Creating A Great Radio Show!

What Makes A Show Great?

This year, I will be speaking at two different Paracons. One will be in Provincetown, Mass. in May, and the other one in Concrete, Washington in September. Both thousands of miles a part, but the topics I've been asked to speak about are quite the same. You see, without sounding like some sort of egotistical bragger, both events have asked me to speak on paranormal journalism, and what it takes to create a successful online radio show/podcast. It's humbling to hear, because that means these people who are asking have recognized the exact hard work we have been trying to put on display night after night on Spaced Out Radio. It's comforting to know that Sam Baltrusis from the Provincetown Paracon and Eric Cooper from the Forest Moon Paracon are asking for this topic. I believe with my journalistic and radio background that I can pull off this topic with ease, to be honest. You see, that's because that's what I am. I'm a journalist, and I'm an experiencer. I'm not an investigator. I'm not a researcher. I'm not a student of the alien game, the ghost game or the bigfoot game. I'm not a writer. I don't have the passion, desire or time to write a book on the subjects. I'm just a guy who went to college to learn how to talk in front of a microphone. As for my experiences, I'm in the same category of every other experiencer, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. The only difference between me and most people who have experienced the odd and strange, is that I had the ability to put a talk show together for it. Now I'm not saying that we are perfect in what we do. Any show has to be ever evolving, so listenership stays with you. Monotony can be a killer in this regard, especially in a business that has so much reliance on people's time.

But that being said, I've always tried to help people in creating their shows. Call it good Karma. The one thing that amazed me when I built Spaced Out Radio from the ground up, was that before I got into this field of online radio, I had never even heard of it. I knew there were online music stations, but podcasts and online networks, I knew nothing of the sort. Never heard any shows. I was completely blind to it. I was a satellite radio and terrestrial radio guy. When I heard people talk about podcasts on the radio, I thought they were talking about going their websites and hearing replays of what had happened during their shows, and that was it. Never the wiser on the topic. But when I entered the online market, my naivety was overwhelmed. Little did I know that there was literally thousands of shows out there dealing with these topics. Hell, I was so centralized in my thought, that I thought Coast to Coast AM was the only show going in this genre. Boy was I wrong. There were and are shows for everything of every topic. At any time can you find a show on Bigfoot, UFO's, Ghosts, Psychic ability, and so on. Some are on once a month. Others once a week, sometimes twice. Then all of these fringe networks that expect you to pay to broadcast your program on their network. It was a huge eye opener for sure. When we started and, as word started trickling out to what we were doing seven days a week, people couldn't believe it. They were shocked, wondering if we would burn out, and be just like all of those other shows that have tried to be bigger and better than the other guys. Yet here we are, into year three, and people are taking notice to what we are doing! It was the stupid belief that if we could win over the guests, they would talk. And talk they have, to their friends, colleagues, and others in their fields of research. And it's starting to pay off. 

But let's break this down now! You see, just because you have a camera, it doesn't make you a professional photographer. Because you drive a car, it doesn't make you a professional race car driver. Just because you like to draw, it doesn't make you an artist. The same is with any field. I'm a huge hockey fan. Just because I played hockey, it doesn't mean I was anywhere close to playing pro. The same is with television and radio. Just because you have a microphone or a video camera, it doesn't make you a journalist. The downside, in my opinion, with social media, is it's allowed people to try and be what they are not. But that's the way the culture is going. We want immediacy in our news and reporting. In fact, this has actually started affecting local news stations, who are replacing true and trained reporters with homemade videos caught on cell phones and go-pro cameras. The danger in that is you don't have anyone reporting the facts. You have people reporting opinion. Then we wonder why journalism is a dying breed and people are yelling "Fake News" from the hilltops. It's a dying career. But that's for another topic at another time.

