What’s Going On? July 2nd 2008

July 2, 2008

I want to believe

Today is one of those beautiful, summer days. Not too hot, not too cold and nary a cloud in the sky. I’m working from the back deck, listening to BlogTalkRadio and enjoying the fresh air and my peaceful neighborhood sounds. If you like listening to music or talk while you lounge about outside or barbecue with friends, there’s lots of great stuff going on every day. Bring your laptop with you and allow us to be the soundtrack for your downtime.

Here are a few of today’s highlights:

Today on Movie Geeks United, Chris Carter, creator of the X Files universe and director of upcoming X Files: I Want to Believe stops by. But that’s not the only guest. MGU is also featuring Tony Levelle, author of Producing with Passion. This promises to be a fun segment so stop by early to chat! This evening at 10:00 p.m. est.

Actor Keith Robinson will be visiting the El & Syl variety show today at 5:00 p.m. EST to talk about his roles in Dreamgirls, Power Rangers, Monk and more.

Jonathan Roche’s No Excuses Weight Loss was made for me. The show is geared towards empowering people to help them avoid the excuses that prevent weight loss. The host is a fitness experts, certified public trainer, 13-time Boston Marathon Finisher and 10-time Ironman Triathlon Finisher. I think he knows of what he speaks! That’s at 1:00 p.m. EST today - but don’t worry if you miss it. You can catch the segment on demand any time you want.

Radio Free Kansas features Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan for an extended interview. That’s this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. EST. Call in, chat or just give a listen.

Have a great afternoon!


Show Descriptions: Tips for Bringing in the Masses

July 2, 2008

Monday’s blog post about using descriptive paragraphs to bring in listeners was well received. Folks even sent quite a few emails and several comments asking me to expand on the descriptive paragraph topic and give tips and examples. Before I do, let’s talk a little about Search Engine Optimization or SEO.

SEO is the art of using popular phrases and keywords to bring in traffic. As a professional blogger, I hate keywords and phrases. I find many of them to be unnatural. As a radio show host, you want to use as many of them as possible in your show description. Let’s say you’re interviewing George Clooney. Lots of people search for information about George Clooney every day, he is your keyword. If you can name him two or three times in your paragraph without it sounding too silly, by all means do so. But once is still good.

In fact if you want to look for what people are searching for, and create shows around those popular topics, you can do so by using Yahoo Buzz, Google Trends and even keyword tools such as Overture.

But I digress…

If you’re interviewing George Clooney for your show mentioning his name will be good enough to bring in many listeners, but don’t stop there. Why are you interviewing George Clooney? Is he promoting a film or charity project? Will he be discussing a political event or  giving his point of view? You’ll certainly want to put this information in your description as well. Now you won’t be just drawing in Clooney fans you’ll be piquing the interest of movie buffs, charity supporters or those with an interest in politics.

“George Clooney will be a guest on the Deborah Ng show this evening where he will discuss why he supports Barack Obama in the upcoming Presidential election. Listeners are invited to call in or chat.”

Already you have three important key phrases: “George Clooney”, “Barack Obama” and “presidential election.”  Also notice I mentioned how listeners can call in and chat? That makes it even more interesting. Lots of people want to ask questions of George Clooney, all the more reason to come by. Now potential listeners know they can look forward to hearing George Clooney answer questions from real people.

Ok, so you don’t have a famous special guest. That doesn’t mean your show isn’t interesting. There are still ways to hype your segment and get people to come in and listen.

“D.J. Deb plays the best music from the hairbands of the 70’s and 80’s. Tune in to hear some blasts from the past from Poison, Motley Crue, Judas Priest and more. Have a special request? Send it in early to DJDeb@notarealemailaddress.com and I’ll get it on the air for you.”

The above paragraph tells you the host isn’t just playing music. She’s playing a specific type of music. By including names of some of the bands on the playlist she’s appealing to fans of this genre and those artists. Plus people searching for these bands might come across this link and stop to listen. It appeals even more to listeners as now they can even request a favorite song - who doesn’t like to hear his name called out on the air?

I was asked if there’s a particular word count. There isn’t. You don’t want to make the description too wordy nor do you want it to be so vague it doesn’t tell the reader anything. A paragraph or two is fine as long as you mention any special guests, the show’s topic, and if anything special is happening. Will you be taking calls? Will there be a chat? Are you going to sing? Include it all in there. Give people a reason to stop by. What would make you want to come by and listen?

Would you like help with your show description? Drop me a line at deborahng@blogtalkradio.com and we’ll work on a solution together.


