February is here and this week brought some of the biggest names in entertainment and politics to BlogTalkRadio.

SAJA and SAMMA spoke with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, two of the biggest stars in Bollywood, about their starring roles in new flick, My Name is Khan.

Fitness goddess Denise Austin spoke with Feisty Side of Fifty about her new book, Denise’s Dirty Dozen.

Newly-elected Senator Scott Brown’s daughter, Ayla Brown, spoke with Dr. Blogstein, while Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts spoke with Left Ahead.

Mr. Media welcomed heartthrob Christian Slater and 24 darling Elisha Cuthbert, to talk about their new series, The Forgotten.

Queen bee of the OC housewives, Vicki Gunvalson, of Real Housewives of Orange County on Bravo, chats about all the drama with Olivia.

The Oscar nominations were broken down by film fanatics of Movie Geeks United and Jason O’Brien of Oscar, Oscar.

Ed and Heba chatted with Fitness Buff about their lives since starring on The Biggest Loser, and their fitness goals for 2010.

What was your favorite moment on BlogTalkRadio this past week?  Please share it with us in comments.

Have a great weekend!

Inviting listeners to call in to your BlogTalkRadio show, whether to ask questions, share perspectives, or participate in a contest, is a great way to engage your fans and provide a dynamic and interactive element to your online radio show.

Here are a few tips on taking callers:

TIP 1: Plan, Plan, Plan!
Define your process for handling callers prior to going live on the air. Consider these questions when defining the process:
• Will you take callers at the beginning, middle, end or throughout your show?
• How will you encourage listeners to call in, and how can you guide their commentary?
• Who will be working the switchboard and announcing callers? Do you need a co-host?
• Will you pre-schedule callers you know to ask topic-related questions?
• How will you designate which callers to bring on the air first?

If you have a co-host or a producer it is important that you make sure that you understand who is doing what when you go on air, and that you each understand the process for screening callers so that everything goes smoothly.

TIP 2: Screening and Taking Callers.
For Free BlogTalkRadio Host Accounts
Here are some different techniques for taking callers using our basic account:

• Announce your callers via area code as you un-mute them and bring them on the air. Let your callers know that this is how you will identify callers so they are ready to listen for their area code to know to speak.
• Encourage callers to private message you in your chat room, give you their names and what area codes they are calling from, and what they want to speak about.
• Plan for loyal listeners to call in beforehand. Be sure to get their phone numbers so you know how to identify them on your switchboard.

For Premium Host Accounts
If you have a premium account, you have the ability to screen callers prior to bring them on air. With the help of a co-host, one person can screen calls, while the other leads the show. If you do not have a co-host, upload and play an audio file while you screen your callers, so there is no dead air. Call screening is a useful feature because it enables you to announce callers before you pull them onto the air, know the caller’s comments ahead of time, and gives your show a very professional sound. For more information on how call-screening works, check out this screencast tutorial. We are also launching a live training session for Premium hosts, and those interested in learning more about the benefits of premium services, on February 4th at 1:00pm ET. If you want to learn more about using the enhanced switchboard, click here to attend.

TIP 3: Repeat the Question.
As the host or co-host, it is good practice to acknowledge the listener for asking a good question and then to repeat the question clearly before you answer it. Repeating the caller’s question ensures that all your listeners heard it clearly and gives everyone on the show a few moments to gather their thoughts before answering it.

TIP 4: Ending the call.
As the host, you are free to end the call at any time. For enjoyable callers, it is common to thank your caller, invite him or her to call back in the future, and then click on the hang up button.

TIP 5: Take Control.
When taking live callers, you should feel confident that you have control over your show. In the rare event that you have a disrespectful caller, you can hang up on them at any time. If they are rude or abusive, take down their number before you disconnect them, and please report it to our customer service team at service@blogtalkradio.com, and we will take action.

TIP 6: Optimizing Audio.
Callers use all sorts of connections to reach BlogTalkRadio, and you may have to adjust their audio to optimize your show’s sound. If you notice an echo after someone has dialed in, it is likely they have their computer speakers turned up, which causes an echoing effect. Ask them to mute their computer speakers, which should solve the problem. If you ever notice a warped or garbled sounding call, it is likely the caller is using a VOIP connection with a weak server. In that case, ask them to dial back in on a different line or a different type of voice connection.

With these details in mind, we are confident your most entertaining and pertinent callers and interactions on BlogTalkRadio are ahead of you.

If you have questions or concerns, we are always happy to help you at service@blogtalkradio.com, and if you are a premium host, you can open live help directly from your switchboard.

If you have any additional tips or comments, we encourage you to share them here!

