The Button Fans Wish They Could Hit

Have you ever watched the latest installment of a favorite Netflix show and not hit the “skip intro” button that appears on the screen?  We always hit that button.

TV shows living in the yesteryear had memorable, sing-along theme songs we can all still recall.  Who doesn’t know the name of the bar where everyone knows their name?  Or the guitar twangs of the Seinfeld intro?  Both are iconic music markers signaling fun was about to happen with characters we know and love.

But, no more.

Increasingly, streaming services give us the chance to opt out on a show’s intro.  Know why?  Because it’s fluff that delays what we came for:  content.  Let the storytelling begin.  And to delay the reason we’re there heighten chances we might leave or feel unsatisfied.  The story, the drama, the humor, of characters interacting around the plot is why we show up everywhere.

Yet, in radio, we still do these BIG LONG SETUPS on almost every break.  Our version of a theme song and valuable seconds that delay what listeners crave:  content.

If we could put a “skip intro” button on the radio, it’s a guarantee the audience would do what we do, hit it.

So, take this one-day challenge:  on every single break, when the song ends, and the break is about to start, begin with the first sentence of the story or content, indicating its drama and hook, to get the audience to lean in and pay attention.  Lest they grow restless and seize the chance to change the channel because intros delay what fans really want – content.  It’ll be uncomfortable in your headsets, but when you nix the prelude, you’ll see engagement in the break go up.  Then do it every day.

Because listeners don’t have a “skip intro” button is even more reason for you to do it when you prep the break.

Snuff the fluff, and just give them the good stuff.

(Notice in the very first sentence of this blog – it got right to what this about, with the conflict delivered as a question – to get you to read the second sentence and beyond – go do that.)

Steve’s Pet Peeves – Volume 3

When you listen to 7-8 hours of radio each day like I do (each hour a different show), you’re bound to hear things that bug you.

Most days, shows are hitting it out the park.  They’re on the right topics cut from that day’s pop culture, things going on locally, and stories about their lives that position them as just like the listener.  Add to that some treatments of those topics which make the breaks sparkle.

Other times, I might get something small that makes me scratch my head wondering why they did that.

Here for you, another installment of Steve’s Pet Peeve’s Volume 3.  It bugs me when I hear shows that…

  1. Use words like: up chuck, throwing up, eating poop, projectile vomiting.  Using what I call “stop listening” words.  Instead of saying “I was up all night barfing,” why can’t you say, “I was sick to my stomach”?  The audience knows what you’re saying, and you aren’t using cringe words that make a portion of your audience turn away because they’re too graphic.
  2. Breaks that start with unexplained laughter. Listeners feel left out when they aren’t in on the fun you’re having in the studio.
  3. When something suggestive is said like, “It’s 69 degrees right now,” and the show devolves into a bad version of Beavis and Butthead.
  4. Shows that try to gratuitously manipulate listeners to stay. Like doing a half a break and then teasing the payoff, making them wait any amount of time for resolution.  Just give them the bowl of ice cream in one break and you’ll accrue positive images.
  5. Shows that don’t keep their promises in an effort to manipulate a few more minutes of listening. If you promise the content at 7:30, do it at 7:30, not 7:36 in an effort to get more minutes of listening.  You get two minutes either side of a promise to make good on it.  Don’t do that to them.
  6. Features that are time-stamped need to be at (or very close to) when you promise to do it.
  7. Explaining games in more than two sentences before playing the game. Listeners don’t have that mental bandwidth at any time of the day for an explanation of anything.  More than two sentences might mean it’s too complicated to play.  As I always say “when you’re explainin’, you ain’t entertainin’.”  You can use that.
  8. Shows that play a trivia game and get irked when the caller doesn’t know the answer to a question they think is easy. Not a great look.  Be empathetic in those moments – these are your fans contributing content to your show.
  9. Playing the Mission Impossible, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, or the Price Is Right music when playing a game. They’re all dated and predictable.  Let’s challenge ourselves to update that stuff.
  10. Talent who forget that every day you have new listeners who don’t know who you are. I’m a new listener tuning in and have no idea who’s who.  I recently checked out a show I don’t work with.  Both co-hosts were male.  I left after 90 minutes not knowing who was who.  Help me.

