multitude of how-to guides available that offer step-by-step methods on how to launch a show into syndication, however most of these guides over simplify the degree of difficulty in entering into what is an increasingly challenging endeavor. Thinking about syndicating your show?  Let’s dispel 10 myths about syndicating a radio show:

10. Any show/host/idea can be syndicated on terrestrial radio

Many radio hosts feel that if they have a fairly successful local show with a unique delivery, spin or point of view, that they should syndicate the show for the world to hear. The problem is everybody thinks this and syndicators, radio groups and stations are bombarded with pitches and ideas from people just like you. Getting a show into terrestrial radio syndication is much more difficult than simply having a great idea hosted by a fabulous talent. Unless you are a multi-media STAR it is near impossible to be that “must have” show.

9. “My show is a smash on the Internet, stations will love it.”

If your desire to get your show “out there” for the world to hear, online distribution via a Podcast, Internet radio station or audio embedded on a website are fabulous ways to distribute your show. You can even do o.k. monetizing your show using these platforms. Just don’t think that terrestrial radio stations will clamor for it no matter how many hits or downloads you get. In fact, most personalities who were successful in radio syndication have moved off of broadcast radio and are now doing their bits on the Internet (Adam Corolla and Tom Leykis come to mind.) Help me if you can think of one that has done it the other way around.  Oops, maybe Perez Hilton.

8. “Any syndication company will represent my show.”

If a radio syndication company says they will take your show/idea and syndicate it nationally without having a significant station or number of stations already on the show, question it.  For a major syndicator the whole idea of launching a show nationally is having the ability to deliver a certain audience to national advertisers.  Without a measurable audience (unless the syndicator is aggregating the audiences of a number of smaller shows) a show with none or one station has little value.

7. “I’ve got advertisers, I can sell the show myself.”

No you can’t. National advertisers need a show to deliver (or cover) a certain percentage of the US population before they would consider advertising in a particular radio show. They won’t talk to you- that’s what rep firms are for. And if you think you can approach local advertisers in each individual market you may get your show in-think again. You would be in competition with the local sales departments at the radio station and that is not going to happen, unless you are paying for airtime and are allowed to bring your own show sponsors.

6. “I’ll get a station or two and distribute the show myself.”

Maybe. If you have a home station where the show originates (or even if you put it together from a home studio,) it’s easy enough to record and post the show or segments to an FTP site for a station to download. You may even be able to contract a company to send the show out via digital delivery. However, if the show is a long-form show and it’s live, satellite delivery becomes the preferred method. Unless you’ve got a friend that owns a bird with some available space, this is probably cost prohibitive.

5. “I’m on a big station and they’ll let me syndicate.”

That is encouraging, but be sure that they allow you to retain some of the commercial inventory that is in your show or associated with your segment.  If you can do this on a large station, your chances of syndication increase exponentially. Many personalities have been given the green light to syndicate their show from a station with a huge audience (thus an attraction to a syndicator) and have failed to secure any commercial minutes. You’ve got a show on a big stick that has little value.

4. “Stations will have no problem bartering for my show.”

Most radio stations are reluctant to give up their real estate (commercial airtime) to anyone from the outside.  Even your best friend, the Program Director at WZXZ who said he would put the show on, will sing a different tune when he has to justify giving up some commercial minutes for the show. Unless you can demonstrate that your show/segment is a must have, with the ability to generate dollars for the local sales department, be prepared for a lot of rejection.

3. “Spots are $100 in my show, I’ll get more in syndication.”

Personalities tend to look at the local ad rates that stations are getting for commercial inventory and assume that it’s the same nationally.  The national sales game is like buying in bulk.  Advertisers can one-stop shop and advertise products without going market to market, station to station.  To provide that service and get that business, national radio sales firms offer deep discounts. In other words national spot rates are a fraction of local rates.  That national spot in your show may only be worth $15 versus $100 for the local spot next to it.

2. “I can make a lot of money right away if I syndicate.”