Until next week!
Christie Sweet

Governor Deval Patrick and Ayla Brown.

If you’ve been following the news, or you’re from the great state of Massachusetts, you’ve heard these names a lot recently.  Coincidentally, both the Governor of the state and the daughter of newly-elected Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, are both chatting with BlogTalkRadio hosts on the very same day.

Ayla Brown first made headlines a few years back as a talented contestant on American Idol.  The statuesque Boston College basketball player survived the first two rounds before being dismissed.  Now, she’s been thrust back into the spotlight as the daughter of Senator Scott Brown, who recently won the late Ted Kennedy’s coveted and long-held senate seat, shifting the political tide in the Republican direction.

And Ayla was also singled out by her father during his acceptance speech, when he declared his two daughters’ dating status, “Just in case anyone who’s watching throughout the country, yes they’re both available.”  Is that true? Ayla herself joins Dr. Blogstein tonight to discuss the mortifying event and what she’s looking forward to as a Senator’s daughter.

Governor Deval Patrick sympathizes with the stress of being in the spotlight, and he discusses his job and much more with Left Ahead, a show about Massachusetts politics with a progressive viewpoint.  Governor Patrick discusses the state of the Obama administration, the potential he sees for achieving his progressive goals in the state, and how he’s coping with funding issues and the strains of serving in a difficult economic period.

Don’t miss the chance to hear these two political insiders today on BlogTalkRadio.

Hard to believe it is already Friday again. This week was another stellar week for content on BlogTalkRadio.

Below are a few highlights.

Mr. Media talked with Chris Gorham from Ugly Betty, who gave us some bad good news and some bad news: Ugly Betty will be cancelled at the end of this season. (Maybe Chris will come back to reprise his Henry Grubstick role one last time?) But the good news is that Gorham will be starring in a new show, Covert Affairs, on the USA Network.

Tears for Fears frontman and singer Curt Smith and San Francisco cellist, Zoe Keating, were in conversation with Olivia Wilder about their collaboration and new single, “All Is Love.”

SAJA spoke with Salman Ahmad, author of “Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution.” Ahmad is helping destroy the wall that divides the Western and Muslim worlds one song at a time. And he counts Bono and Al Gore among his fans.

Actors Chaske Spencer and Tinsel Korey, who play Sam and Emily, the wolf pack leader and his imprint/fiancee, in The Twilight Saga: New Moon shared details about what it was like to work on one of the most talked about movies of the year, and what’s in store for the next Twilight movie, Eclipse, on Artists on Demand Radio.

…Speaking of vampires:  Artists on Demand Radio also welcomed actor Charlie Bewley from The Twilight Saga: New Moon. He’s also and soon-to-be-seen in Eclipse as Demetri, the tracker who is part of the Volturi.

Three-time Olympian Ruben Gonzalez talked about inspirations, dreams, and his book, Becoming Unstoppable. He and Paul Lawrence Vann talked luge training for Gonzalez’s upcoming fourth Olympic Games, on The Wealthy Speaker Show. 

Rick West, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, spoke with Navy Wife Radio about how social media connects him with Navy Families, sailors, and retirees and about the communication waves of the future. Social Media on the Seas

Singer, songwriter, and producer Jeff Timmons spoke with Night Views about his career as a founding member of 98 Degrees, his time on VH1, and his new album, Emotional High.

David Mathinson of Be The Media conversed with Seth Godin, author of the most popular e-book ever written “America’s greatest marketer;” and David’s personal hero. David also spoke with Scott Stratten, author, expert in viral marketing, and president of UN-Marketing.com.

If you missed these interviews the first time around, tune into the on-demand versions linked here.  For more Featured content from this week, check out our Weekly Best section, and our Featured Talk Radio area on the homepage.  If you have a favorite moment from this week not included here, share it with us in the Comments section.

Diehard Fantasy Sports fans already know that The Fantasy Sports Channel has more LIVE fantasy sports radio than anywhere on the planet — and now you can add “award winning” to that description.

The Fantasy Sports Channel won its first industry award this week, taking home the 2010 Best Podcasting Award at the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s Winter Conference in Las Vegas. Scott Engel of RotoExperts.com, accepted the award on behalf of FSC.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, The Fantasy Sports Channel also won the Best New Site or Site Update Award from the FSTA on Tuesday for the launch of new site update at www.fsc.fm. All this, from a site that’s been on-air for about a year and a half. It speaks volumes about the great work contributed by all of FSC when FSC is nominated for the same awards as big contenders, such as ESPN.

