I had my own radio show on clear channel, need to know how to break in to syndication/paid situation.?

Question

i'm wondering if anyone knows the best way to do this. my show was paid for by advertising, which i personally sold. i spent so much time out selling advertising that the little amount of time on the radio felt like a waste (i was basically working for free). does anyone know the best way to segue from sponsored show to a "paid" show. i would love to break into syndication or find some other way to earn money while doing this. any advice?....i absolutely loved my topic-driven, live call in show. it was the most fun i've ever had.

Answer 1

First of all, I wouldn't go around telling anyone your show was on "Clear Channel".  That would be like wanting to be a chef and saying that you work at Burger King. Because ANYONE can buy time on a station and have their own show, especially with the money hungry suits at CC.

The first thing you need to do is gather your shows ratings.  How many listeners did you have during your day-part?  What was the leading demographic?  

Then you need to gather the same info on shows that are similar to yours in various size markets, or at least shows that have the same demographic.  Next, present how many spots you sold for the show and gather references from each and every one of them.  Build a Power Point presentation and have a CD/Mp3 demo of the best parts of your previous shows.

Then you need what is called a "One Sheet"  which will briefly outline the features of your show and why it will benefit my station, for example, to air it.

You should also be willing to pay for airtime on other stations in other markets. Then you can start hitting up the national sponsors.  National sponsors don't care how good your show is they only care about how may people are listening and will pay anywhere between 1 and 10 dollars per 1,000 listeners.  So if you get your show in 5  markets reaching 100,000 people on a 12+ cume then you can expect up to 1,000  or as little as 100 dollars per :30 second spot!  Once you have this you will be able to pick up new stations fairly easily, but don't expect to get on more than 10-15 stations within the first 5-10 years.

Be patient, persistent and confident and you can do this!  Good Luck!