A No-Cost Back Door To Getting On The Radio

By John Oszajca

Today I’d like to share a resource with you guys that only came to my attention recently. It’s called RadioGuestList.com and it’s essentially a no-cost back door to getting radio publicity and exposure.

In a nutshell, RGL is a service that connects radio show bookers, podcasters, talk radio show hosts and even television producers with expert guests to fill their shows.

So how do you qualify as an expert guest? Well, there are two ways to look at this…

First the obvious one: You are likely a recording, performing, and all around professional musician and therefore an expert on the subject. I subscribe to RadioGuestList.com and there are regular listings for shows seeking musicians and entertainers. Why not you?

But that’s fairly straight forward. There is also a second, and perhaps more important approach you can take. As we’ve discussed in a lot of the Music Marketing Manifesto and Insider Circle training, there is a goldmine of traffic and easy publicity for artists who look beyond their genre and ask themselves what “niches” they fall into.

Getting any kind of publicity (radio or otherwise) is going to be hard if you are only looking for publications that want to share the latest rock, pop, or hip hop artist with their listeners/readers. When you pitch yourself that way you are going up against huge artists with (sorry to break it to you), much more relevant and interesting stories than yours.

HOWEVER, if you look beyond your genre and think about yourself as a three dimensional human being with other interests, passions and experiences, you’ll usually start to see other areas of your life in which, with a little polish, you can easily share and help others, and for all intents and purposes qualify as an expert.

To use myself as an example, here are a few areas that have strongly defined me as a person over the last few years.

• I am a singer songwriter who has released three albums.
• I am an online business owner and marketing consultant.
• I am a parent.

There are many more items I could list, but each one of these can be broken down into a “niche” or topic of discussion which I feel I can bring a lot of value to. IE, music, business, and parenting.

And funny enough, over the last three weeks I have seen listings on RadioGuestList.com from shows looking for musicians, entrepreneurs, and even guests who can speak on the topic of parenting.

Here’s an example…

Each and every day my inbox is filled with new listings from radio shows, talk shows and podcasts looking for guests to speak about various topics of interests.

Obviously these “niches” will be different for everyone but just about everyone has some area of passion and expertise in their life which they can share with an audience and ultimately tie back into their career as a musician.

The nice thing about these radio opportunities is that not only do you often get a chance to share your music, but you are also given a large span of time to connect with your audience as a human being. Moreover you are not only given an opportunity to pitch your site (ideally your squeeze page), but you are usually encouraged to do so and often endorsed by the trusted host of the show.

A few quick tips for anyone looking to quickly establish themselves as an expert on a topic…

There is a difference between trying to build a career as an expert on a topic vs. simply building enough expert status to leverage for press and radio exposure. However if you are going to be regularly approaching show producers and pitching yourself, there are a few quick things you can do to help your chances…

• Be informed – This is obvious but it’s needs to be mentioned. Read a book or two on the topic and get your talking points down.

• Build a niche specific web site – A simple WordPress blog will cost you next to nothing and can be thrown up in an afternoon. Even a tab on your existing site will help. You just need somewhere to send show bookers in your initial pitch email. If you are pitching yourself as a musician than chances are you already have this covered.

• Practice – Speaking on a topic for the first time can be a little nerve racking for many. It won’t hurt to have a friend or two interview you in preparation. If the interviews turn out well, why not start a podcast of your own?

• Everyone loves an author – By no means is this required but nothing says expert like having a published book on the market. It’s surprisingly simple to write and publish a short 50 page ebook and publish it to Amazon’s Kindle platform via BookBaby.com.

Does RadioGuestList.com actually work?

Well, I’ve replied to a whopping two listing opportunities over the last couple of weeks and I just landed my first booking. In fact I landed two bookings from the same producer; Biz Talk w/Dr. Ande and Entertainment Radio. Broadcasting in Sacramento CA area on 88.7 Cable FM &; Xfinity Channel 18 in late January.

How about you?

Have you been marketing yourself to niche specific audiences? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. I’d love to hear your story.