See #3. An entrepreneurial spirit is a must for any talent seeking to launch into radio syndication.  A personality that wants to syndicate a radio show must have additional sources of income. Don’t give up your day job with the idea that syndication alone can sustain you. If you enter into a partnership with a syndicator, be prepared to split any revenue generated by the venture with the syndicator.  In a traditional syndication partnership you own the show and will be in business for yourself. That entails taking on all the responsibilities (taxes etc.) of being a small business owner.  Also there is a lead-lag time that occurs while any national advertising revenue is working its way through the ad sales rep to the syndicator to you.  Many who have gotten syndication deals find out too late that their income is dependent on accounts received and not a weekly paycheck like at the radio station.

1. “Everybody else is syndicating, so can I!”

It may seem that way. There are hundreds of syndicated radio shows airing on terrestrial radio stations.  The key is what are you in it for. If it’s for exposure or giving the world a chance to hear your point of view, you may want to do the show for free, pay a station for some airtime or do it on the Internet. Just be careful if you think broadcast radio syndication is a pathway to riches. If you have a great show, can do it from a huge station and keep your eyes open to the pitfalls that come with syndicating a radio show you have a better chance of success. With the right intangibles in place and some hard work you could become the next Rush Limbaugh or Ryan Seacrest. Now you can quit your day job.

Seeing that the first rate radio channels now have found out about just what exactly performs along with what isn’t going to for their target crowd, they are regularly capable to demand a very high rate to publicise on their syndicated radio programs which will probably end up being broadcast on radio stations across the country or perhaps also all around the world thanks to the power of Net radio.

So just what exactly does all this necessarily mean to the ordinary individual? Not much honestly, aside from the inescapable fact that people is going to continue to be equipped to acquire very good audio because of your favored radio stations for several years to come so long as companies will be in a position to keep selling their products and services through promoting on radio programs.

With regard to people in business, marketing and advertising on radio shows is going to be an especially fine marketing judgement. With the wonderful return of financial commitment, often labeled as ROI, radio advertising has evolved out to be an incredibly successful factor. So why does it do the trick? In that respect there are a number of reasons but one of the strongest ones is the establishment of a brand. Almost every day, many people tune in to their favorite radio programs to listen to a certain online persona, typically recognized as a DJ. This is the individual which can provide the actual introductions to the succeeding songs along with the comments all through the show.

Along with their very own comments, discourse and also on air personas, these folks create a reputation with their fans and also establish trust. That trust means each time that they recommend a product or service, their fans depend upon the advice and usually are a little more likely to buy the goods or solutions suggested on their best-loved radio shows. This usually means when you list your company on a favorite radio program, anyone can look forward to a really good return on your investment as that shows audience go right to your business or web site to make purchases.

Author: Vic Mokart
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

In a day and age where most people seem to have their computers on at work and their televisions on at work, and radio is dominated by syndicated talk shows, can radio play a constructive part in a marketing campaign?

Yes. There are a few ways in which radio can dramatically help a marketing campaign.

In my view, the most important aspect of radio marketing is no longer advertisement-oriented. Instead, it can be used to develop credentials as a celebrity or an expert. Most of the stations interview people from time to time, and if your product has a local focus, being heard on the radio is likely to give you instant credibility among the listeners. They will call you immediately if they need help in your area of expertise, and I have found that this immediate effect will last longer than you might expect-several weeks perhaps, even for a single interview.

There is also a cumulative effect from more than one interview. After hearing you a few times, your potential customers will feel like they know you and consider you almost a friend. They will remember you if they need your services, and they will be far more receptive to a direct mail campaign.

Even if your market is not predominantly local, the celebrity effect can be extremely helpful. You can refer to your interviews, and since much radio programming these days is accessible by internet, your customers can actually look you up and listen via the web. And you can link to the interviews on your website. Because of the web connection, the interviews are sometimes searchable and increase your “presence” in the search engines. And radio interviews have that “spontaneous” feeling (although they are rarely actually spontaneous) that lends itself to viral marketing. The same familiarity and spontaneity, although to a lesser extent, can be achieved with radio advertising.

Of course, the trick to using radio as a significant part of a marketing campaign is to get interviewed, or to get enough radio commercial exposure at an affordable price, preferably free.

Author: Kenneth Gibert