Hey Reader,
You’re my unicorn, my muse, my reason for spell-checking.
Let’s jump in…
Oh oh…
Your audience is checking their phone again.
Not because they’re rude. Because you haven’t given them a reason to care what’s coming in the next three minutes. Or the three after that.
Here’s what I learned spending years in Radio… the almighty power of something called “The Tease.” (And no, not that kind.)
The kind that keeps people glued to their seats, wondering what’s next.
TV nailed this decades ago with “Stay tuned for scenes from our next episode,” keeping millions through seven minutes of prescription med commercials.
But you can do way better than that snoozefest template.
The difference between a weak tease and a strong one?
Specificity and stakes. (Intrigue)
“Coming up next, our favorite emails of the week” is about as exciting as watching your protein powder dissolve.
Nobody cares.
But “Hang on for the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, live in just 4 minutes”? Now you’ve got something.
Questions work too. Not the boring kind.
The kind that make people go “wait, WHAT?”
Like: “Artificial meat, sound good? Or never gonna touch MY lips!
You may change your mind after what you’ll hear next.”
And if you’re hosting a webinar or presenting at an event?
Flip the script.
Lead with your most controversial “conclusion” first, then work backwards.
People will want you to “prove it!”
Way more interesting than trudging through research slides for 20 minutes before anyone knows WHY they should care.
Here’s the real secret: great shows work like a “table of contents”.
You don’t “tease” just ONE thing.
You rattle off what’s coming so everyone finds their reason to stick around.
Someone might not care about Bob the Gorilla Keeper, but they’ll absolutely stay for Taylor Swift’s palm-reading results.
Continually remind folks “What’s comin’ up”.
If something’s NOT worth teasing?
Why are you doing it?
Stellar Marketing Quotes
“The mic doesn’t give you authority; your preparation does.”
Kara Swisher
“Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.”
Howard Gossage
How would you feel if a perfect stranger came up to you and said… “You’re ugly!” How’d you like it if that happened 10 more times on the same day?
I guess that’s why online ‘trolls’ don’t bother me.
I credit the “Request line”.
Radio request lines were something else. You’d think people would call to, you know, request songs.
Maybe chat about the weather. Be normal humans.
Nope.
Instead, I got threats against my imaginary sister.
Medical diagnoses from people who definitely didn’t go to med school.
And my personal favorite: the guy who must have spent his evening concocting in vivid detail why I suck at my job.
The thing is, after a while, you develop this weird superpower.
You stop caring what random strangers think about you.
Because when someone sits on hold for half an hour just to scream insults, that’s not really about you. That’s about them having way too much time and not enough hobbies.
I started responding with, “Hey, thanks for listening!” which made them even angrier. Kind of funny how that works.
These days, the request line jerks have moved online. They’re in your comments. Your DMs. Your replies. Same energy, different platform.
And the best part? They’re actually helping you.
Every nasty comment boosts your reach. Every troll interaction tells the algorithm, “Hey, this content is engaging!”
So really, you should thank them. “Thanks for boosting my reach!” works like magic.
Steal this mantra I learned from an old Radio Pro…
“I don’t care if they hate me, as long as they hate me EVERY DAY!”
Diversions
Your Thoughts
|
Let’s talk…
I’m talking about a quick 15-minute Discovery call where we figure out if I can help speed up your podcasting journey. No pitch fest, I promise. Just you, me, and an honest conversation about where you want to go next. I’ll share some actionable tips you can use right away, and if we’re a good fit for working together, cool.
Click here: https://calendly.com/d/cs4w-9w6-t6b
|
