Understanding On-Air Giving

Understanding On-Air Giving

CONVERT LISTENERS TO DONORS

Convert casual listeners into committed members. An on-air membership drive is the single best way to bring in new members. In many ways it’s also the easiest. You don’t have to lead your audience to the services you provide, because they’ve already made their own choice to listen.On-air drives work best when your activities and plans aim to achieve the following:1. Capture AttentionMake your on-air drives exciting and interesting. Find multiple ways to speak in…

Convert casual listeners into committed members.

An on-air membership drive is the single best way to bring in new members. In many ways it’s also the easiest. You don’t have to lead your audience to the services you provide, because they’ve already made their own choice to listen.

On-air drives work best when your activities and plans aim to achieve the following:

1. Capture Attention

Make your on-air drives exciting and interesting. Find multiple ways to speak in a compelling manner about your mission, purpose, and programs. Then, with the addition of incentives such as prize drawings, thank-you gifts, and an infusion of energy from hosts during pitch breaks, listeners will usually stay with your station as a break begins.

2. Increase Motivation

Not only is it your job to entice listeners to stay tuned in, but also to successfully convert them from a casual listener to a committed supporter. Goals, special content, well crafted pitch breaks, matches and challenges, and other planned activities help inspire listeners to move from passive to active.

3. Reduce Friction

This is the time to make sure all your back-end processes are working as intended. The online donation forms should be streamlined and intuitive, the call-center scripting should be efficient and express gratitude. Each of these methods help give donors anchors to understand how much they should give. Ultimately, at the end of the process the donor should feel great, not worn out, by the process.

Begin with Messaging

Crafting irresistible messages and executing them well from break to break and day to day helps make your drive and your ask stand out to your prospective donors.

Answer the Questions in Your Listeners’ Minds

  • Why you’re here
  • Why it matters to them
  • What you want them to do and why
  • Why they should do it now, not later
  • Why their money is important, and what it will accomplish

Everyone likes to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Donors want to know a gift will make a real difference, in their own lives, in the lives of others, and in the programs they hear. Our job is to make it crystal clear why their support is important and what they can do to make that gift of support.

Do Your Homework

  1. Plan ahead. Know what you’ll say before you say it, particularly at the start of a pitch break.
  2. Prepare and practice what you’ll say; practice out loud. Write it down.
  3. Make sure you know what programming airs before and after your break, and the details of any incentives/prizes/goals.
  4. Arrive early. Don’t show up one minute to air.
  5. Understand who you’re talking to. “Show me that you know me” (What do they care about? Why are they listening? What do they know?)
  6. Listen closely to the segment immediately prior to your break. The last line of a story can drastically affect the tone you take in your set-up, and knowing what it was can save you from walking into a disaster of your own making.

Sample: Interview with a cancer patient ends on a positive note. Announcer tags the story with “[Name] lost her battle with cancer after this interview was taped.

What You Should Do

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  1. Be energetic and enthusiastic, but don’t yell, talk too fast to understand, or compromise your authenticity.
  2. Be honest, passionate, and emotional. You have to believe in the message you are delivering.
  3. Work collaboratively with other hosts. Don’t hog the microphone. Discuss what you are going to pitch and how before you go live.
  4. Pick up on cues, keep up momentum going, and be flexible. If your co-host has started a monologue, don’t force your way into the conversation. Keep each pitch to under 45 seconds.
  5. Stay positive. Even if the break seems to be going nowhere, listeners don’t know that, unless you tell them.
  6. Stick to the facts. Know the answers and the numbers. Stick to the plan. Your producer may have lined out a plan for the entire program to build excitement and to cover all the pitch points. Talk to your producer. Your freewheeling pitch may undermine a good, careful plan.
  7. Ask your producer for input or direction if you feel you need some. And be willing to accept feedback, even if you don’t think you need it. Remember that your producer is listening intently to what and how you’re pitching. They can help you get even better. You cannot hear yourself the way others can.

What You Shouldn’t Do

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  1. Don’t make assumptions.We know how much you value…” No, you don’t. You’re not a mind-reader. It might seem logical to make assumptions about a particular show’s listeners, but it’s better to avoid them. “You know how it all works…” Again, you can’t be sure that they do. Explain the basic process, but keep it simple and don’t talk down to your audience. “Decide how much to give and give us a call right now. Our friendly phone volunteers will help you through the process.”
  2. Don’t sound like you don’t care. You’re asking people to trust you with their money. If you sound uninterested or insincere, they will take that money elsewhere.
  3. Don’t get your facts wrong.We have a prize drawing for two tickets to see ‘Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!’ next month… No, wait, that’s wrong. It’s this month.” Use a fact sheet. Check with your producer. Don’t guess.
  4. Don’t make up numbers on the air.We pay about six million dollars for Morning Edition and All Things Considered each year.” Don’t ever quote what you don’t know. And don’t try to do math on the fly.
  5. Don’t apologize.I know these breaks interrupt your favorite shows, but soon we’ll be back to regular programming.” The mission of public radio is important, and it’s our responsibility to ask people to support it.
  6. Don’t use hyperbole. If you don’t contribute today, this program will simply go away.
  7. Don’t speak to many instead of just one.All of you out there…” “Many of you…” “Each of you…” “So go to your phones…” “We need ten of you.” Radio is a personal medium, a one-to-one relationship. You water down that relationship when you focus on the group at the expense of the single listener.
  8. Don’t forget to ask for the gift. The pitch break is still a part of the program. So listeners will tend to remain passive until you let them know that they have an active step to take. As in all sales transactions, once you get their attention and buy-in, you need to close the sale. And you need to do it more than once.

