Now we'll cover what questions potential investors will ask when they are considering investing in your radio syndication campaign, along with your answers to them...

"WILL I MAKE MONEY?" Your answer: It depends on how many tools (or funding for the tools) the investor gives you to work with, and how long the investor lets you work with them. Explaining it to them this way allows them to see that they are under control of your marketing.

One trick which may work is something which a lot of music artists use to get investors. They change the pitch from "would you like to invest in me so you can make money?" to "would you like to get credit for helping me get the word out?" This way, the investor is not expecting a return at all... they become more of an executive producer, who is simply paying to build up your awareness, and by attaching his/her name to you, they build up their awareness too. Yes, there are many investors that want to spend money this way.

"WHAT STATIONS IN MY HOMETOWN WILL YOUR SHOW GET ON?" If the investor is in one of the top 30 markets (see Market List HERE), then you would do best to explain to the investor that the big markets are the end-result of, and the beginning point for, your radio syndication. Unlike newspapers or the web, all stations in a major market are considered "big". If a station in a major market must be had, you may have to broker it, just to make the investor happy.

If the investor lives in a smaller market, then there is a much greater chance of him hearing your show on a local station within the first year (without having to broker the station.) But still, it's extremely difficult to guarantee a particular station or a particular city, without brokering it. The best way to skirt this issue is to explain that no matter what stations your show ends up on, as long as the signal is hitting places that will benefit the show, then all is well. But don't underestimate the desire of an investor to hear you on a favorite hometown station. It could be the deal breaker.

"HOW MANY STATIONS WILL YOU GET?" This is where it gets fun, because the total number of stations that you get is directly proportional to what size syndication campaign the investor pays for. And here's a twist: If a certain size campaign get's you 10 stations, you might think a campaign twice the size would yield twice the stations... but it doesn't. Instead, it give MORE than twice the results (!), because radio people talk to one another, and the more they start hearing about your good results, the more they'll help convince the tougher stations to come on board too. You won't get this if you don't do enough stations, since when they ask their counterparts if they know anything about you, they'll just hear "no".

"HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU NEED?" Approach this by finding out if the investor wants to be part of your overall career, or just part of your syndication campaign. Your career has probably been going on for quite a while (which is why you want to be syndicate a show based on it,) so more than likely it's most prudent to just ask for syndication money. The nice thing about doing this is that you can truthfully answer the "will I make money" question by explaining that monetary return is a function of many things... not just the syndication. Thereby you skirt the question of a "return" on the syndication money, and the investor can view your syndication as a small part of your overall career.

Next Topic: Converting Your Show to a Per-Inquiry, Part 1

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Contact
For a complete description of our syndication campaigns, including pricing, send an email to syndication@radio-media.com


phone: 818-905-8038
fax: 818-905-9149