16/08/2018
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Listening to a Radio demo recently and the person who made it fell into the same trap as so many before them.
Let's break it down.
LINK 1
This started the demo with a verbal CV of who they are - My name is ###, I go to ### college and my contact details are ###
NO! Your name and other details should be on both the email you send and the MP3 file you attach. Do NOT have the title of this file as "mixdown1", "Demo", "file1", "untitled" etc etc. Mark it clearly: -
-YOUR NAME - STATION NAME - DEMO - DATE
Your first link should also be an amazing link you have actually done on air that will grab attention and keep the person listening - They say you have 10-15 seconds to make your first impression.
LINK 2
The second or first official link of the same demo was a celebrity gossip type link (noting wrong with that) but...It was quite clear that this person had a website open in front of then and read two headlines from said page...
This unfortunately is someone else's work and the headline is possibly written in a click bait type manner to pull you in. It is always encouraged to give some of yourself to each, so what this person could have done is pull the info apart and create a hook and a tease link.
"Wow not sure if you have heard the latest but one of the biggest celebrity couples in the world have just split up - really didn't see that coming - Tell you who in two minutes after I play some XYZ... - MAKE IT YOUR OWN
LINK 3
The next link started off talking about the weather...then turned into food, then into a competition... about winning food. It was fairly obvious that it was done on the spot without working out what exactly was going on.
Without delving into this too much the rule of thumb is to plan out the link and what the central message behind the link is. Write it down on paper and map out what makes sence, what can be taken out and what goes where. Can your message still have the same meaning with less words and less complications.
"No such thing as a free lunch they say?
What about two of them - in the sun?
"You and that mate you owe (for the last three times now..)
We wont tell them what you've done - but we will tell you what you'll need to do to get fed for free - in less than 5 minutes here on ###FM."
LINK 4
The final link on this demo was the person talking out of the song they had just introduced and then like the first link giving out their number and thanking the person for listening to the demo.
Different stations want different things but unless it is a brand new song or you are releasing the tease of information about the artist you had hooked to this point, you don't need to mention the song or artist - 9 times out of 10 the listener is well aware.
The final thing is that this demo was in total 2 minutes long....(are you doing the maths too?......)
2 minutes - 4 links - Two mentions of their contact details =
.not great.
FINALLY
The average demo is anywhere from 2-4 minutes long.
ALWAYS lead with your best work first
NEVER put filler in your links or demo
Get to the point quick and STAND OUT from others
You can search this page for more tips like this, please feel free to share the tips or indeed the page with friends and PM with any questions, ideas or help you need.
Cheers