How you say it is as important as what you say

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  1. Be clear, enunciate, and slow … down.
  2. Keep pitches simple. One point per sentence. If it takes more than 30 seconds to say it, it’s too complex. “WXYZ members contribute because they know it’s their support that keeps the music they love playing on WXYZ.
  3. Stay positive, no matter what. Being whiny, pushy, or begging doesn’t work. Keep smiling. Listeners CAN hear a difference when you are smiling. “Let’s get those phones ringing. They’re awfully quiet” is not a powerful call to action. You’re asking listeners to join the losers.
  4. Fundraising is not begging. We’re not asking people to give us anything, we’re encouraging them to invest in a tremendous service they use and enjoy. It’s an investment, not change tossed in a tin cup.
  5. Always consider what the listener needs/wants. “Need” is a four letter word. “What’s in it for me?” Avoid: “I want” “We need” “You should” “We want” “You ought to.”
  6. Avoid clichés.You are the public in public radio.” Find a new way to say the same thing.
  7. If you make a mistake acknowledge it and move on. Listeners like interacting with human beings. It’s more endearing if you fess up. It reinforces the notion that you’re genuine and speaking from the heart.
  8. It isn’t public speaking or a news report. Record your pitches and aircheck yourself. If your presentation style sounds perfect for the Chamber of Commerce luncheon, then it’s all wrong on the air. Aim for a one-on-one personal speaking style, the way you’d talk to someone you like when you meet at a party.
  9. Stick with what resonates with you. The more you experiment off the air, the better your chances of developing fresh, effective material. If a pitch doesn’t ring true to you, it won’t convince anyone else either. It’s always OK to steal stuff and make it your own.
  10. Be yourself. It’s hard to let down your guard and be okay with how you sound. It takes practice. Record yourself and listen to your delivery.

Next, Think About Structure

Understanding the structure of a break is important, but that’s only part of what makes a break succeed. In many ways, it’s a performance and you are the performer. However, you’re NOT an actor playing a role, nor are you a public speaker. You are an authentic, trustworthy person who is excited about a vital service and the idea of sharing it with one single listener. Be yourself. Your listeners can tell when you are faking it, so don’t even try.

Build Strong Breaks

Like any good fundraising tool, on-air fundraising breaks need a structure and a flow. Listeners can dismiss your message in an instant, so you need to be able to “hook” them in the first 30 seconds.

But unlike other fundraising methods, membership breaks compete on the same platform with the very service your station provides, so they need to have strong elements of positive messaging and information to keep your audience engaged.

At the same time, your fundraising breaks must quickly and effectively make a case for becoming a member of your station and must also very clearly tell the listener how to do so. In order to accomplish all of that in a five- to eight-minute break, it’s best to follow a consistent structure.

Tools for Crafting Your Best On-Air Campaign

Quick Must-Do’s

  • Follow the tone of the programming.

    The tone of a break coming out of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! should be different than one coming out of Morning Edition.

  • Always focus on one listener at a time.

    (“It’s your member contribution that makes this all happen.”)

  • Always speak to “you”

    (“YOU know you enjoy this program.” “Now is a great time for YOU to show your support for the service you use every day.”)

  • Toss rapidly to maintain momentum.

    45 seconds max per person, per time.

  • Don’t just say it, sell it.

    Even if it’s the fifth time you’ve said it.

  • Choose a few compelling messages and dig in rather than skimming the surface of many messages. Build on a theme.

    “This service is free to everyone.” “Your support allows everyone to benefit from WXYZ’s wonderful programs.” “Your community is stronger because of the programming found on WXYZ.”

  • Cite specific examples to strengthen pitches.

    Somebody became a sustaining member of WXYZ during the last membership drive. They’ve ‘played it forward’ for you. The songs you just heard are on the air because of them.

  • Repeat, repeat, repeat.

    Your listener is not paying attention as closely as you are.

  • Turn station needs, including fundraising goals, into listener benefits.

    Reaching that goal of $$$ means that we can plan better for the future. We can discover new programs, expand our library, and provide you with the best news and public information found anywhere.

Now you’re ready to move on to the next fundamental: Build the Structure of an On-Air Pitch.

See more from the Membership Essentials for Those New to Public Media Toolkit

Jay Clayton

Jay Clayton

Greater Public Individual Giving Advisor

(781) 598-8822 (Eastern Time Zone)
jclayton@greaterpublic.org
Main contact for individual fundraising; pledge drive strategy; general membership