Back to online radio. Regain our focus here. Many people who have one of these thousands of podcasts will ask me how to improve their own shows. It starts with one word. Focus!!!! What is your focus for your show? What are you trying to accomplish? What is the message you are trying to send? Where do you stand on these topics of interest? You see a host should call it down the middle. In this field, you need to have your B.S. meter on at all times, but you have to be able to play fair. If you don't have focus, you're a train wreck about to derail. That's why the majority of these so-called radio shows fail. If you want your show to take off or gain popularity, what are you doing to help it? Creating Facebook events does NOT work. It's much more than that. Your best asset is your audience. Win over their ears, they make an emotional commitment. When they make that commitment, you got them. They spread the word. They share your posts. They are tweeting out when your show starts. Most hosts out there have no clue on how precious time is. Especially today in a 24-hour society, when someone commits to you for an hour, two hours, or in our case three hours a night; think about that for a second, three hours a night, they are special people. They're special because they believe in you and your product. They believe in the focus you have given them. I will be the first one to admit I have no idea about physics or ectoplasm, or breaking down DNA in animal scat, like scientists and researchers have. But this is what I do have. I have the experience of knowing what it's like have a life altering experience by seeing ghosts, sasquatch and coming face to face with aliens. And that's what I focus on. I don't care, personally, what kind of gear ghost hunters are using. I don't care about a UFO Disclosure that I don't think will ever happen. What I do care about is people. It's the experiences people are having that need to come out more. It's the experience that led me back on the radio. And it's the experience of our listeners that makes them comfortable to sit back and be in a place where they aren't judged, ridiculed or mocked because they've had something unbelievable happen to them. Getting back to the time commitment for a second. You must always remember if people are giving you their most precious gift, which is time, you have to give back to them. If you're a show host, don't screw with your times. Have set times and dates that you are on the air. Don't broadcast on a Tuesday one week, skip a week, then come back on the air the following Friday at a different time. If people are making a commitment with their time for you, reward your listeners with the same respect back. Set your days and times, and keep them that way. Don't be late going on air. Be conscious of time. Time is extremely rare, valuable and important. Without keeping that respect, your audience will never make you valuable in their life.

The second part of creating a successful show is stop trying to be what you're not. If you're not a journalist, you're not. This field is filled with wannabe's who think that being on the radio, so to speak, is goofy, funny, and the idea of trying to be the next Howard Stern or some crazy Friday morning shock jock is the way to create an audience. No. No it's not. You may win over a couple of people, but you'll never be taken seriously. Rarely will there be any sort of future in broadcasting on a bigger scale because of what you are doing. Also, in this alternative field, we all yearn to have our topics of discussion taken seriously, especially by the mainstream. How can we do that if we are acting like a bunch of fools in front of a camera or microphone? The simple answer is, you can't. Now, I know the detractors of what I am saying is not everyone is out there to take this seriously, or they're just trying to have some fun with the topics they love. I get that, and I truly can appreciate that. I also know that having your own broadcast could be considered an outlet for a lot of people, just to relax and talk with friends and individuals of the same merit. But, I believe that's at the minimum. If you are wanting an audience or if you're trying to grow an audience; or you're wanting to be taken seriously as a podcast/radio show, then go with your strength. Be who you are. Don't try to be somebody or something you're not. 

The third part is treat your guests like gold. Don't set them up for failure. Do your homework on them. Understand what they are talking about. Treat them with the respect they deserve. Don't throw them curve balls in questioning or try to sabotage their reputation. Send them reminders of when they are supposed to be on. YOU CALL THEM. Don't make them call you for the show. That's amateur. If you want respect as a show host, start with your fans, number one, and number two, your guests. They are the ones who spread around the word on whether your show is worthy of their time or not. Keep your questions to the topic at hand. Don't stray off into something stupid like their favourite song of the 80's or questions about groupies, etc. You get the point. It does happen. Hell, I was a guest on one show, where the host admitted on the air that she was "smokin' a bowl" during the broadcast. She, at one point, asked me to keep talking while she took another "hoot" from her bowl. Unprofessional to say the least. I take what I do seriously as host of SOR. And when I give someone my time to be a guest on their show, I expect the same courtesy in return. Also, make sure your guests know when they are coming on the air. I was on one show, where I was told to call in at the top of the hour, so I did. They kept me on hold for 35 minutes or so before I privately messaged them and said I'm done. I don't have time like this to waste. If you have your guest slated for 10 minutes after the hour, call them or have them call in at that time. Don't keep them on hold. People in this field, whether they're authors, researchers or experiencers do not have time to waste on your games. Respect your guest. And for gawd sake, please stop interrupting your guests with your personal experiences and questions. Let the guest finish speaking when you ask a question. The audience has usually attended your show to hear the guest speak. The show isn't about you. It's about your topics of discussion. What's the point of having a guest if you're not going to let them speak? I like to use this example, so take it for what it's worth. If you and your guest are sitting in an airplane cockpit; which one of you is the pilot and who is the navigator? Most will answer 'pilot' because it's your show. WRONG. You, as host of your show, are the navigator. As host, your only job is to steer the show in the direction you want the show to go. Navigators direct the pilot where he has to fly to. Same as hosting a radio show. Your guest is there to take questions (direction) from you. Don't let them crash and burn.

