Finding Your Niche

Hello everyone. I've been asked by several of you to share some tips on helping to promote your radio station. Notice how I didn't say how? Everyone's technique is going to be different, and some will be more successful at it than others. Don't worry though. All you have to do is find your niche. Once you have done that the rest will come to your asking, which most of you have asked me, "How do I get more listeners?!" 

The radio station is a representation of you. Let me reiterate. The radio station is a representation of you. It is you! Look at all the time you are putting into it. Planning playlists, promoting & marketing you takes a whole lot of time. Notice how I just referenced to you 5x in this paragraph so far? If no one is interested in your radio station, then the chances are that YOU are not interesting. This is where you need to be creative and think out of the box for a bit. Do other things that no one else is doing. Create and invent and incorporate you into the station! Be the station! Also, sit down. Take a break and listen to your station. If you think its crap, again there’s a good chance others will too. Be proud of you & your station and you will be able to promote it more effectively and efficiently and your public will pick up on it too. 

Doing what other people aren’t doing and finding new and different ways to be creative and inventive is easier said than done and at times can be downright frustrating. Most of us tend to look at what the top radio stations on KryKey are doing and say, “Hmmm, its working great for them. I’ll do that too.” Although copying someone or in more softer terms “imitating” another radio station or individual is the highest form of flattery it is not going to get you listeners. Otherwise we’d all be clones just doing the same thing. Perhaps a better approach to this would be to examine the top radio stations on KryKey and say to yourself, “What aren’t they doing that I could do?”, and if they are doing something that you are already doing, ask yourself how can I do it better? After all, there is a sense of competition here. Otherwise, there would be no rankings, right? 

Another point I want to briefly brush upon is location. Let’s face it. If you are in Smallsville USA or your government controls what you hear or you’re still receiving mail by mule. Chances are you’ll have to move. JUST KIDDING. But, you will have to go outside of your area to achieve a listener base which I will explain on how to do that and what has worked for my radio station. 

The last point is experience, time & patience. I think people who have experience in the music field or a sense & passion for music have a high success rate of promotion and growth. I also feel that people with sales & marketing experience are in the same category. Put the two of them together and it is a win/win situation for success. Again, I want to reiterate that everyone needs to find their own niche. One key to finding your own niche is to incorporate tools & skills that you have done before. But have been dormant for many years. I find that it helps by utilizing everything about you when developing, promoting and expanding your listener base. The listener is not only tuning into your radio station. They are tuning into you! 

Next is time. There are radio stations currently on the KryKey Network that have been in existence since KryKey started. They have not only found their niche, but have developed a great listener base along the way. A great example of finding a niche, geographical location, longevity on KryKey & doing what most of the other radio stations internet or FM have done or are currently trying to do is Red Babe from Russia. For example, has anyone noticed that Red Babe does not do a single radio show or live interview with bands or big named stars? But yet she still retains the #1 spot several weeks out of the year. 

Let’s examine this together. Red Babe has been on KryKey since the 1st platform in 2008. That’s 3 yrs and that’s plenty of time to build a good strong listening base. Her geographical location is Russia. There are millions of Russian immigrants all around Russia. So, not only does Red Babe reach out to her fellow Russians, but all the surrounding countries as well. That’s huge per capita. Finally, Red Babe does a Russian Top 40 every week. She has been doing this effectively and efficiently for 3 yrs. It would make no sense for anyone else on the network to start a Russian Top 40, when people have been tuning in and allowing Red Babe’s programming to be a part of their lives for so long. Notice how I said “programming”? And what’s Red Babe’s niche, you ask? It’s her of course. It’s the little snippets of her voice coming on the radio airwaves saying, “Your listening to Red Babe Radio.” Or she’ll say, “Number 39”, “Number 14” etc. when doing the Top 40. Whatever it is or how difficult or simple it is. It is Red Babe’s programming, it is her incorporating and making herself a part of her radio station & her niche that she is comfortable & of course happy with. 

Don’t get me wrong. There are other radio stations on KryKey besides Red Babe that have made it to the #1 slot in the world. Some are quite the opposite of what Red Babe does. They do live interviews, host numerous shows per week & do Top 40 shows in other areas. Again, it’s the way they have incorporated themselves into the radio station, kept the listeners happy and have found their niche. If you would like to also use the weather as an excuse you can. Studies prove there are more listeners in the winter months than there are in summer months because people tend to stay home during the crappy cold months in the winter season and are out more when the weather is warm and sunny. So, maybe during this time you can tell listeners to take your radio station on the go with them through their smart phones or droids so they can still keep you as a part of their daily lives and enjoy the nice weather too. 

Lastly, is patience? It’s going to take time to find & develop your niche. There is going to be a lot of time for experimentation and trial & error. This is vital in order for you to find your niche and continue to grow your listening base. It is important to stay focused during this time. As I and many others have meandered off the path at hand and lost focus to what we were intentionally doing when we started. It’s always good to keep a log or journal every week on what you’ve done and how your progress is going. The analytical reports from Google that we receive every week is a great way to keep track on what is going on, what is working and what is not. 

 

So, let us review what we have so far. We’ve talked about finding your niche. We’ve said that the radio station is a representation of you, and to be creative and think out of the box. Be proud of you and your station and be willing to try new things that no one else is doing or maybe improve on something another radio station is doing by simply doing it better. We all learn something new with our radio stations every day. Share your experiences with the rest of the KryKey community, good or bad. What might not have worked for you, may work for another station. Give yourself time in developing, promoting & expanding your radio station and be patient. Stay focused and don’t give up!! 

KryKey is a multifaceted network that allows you to be anything that you want to be. Broadcast to the world with your own radio station. Play music, podcasts, promos, news, talk live, have listeners call in and talk with you on the air, employ multiple DJs, manage two separate studios, open a chat room, view a listener location map, stream with 320k quality, unlimited space for your music & podcasts, initiate programming for up to 24 hours a day, support an unlimited amount of listeners, embed a player on your existing web page or MySpace, and own a customizable radio station page! If your goal is to be #1 in the world out of over 3,000 Global Internet Radio stations on the KryKey Network or just opening up a personal web radio station for your own personal use with family friends. KRYKEY GIVES YOU THIS AMAZING TOOL …and IT’S ALL FOR FREE! 

I hope this was helpful. 

Sincerely, 

Scott Price 

UNIR1 Radio