Marc Ronick, managing editor and creator of the FSC, said, “FSC has been really well received and its an honor to have our industry recognize it this way. Thanks to everyone for helping to make the FSC such a success.” Ronick pointed out that FSC’s pride also lies with its affiliated shows, such as the Footballguys.com and RotoExperts.com, which nominations for FTSA awards this year inspire FSC to maintain its excellence and keep stepping up to the plate. So to speak.

The accolades keep pouring in for this site. We’ve always thought great things about FSC, and now we’ve got awards to back it up. Congratulations and nice work, FSC.

When it comes to hosting a successful online talk radio show, having a co-host can be a great asset. A co-host can help you to:

*Plan and manage your show’s timeline
*Outline questions for guests
*Coordinate and screen calls
*Run the show while you screen callers
*Provide a fresh perspective on the air
*Give your show more voices, more personality

Here are a few co-hosting tips:

1) Pre-Show Planning and Communication. Make sure that you and your co-host are well prepared before your show goes live. It is important that each of you understand who is doing what when you go on air. Who is screening callers? Making introductions? Asking questions? It can be helpful to draft an outline for your show before hand; this will ensure both you and your co-host have great talking points. If conducting an interview, consider alternating asking questions. And remember to prepare a great introduction for your guests ahead of time.

2) The Logistics: Two hosts, two calls. When you dial-in to conduct your show with a co-host, the Host dials in on the host line, the co-host dials in the guest line. If your co-host will be helping with the switchboard, they can log right into the host’s account using your user name and password, open up the switchboard, and have the exact same abilities of the host. With the chatroom, the host will click on the green “start chat now” button, and the co-host will click on “login to chat as co-host”, and then “start chat now.”

3) Screening Callers. One of the biggest benefits of have a co-host is having someone that can help screen callers without interrupting the show’s flow. Premium switchboards have a call screening feature which allows you to enter information about the caller and appears on the switchboard next to their phone number. This allows you to introduce the callers by name and location when putting them on the air, without having to interrupt your show to ask these details. For more on how call-screening works, click here for a screencast tutorial. We are also launching a live training session for Premium hosts, and those interested in learning more about the benefits of premium services, on February 4th at 1:00pm ET. If you want to learn more about using the enhanced switchboard, click here to attend.

4) Real-time Show Communication: Try IM. It can be important to have a private line of communication available between you and your co-host while the show is live. Instant messaging (IM) is a great way to silently communicate with your co-host without interrupting your show or your listeners. You can let the other host know when you are ready to speak, or that you need to take a break and have the co-host take over the show.

The bottom line: having a good co-host can add new content and perspectives to your online talk radio show. As always, we welcome your thoughts and questions!

Until next week, y’all!
Christie Sweet

BlogTalkRadio has released a new free feature to make it even easier for listeners to call in and participate in live shows. “Click to Talk” with Skype enables listeners to join the show simply by using a Skype-to-Skype call, which also means the call is toll-free.

Here is a step-by-step guide for using the “Click-to-Talk” feature:

1. Make sure you are logged in to your Skype account. If you don’t have one you can register here.

2. Log in to your BlogTalkRadio account and go to the Episode page of the show you want to participate in.

3. Click on the “Click to Talk” Logo shown below. (If you do not see this logo, try hitting control+f5)

Click to Talk with Skype

4. When you see Pop-Up window, Click “Click to Talk” Logo again to automatically launch Skype call.

5. Click “Call” in Skype application to complete call to show.

That’s it!

We recommend that listeners use a headset when dialing to avoid echo and to ensure audio quality when participating in the show. If you should have any questions about the above feature be sure to contact us at service(at)blogtalkradio.com.

Another week whizzed by on BlogTalkRadio.  With the recent events in Haiti, we thank our hosts for participating in raising awareness through their shows.  Here are some highlights:

Sultry singer Ashanti spoke with Mr. Media about her heartwarming role as the celebrity volunteer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Actress Michelle Monaghan spoke with Betty Jo about her edgy role in upcoming flick, Trucker.

Marketing guru and author Seth Godin talked with The Publishing Insiders about his new book Linchpin: Are You Dispensable?

Alpha Waves Radio welcomed Bear McCreary, the composer behind all the stirring sounds of Battlestar Galactica.

Jerry Rice, widely recognized as one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history, chatted with Bottom Line Sports.

Film journalist Peter Biskind discusses his controversial new book, Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, with The Movie Geeks.

Harper Perennial and The Zinn Education Project presented a conversation with Howard Zinn on his acclaimed book, A People’s History of the United States.

JD Lasica launched his show with a discussion with Pamela Hawley of Universal Giving, featuring ways to contribute to Haiti relief efforts.

