Why your internet station needs a blog

When it comes to online radio, a blog can be a powerful way to engage and entertain your existing audience but also to connect with new listeners and promote your station. In this post, we’ll discuss tips for starting a blog and creating content that will help your station grow. We’ll also talk about what to write about, and how to keep your blog fresh and interesting. Finally, we’ll provide some resources to help you get started.

1. How to come up with topic ideas for blog posts

You first need to figure out what your blog will be about. One thing you definitely need to do is make your blog relevant to your radio. For example, if your internet radio programming is all about Jazz, it won’t make much sense to blog about Pop. Your blog should be your written representation of your radio station style and content. Here are some ideas about what to write about:

• Music industry news
• Album reviews
• World news
• Industry news and gossips
• Playlists of the month
• Concert reviews
• Interviews with singers and musicians you invite to your shows
• History of music
• Music festivals
• Books that music lovers should read

If you’re stumped for blog topic ideas, consider ideas from your own life. Don’t be afraid to blog about a topic that hits close to home; it’s important to write about things that interest you  because this passion will come through in your blogs. There are various online tools that can help you find inspiration and topic ideas on what to write about. Here are five content idea generators:

• HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator
• Impact’s Blog Title Generator
• Answer the Public
• BuzzSumo’s Question Analyzer
• UberSuggest Content Idea Generator
• ChatGPT by OpenAI
• Copy.ai Content Idea Generator

I’ve recently launched an internet radio station for my website Soundhealing.gr focused on sound healing, and meditation music. I knew that an effective way to attract new listeners is through a blog where I would write content related to sound healing, and sound meditation. The first thing I did is to write down topic ideas that I would find interesting as a reader. I also did a Google search to find topic ideas according to what people are looking for in relation to sound healing. I then used Google Adwords’ Keyword Planner to narrow down the topics to the ones which would have potential organic traffic. The idea is that people who are interested in learning about sound healing, would end up on my blog and hopefully would want to listen to the station. I started seeing an increase in organic traffic 1 month after launching the blog.

This post about how to come up with topic ideas for your talk radio show might give you some extra ideas on finding interesting things to write about.

Extra tip: You can use social media polls to ask your fans what type of topics they want to see on your blog.

2. Finding your voice

Finding your blog’s voice is an important step in building a successful blog. Your posts should have a  distinct style, and your content should not be boring or copy-and-pasted from other sources. Try and think about matching the tone of your blog with the voice of your internet radio show.

3. How regularly should you post?

Frequency of posting is totally up to you. However, if you aim to have a successful blog that gets organic traffic (which means readers who could become radio listeners) you will need to blog regularly. Aim to blog at least once a week, if not more. Many content marketers who aim for increased awareness blog daily, but you can blog less frequently and still generate traffic and engagement. You just need a content plan (weekly or monthly), write engaging content, and never give up the idea of writing. Trust me, it will pay off the moment that you will see your organic traffic and listenership rising!

4. How to engage your blog audience

You should engage and interact with blog readers through the post’s comments section or on social media. This will help build a following for your blog. Readers always appreciate being acknowledged and seeing a reply from you will give them a reason to be more engaged and comment again in the future. Also, lots of times those comments will give you inspiration for future blog post ideas. Keep in mind that when running a blog, you’ll want to take comments and interaction into account so that you can write blog posts that will generate interest and discussion. Another potential way to interact with your blog audience is through quizzes. Quizzes can be highly engaging and interactive, allowing the active participation of readers.  You can create quizzes related to your blog topics or content, offering your audience  a chance to test their knowledge, discover something new, or even just have fun.

5. Accept guest post contributors

Another great way to engage your audience is to ask them to share their own content and publish it on your blog as a guest post. You can let people know through your radio and website that you are up for guest contributors. Obviously, you can choose what content to publish. No one obliges you to publish all guest content you receive. On your website, create a blog post category for these guest contributions. After getting their post published on your blog, guest contributors will likely want to share this great news with their friends on social media, which means extra exposure and potential readers-listeners for your station!

