In the last tip, I addressed what seems like a lack of Production skills in radio today. If you really want to make an immediate impact, let’s start with show Promos (particularly Morning Shows, but any show you want to promote).

The Kramer Rules:

Let go of promoting what will happen on tomorrow’s show, unless there’s a special guest or big “event” happening. What works best is a quick intro (“Charlie and The Beamer…”), followed by a good audio clip FROM the show, then a tag that tells me their name again and when they’re on, ending with the name of the station. Stay away from trying to define the show for me. (“She’s the smart one. He’s goofy, but lovable.” Ick. And please no “the perfect way to start your morning” crap.)

We should dive a little deeper into this “plugging tomorrow’s show” thing, too. I don’t WANT to feel like the whole show for tomorrow is planned already. I want some sense of a show being live, working without a net. Why…something might actually SURPRISE us!

The clip you use in the promo should be well-edited, but not SOUND like it’s edited. And it should have some appropriate “staging music” under it, not just be “dry voice”. It’s a promo, but it’s not being compared to what else is heard on radio. In the listener’s mind, it’s being compared to Hollywood movie trailers. So step it up.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2022 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

One area we haven’t discussed in a long time is Production Skills.

What we used to refer to as “board op” mistakes happen now simply because the computer ‘runs the board’ most of the time, and it lacks feel.

WE have to instill that ‘feel’ element.

In a nutshell, you want the next element to fire not too quickly, not too loose. There’s a “last logical place” in every song – even ones that fade or hold a chord out for several seconds – so put the tone in the right place, instead of chopping it off just a hair too soon, or crashing the next song over that hanging last chord. (And when you open the mic, don’t talk over a “cold” ending. When you do that, people want to strangle you. I want to hear that last word; then you talk.)

Production skills give you the ability to put something special together – editing a music bed, or making a montage of song clips or audio clips if you’ve got a guest coming on, for example.

Show promos sparkle when they’re perfectly edited. But if they’re sloppy or indulgent, they can bore people to death. (More on this in a future tip.)

And the “watchdog” mentality created by getting good at Production “works backwards” in that you start hearing “only the good parts” AS you talk to a caller. Then BOOM…a “decent” call becomes a GREAT call. Or your ears perk up when something happens on the show that you know would make a good promo with just a little editing.

If you’re intimidated by the Production world, just dive in. These digital Production tools are easy to use. And this is a marketable skill. When you’re good at it, everyone who isn’t stands out – in the wrong way.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2022 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.