Deep breaths, Steve, deep breaths.  In with the good air, out with the bad!

Have a pet peeve for Volume 4 (oh yes, there will be a volume 4!)?  Email me here.

If You Think You Can’t, You’re Right

An actual conversation recently had with a talent:

Steve Reynolds:  “To make that idea ever bigger, why don’t we invite the sports guy from channel 4 to do a humorous play-by-play?”

Talent:  “He can’t come in when we’re on because he isn’t awake.”

Steve Reynolds:  “You’re right, because you said ‘can’t’.”

 

Can’t.  Won’t.  C’mon man, where’s the innovative spirit to make things happen?  The mindset that we can do anything?

There was a great news story a few weeks ago about Danny Cashman, who for years had a weekly TV talk show in the state of Maine.  After 15 years, he decided to end the program.  He wondered who he could have on as a guest who could best relate to walking away from a show like that.

So, he sent off a letter to David Letterman inviting him on.  And Letterman said yes.  The story is here and here.  Letterman’s appearance is here (it’s tons of fun – watch the reaction of the audience as he surprises them).  Cashman’s appearance to talk about it on Howard Stern’s show is here.  There was no “can’t” or “won’t” in Cashman’s vocabulary.

There’s an old story I’d heard years ago about JohnJay and Rich on KISS in Phoenix who wanted Oprah on their show.  The easy putt was to say that’d never happen and move on.  Throw some innovative problem solving to get to the goal and the can’t and won’t never appeared.  They found Oprah’s dad, interviewed him, sent the audio to Oprah who loved it so much that (wait for it)…she came on their show.

When I moved to Raleigh years ago, my partner and I decided we wanted to get the governor on, considering we are in the state capital.  We were two yahoos from the north and could never make that happen, right?  Let’s abandon the thought and read celebrity birthdays instead.  Nope.  I wrote a letter every month to his wife, inviting her on our show to promote any cause important to her.

Two years and 24 letters later, the call finally came.  Her PR person said they’d received all my letters and wondered if Mrs. Martin could come on to promote a benefit she was involved with.  What we found was that Mrs. Martin and I had the same sense of humor.  Three guesses what eventually came?  We ended up getting the private phone number into the residence of the governor’s mansion and a treasure trove of ideas came alive, many with the governor, for two reasons:  we built the relationship and because “can’t” and “won’t” weren’t how we put the show together.

For radio to thrive and survive, we must be imaginative again with our content.  For my wonderful talent, on whose shoulders rest our relevance and success, shoot high and never, ever, ever, ever believe it’s not possible to get anything done without perseverance and imaginative problem solving.

Drop the ‘t and watch what you can do.

PS – remind me to tell you how we got the legendary Coach K on our show to talk about how the music of Barry White helped his romantic relationship with his wife.  Tapes still exist of that…

Creating Credible Connections

All the ratings gimmickry in the world can’t beat a personality who is emotionally connected to his or her listeners.

When starting with a show, I ask what two unaided things they want the audience to say about them in two years.  Almost every time I get back the right answers:  that the show is fun to listen to and “I feel like I know them.”

Those are the images you want:  fun and authenticity.

  • In whatever topic you’re talking about, are you being honest with the audience? Years ago, when I was on-the-air, our consultant told me that I had to talk about the TV show Melrose Place because it was #1.  While I certainly had a working knowledge of the program, I hated it.  I asked the consultant if I could share that.  He said no, because it was #1 and that meant “everyone loved it”.  That didn’t pass the smell test for creating connection to me.  I disagreed with the advice, and we ignored the topic because I couldn’t be honest.  You do you.  Have a knowledge of and take on everything going on now.  Then forge honest conversations with your team and do interesting things from those perspectives and you will define who you are.
  • Share those parts of your life that prove to the audience you’re just like them. That doesn’t mean everything is fair game.  Understand everyone’s addiction to drama.  If your story doesn’t have drama, you don’t have good content.  The lines were long at the ice cream shop might be relatable, but it isn’t interesting.  The lines were long and three Karens showed up to scream at the manager and one got arrested is.  Brene Brown said that “vulnerability is the birthplace of belonging, acceptance, creativity, and empathy.”  Let me in and that connection starts to happen.

This is not code for talk more about yourself.  It’s a balance that creates an engaging dynamic.