6. How to build blog traffic

Regardless of how regularly you blog, blog promotion is key for building traffic and engagement. Blog promotion includes search engine optimisation (SEO), blog post promotion on social media, guest blog promotion, and blog post pay-per-click advertisements. It won’t make much sense to create content that no one reads. Therefore, you will need to spread the word about it. You can of course let your listeners know about your new blog posts through your radio show and share your posts on your social media channels. You can also host webinars or online events related to your blog content to promote your blog.

Another great way to get more views and readers is to join relevant Facebook groups and communities and share your posts there. Finally, you can use platforms like Reddit and Medium to reach a wider audience.

7. How to monetise a blog for online radio

Monetising blog content can be done in a few different ways. You can blog about particular music albums that you play on your radio and link to music play stores where your audience can purchase that album. There are play stores that provide affiliate partnerships to publishers like yourself. You will get a commission for every reader of your blog who clicks on that link and makes a purchase. You could also use blog advertisements to generate revenue through blog visits. You can sign up to Google Adsense and use their service to feature banner ads on your blog and get paid every time a reader clicks on those ads. Here are some more ways to make money from your station.

8.How to take advantage of SEO to bring organic traffic to your blog

SEO is the way to make your website and blog rank on search engines. You can check out this guide to find how it works. The truth is that it’s not that easy to implement a successful SEO strategy if you’re not familiar with the subject and the techniques. However, I wasn’t either before starting my first blog and it didn’t take long until I started seeing a spike in organic traffic on my blog. If you want to take advantage of SEO, you will need to know some basic concepts and ranking factors, and always keep in mind those key factors whenever writing a blog post.

Be sure to make use of keywords and SEO techniques so that your blog posts can be found by listeners online. Here are some blog post SEO tips to get you started:

• The easiest way to find the right keywords to use in your copy is through this simple and free browser extension called Keywords Everywhere. You will just need to search for the topic of the blog post you want to write about in the search engine and Keywords Everywhere will show you monthly search volume metrics right inside the search pages.
•  If you want to dive deeper into keywords research and analysis you can use Google Adwords’ Keywords Planner tool, which is also free to use.

9. Use Canva for blog design

Canva is a cool website where you can create nice design elements for your blog, like spot banners. It offers hundreds of beautiful templates to use so that you can create a beautiful banner without having design knowledge. Just sign up for a free account and look for blog graphics.

10. Stay Informed with Industry Trends and Current Events

By staying informed about the latest industry trends and events, you can discover new topics of interest, predict changes, and offer timely insights to your readers. Engaging with industry news also positions you as a knowledgeable authority, establishing you as a credible source and attracting a broader audience. Regularly monitoring trends helps you adapt your content strategy continuously. Sharing knowledge and updates about current events keeps your content fresh and up-to-date, improving loyalty among your audience who rely on your blog for valuable perspectives on the latest news.

And there you have it, you are now ready to start a blog to promote your internet radio programme!

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6. Use internet community forums and groups to share exciting news and shows

Forums, groups and discussion boards are super popular amongst enthusiasts in all sorts of areas, so they can be a great place to spread the word about your radio station. However, as mentioned earlier in the section about joining Facebook groups, you need to play it carefully. Don’t just promote your station as an admin will probably ban you from the group. Try to be a useful member and only share your station once every now and then when you have something great to share. Always read the group/forum rules before posting anything and familarise yourself with what other members share and what type of content gets the most likes and shares. 

 

7. Start podcasting

Over the last decade, podcasts have seen a steady rise in popularity and with the COVID-19 pandemic, podcasts are more popular than ever. You can take advantage of this trend to promote your station. You can turn your radio shows into podcasts and upload them into podcast databases where you can attract new listeners. Guest interviews and featured shows covering specific topics work particularly well as podcasts. Airtime Pro has a built-in podcast feed and lets you publish directly to your podcast from your Airtime Pro track library. Your fans will be able to browse, listen, and subscribe to your podcast directly from your Airtime Pro Radio Page.

