Internet Talk Radio Advertising: Ugly Duckling Turns Swan

By Linda Mackenzie

When it comes to placing ad dollars many advertising and marketing companies perceive radio, and especially independent internet talk radio, as an ugly duckling. Today the majority of advertising budgets are going to video, search and digital websites which have high visitor counts. They shun the poor ugly duckling internet radio and only place minimal amounts of their budgets to old known terrestrial radio conglomerates.  How’s that working for you?

Well here’s the rub ducklings…you’re missing 8 to 10 hours of prime time audience from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. every weekday. Internet Radio is now full grown and it’s a beautiful Swan swimming strong. Feed the swan and you’ll get results and here’s why…

1. Do you realize that during the work day people are usually not allowed to surf the web or watch videos from their desks – their employers want them to work and frown on these activities. However, radio and internet radio is usually allowed because it is played in the background. Plus with WiFi, Bluetooth and Smartphones internet radio is readily available to the listener at the office and they are listening.

2. While people are driving to work with Bluetooth, in-dash and smartphone capabilities now available in cars, independent internet radio stations are here to stay and people ARE listening. Let’s face it. I certainly wouldn’t want to drive near a distracted driver who was watching a video or doing a search while driving and lately there are low rumblings in the government sector to research these activities in more depth for possible liabilities.

3. Per the latest census bureau statistics there were 27,281,452 employer firms compared to 21,351,320 non-employer firms and according to the Small Business Administration 52% are home-based businesses. People are meant to be social animals. Many of these people need social interaction during their workday - but working from home, alone, this may be difficult. Remember music incites the soul and talk insights the mind. Talk radio fills this social interaction gap and Internet Talk radio fills this gap with new, refreshing programs that are not the standard fare of the terrestrial industry.

4. Not all Internet Talk Radio stations are alike. Make sure you select a station that has longevity, experience and the audience.  Longevity brings the station’s already loyal listeners.  Experience means that they know how to implement advertising easily and effectively. Audience means they have a method to gather exact demographics of their listeners and measure audience size.

5. When deciding metric measurements with the digital broadcast section of terrestrial radio discern what metrics you are getting. Internet radio audience measurement is NOT website hits. Internet listeners come from the streaming server. Make sure that you get a breakdown per exact station and not just overall sessions that are for the entire empire. A well-established internet radio station has them and you’d be surprised at how many more listeners they do have. Check it out for yourself.

So next time you are making a decision on where to place your advertising dollars, step out of your comfort zone. Why not put a little bit of your budget towards trying Internet Talk Radio - the Ugly Duckling who is now a Swan and swimming strong. HealthyLife.net has been swimming strong for a long time now – why not try us?

Aspel Interviewing Lobsters

Check out Steve Aspel talking to the Lobsters... http://youtu.be/clkdfhRoXRg

HealthyLife.Net Radio – Back In Time Capsule - 2003

HealthyLife.Net Radio Network 2002-2012

10 years of Positive Talk

Back into the Time Capsule: 2003

With 3 months of Network Beta testing completed, in January 2003 we started other radio hosts with eclectic topics not found on traditional radio stations. Some of our new hosts included Raw Food Maven Elysa Markowitz, noted Naturopathic Doctor Dr. Gloria Gilbere and Golden Globe Winner, Academy Award nominee Sally Kirkland – who are all still with us today.

Our many guests were great too. We had Jean Houston’s dog sing opera on air to Stephanie Miller’s comic antics gracing our air waves.

In its infancy stage our show topics included natural health, business, spirituality and the paranormal. Even though internet radio was still new and most people didn’t even know what it was we managed to glean 589,787 listeners for the year.

We added a chat room and live call-ins to our shows and by the end of the year we had to move our studio to a larger location. We added more equipment, more hosts wanted to come on air and we were getting more listeners. It was time to take the next step…

More next month when we go…Back into the Time Capsule: 2004

HealthyLife.Net – Back In Time Capsule 2002

HealthyLife.Net Radio Network 2002-2012

10 years of Positive Talk

Back into the Time Capsule: 2002

In September 2002, after planning and with equipment bought, Linda Mackenzie Founder of HealthyLife.net Radio, went out to find a streaming provider. After looking high and low a fellow broadcaster asked if she knew about Earthchannel. She called Earthchannel and it just so happened that Cliff Johnson wasn’t just a random start-up broadcaster in this fairly new world of internet radio. Oh no! He was one of the original designers of streaming servers and had been involved in streaming service and technology from the beginning. After explaining the remaining little known pieces to the puzzle about Internet broadcasting, Linda in awe at his knowledge remembers asking Cliff jokingly, “Did God send you?” He promptly answered, “You bet He did!”

Linda decided that EarthChannel was her streaming provider of choice – and she has never been disappointed with service, price and availability. Cliff still proves to be a dear friend, the voice of reason and one of the most knowledgeable broadcast providers on the planet.