Think about your personal circle of friends who are honest and vulnerable.  You actively choose to be around them because they are those two items above.  That’s called cume and TSL.  And it’s a must if you’re going to develop a significant relationship with your audience.

Radio’s survival rests on the ability of personalities to form stronger human connections.  It’s a super power TV and podcasts don’t have.  Only radio does.

If you can’t share who you really are, you can’t create a genuine connection with your listener.  If you fail at creating connection, you’ll just be another bland option for those in search of people just like them who can tell stories that entertain and engage.

But, curate and prep your content to do the above?  Well, that could be lethal.

Six Step Show Prep

The next time you get on a plane, glance to your left before walking down the aisle to your seat.  Those two pilots, whether young or grizzled veterans, have one thing in common with every other pilot on every plane you’ll ever be on.

They have a flight plan to get you from here to there.  They know what time they’ll push back from the gate; when they’ll take the runway; the speed at which they’ll take off and if they will bank to the left or right; and the altitude the plane will fly.  Ditto on the landing.  Not much is left to chance because they have a plan.

Can we talk about prep?  I still run into shows that don’t do it. In a world where listeners are choice choked, too many options exist.  If what you’re doing isn’t working, they could tune out.

Hard to believe that the “we don’t need to prep because we just make the magic happen” crowd still exists.  Winging it is not a game plan and it will backfire on you.  When I ask some shows to explain their prep process, I sometimes get, “Oh, we’re texting each other all day.”  That sound you heard was Uncle Steve’s eyebrows going up in cynical enjoyment of an excuse I know isn’t true (and if true, isn’t effective).

Here are the six things every great show does that helps make your plane (every content break) get from here to there.  Six Step Show Prep:

  1. Fill those content buckets. Work with me and know I want my shows to be about right now.  Right now in popular culture, right now in your market, right now in your life, and right now in your format.  What are the right topics in each of those areas that will resonate with your demo because they’re relevant and familiar?  I bet, on any given day, you have about twenty to choose from.  What are they?
  2. The Know-Wonder Exercise. Read and research every one of those topics.  Your take defines your character.  What do you know about each of those topics, and what do you wonder?  The more curious you are, the more creative you will be in developing treatments and ideas that make your show something that can’t be found anywhere else.  This is the hard (but fun) part and something I’ve always felt is a group endeavor.  What will you do with any of those topics that move the break into something fun and unique so you’re memorable?  You really can’t figure this out on your own.
  3. Figure out your Three Act Play.  Every story has one.  How will you get into this break?  That context and hook up front will help the audience understand the topic and conflict and make them lean in.  What happens in the middle that keeps them glued to your content – where are you going with all of this?  And what is the payoff?  I’m not suggesting breaks should be scripted.  But you must know these items so you don’t waste listeners time.  That helps each break have a flight plan to get the audience from here to there.
  4. Forming the show’s game (flight) plan for tomorrow. Fill out a run sheet for the entire program.  Every break must be filled.  Is there balance in the topics and their treatments?  Is there a structure to the plan that everyone on the show knows so they can help get each break to its destination?  You always reserve the right to change a break, as long as the new content and its treatment are an upgrade.
  5. Tease Me, Please Me. Write teases for every break.  Writing teases is an art.  Read all about that in Are Your Teases Google Proof.  Effective teases should be written the day before, once the content breaks are decided (and not on the fade of a song during the show).
  6. Plan Past Tomorrow. Decide what you will do that day to get involved in your community and live a life that will generate new content for the program.  Work on ideas for things coming up over the next few weeks.  As I write this in April, I’m already working with shows on Mother’s Day content for May and graduations in June.

We don’t have much room left to fail in radio.  We’re around too many shiny objects that want our fans’ attention (podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, other shows, et al).  Not having a flight plan is a perilous decision.  So my tough love is let’s get at this so those tuning in don’t drift.

Before I jump, know that this blog was originally titled Twelve Step Show Prep.  But in a nod to shorter content breaks, I deleted half of them hoping the remaining six would mean more to you.

Now seat belts fastened, tray tables up, and prepare for arrival.

Go get it.