 

8. Send newsletters with upcoming hot shows and news

Do you have an interesting interview with a hot celebrity or influencer coming up? Do you plan to make a top 20 song of the decade show and you think that your listeners and their friends will love it? Is there a contest coming up soon and you want to spread the word? All this info can go on your website’s blog, homepage, but also on your newsletter. A strong newsletter can become a great, extra communication asset for your station. If the content of your newsletter is interesting enough it can be easily shared among people of the same interests and in that way you can increase your reach and attract new listeners.

 

9. Use paid promotion

You can use Facebook ads to reach your ideal listeners. If you play a specific style of music then it will be easy to target those listeners. If you already have a Facebook page where you post news about your station, interviews, radio shows, etc then you can just boost your posts so that you reach new listeners/followers. Just be sure to do correct targeting, meaning that you specify the listeners with the characteristics interests you want to attract, so that you don’t spend your money in a bucket with a hole in it.

 

10. Upload your music shows on YouTube and Mixcloud

If you have shows that are just plain music then you can create mixes and upload them in platforms like Mixcloud. With correct tagging you can reach new listeners. Fans will be able to follow your account and get a notification whenever you have uploaded a new mix. You can do the same with YouTube. However, if the music you upload on YouTube is copyrighted and violates the terms and conditions, then the platform might reject your upload. So, it’s a bit tricky and risky when you upload music on YouTube. Check out this video to find out how to upload copyrighted content on YouTube without getting flagged, blocked or banned. However, if your show is strictly informative, let’s say it’s an interview with a band, or an influencer, then you have nothing to worry about. I suggest you do some quick keyword research so that you come up with a descriptive, and SEO friendly title. In that way you might get some new organic listeners to your station.

 

Extra ways to attract new listeners

We asked you to provide some of your best tips to attract new listeners to your station. Thank you all for your answers. Unfortunately, we couldn’t use everyone’s, but we’ve selected the following submissions from  Bob Gaye of D-103 Radio Network and Rob Macon from Smoothjazznetwork.airtime.pro.

 

Bob Gaye / D-103 Radio Network

1. Engage your listeners by making what you do on-air personal, informative and entertaining 
2. Record listeners’ voice drops and put them on the air. People love to hear themselves on the radio. 
3. Create a monthly theme for all (12) months of the year and select the music that will be a perfect fit. 
4. Promote your radio station TEAM and not just yourself. 

 

Rob Macon / Smoothjazznetwork.airtime.pro

1. Get promotional items as T-shirts, posters, business cards, etc., for your station. Then connect with local businesses.
2. Get friends or others to help promote your station. Make it appear that you have a large staff. And make sure you feed them and offer from time to time, a little cash.
3. Volunteer with local community groups. They promote community activities. Let them know you have a radio station. These organisations have budgets you may not be able to afford. And you will be able to build your listenership.

So, there you have it! These were some great ways to attract new listeners to your online station. If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments section.

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Last month we launched a campaign to help schools and educational institutions cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with World Radio Day, we are giving away 10 Airtime Pro stations for one year to 10 organizations in different parts of the world broadcasting to learners at home. Here’s a brief description of the of our Back-to-School Station Giveaway winners and their plans:

CECO, Uganda

Aims to broadcast educational information in the following areas for students learning from home in Uganda: environmental education, climate change, organic agriculture, gender training, and life skills for youth.

Radio Art Laboratory, Germany

Operating from an art academy in Leipzig, this station plans to use Airtime Pro to expand its workshops in media arts and give students new creative possibilities through internet radio.

School:
Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig)

Social media:
https://www.instagram.com/soundartlab/
https://www.facebook.com/sndartlab
https://www.mixcloud.com/soundartlab/
https://soundcloud.com/soundartlab

Radio Universitaria, Peru

An FM 89.5 local radio station located at the National University of the Center of Peru, this station aims to broadcast social project content for university community and general education.

USCtt, Trinidad and Tobago

This upcoming radio station of the University of Southern Caribbean plans to support the university’s existing distance learning options through internet radio.

BB Radio, USA

Beaubourg School in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a free school focusing on artistic and social research as well as community knowledge sharing through stories, dramas, conversations, and guided meditations.

