Every 1000-Watt Station Can Help: A Strategy for Todays Talk

Every 1000-Watt Station Can Help: A Strategy for Todays Talk Radio Scene

Bill OReilly, host of Fox News Channels The OReilly Report, was quoted in Talkers Magazine about how he cracked the bestseller list.

In the beginning, we couldnt get on Good Morning America, or the Today Show or any of that. Elite newspapers wouldnt review the book. We had to rely on talk radio, OReily said. Talk radio has shown a much better return (than our advertising dollars).

Theres no doubt that talk radio is a great vehicle for authors, because it allows them to give in-depth answers and puts them in direct communication with people who may want to buy their book.

But talk radio is not what it used to be.

The hosts of major-market radio talk shows with great audiences used to bring authors into the studio for long chats. An author could knock off a couple of those interviews and send sales on the way to the top. Those days are gone. Unless an author is a truly big name, the chances of hitting pay dirt with a couple of big radio interviews are history.

The reasons for this are two-fold. First, there are not as many big stations that accept talk show...