They Missed the Cut (Pun Intended)

I love sports, but hate golf. Many of my friends play and I’ve never understood the appeal of a venture that so frustrates and angers people. That said, I adore The Masters and am glued to its final round every April. I cry tears of joy when someone wins their green jacket.  It was no different when Rory McIlroy won.

A friend and very successful talent penned what’s below. He makes a terrific point I’ve noted in previous Planet Reynolds. Radio’s relevance has eroded over the years. Sometimes because of increased competition and at other times because of content choices. That’s the case in this one.

The writer wanted to remain anonymous so you could focus on his message. So, we’ll call him Gary the Golf Guy. Here’s Gary’s story about Rory McIlroy and relevance.  It applies not just to spoken word radio, but for those in music radio, too.

Masters Monday: A Listener’s Journey

On my usual drive into the station, I flip on the local News/Talk to catch up on headlines, weather, and traffic. But not today. It was the Monday after The Masters. And if you’re like me, you know that that tournament hits differently. The tradition, the history, the Sunday drama—it was everything. Rory. DeChambeau. Rose. Jack, Arnie, and Tiger—oh my!

So naturally, I went all-in on Sports Talk radio. I was craving takes, analysis, emotion—anything to keep the Masters high alive. First stop: a national show diving deep into the front office moves of a third-tier NBA team. Click. Next: another national show, but this time…NFL talk. In April?

I get to the office, turn on the TV, and boom—local and national news both leading with Rory highlights every 15 minutes. Validation! I wasn’t crazy. This was the sports story of the day.

Surely the ride for about 20 minutes during lunch would bring redemption, right? First local show: five minutes on whether people even care about The Masters (uh, what?)…then back to the NFL Draft. Again, in April?

So…do people care? I saw the ratings—20 million at the peak. That’s 2006 American Idol territory. Yeah, people cared.

Next local show: they’re breaking down a former NFL player’s new (much younger) girlfriend. Entertaining? Sure. But that’s not what I came for. Finally, I land on a fifth (local) show on my way home in the afternoon and there it was: all Rory, all the time. Rory is a choke-artist takes. Golfers are soft debates. Callers chiming in. Laughter, passion, back-and-forths about moving the pin on the 16th hole. LIV vs PGA. They delivered The Master’s meal I was hungry for and it was delicious.

Days like today should be enjoyed by on-air talent because you don’t have to do any heavy lifting! The content/drama was served to you by someone in a beautiful Green Jacket!

Two quick notes:

  1. No, I didn’t listen to every minute of every show. Maybe the others hit on The Masters eventually. But in my 25-minute commute(s), only one show of the five nailed it.  If you’re not on the big topic when listeners tune in for their few minutes, you get zero credit for being on it. Don’t make that mistake.

  2. That fifth show? It’s been #1 in its time slot for over 15 years—and it shows. They crushed it by focusing on what their listeners were thinking about. And spoiler alert: it wasn’t the NFL. In April.

When a big story appears, they become shiny objects. We go towards them until the next shiny object appears. Rory was a shiny object. If we don’t feed that need in radio, we’ll just be another bland, boring, irrelevant choice for listeners that day on their journey for connection.

The Overused Talent Excuse

Which brings me to Facebook and an exchange I had with a morning talent about relevance and appearing tone deaf to the audience.

I was listening to a show in another market getting nailed with bad weather.  With snow falling, here’s the show’s content that morning:  hacks on how to vacuum your house better, a phone topic on what listeners think of Trump’s desire to get rid of pennies, Apple’s new iPhone, and how the dress Meghan Markle wore at a movie premiere only cost $455.  No shit.  What does any of that have to do with what that market was experiencing that morning?

That market was being hit with bad weather, and that’s what the show should have been about.  I noted it on Facebook (without naming names).  A morning guy in another market, wanting to support the show I was listening to, suggested the overused excuse I swat down every time a big topic appears and is not covered:  we didn’t do it because we’re the escape.

Consumers are not rational thinkers – we interact with a brand because of how it makes us feel.

You can see the exchange here.  Out of respect to that morning talent who challenged me with the escape excuse, I have redacted his name and market.

I didn’t suggest what they do with it (that’s up to you).  Howard can go off on gun control because he is very well-defined.  You probably can’t.  But nowhere is it written you can’t discuss something like that and reflect to listeners the sadness and grief they feel knowing the story.