So on October 2, 2002, Linda began beta-testing the network. Not wanting to waste anyone’s time until everything was perfect her radio show was the only show on the network broadcasting 5 days a week. By the second week of broadcasting Linda was out looking at golf putter at a sports store. This incredible voice came out of nowhere and said, “Can I help you?” After a couple of minutes of conversation Linda asked, “Have you ever been in radio?” The guy was a little shocked and said, “Yes. In major markets in San Francisco for 15 years, until I got laid off.” Linda responded by saying, “Would you like to be in radio again?” After explaining what she was doing in Internet radio he decided he was interested. And that was what started a 10 year fruitful and beneficial business relationship with Dennis Glines, now the Program Director on the network.

During December Linda was still not satisfied with the sound quality of the station. So after several attempts with many computer people who didn’t know sound and many music people who didn’t know computers she put an ad in Craigslist. Sean Fodor came into the studio and Linda, who was frustrated by this time, turned on KABC from the radio and said to Sean “This is what I want to sound like.” He cocked his ear at the sound for a moment, said a simple “Okay.” Then made 2 or 3 adjustments on the sound equipment, which took about 2 minutes, and the sound was perfect.

With the streaming perfect, the sound perfect, the production engineering taken care of and Linda’s show getting call-in audience response, Linda started marketing to get other radio hosts onto the network. Not just taking anyone the criteria that a radio host had to have to be on the network was previous TV, radio, or national lecturer experience with an audience following. With the lay offs in terrestrial radio occurring, and still occurring to this day several hosts jumped on board …until…

More next month when we go…Back into the Time Capsule: 2003

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Types of Internet Radio

by Linda Mackenzie

1. Internet Radio Show - an individual radio show with one or more hosts, which can be aired live or pre-recorded, and is broadcasted either on a radio station or as a podcast from an individual website.

2. Radio Station - A group of live and/or prerecorded scheduled programs that are grouped together and broadcast through a single channel of distribution.

3. Radio Network - A 24/7 individual radio station which is linked to other radio networks and broadcasts a common program theme in a specific format (e.g., Music, Talk, News/Talk) and is in syndication (contracted by another media channel for play) or simulcast (Simultaneous broadCast on other media channels) or both on many channels of distribution.

4. Radio Aggregator - A radio streaming service provider that provides streaming service for a single radio station or where 100's or 1000's of many different radio programs without one specific theme are grouped together and share streaming services as one station which may or may not be linked to other radio networks to syndicate/simulcast its stream.

5. Radio Syndicator/Simulcaster - An individual broadcast entity that picks up, links and broadcasts many radio stations/radio networks streams to broadcast them on their site.

6. On Demand Radio Archive - An individual Internet Radio Show or an individual radio program from a Radio Station/ Radio Network which has been archived and made available for listening at any time directly from their specific website.

7. On Demand Radio Download - An individual Internet Radio Show or an individual radio program from a Radio Station/ Radio Network which can be downloaded to a listener's computer to be made available for listening at any time via one or more various formats (e.g., .mp3, podcast, ITunes format, RSS feed, mobile).

8. Podcast Aggregator - A podcast streaming service provider that provides streaming service for 100's or 1000's of many different podcast program providers without one specific theme which are grouped together to share streaming services.

WHY INTERNET RADIO ADS vs. AM/FM OR CABLE TV ADS?

by Linda Mackenzie - GM, HealthyLife.Net Radio Network


1. MORE REACH

- Internet Radio has more Time Spent Listening (TSL)
72 million people in the U.S. spend an average TSL of 3-8 hours a day listening to a 24/7 Internet Radio network stream as compared to AM/FM radio's 3 hrs. 3 min. per weekday. For Podcast listeners TSL is usually 3 -5 minutes at the start of a broadcast.

- Internet Radio has longer Drive Time: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m
AM/FM radio's greatest listening time is 'drive time' on the way to and from work. In 2010 there were 11.3 million home based businesses in the U.S. and half of all businesses in the U.S. are home based. There is a greater and longer listening opportunity for home based businesses to listen to Internet radio. HealthyLife.net Radio stats, over the last 10 years, have shown our Drive Time to be: Weekdays, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

- Internet Radio's Footprint is Local, National and Global
AM/FM footprints are limited to 50w - 500w local terrestrial listening areas and although AM/FM stations do now stream on the Internet they came into the environment too late and latest listeners per station average below 300 listeners.

- Most watched Cable Stations Don't Allow Ads.
The Top 60 Cable TV channels (e.g., HBO) who are most frequently reached do not allow ads.

- 74% of Cable TV programs with a 2.0 or better rating are targeted to teens and kids.

- 27% of Cable TV Subscribers use DVR devices.
More than 1 in 10 Cable TV Subscribers record programs on a DVR and 42% watch these programs within 3 days after the original airdate. 21% fast forward through commercials or see ads after a promotion or sale date.