Host Spotlight: Living by Design’s Cathy Holloway Hill

July 2, 2008

cathy holloway hill

There’s a bit of a buzz going on here at BlogTalkRadio. Cathy Holloway Hill, host for Living by Design, is bringing in the listeners and they have nothing but good things to say about her show. After doing a Q& A with Cathy, it’s easy to see why she’s such a success…and an inspiration to women everywhere. Cathy not only took some time to talk to us about her experiences as a life coach and Living by Design, but also she had some wonderful promotional tips and advice for hosts and those who aspire to host a show on the BlogTalkRadio network. Check it out:

Tell us about your radio show. Describe Living by Design for those people who haven’t yet dropped by for a listen.

As an EmPOWERmentor, my show’s focus is to empower people to design their lives. If we don’t design what we want in our lives, someone else will do it for us, and more than likely, we won’t like the outcome. We focus on the enhancement and advancement of the lives of ALL people. We started out focusing on women, but we soon discovered that the topics we cover will also benefit the lives of men as well. We believe that everyone has the power to design their lives instead of just falling into whatever situation comes along. Our show provides the forum through our own experiences as well as the professional training and experiences of our guests. My motto is that “life is not about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself”, and that’s what we do each week. We help our listeners to create their destiny.

What is a life coach?

Athletes have sports coaches to enhance their skills, musicians use voice coaches to enhance their skills, actors use acting coaches to enhance their skills. Life coaches are equal partners who assist you to improve and grow as a person as the means to achieve your life goals (career, relationships, work/life balance, self assessment, etc).

Living By Design is gaining in popularity, and people write in to tell us how much they enjoy you as host. Why do you think people enjoy your show so much?

First of all, I have a tremendous co-host who is an icon in the broadcasting industry. He has experience, passion for his work, and as the former game show host of the Indiana Hoosier Millionaire, he was named “the World’s Biggest Voice”, and it’s true! Together, Tony and I bring a high quality show to our listeners. Everyone in this world wants to be accepted and appreciated. I was blessed to have a very compassionate nurturing spirit, and while I cover real life topics that affect millions of people globally, I also approach it from a place of love, encouragement, and empowering. People have told me that they feel the compassion in my words and presentation on the show. This is a blessing that God has placed on me, and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with the world!

You touch on some pretty sensitive topics: incest, dysfunctional families…are there any topics you’re afraid to touch?

NO! As long as my topics are changing lives, I will feature it. We live in a world that consists of violence, anger, pain, mental illness, drug abuse, and uncertainty. Oftentimes, we want to sweep controversial topics under the rug, which is why we are seeing children starting at young ages going on killing sprees, experiencing mental illness and having no direction in life. As long as people are telling me that I’m making a difference in their lives and helping them heal from emotional problems, I will continue to bring these issues to the forefront.

What made you decide to have a show on BlogTalkRadio?

I have been a mentor, coach, and compassionate individual my entire life. I started my Consulting business 5 years ago, alongside my corporate job, and I first learned of BTR by being a guest on someone’s show. When I learned this was an open free forum, I knew that God had led me here to do a job. I applaud Mr. Levy for providing people like me the opportunity to live their dream and help change the lives of many people!

What has been your favorite segment so far?

It’s difficult to pick one favorite segment. Each time I get comments and notes, it makes me realize that all the segments thus far have accomplished what I am striving to do – reach the hearts of many people.

What do you do to promote your show and bring in an audience?

My website and MySpace page . I submit a monthly newsletter highlighting my radio show. I belong to many women networking organizations (Professional Woman Network, ewomenNetwork, National Speakers Association, National Writers Association, Toastmasters International, National Association of Women Business Owners, National Association of Female Executives, self-growth network, young millionaires network, Facebook, Konnect, etc. On these networking websites, I post each week of the topics we cover. I also have separate business cards specifically for my radio show. I expect my listener base to continue to grow over the next upcoming months.

What advice do you have for other hosts in building up an audience?

My advice would be to put your heart and soul into your message. Ensure your passion comes across in your voice and your delivery. Get the word out to as many people as possible. Use your resources. Network, network, and NETWORK! Every opportunity you get to join a networking organization, take advantage of it. And don’t be shy about telling everyone about your radio show.

What advice do you have for people who are considering a radio show but can’t gather up the courage to do that first show?

As Nike would say,,,,”JUST DO IT”! We must never allow fear to hold us back. The only way to grow is to look fear dead in the face and do it anyway. I have experienced failure, but it only made me stronger. In the words of one of my favorite quotes; “Success isn’t a destination, it’s a journey”

Who are some of your favorite BTR hosts?

Any host that focuses on the enhancement of others through music, spirituality, emotional and physical wellness are my favorites. BTR has many very talented hosts, and there are many great shows. I am blessed to have an opportunity to join the elite group of hosts featured each week on this outstanding forum. THANK YOU BTR, and Mr. Levy, for providing me the forum to help millions!

Cathy, thank you for taking the time out to answer or questions. It’s easy to see why you’re an asset to BlogTalkRadio.

Tonight Cathy and Tony will be welcoming acclaimed author Kimberla Lawson Roby. I’ll be there at 6:00 p.m. EST, will you?