In the bad weather topic noted here, you have options.  You could default to giving out info.  That’s bland, boring, and everywhere.  Or do what only you can do.  Maybe talk to kids who have an unexpected day off from school, making them promise to clean the house.  Convince a cast member’s kid to shovel driveways for $20.  Or talk to snowplow drivers who are cleaning the streets.  You figure out what fits your brand and create treatments to that big topic that reflects who you are and your sense of humor (if applicable).  The escape is the fun you create.

As a talent coach and someone who wants personalities to be the reason listeners turn on the radio, I need your fans waking up each day wondering what you think about everything.

If great radio is about Conquering Content and Creating Connection, we should be on whatever is big right now.  And if one big topic appears on any given day, it’s paramount to do stuff with it that fits you.  Ignore it at your own peril.

Your fans will not tune in to hear a show completely disconnected to the market or world.  Listeners will search for a show that’s relevant.  Being tone deaf to the moment because “we’re the escape” is a poor excuse that powers the success of a competitor who is.

Trivia Done Right – Dishing Out the Dopamine

In many of the focus groups I conduct or see, a show’s trivia feature usually scores well.  Ever wonder why?

If uniquely presented, they are vicarious.  All game shows on TV are trivia-based yet every one is different – Who Wants to be a Millionaire and The Weakest Link are both trivia games done differently.  A critical item must be noted that helps their popularity.

I’ll often explain a feature’s success from a strategic point-of-view.  Today, let me tackle the success of a trivia feature psychologically.

Every trivia game isn’t about the person on the phone.  That player is a conduit to your having fun and doing content directed at everyone not on the phone.  But its success is about how addictive it can be to those thousands of people in their cars playing along.  What are they looking for?  Fun, yes.  But…

When you ask a player on the air trivia questions in a game and tell them if they’re right or wrong, if the listener in their car gets it right in their head, you give them a hit of dopamine.  You make them feel smarter.  Ask a bunch of trivia questions, every one the listener gets right is another dopamine hit for those in cars who get it right, too.

If they leave the feature feeling smarter, they come back for more the next day for the same reason.  That makes your feature addictive.  (Kinda like if I share a compliment every time I see you, you want to see me more!)

The converse is true, too.  Some trivia features seem to have as a goal to ask hard questions so the person on the phone and those in cars playing along struggle.  Don’t do that!!!  Your fans in cars playing along just woke up and they have limited mental bandwidth.  If you force them to think too hard, they’ll bail, believing your feature is too difficult (hence, no dopamine hits).

Evaluate your trivia feature.  Is it unique in its presentation?  Are you focused on what really makes it successful – people in cars?  And are you dishing out the dopamine, so they get addicted and come back for more?

Be Bold or Get Cold

The BLUF (bottom line up front):  Radio doesn’t have a listening problem.  It has a top-of-mind-awareness problem.  For whatever reasons (and there are many – looking at you corporate lawyers, over-worked brand managers who might be scared to take a chance, and morning talent who enjoy their comfort zones) much of what we do is met with a shrug of the shoulders by listeners.  It shows in our TSL

Why It Matters:  we compete against a zillion other things and when we’re deemed boring by listeners, they go in search of something else to stimulate them and keep their attention.  News flash:  their boredom meter flashes much sooner than ever.

In 2024, I had initiatives at two major market shows.  Our goal was to create big, gigantic, bold, edgy, noticeable radio past the standard fare many programs do every day.  We did this by focusing these efforts in prep.  We inserted ourselves into the topics of the day, and whatever was going on locally.  We took what might have been a banal and boring phone topic and created some larger narrative story arcs that lasted several days and had a conclusion listeners would talk about.  We also designed odd and quirky community service projects so we didn’t always default to just asking listeners for money.  We endeavored to be different and noisier to create intrigue and occasions.  We wanted to be more mischievous and imaginative.  We wanted to become memorable.

In short, we wanted to do epic shit with the right topics to stay top-of-mind with our fans, so they came back for more.

When I did mornings in Raleigh years ago, only one show across the street ever concerned me.  Those guys came in, guns blazing, looking to create talk.  They were quite successful and had an impact.