(Arbitron, Wall Street Journal, Neilsen, RAB, LA Market Ratings Estimates, Businessweek, SBA Office of Advocacy, Triton, Healthylife.net)

2. BETTER ENVIRONMENT

- Internet Radio is the Number 1 Position for frequent use of Internet by women at home, at work and at the University.

- Avg American spends 20 minutes per week shopping. The Average American woman spends 30 minutes a week shopping. 70% of buying decisions are made before they enter a store.

- Radio Listeners react better to commercials. After hearing a radio commercial 46.6% of Adults (18+ ) and 51.8% Women (25-54) react later that day and 55.9% of Adults (18+ ) and 64.6% Women (25-54) react later that week.

- Internet Radio Provides One-On-One customer response. Immediate customer response is available by click-through to your website for an immediate buy online.

(Arbitron, NAB)

3. GREATER AUDIENCE PERCEPTION

- Internet Radio and AM/FM radio less intrusive. Radio ads are considered to be less intrusive than Cable TV ads because they are expected and do not seem to appear at inconvenient moments.

- Internet Radio and AM/FM is considered to have less repeated ads.

- Cable TV channels use their best ad positions for their own trailers and inventory.

- Internet and AM/FM Radio ads are:

• Perceived more personally relevant than any other media
• Connected to a higher emotional level and buy
• Best of all media for branding
• Associated more than any other media with trust, honest and reliability
• Considered to be the most positive
• Most listened to and your message is HEARD by 92% of audience
• Best to improve unaided Brand Name Recall

(Arbitron, Media Audits Media IQ Study)


HealthyLife.Net Radio creates win-win-win advertising - for you, your clients and the station. We have professional radio copywriters and voice over people that will write and produce your ad for free with any of our ad campaigns.

HOST OF THE MONTH: Dr. Jane Greer

Dr. Jane Greer

"Doc On Call"
Tuesdays, 11 a.m. PT 

Each month we focus on one of our great hosts and this month we are talking to Dr. Jane Greer a 20-year nationally known therapist, author, feature writer and TV guest expert.
Dr. Jane's HealthyLife.net Archive Page 
Dr. Jane's Website





HL- What led you to become a psychotherapist?
Starting in junior high school, I always loved talking with my friends and helping them work out boyfriend problems and anything else they were dealing with. As I got older, I discovered that helping people was a career choice and pursued it to acquire the skills to add to my innate love of finding solutions to difficulties and making life easier to deal with. It's a natural fit.

HL- What was your most fun TV interview as an expert?
Actually, there were many that were really fun. One TV show I really enjoyed was when I was featured as a guest on "To Tell the Truth" as the Sex Columnist for Redbook magazine. I managed to fool everyone, the audience, and celebrity panel!

HL- How do you relax?
The things I love to do to relax include reading thriller books, and magazines, doing yoga, listening to music, watching television, ballroom dancing, going to movies, going out to dinner, spending time with family and friends, shopping, traveling, and brushing my dog.

HL- When should someone seek a psychotherapist?
Someone should seek help when your unhappiness with yourself, a relationship you're in, or a situation you're dealing with such as a job, friendship, family matter affects you on a regular basis and leaves you feeling, alone, misunderstood, angry, disappointed, helpless, and stuck. That's the point at which these negative feelings can become like quicksand and make it hard for you to find your way out of their hold. Professional and objective help will give you both the perspective and the tools you can use to regain control and change things for the better for yourself.

HL-What do you like to cover on your "Doctor on Call" radio show? I love to talk with anyone who has some expertise in a given area that will be helpful to pass on to the listeners so that they can learn new information which they can then use to enhance their lives. Authors, doctors, comedians, educators, musicians, anyone who has a personal story to tell that will help others is welcome as a guest. Plus on the last Tuesday of the month at 11am PT we do a tasteful show called "Let's Talk Sex."

HL- How is your message universal?
We're so much more alike than different. We all want to feel good about ourselves, love and be loved, use our talents and be recognized for them, and ultimately to find meaning in life. My major in college was comparative religions, and I loved scribbling in the margins "I just read this same point in my Taoism class" or "This is also in the chapter on Judaism." These underlying truths that are in every spiritual tradition are what Aldous Huxley called The Perennial Philosophy. I think that the more we look at those underlying connectors, rather than at our differences, the better off we'll be.

HL- What can we expect on your future shows?
More interesting, exciting, and entertaining guests covering a range of topics that all deal with enhancing your self esteem and being your best self possible, including exercise, diet, skin, care as well as coping with illness and death and overcoming adversity in living.

HL- What is your favorite word and why?
My favorite word is fun. I love to have it; it's the best thing to share with everyone and anyone. I enjoy making each encounter fun, and making the difficult easier by turning challenges into fun.