Radio’s Secret Weapon is Still Human

Coleman Insights recently sat down with ten radio listeners between the ages of 24 and 46 and asked what they like, dislike, and value about Radio. 

Ten people certainly don’t represent 200 million-plus weekly listeners. But what they said is worth paying attention to. 

One word kept bubbling to the top: 

Connection. 

They like Radio because it’s easy. Turn it on. No searching. No scrolling. No deciding which of Spotify’s millions of songs you’re emotionally prepared for at 7:13 in the morning. 

They appreciate hearing weather and traffic instead of looking at another screen. They like trivia, celebrity gossip, funny stories, everyday conversations, and hearing a song they forgot they loved. 

Several said Radio also gives them an escape from the heavier stuff going on in the world. 

There were complaints, too. 

Song repetition? Every listener mentioned it. 

Too much heated political talk? A turnoff. 

Bad commercials? Yep. 

One listener wished commercials “got a little help from the radio channel, because some of them just aren’t that good.” 

Ouch. 

Interestingly, listeners didn’t say they hated commercials. One even said they liked them because they made Radio feel current. 

There’s an important distinction: 

People don’t necessarily hate advertising. They hate advertising that wastes their attention. 

Then there was AI. 

Listeners overwhelmingly preferred real human personalities. One liked hearing little imperfections—even a cough—because it proved somebody was actually there. 

Another said if Radio replaced its people with AI, “at that point it’s a streaming service.” 

Exactly. 

Radio doesn’t beat Spotify by trying to become Spotify. 

Radio wins by being what Spotify can’t be: 

Local. Live. Unexpected. Useful. Entertaining. And wonderfully human. 

Now, I’ll add one of my own Radio pet peeves. J 

Some stations tease an interesting local story or fun fact… then say, “For the rest of the story, visit our website or app.” 

Just finish the story! I’m listening right now! 

If I’m driving, I’m not going to remember to look it up later. And I probably don’t want another reason to stare at a screen anyway. 

You had my attention. Then you sent me somewhere else. How do you suppose listeners feel when that happens? What do they murmur under their breath? 

Whether you’re a manager, salesperson, copywriter, or the salesperson who also has an air shift at 2:00… 

Protect that connection. 

It IS Radio’s greatest competitive advantage. 

Duane Christensen
Ens Media

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at [email protected] to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.

What Are You So Afraid Of?

Have you ever heard of a salesperson who had to go to therapy because they stopped into a business and asked to speak with the owner? 

Neither have I. 

Yet prospecting can feel strangely terrifying. 

What if they’re busy? 

What if I interrupt them? 

What if they’re having a bad day? 

What if they say NO? 

What if they release the hounds? 

Okay, that last one is probably unlikely. 

But the fear is real. You’re definitely not alone. This fear causes a lot of salespeople to do everything except the thing that creates new business. 

They organize their CRM. Send emails. Research prospects for 47 minutes. Tweak a proposal. Check LinkedIn. Refill their coffee. 

All very productive-looking ways to avoid contacting another human being. 

One thing that makes prospecting less intimidating is knowing what you’re going to say before you make the call or walk through the door. 

Not memorizing a speech. Preparing. 

And know your goal. 

Your goal on that first contact probably isn’t to sell anything. It’s to get 20 or 30 minutes with them later. 

On the phone, keep it simple: 

“Hey Fred, can I steal a minute from you?” 

That’s pretty honest. You are stealing a minute.  

(I remember this from an audiobook I listened to years ago called “New Sales. Simplified.” By Mike Weinberg – and I really like it.) 

Then get to the point: 

“I’m hoping to visit with you for about 20 or 25 minutes next week. I’d like to bring you a couple of ideas, learn a little more about your business, and see if we might be a good fit.” 

Then stop talking. 

You don’t need a five-minute pitch. You need a reason for another conversation. 

Preparation creates confidence. And confidence usually doesn’t come before taking action anyway. 

It comes because of taking action. 

Pick a few businesses. Know who you want to talk to. Know what you’re going to say. Know what your goal is. 

Then make the call. Walk through the door. 

Worst-case scenario?  

They say no. 

Five minutes later, your life looks remarkably similar to the way it did before the call. 

Check your pulse. Still there? 

Good! Call the next one. 

Duane Christensen
Ens Media

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at [email protected] to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.

increase radio revenues

One Ad. One Job.

One of the hardest parts of writing a great radio ad isn’t deciding what to put in.

It’s having the guts to decide what to leave out.

Especially when you’re writing a branding ad – one designed to make a business known, liked, trusted, and remembered over time.

Too many radio ads try to accomplish six things in 30 or 60 seconds. And when an ad tries to do everything, it usually does nothing particularly well.

I recently read an article by storytelling coach Phillip Humm that offered a wonderfully simple formula for telling a short story: one character, one challenge, one specific moment, and one clear takeaway.

That translates beautifully to writing radio ads.

One Character.
Give listeners someone to identify with. Your customer. The business owner. The frustrated homeowner standing ankle-deep in something they really don’t want to be standing in.