What was the last thing your show did to create noise?  And no, doing a 5-4-3-2-1 for tickets to see PINK doesn’t count.  Because this is, and always will be, about content and how you do it (it’s really about how you do it).  It’s not about what prize you have to give out (unless how you give it out is highly entertaining to those not trying to win it).  The two shows noted above succeeded.  Both ended 2024 with much higher ratings than they started.  That’s because we did things that captured the imagination of the audience, so they didn’t stray to check out something else.  Our infusion of innovation (in ways that fit both brands) worked because our fans feared missing out on what came next.

This Planet Reynolds’s title is inspired by a blog written recently by Fred Jacobs called Hey Radio:  Go Big or Go Home.  A commenter, Clark Smidt, used the phrase be bold or get cold.  Both are right.  So much radio is exactly like so much radio.  Everything is expected and a lot of it is unmemorable.

In case you’re an “if only” person and are thinking “if only we had the money to do stuff like that”, I’m sad to report that every idea we came up with for these two shows cost us exactly $0.  What it did take was a focus on a new goal, a team with a can-do attitude ready to work differently, an innovative spirit, and a supportive manager who knew where we were going and was ready to be a full partner.  But mostly it was about creating new things that captured the audience so they stayed.

Can you replicate that at your show or station?  If you can, you’ll reap the reward, too.  But if all we do is the same old, same old, we’ll continue to be in trouble.

Because if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting what we got.  Ain’t you tired of getting the same results?

The only sustainable advantage you’ll ever have over your competition is to out-innovate them.  What’s your game plan to do that?

Steve’s Pet Peeves Volume Two

What’s it like to listen to 7-8 hours of morning radio each day?  Well, you’ll need to sit with me each morning to find out.  Each show gets one hour of listening so I can get a sense of what they’re up to.

The goal for any show and any talent is to conquer content and create connection.  One of the most satisfying aspects of coaching is when I hear talent do that effortlessly.

Many of these shows are mine, some aren’t.  That’s where this list comes in.  There are certain small things shows do that, at the end of the day, have a minimal impact on their perceptions and ratings.  But enough to catch my ear and become a pet peeve.  I released volume one which you can find here.

It’s time for a fresh ten we’ll call volume two:

  1. Reading texts and Facebook posts instead of curating listener phone calls. I know that’s how many listeners interact with shows now, but we still must craft breaks that sparkle with more than chatter. Hearing other listeners voices do that.
  2. Teasing what prizes you have to win. There’s very limited appeal to that tease.  Promoting your content will impact 100% of your audience. They come for content.  Not to win something.
  3. Changing something about your show because you got a few complaints online. Those four people might be wrong.
  4. The phrase “everyone loves it”.  Unless you’ve surveyed 100% of your fans, that could be wrong, too.  Not to discount that those people do love “it” but that doesn’t mean everyone does.  Everyone is not five people.  Another vote for being strategic.
  5. Things like tweaking your processing or getting new jingles or sweepers and believing they will change the perceptions of your show and the ratings will go up. Not that you shouldn’t update your presentation, but doing it doesn’t have the impact some think it does.
  6. Shows that think they should move their benchmarks around so lots of people hear them. That’s a solid mistake to make.  You can’t groom an appointment at a certain time and then take that bowl of ice cream away from those who make that feature part of their daily routine.
  7. Use of first-person words (I, me, mine). I have this to give out; I’m going to do this next; Call me now.  It should be:  We have this to give out.  Call us now.  We’re going to do this next.  Your story or opinion is first person.  All else is collective.  Don’t send the signal to your teammates that it’s your show.  What we do is ours.
  8. Shows that air guests (callers or interviews) and then dominate the conversation. Once the guest or caller comes on, they should be the center-of-the-universe.
  9. Talent who rarely say the name of the show or station on the back side of the break. You just did a great content.  Remind the audience who did it, so you get the credit!
  10. Shows that forget there are tons of people checking them out for the first time every morning. Do resets so they feel a part of the family as a first-time listener.  I recently listened to a show for the first time that had two guys as the co-hosts.  Their names are very similar.  I left a few hours later not knowing who was who.  Not good.  The anchors on Eyewitness News in your market have been there for decades.  They still reset their newscast coming out of commercials.  You’d be shocked at the number of tenured shows that forget this.

I know you’ll be excited to hear I have enough for future collections.  Have one?  Let me know here.