BB Radio is an extension of The Beaubourg Theatre (@bea.ubo.urg), a public arts space and arts organization in Bulbancha (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA). Along with, The Beaubourg School (@thebeaubourgschool) and Fourth Wall Coffee (@fourth.wall.coffee), BB Radio aims to strengthen existing communities and create new ones by offering opportunities for artistic experimentation as well as engaged dialogue and learning. The station will launch in January of 2021!

School:
The Beaubourg School

Social media:
https://www.instagram.com/bea.ubo.urg/

SunFM, Malaysia

This new campus radio station and podcast facility hopes to be a voice for students and the campus community, as well as a training ground for students to learn how to do radio shows and podcasts.

Website:
https://university.sunway.edu.my/SunFM

School:
School of Arts, Sunway University

Social media:
https://www.instagram.com/sunwayfm/
https://www.facebook.com/sunwayfm/

Acústica, Colombia

This station associated with EAFIT university in Medellin aims to provide educational as well as inspirational programming to students.

School:
Universidad EAFIT

Station website:
https://acustica.eafit.edu.co/

The Tiger Takeover, USA

A student-led online radio station at the University of Memphis, this campus livestream will provide entertaining and informative programming that represents the diversity of the student body.

WZRD Chicago, USA

A student-run radio station at Northeastern Illinois University that was founded back in 1974, its goals are to restore the pre-pandemic level of programming and eventually expand its offerings further.

Website:
https://wzrdchicago.org/

Social media:
https://www.facebook.com/wzrdchicago/
https://www.instagram.com/wzrdchicago/
https://twitter.com/wzrdchicago

We wish our winning stations all the best as they embark on their plans, and look forward to hearing back from them about the new and creative uses they find for Airtime Pro over the next year!

The post Announcing the Winners of Our Back-to-School Station Giveaway appeared first on Airtime Pro.

Earlier this year we teamed up with “WBCN and The American Revolution” — the landmark feature documentary that tells the story of WBCN-FM, Boston’s underground, radical radio station and its influence on the culture in the late 60s and early 70s — to offer 10 free online radio stations to contestants who wrote in telling us how they’d use a station to contribute to their community and, thus, change the world.

Helping us select the winners is the film’s director, Bill Lichtenstein, who began working at WBCN at the tender age of 14, in 1970. We are proud to be associated with Bill and his important film, which has already received extensive press and critical acclaim, being called “epic”, “magical” and “possibly the first film to tell the true story of the 1960s”.

We’ve included each winner’s name along with a short description of their  world-changing radio station. We’ll aim to check back with them in a year to see how their stations are progressing. So, congratulations to our 12 winners, and many thanks to all those who participated.

And the winners are….

