PPM methodology has taught radio programming many techniques to improve their shows, including the morning show. These lessons apply to all stations, including PPM and diary markets, and help radio programmers better understand their audience’s needs with FM music stations.
+ Practice the 8-second rule in the morning shows. When a source ends, like a song, or commercial, Nielsen says we have 8 seconds to engage the audience, or they will leave. Take a stopwatch to your morning show. Morning personalities have eight seconds to get right into the topic with an enticing engagement premise or an attention-getting tease. The goal is to provide fascinating content fast, or listeners will tune away.
+ Morning shows have clearly benchmarked elements that air daily in their show, typically at the same time every morning, like “Impossible Question” or “Battle of the Sexes.” Don’t have more than three with listener voices in each, and do the best ones several times a morning. Ask your morning talent, “what are you known for?” The answer is usually a memorable benchmark that they have done daily for years. Use creative imaging for branding, and promote the top benchmarks in the Morning Show Promo that airs after 10 AM.
+ Many music-intensive stations have a background music bed for talent talk sets. This enhances the encoded meter watermark in PPM and helps fill conversation gaps.
+ Unless you are Ryan Seacrest, ditch the celebrity interviews and Hollywood gossip. This content simply doesn’t work since the info is overdone on Facebook and X (Twitter). Search for the exception, like something about a top artist in your format, like their latest concert or album.
+ News is of minimal interest on FM music stations; leave it to the News-Talk station. National news from a network is especially uninteresting to most FM music listeners. When doing a local news package, make it unique and interesting. Package it as “5 things you should know,” with the 5th item being local weather. Have mostly local stories, including local sports.
+ Detailed weather is of limited interest, so drop the “official forecast” from a meteorologist. It’s best to make the weather relatable to the listener, focused on today only, and short (5 seconds). People who want news, sports, and weather have an app for that (likely, several apps). And more people get their news from social media like Facebook than anywhere else (sadly).
+ Produce enticing morning show promos daily that capture the fun of the talents, and air them hourly after 10 AM. Customize them to promote a reason to listen to the next day’s show and include the show time.
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John Lund is President of the Lund Media Group, a radio programming consulting firm with specialists in all mainstream radio formats. Did you find this article useful? You can leave a comment below or email John at John@Lundradio.com.