By Marsha Friedman

(Marsha Friedman was the April speaker at Book Publishers Northwest)

As publicity experts, talk radio is one of the tools that we use everyday to help our clients gain national recognition, promote their books and popularize their causes.  And because it is so effective our clients keep coming back for more!  Fact is – talk radio may honestly be one of the best-kept marketing secrets there is.  There are many reasons why this is true – but let me give you ten to start with:

1. THE RIGHT DEMOGRAPHICS. Every year Talkers Magazine does a research project to profile who’s listening to talk radio.  And, every year their survey confirms that the talk radio listener is, “diverse, educated, attentive, active and affluent…” If this describes your book-buyer – it’s a perfect match!

2. TARGET AUDIENCE. Not only are the demographics of talk radio great – but with specialty talk shows on politics, health, relationships, lifestyles, finance, consumer advocacy, sports, etc., we can identify shows that are a perfect match for your books, once we know the audience you’re trying to reach!

3. EFFECTIVE SALES TOOL. Publicity is definitely not paid advertising.  But it can be far more effective.  Just ask Dr. Arnold Goldstein, well-known financial author, “The interest in our books from radio interviews has far exceeded the response we’ve seen from our advertising campaigns.  Dollar-for-dollar, talk radio interviews has shown a much better return!”A compelling radio interview can promote your book without the audience even realizing it!  And, as hosts don’t want to be bombarded with phone calls from listeners with questions about your book, they’re highly motivated to frequently mention your title.

4. THIRD PARTY ENDORSEMENT. Talk radio hosts have loyal followings – that’s how they maintain their ratings.  And listeners tune in daily to hear what their favorite host is talking about. As that host is often thought of as an old friend or even a trusted advisor, when you appear as a guest on their show, listeners hear an implicit endorsement of you, your book and your message!

5. CREDIBILITY. This is a crucial ingredient in every marketing campaign…and talk radio supplies it in abundance!  One of our clients told us, “…every show I’ve appeared on – the host tells his listeners about my great expertise, my many accomplishments and how proud they are to have me as a guest!  Of course, the more important I am, the more important the host appears to be.  As far as promotion and credibility goes – it just doesn’t get any better!”

6. TIME TO TELL YOUR WHOLE STORY. As a guest – you get not just 60 seconds, but ten to thirty minutes of quality time with a very targeted and attentive audience.  You have enough time to talk about your book and in many cases you have a chance to answer questions from callers.  It’s a perfect way to get the full message of your book heard and understood by the masses!

7. COST-EFFECTIVE PROMOTION. Talk radio interviews are all done by phone.  So without ever leaving your home or office you can have a direct and oftentimes live conversation with consumers around the country. Plus our fees for this publicity service are minuscule compared to what you’ll spend in advertising dollars to buy the same amount of air time!

8. IMMEDIATE EXPOSURE. You can be on the air within two to three weeks! And, because talk radio keeps up with changing times and topics, we can continuously create new angles for your topic that reflect current events, to keep you on the air and in the news on an ongoing basis.

9. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK. With probably 1,000 + talk radio interviews under his belt, nutritional products spokesperson, Dr. W. Wong says, “Talk radio is the greatest way to get your message across to a large group of people at one time.  There’s a captive audience during morning and evening drive times, in the middle of the day with stay-at-home moms and people in the workplace and for those folks awake late at night.  It’s better, cheaper and faster than TV appearances.  Without question – talk radio provides the best bang for the buck!”

10. WE CAN DELIVER THE SHOWS FOR YOU! Scheduling talk radio interviews is second-nature to us.  Talk radio producers and hosts from the nation’s 100 biggest markets have come to rely on us for the steady stream of top guests they need.  In fact, that’s why we’re able to schedule 50 to 100 interviews week after week.

If you want to hear more about our affordable talk radio campaigns to promote your books, call my partner Steve Friedman, today at 727-443-7115, ext. 202 or email him directly at steve@emsincorporated.com.