"If You Build It...

...they may not come."  The old thinking is that great web content on radio would develop via word-of-mouth, and perhaps a promo or two on the air.  But as web efforts have improved, and media outlets have multiplied, how can radio stations (or any other entity) draw attention to cool, useful web features and improvements?

Aside from strong on-air campaigns, how about dedicated emails like the one we received last week from NPR, promoting their election coverage - on-air, on-line, on cell phones, etc. (see below)?  This isn't just a big election year - it could be a political revolution, and NPR's email to its database members is a focused, no-frills effort to remind listeners about its content offerings.

Too often, radio station emails are cluttered, contain too many messages, and require the reader to scroll down well past the point of realism.  Or they continue to be last minute efforts that are not especially well-written or put together.

When you have thousands of nicely aggregated P1 email addresses, treat them like the fantastic customers they are.  Respect their time, deliver a strong and targeted message, and do it with a sense of care and class.  It's another reason why public radio ratings continue to buck the downhill trends.