The Monday Morning Free Idea
Need fresh inspiration for show content?
Check back every Monday for The Free Idea—a fun, entertaining bit of inspiration to help your show connect with your audience even more. You can also view past ideas, many of which my clients and I successfully used to engage listeners.
Need help with that? Give me a shout!
Out For Blood
With Halloween a month away, let’s make the community better with Out For Blood. Find out the the one-day record for blood donations at your local Red Cross. Then aim to beat it in one day the week of Halloween, claiming you’re Out For Blood. Bonus points if someone from the show dresses as Dracula and you transport them in a casket and ambulance to the Red Cross location to donate the first pint.
Billy the Weather Kid
With schools back in session, why not find a cute kid who comes on each morning to tell other kids the weather for the day and how to dress for school? I don’t have to point out that you name the feature after them and not call them Billy, right? 🙄
The Luke Combover
Do you have country music star Luke Combs coming to your market and have tickets to give out? Do the Luke Combover. Edit several short clips of Luke Combs hits back-to-back. First listener to guess every song in the Combover wins. This lovely bit of cleverness was shared by Brian, Chrissy, and Matty at WGNA, Albany.
The Teachers’ Diary
With school back in session, how about finding a bunch of teachers and asking them to keep a diary of everything that happens in their classroom for a day and then come on the show and read it? Could be great stories to hear as you enter their world of teaching.
My All-Time Favorite Teacher
For me, it was Mr. Cushman and Mr. Quigley. When in high school, those two were my favorite teachers. The two who had the biggest impact on me and, to this day, still resonate when I think of them. How about for you? For some character definition, if your favorite high school teacher is still around, why not get them on to say thanks and so that listeners can get to know you from that teacher’s perspective. A great example is here.
Hey, What Did You Have For Breakfast
We’re told breakfast is the most important meal of the day! With school back in session in a few weeks almost everywhere, here’s a quirky new feature for the show called Hey, What Did You Have For Breakfast? Take calls from kids headed to school asking what they had for breakfast (you can take calls for other listeners, too). What you hope to hear are things like: a Diet Coke and bag of chips!
Who’s the Smartest Sales Person?
With schools going back in session later this month, lots of shows will play Smarter Than a Sixth-Grader. Not you! Re-frame that game by choosing two fun sales people at the station, finding a sixth-grade teacher, and having them administer the questions to see Who’s the Smartest Sales Person.
Hotter Than Hell
Are you in that intense heat wave most people are experiencing now? Here’s a fun game to play called Hotter Than Hell. Your caller is told the temperature, at that moment, in the city you live. They then must guess if it’s hotter than hell. You then call somewhere in Hell, Michigan to get the current temperature to see if they’ve won.
Alphabet Restaurant Challenge
Here’s an idea you can do through the end of the year called the Alphabet Restaurant Challenge. Ask the audience for a local restaurant that starts with that day’s (or week’s) letter. Go A to Z until you’ve done all 26 letters. This is great local content. Thanks to Mojo in the Morning, Channel 95.5, Detroit for the idea.
The Teacher Lounge Makeover
Schools will go back in session in a matter of weeks. Plan on the Teacher Lounge Makeover. Teachers heading back to local schools say they want their teacher’s lounge done over. Choose one and do anything from new furniture to a year’s supply of snacks, depending on what you can pull off (and what clients might be able to help you with).