Dear Radio Executive:

Get This Book & Prove Seth Godin Wrong

Click Here to Order

I love Seth Godin's latest book, "Small is the New Big".

It's a compilation of entries from his popular blog. Many are only a few paragraphs long, though he also adds longer entries, from his Fast Company column, to the mix.

Following up on the themes of his earlier books, he reminds readers that the first key to successful marketing is to produce something remarkable and let it grow. His ideas are skillfully presented with themes that include being big is no longer an advantage, so act small if you want to be big.

But there is delicious food for thought deep in the paragraphs of this offering for the radio industry.

Godin believes that a radio station that's managing to sustain listenership and a viable business, you need to figure out how to build small non-radio links to your listeners. He urges the radio industry to consider how to deliver multimedia to local users wherever they are, because (radio has) such a huge head start over all these little guys who are trying to start web companies or trying to start Internet radio stations. (Radio) already has the attention, loyalty and emotional connection with hundreds of thousands of people.

In other words, embrace the technology and understand that radio is about the content and the future lies in mutiple distribution channels.

Seth also goes on to say that 80 percent of the large broadcast companies will not figure this out; only 20 percent will reinvent themselves for a different future.

So, radio's job now is to prove Seth Godin wrong. The industry can effectively retool itself to sustain and even grow in this new era of technology. What will make the difference is how many companies can make the leap.

It is beginning to to happen. Clear Channel - as big as it is - has managed to make an excellent start. Many of its stations are embracing the power of the Internet, creating interactivity for its listeners, using podcasting as an adjunct to its programming and building listener segmentation through email and VIP listener clubs on their websites.

2006 has been a year of some progress from an industry perspective vis-a-vis the acceptance of the notion that radio must find ways to utilize technology. As Godin says, "radio must realize that they have this really powerful asset and they must understand that they need to use it to migrate the attention to smaller and smaller buckets of identifiable people who want to hear from them".

'How can I turn this group of 100,000 listeners into 1,000 groups of 100 people who wanna subscribe to a podcast? How can I deliver exactly what they want, anticipate it, offer them personal and relevant information that they need when they need it."

This is great reading - you really need to get this book. Buy it now, read it tonight, change the industry next year.

What do you think? Let me hear from you. Your feedback is vital to our company's on-going success. Respond to this letter.

Sincerely,

Dave Van Dyke

President