• WGAC, Good American Collective: Programming that is diverse but focuses more on other people, places, and things rather than today’s focus around who’s hosting the show. An internet radio station that works with and builds community through entertainment, events, and promotion.
• ogturnup fm: Premiering new albums and interviews with the artists, focusing on a mostly German-speaking audience in Europe and beyond.
• Pallavi Radio: A south Indian Malayalam community-based radio station in Melbourne, Australia. with talk shows, the  latest Indian music and local news and traffic update as well.  
• London Live: London was once at the forefront of live music-making, with hundreds of music venues in the metropolitan area. Today, there are ever fewer opportunities for bands and solo artists to get themselves heard in a “live” situation, in front of an audience. We want to re-invigorate the London (and UK) music scene with this station, for the audiences and performers. 
• iPandA Radio Worldwide, Inc: A non-profit rock station in Indianapolis supporting suicide prevention with a daily playlist called i*n*d*y*, standing for “I’m not done yet”. This playlist/idea is the core of our mission in giving hope to those going through the roughest of times.
• Alabama Jams: Showcasing the little guys, playing the original new music by artists that are working a couple jobs and playing the small gig at night, keeping their dream of being heard alive. And, I do live shows from a local venue to help bring awareness to the artists. My station won’t have produced audio commercials, so as not to take away from the music.
• Sound Travel Radio: A non-commercial online radio station based in Kharkiv, Ukraine, whose main objective is coverage of Ukrainian and international underground and experimental music in all its stylistic and geographic diversity. Additionally, we’d research and support various independent cultural projects, including building a community of cultural activists from all over the country who could present their ideas on air.
• Música Independiente: Currently 96% of the music being created never gets played on regular FM radio, and most bands go unsigned. Música Independiente Mi Radio was born to discover and bring awareness to local independent musical talent and hopes to expand its online reach to every country in Latin America, providing all of these undiscovered and incredibly talented artists a platform to be heard.
• World’s Random Freedom Network: WRFN is determined to run 24/7, year-round for the purpose of giving the world content that reflects the diversity of hearts, minds, ears and voices of the United States, thus Making America Whole Again. Currently, I am able to broadcast only (I am just one person) my three-hour weekly show, “Make America Groove Again,” which is popular enough to warrant expansion. I plan to add more music, spoken word and interview sessions along with PSAs.
• Diamondback Days: We would like to start an online radio station for our community and our school. Students would learn important technology skills and the art of communication, while providing a much-needed service, news and entertainment to the citizens of our area. 
• Radio Sidney: Our station will give voice to those in our community who are not represented in public discourse, especially seniors, youth and First Nations. We have already started our station, but have a long way to go. Over the past nine months (since our broadcasts started) we have engaged the community in a few meaningful ways. For example, in our municipal election last year we provided feature interviews with all of the candidates except for one. We were encouraged by comments from voters such as, “your interviews really helped me make my decision”.
• Radio JUJU: The culmination of the diverse strands that art entity BRUD and artist Aditya Mandayam have attempted to weave together over the last year: the human body as synthesiser; the collective voice; queer synthesis, and psychonautics. Many early electronic musicians were (queer) women. As a curator and musicologist, Mandayam’s work has dealt with identifying, naming, and foregrounding this overlooked phenomenon.

The post Announcing the Winners of Our Airtime Pro ‘Change the World’ Contest appeared first on Airtime Pro.

Let us know, and you might be one of 10 lucky winners to receive their own Airtime Pro internet radio station for a year thanks to Airtime Pro and the new feature documentary “WBCN and The American Revolution.”

“WBCN and The American Revolution” is the award-winning film that tells the incredible, true story of how, in the late-1960’s and early-70s, a radio station, politics and rock and roll changed everything.  

Now, the documentary and Airtime Pro are joining forces to give 10 winners their own internet radio station for a year to create social, political and cultural change.  These are professional level internet stations that allow you to broadcast music, news and other programs, both from recordings and live over the internet. You can listen to the sounds of WBCN and The American Revolution streaming on their Airtime Pro station at amrev.airtime.pro.

How to get your station

All you have to do is tell us: what would you do with your own radio station to make the world a better place?  To whom would you give a voice? What would your messages be? What kind of revolution would you hope to make?

Ten winners will be chosen by our judges based on their plan to use an internet radio station to make their community and the world a better place, as well as their ideas for how their station could be self-sustaining after the initial year.

Radio changed the world one time.  And it can change the world again. But not without you!  Tell us what you would do with your own internet radio station, and you may soon be on the air!

Entries must be received by August 31, 2019.  All decisions made by Airtime Pro and LCMedia Productions are final.  No purchase necessary. Employees and family of Airtime Pro and LCMedia Productions are not eligible to enter.

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The evolution of social media and digital marketing has created an often overwhelming choice for promoting your internet radio station to a vast number of potential listeners. However, like many of us you may be finding it increasingly difficult to gain meaningful traction in an ever more crowded digital environment. Now that the tech giants are raising the cost of access to that enormous potential audience, returning to the opportunities available on your doorstep is starting to make a lot more sense.

Building relationships with organisations and brands that will resonate with your listeners isn’t a quick fix, but the engagement you could achieve will be far more meaningful than a ‘like’ on your daily insta-post. Whilst you’ll be avoiding the cost of the services from the likes of Facebook or Google, it is important to invest some effort in carefully selecting your collaboration partners and considering what you can offer each other. You won’t need a huge listener base to get started but you might need to think outside the box!

Step 1: What’s in it for them?

Reaching out to an organisation or an individual at the heart of the community you wish to address can bring authority and authenticity to your station’s image. However, any collaboration is a two-way relationship. Before you take your pitch to established community members, you’ll need to be perfectly clear on what you can offer them. This might seem daunting to smaller internet radio start-ups, but the process can be broken down into two simple stages.