If you missed these interviews the first time around, tune into the on-demand versions linked here.  For more Featured content from this week, check out our Weekly Best section, and our Featured Talk Radio area on the homepage.  If you have a favorite moment from this week not included here, share it with us in the Comments section.

Have a great weekend!

An engaged and interactive listener community can add a whole new dimension to your online radio show and can take a good show to the next level. Whether you are a new host unsure of where to start, or a seasoned host looking for new ideas, here are some tips to help you get listeners more engaged in your BlogTalkRadio show:

1. Take Live Callers:
A great way to get listeners interacting on your show is to encourage questions and feedback through your call-in line. There are many ways to manage live callers using BlogTalkRadio’s switchboard, depending on your hosting style and the level of control you would like to maintain over the show’s content. Some hosts engage callers by immediately bringing them live on-air as they appear on the switchboard, while other hosts feel more comfortable bringing only scheduled callers live on-air so they can stay focused on the central theme and avoid any content surprises. With BlogTalkRadio premium services, we offer the best of both worlds: our premium enhanced switchboard enables hosts to screen callers, and thus organize caller’s content, before bringing them onto the show.

2. Open Your Chatroom and Engage Your Chatters:
When you open your chatroom during your live show, your listeners can engage in chat with you, as well as with other listeners. Managing the chatroom during your live show is an effective way to enable discussion and can be another avenue for live listeners to ask questions and give feedback that you can respond to in real time. In addition, opening your chatroom can help bring in more listeners by creating an atmosphere of camaraderie and interactivity that listeners will want to return to and suggest to friends.

3. Benefit From A Co-host:
Introducing a co-host to your online radio show can help you better engage your listeners, in tandem with the two tips we’ve already discussed, while adding friendly banter and calmness to your show. Imagine having a friend take on half the tasks during hosting! Look for a co-host who complements your hosting style and with whom you feel comfortable. Try out a few test shows to make sure that your differing viewpoints and chemistry make a positive addition to the show.

4. Have a Contest:
Listeners love to win swag, and adding a contest to your show can be a great way to get the less vocal people involved. Host a trivia contest, a competition between listeners, or an idea-generating event to demonstrate your desire for your listeners to interact with you and each other. To encourage listeners to tune in repeatedly, you can introduce a multi-week contest, giving clues during multiple shows, so listeners are motivated to tune in and listen to each show up through the contest deadline.

5. Use Sound Clips:
Sound effects, original music, and pre-taped segments create a more diverse audio landscape for your listeners. Plus, your options for content increase exponentially, thus expanding opportunities to create more imaginative and fun content. Laughter, applause, doorbells, catch-phrases, and sound effects are easy to find online for free, and can help keep your listeners focused and entertained.

In upcoming tips, we’ll expand on these ideas with more examples and recommendations. If you have any recommendations, feel free to email us at service-at-blogtalkradio.com or add it in the comments below and we’ll look to include them in future entries.

Today, JD Lasica, strategist, marketer,  journalist, and blogger, launched his show on BlogTalkRadio, with special guest, Pamela Hawley, founder of Universal Giving.  JD is the founder of top social media blog Socialmedia.biz, and Socialbrite.org, which focuses on social tools for the social good, and online philathropy.

In this timely interview, given the dire situation in Haiti, Pamela talks about the Universal Giving website, which allows people to give and volunteer with the top performing projects all over the world, and takes no cut of the donations.  Pamela also shares what she views as the best ways to donate to relief efforts in Haiti, as well as ways her site helps similar relief efforts year-round.

In addition, JD and Pamela touch on some of the corporations that are focusing on making a positive impact with their corporate social responsibility efforts.  Check out the chat, and keep an eye out for JD’s occasional shows that will spotlight  topics of interest to the social cause community.

If you, as a BlogTalkRadio host or listener, are looking for ways to get involved in the Haiti relief efforts, here are a few ways you can contribute and raise awareness with your show:

-Encourage listeners to contribute to one of the active text message donation systems:

Text “HAITI” to the number 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross
Text “YELE” to 501501 to donate $5 to Wyclef Jean’s foundation
Text “SAVE” to 20222 to donate $10 to Save the Children

-Post a “Ways to Help” list on your show profile’s blog and mention it to listeners during your show.

-Visit Universal Giving and research organizations that speak to you.  Some groups providing healthcare include Partners in Health, and Doctors Without Borders.

-Leverage these lists of resources that have been published by other media outlets, and stay updated on how you can help:
CNN
USA Today
NPR
The Huffington Post

Leave us a comment telling us ways you’ve gotten involved with the effort in Haiti, and ways you are using your BlogTalkRadio show to get the word out.