One Problem.
Don’t try to solve everything the business does in one commercial. Pick a problem people actually care about (or can relate to) and build the ad around it.

One Specific Moment.
Don’t say, “We offer emergency plumbing service.”

Say, “It’s 2:13 in the morning and water is coming up through the basement drain.”

Now I can see it. That’s powerful.

Specifics are sticky. Generalities slide right through our brains like a greased watermelon through our hands.

One Big Idea.
When the ad ends, what ONE thing do you want the listener to remember?

Not six things. One.

That doesn’t mean your client only gets to talk about one thing forever. Write another ad. Then another. Over several commercials, you can tell a much bigger story about the business.

But each individual ad should have a job.

And if you give one radio ad twelve jobs, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t do any of them very well.

Before you send your next script to production, ask yourself:

What is this ad’s ONE job?

If you can’t answer that, your ad probably isn’t finished yet.

Better ad writing makes your clients’ money go further and work harder. Don’t they deserve a little more of your time – and an ad that does its ONE job really well?

Duane Christensen
Ens Media

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, email me at [email protected] to request more info. We’ll send you the important details ASAP. And it costs less than 3 lattes a week.

increase radio revenues

“You Can’t Grow Without Radio”

(And He’s Got the Receipts)

There are a couple new clips making the rounds in radio land right now. And it’s not coming from anybody inside the radio industry.

It’s coming from one of the biggest advertisers in America. John Morgan, the founder of Morgan & Morgan – a law firm that’s grown into the largest personal injury firm in the country (probably the world) has a pretty blunt take on advertising:

“You can’t grow without radio.”

That quote comes from a recent article in Radio Ink titled “John Morgan’s Advertising Truth? You Can’t Grow Without Radio.”

This Isn’t Theory. He’s Walking the Walk.

Morgan has been using radio for over 35 years. And he’s willing to tell the world that Radio is a must-have if you want to grow.

His company spent an estimated $350 million on advertising in 2025 alone (Radio, TV, Billboards, Streaming TV, Streaming Audio, Google, Facebook, etc.) – with plans to go even higher.

That’s not dabbling. That’s commitment.

And when someone at that level says:

  • “I don’t spend money for no reason… I buy radio because it works.”
  • “I can tell my story… I can grow my business.”

…it should stop every advertiser (and you) in their tracks.

Morgan isn’t saying “radio is magic.” He’s saying something deeper – and more important:

Growth requires reach, repetition, and story.

Radio delivers all three:

  • Reach → You can touch a lot of people quickly
  • Repetition → You stay top-of-mind over time
  • Story → You can actually say something meaningful

Here’s another quote from John Morgan…

“Nothing’s about today… everything’s about tomorrow.”

That’s not a media statement. That’s a business philosophy. He knows what it takes. He’s proof that “getting famous” with broadcast advertising is about consistency and investing properly in it.

One Last Thought

When a local business owner pushes back on radio, it’s easy to get defensive. Don’t. Just remember:

You’re not arguing an opinion. You’re representing a medium that helped build a national brand spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

And sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is simply say:

“Hey… don’t take my word for it. Take his.”

******* Which is even more reason to record your team’s client success stories and use them in your presentations!

Starting right after you click the link on that John Morgan Radio Ink article.

NEVER Stop Learning – Get Better Every Day!
Duane Christensen & Rick Fink
ENS Media
www.ensmediausa.com

If you’d like to learn how our SoundADvice program can help your entire Radio sales team open more doors, protect more clients, and create more revenue, simply email [email protected] to request a pdf with all the details and pricing. And it costs LESS than 3 lattes a week.

Confused Prospects Don’t Buy

Ever looked at someone else’s proposal… and thought, “Wait… what am I even looking at here?”

And then, imagine you’re the business owner!

Now, take an honest look at your own proposals and presentations.

A lot of proposals, ad schedules, educational pieces, and follow-ups aren’t just unpersuasive… they’re confusing.

They’re filled with:

• Industry jargon
• Missing details
• Vague timelines
• And numbers that don’t clearly connect to results

To us, it all makes sense. We live in it every day. But to a business owner? It’s like trying to read a foreign language. And when something feels unclear… it feels risky.

So, what do people do when something feels risky?

They wait. They stall. They say, “Let me think about it.” Or they buy from someone else. Not because they’re not interested…

But because they’re not confident.

Before you finalize your next presentation or proposal, do a quick gut check:

If someone outside my industry read this…
• Would they understand what they’re getting?
• Would they see how it helps their business?
• Would they feel confident moving forward?
• Am I talking about things they don’t care about?

Clarity builds confidence. And confidence closes deals.

Make it easy to understand… and you’ll make it easier to say yes.

Remember when Tommy Boy finally “got it”? It’s just an example of keeping it simple and understanding what they really want to hear. Check out the short clip here…

https://youtu.be/a5dpBpaFiMo?si=30L82aKyCH2SuJPY

NEVER Stop Learning – Get Better Every Day!

Duane Christensen
Rick Fink

ENS Media