Firstly, get to know your own audience. Having a good understanding of who listens to your station and what makes them unique as a group will give you a head-start in finding the perfect partners for your public relations strategy. Of course, the genre of your station is a good indication of who might be tuning in, but why not try running a survey – you might be surprised by what you find out!

After the who, comes the how. Just as important as who can be reached through your station is how third parties can engage with them. Classic radio PR services such as regular readings of event calendars, or hosting ticket giveaways and phone-ins are tried-and-tested favourites for actively sharing third party news and events with your audience. However, you may find you get more mileage from something more original. With the flexibility of our Airtime Pro internet radio broadcasting software, you could even offer a listener the chance to win a slot on your station – if you’re brave enough!

Step 2: Approach local ‘venues’ and potential sponsors.

When it comes to establishing fruitful partnerships, it’s the long term relationships you build that will become the most beneficial. For music-based stations this could be as simple as engaging with the small and medium sized venue owners in your area to provide regular broadcast coverage or to be featured in regular calendar slots. Non-music options could include local theaters, bars, restaurants, independent shops or even online retailers if you find your audience is spread across the globe. It all depends on what best suits your listeners.

With the research we conducted in step 1, and the intelligent listener statistics provided by your Airtime Pro station, you’ll have all you need to convince those potential publicity partners that being associated with your station will be of value to them.

Once you’ve established a relationship with an appropriate partner you’ll be able to offer an exchange of promotional merchandise such as tickets, discounts, or other freebies for radio publicity services such as hosting shows from their premises. With a flexible audio streaming software like Airtime Pro, hosting a radio show ‘on location’ is as simple as finding a stable internet connection nearby for your phone, tablet, or laptop and signing in to our cloud-based service.

Step 3: Approach artists, promoters and other VIPs.

Long-term relationships with the appropriate partners might be great for your station, but attracting ‘headline acts’ is what your listeners will likely appreciate most. Whilst these relationships might be more short-term, the same guidelines apply. Start with what you have to offer them. For example, if you’re approaching an agent or promoter, offer to showcase their smaller acts before discussing the more well-known figures on their books.

You’ll want to keep an ear to the ground to catch news of any VIPs visiting your area as early as possible. The earlier you make contact, the more likely you are to be squeezed into busy travel schedules. Anyone who is in your area to make a public appearance will be keen to promote their upcoming event.

Even if inviting guests live on air isn’t feasible for your setup or their schedule, broadcasting a pre-recorded or VOIP interviews prior to their arrival in the area are good fall-back options and both are easily achievable with Airtime Pro’s scheduling and collaborative broadcasting feature set.

Step 4: Engage the local community.

Change hearts and minds on the streets! Use the information you have gathered about your audience to identify relevant upcoming local events which will already have a sizable attendance. Piggy-backing off existing events will likely grant you access to a larger crowd than trying to start your own. In cases of public celebrations you may not even require the permission of a particular event organiser, but make sure to double-check before hand!

If you’re lucky enough to find an upcoming event in your area whose attendees are a good match for your audience, the same methodology applies here as before. Concentrate on what your station could offer the event organisers.

An excellent option for music-based stations is to offer event DJ services to the event organisers – just don’t forget to stream your set live to your Airtime Pro station!

Airtime Pro users also have the option of streaming ad-hoc audio content directly to their internet radio stations from a smartphone. With just a couple of apps and a reliable 4G connection you’ll be able to interview event participants live on-location.

You could also dedicate a few hours of your station’s schedule to community-run shows. Let your listeners and other community members speak their mind through your station. If you can create an appropriate format, why not enjoy the benefits? More engagement equals more publicity.

Don’t forget your listeners!

Cross-marketing your online radio station with a relevant partner is a great way to tap into the community they have already created. However, doing so comes at a risk!

By aligning your brand with another organisation, you’ll have to trust that organisation to uphold your image. A poor choice of PR partner could alienate your audience. Stick to relevant organisations you trust and those that have a long history of upholding a good reputation in your community. Just don’t let that hold you back!

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