A Loyal Reader Asks:
“What’s your opinion on the famous jock saying, coming up right after this”?
— Louisa Borja Muna
Unless it’s a novice radio host who simply doesn’t know any better, it’s sloppy, lazy, and ineffectual.
Each of your listeners tuned into your radio program for reasons for their own:
- To hear the traffic report
- To play the contest
- To see if you’re playing a song they like
- For companionship
- For diversion
When you say “right after this,” you’re telling those listeners:
“Whatever reason you had for tuning to my show no longer is relevant, because we’re not doing it any more. Instead, we’re now doing this — i.e., this bunch of commercials.”
The structure of “coming up right after this” highlights the fact that your radio programming temporarily is coming to a halt.
The solution is remarkably easy.
Focus on what’s “coming up” and don’t even mention the “this”:
“Oh, and yet another woman has come forward with an accusation against Bill Cosby. And this time I think he’ll be forced to give some sort of public response. This is getting messier and messier…Well, I’ll let you be the judge in just a moment here on the Ed Jock Radio Extravaganza…” (begin your commercial break)
Yes, that requires a little more effort, a little more thought than sticking to the format of “Coming up right after this is X.”
But the impact is greater and both your listener interest and your audience retention rate is higher.
That “little more effort” is one of the things that separate successful radio DJs from run-of-the-mill radio announcers.
Download Dan O’Day’s
RADIO PERSONALITY PRINCIPLES
Comments on this entry are closed.
How about something to the tune of “Want to know why you can never get tickets to your favorite band? We’ll talk about it in a bit.”
To me when you say we will be right back or break down the 4th wall by Indicating the comercials or bits, it allows the listener to shift gears making your return more welcomed and prepared for. If the goal is to keep attention to the advertisment, it shows. The listener can feel that drive to the advertiser. The people listening for companionship are the ones sitting at home listeing to the same comercials a few time in a 5 hour block. I am that kind of listener. I like the DJ.. And when he says we will be right back it gives me the que to get up and make some cheereos. Or its my promt to go to the bathroom so i dont miss anything. Comercials are not the most effective advertisment in the grand scheme of things. Word of mouth is the number one on earth.. This is why they tell you to belive in what you are selling or you are not going home with money. So i guess its a horse a piece. On the one hand you have satisfying the customer and you have making advertisment effective. i personally like to talk about the advertisers in a joking manner. The listener can obvoiusly tell i am having fun and the advertiser gets more effective advertisment. If you stay with inthe limits you can use this to great levels. I dont even know why i responded to this subject but its something i have heard from the Boss and the rest of the people i work with. I never heard that till i came to this one job. So its having a hard time sticking. So lets talk about it. Lol.
I guess it just seems natural to me. But i do see how this could be something that people dont use as a tool but rather just a habbit. Its not fair when we say absolutly this is not a good thing. Im on the fence. Have i overthought this?