A Loyal Reader Writes:
“First, a thank you…your Morning Show Ratings Explosion has some great stuff in it that I’m using already.
“Okay, the question: How do I convince my partner that doing something at the same time every day doesn’t encourage people to listen longer?
“When I mentioned that we should move it around he said, ‘Is that what it said in those CDs you’ve been listening to?’
“I had to tell him, ‘Well, uh, yeah, but see…’ — and that’s as far as I got with my answer.
“Our market is notorious for channel surfers, so his contention is that this way they know when to jump in. My fear is that they will jump right back out again!”
Anyone who believes doing the same thing at the same time every day “encourages people to listen longer” doesn’t know a thing about radio.
“His contention is that this way they know when to jump in.”
Again, that is the thinking of an ignorant person. If people are listening to another station, they are not going to keep an eye on the clock so they’ll be sure to jump back to your station at the correct moment.
When they leave your station, they will stay at whatever destination they go to until that destination loses their interest.
The way to increase time spent listening is to do things on your program that are compelling and entertaining enough to keep people there — and to promote and tease them effectively…not to give your listeners a blueprint that shows them exactly when each event will occur.
But to address your question directly:
You probably cannot convince your partner.
The difference between an amateur and a professional is that a professional never stops learning.
And it sounds like he hasn’t learned anything new in years.
