A word version of the information below is available for download. 
I. Negotiating a radio advertising buy: Following these steps will help you get more effective coverage for your advertising dollar.
- Sales Representatives: Call a prominent radio station in your area and ask to speak to an advertising sales representative. The representative’s first priority will be to sell you advertising on their station, of course. However, you can ask them to help you identify other stations in the broadcast area.
- Rankers: In larger cities, you can ask for a “ranker” that lists stations in your broadcast area for your demographic (see fig 1 for an example). Rankers are built from rating companies like Arbitron, using software called Tapscan. Arbitron uses ratings “books” to compile date on radio stations. This is useful for pinpointing how a particular station ranks with a specific demographic (target audience) at a specific time of year. For example, you may request a ranker for women, ages 21-34, Summer and Fall of 2009.
- 3. Avails: When you have decided on a station/stations, ask your representative for “avails” for a 60 second spot. Avails (short for available times) show the available time slots and prices for a radio spot.
- Time periods: Traditionally, “drive time” is the most expensive slot you can buy. Drive Time is usually 6-10 a.m. and then again at 3-7 p.m. If the budget is especially tight, there are other “dayparts” that cost less. Often, to stretch a budget, buy 6 a.m. – 7 p.m. “rotators” that can air anytime during that block Monday thru Friday (most stations have less listenership during the weekends). If possible, keep your frequency (number of times the spot is on) at 20 spots per week or more.
- Bonus Spots: When making a media buy, identify your organization as a non-profit and request all spots to be matched one-to-one with bonus spots. If the representative refuses, ask them to speak to their sales manager. We negotiate one-to-one bonus spots for our non-profit clients, and the rare station will only match one-bonus-per-two-paid spots. Others will match 1:1, but place the bonus spots in a non-guaranteed time slot, meaning they could air past midnight. NOTE: Many stations may not offer bonus spots during political or election seasons. Also, stations could potentially consider your spot to be political and therefore not to qualify for bonus spots.
- Broadcast Agreement: If the station considers your ad to be political, they will require extra paperwork about your organization and payment in advance. Part of the paperwork will include a broadcast agreement that shows the amount of spots ordered, cost per spot, time slot and any bonus spots you negotiated. If your buy includes bonus spots, make sure they are listed in this agreement before signing. The signed agreement is a contract binding you to the final price.
Arbitron ratings do not exist in areas with smaller populations. In such cases, call the station and ask to speak with a sales representative. The sales representative can give you information on their listenership numbers and format of the station (rock, country, top 40, etc). You will often have to make a judgment call on whether or not a particular station is right for your audience. Remember, the station you listen to is not always the station your target audience prefers.
II. Gaining Press Coverage 1. Pitching a News Story: Pitching a story can seem difficult, but is made much easier with the proper preparation. You will need names, contact numbers and email addresses of editors and reporters. Reaching the reporter directly can be helpful in them “owning” a story. Reaching an editor is also important if individual reporters haven’t checked their messages or are not interested in the story. An editor will ultimately decide if the story will be covered and who will do the reporting. The most common method of sending information is e-mail. It goes straight to their desktop and can include links, photos and your email address to contact you for more information. If you can position your story as “good news,” it will especially be considered. Human-interest stories are always interesting. Do you know someone who found a job through their computer use at the library? Your press release can contain their quote and the newspaper will want to talk to them. Smaller newspapers will especially appreciate if you provide your own compelling photos. A local angle is far more compelling than national statistics. 2. Methods of Contact:
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- Press Release: The most-widely used method of gaining press coverage is through the press release. The release should be concise, use a compelling headline and contain most relevant information in the first paragraph. Quotes and background information can go later in the release. Remember that your release will compete with hundreds of others, so it should be brief, interesting and easy to understand at a glance. Always follow up with a brief phone call after submitting a press release. This is your chance to pitch the release and request coverage. Do not wait more than a couple of hours before calling as your release will soon be buried by other releases.
- Pitch letter: This can accompany the press release. This brief letter lets a reporter know why your story is of interest. Bullet points are especially effective in a pitch letter.
- Media kit: If your story pitch includes photographs, factsheets or other materials, it is often helpful to include everything in a media kit. A typical media kit will include a pitch letter, press release, CD with photographs, factsheet and your business card. Photographs should always include a caption listing subject name, location, relevant date and photographer’s name. This can be a text file on the same CD as the images.
- Interview: Local radio programs are always looking for compelling content and interesting guests to interview. With elections coming up, they should be receptive to topics on which their listeners will be voting.
- Op-Ed Piece/Letter to the Editor: Another very effective way of getting free press coverage is by pitching and writing an Op-Ed (Opinion Editorial) piece or writing a letter to the editor. This gives the writer complete control over the message that is being released and many newspapers are happy to have content provided for them.
III. Other Coverage
- Political Blogs: Always willing to give coverage (and debate) anything of interest to voters.
- Calendar listings: If there are library events, they can be submitted through email or online forms.
- Facebook: Rather than one profile for the whole organization, each library location can have their own Facebook page. Then they can “friend” other library locations.
- Print Advertising