Phones

[kinghenry]

How the hell do you get the phones to ring? I've tried topics, I've tried pretty much everything...Any help and suggestions would be great..
Thanks

[spokesgoddess]

What format and market?

[spokesgoddess]

I'll admit, that after almost 20 years of doing radio I am still surprised as to what gets people to call in. My PD calls it a "moment of truth" and it could be anything. People like to feel knowledgeable. So give them a way to inform you of something. I asked for a list of a local town's claim to fame. Got a ton of calls. Or the best pizza. Tie it into your station FB page and let people comment there, then you can read them back on the air. Give them a chance to teach you something.

[kinghenry]

Country

[guyster]

It may seem trite, but you can pose questions based on polls, for example, "71% of all women do this once a month," If you can get decent prizes to give away, it might get your phones ringing. Air some incorrect answers, and people will want to partake. Just about any magazine or lifestyle-oriented website polls its audience, so the data is readily available.

Good luck! You are fortunate to be doing a live show.

[pdixon]

Have a "live psychic" (as opposed to a dead one) on air. Shop for air friendly psychics though. I had one who would spend ten minutes with a single caller talking bs about "Angels guiding destiny" and crap. Callers want to know
1) Is he cheating and with whom
2) Will I get this job
3)Will grandma live another year?

[thecheese]

I like poll style trivia where the wrong answers are probably more entertaining than the right answer.. and gives you the opportunity to really interact with the listeners answers.

A good one I had today..

In 1950, just 7% of Americans did this.. now, over 75% do..

I didn't even tell people what the prize was, I just bantered back and forth with the intern, and then opened up the phone lines.

Wrong answers we had fun with included: Sex, Floss, Dine Out/Fast Food, Get physical exam/regular checkups, travel by car, travel by plane.

The correct answer was "Dye their hair".

A few others that yeilded some great wrong answers before someone finally called in and claimed the prize..

The average American goes through 370 of these by the time they are 10 years old.
(answer: crayons) I had a field day with the caller who thought "sticks of deodorant" was a logical answer

The average American spends about 6 months of their life doing "this".
(answer: waiting at red lights)

Listeners just seem to love those kinds of questions, and it lights up the phones.. and what prize is up for grabs doesn't seem to matter.

[thecheese]

Oh.. here was another good one..

40% of party guests in your home will do this...

Answers ranged from sex in your bed, to urinating in your sink.. i'd like to get invited to some of these parties!

The correct answer was "go through your medicine cabinet".

[danno]

and one more thing.... NEVER interview a 5 year old on the air.

[holstein]

Facebook is a great place to start. Post a question and use a few of the best response to prime the phones. This works well for many of our affiliates.

Steve
InterPrep.com