And although we can get technical with every minuscule aspect of the do's and don'ts of broadcasting, I will keep this to the fourth most important topic. Never, EVER use your opinion as fact. As a journalist, radio host, or whatever you want to call yourself, always remember, if you are a show that has guests on, your job is to remain down the middle. You are neutral, like Switzerland. Look, here's the reality check we all need sometimes. You don't know everything. So just because you have an opinion that differs from your guest does not make you wrong or your guest wrong. Or your callers wrong for that matter. Everyone's experience is different. Your job, as a host, is to remember that people are wanting to trust your every word. You have influence, no matter if you have 12 listeners or 12-thousand listeners. Professing your opinion as fact and challenging people to prove you wrong is an ignorant way to build a bad name and reputation quickly. We are all studying these topics because we don't know the answers to these valid questions. It's like I said in a previous blog, where we have people going out to look for Bigfoot and professing what this creature is, without doing the research necessary to eliminate other possibilities. Questions lead to answers. Stating opinion as fact leads to ignorance. My advice would be to step away from the podium, take a deep breath and ask pointed questions to your guest or your listening audience. Remember, because you don't believe something does not mean it's untrue. I have had many open discussions with sasquatch hunters who refuse to look into or believe that it possibly could be a supernatural or shape shifting creature. Because they don't want to believe it doesn't mean it shouldn't be researched. But that's where we, as an entire field, lose credibility. Stating opinion as scientific or concrete fact is a dangerous and quick way to lose credibility in you and the brand you represent.

Finally, I will close with this. If it's your dream to host a quality radio show online, go for it. It's fun. I love it. It's time consuming and sometimes stressful, but right now, I wouldn't want it any other way. But do yourself a big favour. We all want to take that big step towards credibility and larger audiences. But do the work yourself. And if you seek advice, use that advice to your advantage. You took the time to ask someone more successful how to do it, so they obviously know the route to take. But always remember, these so called "networks" that are out there, likely are not getting the audience they tell you you're getting. I know one person, named Chuck, was on one of these hap-hazard "networks". He was told he was getting around 50-thousand listeners a show. He was paying $40.00 a month to be on their "network". He was told he was killing it. And they were promoting him all over the place. But when he saw the true numbers per show, finally, the disappointment was horrible for him. He's a hard working man. Self published author. A good family man. And he was lied to. His ratings were more like 40 to 50 people per show. Here he couldn't figure out why he wasn't selling more books with the number of audience listening to him once to twice a week. At a 50-thousand member listening audience, you think he would have sold at least a couple hundred to a couple thousand copies to listeners alone. Nope. Barely any sold, all because he was lied to. He was being taken advantage of. The moral of the story is this. Do yourself a favour. Stay away from these "networks" that promise you big numbers, but in the same breath tell you it's going to cost you money out of your pocket to broadcast on their site. You're the talent. You're the show. You're the producer. You're the booking agent. You're the one working hours upon hours to make it the best you can be. Your time is valuable. Don't pay someone so they can make money off your hard work. They should be paying you! And if they aren't paying you, then you should be filling their time slot for FREE. I have been told many a time that "Spaced Out Radio is exactly the show our network has been looking for". So my response is, "Awesome, but right off the bat so I'm not wasting your time or mine, I don't pay to play." It's amazing how quickly that conversation ends. Stick to your guns and your morals. I've been offered to join networks costing me anywhere from $20.00 to $6,000.00 a month. They all make the same promises. More listeners. Business attitude. Your show is da bomb! You know how it goes when you get sunshine blown up your ass? Don't fall for it. Real stations, online or not, will not hit you up for a dime. In fact, some will pay you. Stay rogue. As frustrating as it can be, there are no stations out there with hundreds of thousands of listeners guaranteed, that are using Blog Talk Radio, Mixlr, Spreaker, podbean or any other platform for self sufficient radio. It's not happening. All these networks out there are doing is using you for your time, product and your money. DO NOT PAY THEM A CENT! In fact, if you ask the more successful people in this business, they'll likely give you the same advice and give it to you for FREE. Which would you prefer? Think about that.

Dave Scott can be heard on Spaced Out Radio every Monday through Friday, starting at 9pm PST, 12am EST. Follow Dave on Twitter @spacedoutradio.