Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I have been thinking for quite some time about sending samples to radio stations. Our product is something they might enjoy snacking on anyway.  Do you have any opinions on this?  I would have no idea how to begin. Some of the things I would need to find out are~

What stations are popular?.  What audience is a good fit for our product? Who are the ones, I`d send samples to?  How would I find addresses? 

So, does anyone think it has great possibilities, or do you feel it would be a waste of time and money?

Thanks!

Have you sent some to food bloggers first?

I swear you`re on my blog like the SECOND ironchefmom.com becomes a reality!

I say you send some of your famous jerky to Jeff and Rich Sloan to get them talking... 

I`m sticking with my original answer!

The House of Jerky makes the best beef jerky! And the best turkey jerky, and the best ostrich jerky, and the best venison jerky, and the best buffalo jerky.

(Janie:  )

Here`s a story about just such a thing.

A few summers ago, driving into Chicago, I had on WLS-AM (ABC affiliate). I listen to their talk shows a lot, and was enjoying the Roh and Gary show, having tuned in while the show was in progress.

The two of them were talking about a humongous salmon fillet they`d received in the mail, I think it was smoked. They`d gotten it from a guy who has a system for filleting fish easily. Of course having a slab of fish in the studio led to all sorts of "zany hijinx and uproarious humor," to invent a phrase. :-)

They called the guy up, thanking him for the "lox," and got to talking about his system (No Bones About It---How to Unzip your Fish). I was fascinated, being a fisher-kinda-guy, and wanted to know more. Sure enough, they mentioned the Web site a number of times, and when I got home I checked it out. I bought the video.

I never would`ve heard of this guy, his process, his site, or his video otherwise. It never occurred to me that I should explore the Web about how to better fillet a fish!

So I`d say go for it! Stick with the talk shows, where the hosts have plenty of time to ramble on about topics. "Don & Roma" in the mornings, here in Chicago, often get food sent in by various places. They always plug the company as a way of saying thanks for the food. :-)

(Postscript: The system was fantastic! I learned how to finally get ALL the meat off a fish, without any of them awful little pin bones! Totally cool thing.)

Hi Janie,

I think it`s a great idea for you to send your products to radio programs (and even television)!

To save time and effort, do your research in advance and find the top programs where you think you will get the most coverage. You can look online, conduct research at your local library, or just call the station to find the appropriate contact people.

And you may want to send a postcard or letter in advance. With today`s security issues, your package may not make it past the front door. Keep working on it, and eventually, you will get through!

Best of luck,

Melanie

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Melanie Rembrandt
CEO, Rembrandt Communications®, LLC
Visit www.rembrandtwrites.com for valuable PR tips and SEO copywriting help!
Twitter: @RembrandtWrites

Thank you, I really appreciate all of your comments and ideas!  Nikole, I have looked at blogs, but the food blogs are about cooking and fancy food.  I`m not sure which blogs would be appropriate or how to get to the right ones. (But, I did find you, you little jerky eater ), thanks for the plug. 

 Hey Brett, not a bad idea.  Great story Craig, that`s exactly what I was thinking about. And good thought about the security issue Melanie.  I don`t want them calling in the bomb squad!

So back I go to the research on blogs and radio stations.  So far I haven`t found the best way to research top stations or talk radio stations in different states, but I guess that`s where my work comes in.  And sure TV might be great too, but not everybody eats jerky.  It would be best to find ones like Nikole!

 

Brilliant idea. Start with sports talk radio shows. Jim Rome would be first on my list. Get him hooked and you`re in. He doesn`t call his listeners "clones" for no reason. As far as I can see his audience is the bullseye of your target market.

Next would be country stations.

Do a google search on radio drive time talk show and variations of that to find the top stations in each market.


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Thank you so much Steve.  I`m going to do get to work and do some googleling.  What a great group of helpful people! 

House,
Of course it would work! isn`t that what singers do to get an airplay?
I was in the music industry for years. I had connections with laface records, epic and def jam.
One of the biggest department was the promotions department. They had junk stacked up waiting to be given away... All this was free stuff that start up and mid-size companies would send to them in return of a plug.
Have you ever tried contacting Howard Stern? I would start off with him...

Especially with the exotic flavors like ostrich and so forth...
He would get your company out there... since most people are in the office listening and not out on the road...


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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net