Avoid 3 Common Mistakes DJs Make

Imagine driving to vacation this summer and you stop to get gas and a guy at the pump across from you says, “Did you hear about that big storm coming? If you’re headed to the beach, you may wanna stop and eat here since there’s hail.” It was nice of him to speak up and care for your well-being.

Well, consider me the guy pumping gas across from you here. There’s no storm coming. But over the past few months I’ve listened to a lot of radio stations and shows. Because I truly want to help you to hone your craft, I’d like to share the 3 common mistakes that I’ve consistently heard that you can avoid

1. TALKING TO FANS BUT EXCLUDING EVERYONE ELSE

Whether it’s a topic from yesterday, last hour, or ten minutes ago, you can’t assume everyone knows what’s going on now. If you’re on a team show you can’t assume that everyone listening knows your names, your spouse’s names, and your pet’s names. There was a well-known show with established, clear characters where one person was a dog lover and the other was a cat lover. Even some donors (P1 fans) mixed the personalities up when emailing. That just goes to show you that the entry-level to your content should start with a brand-new listener in mind.

2. DOING TOO MUCH IN ONE BREAK

Think about meeting me at a coffee shop, and as you’re sipping your latte I say, “I’m Todd. That was fast service. It’s 11:30 and so nice out. I hear it’s gonna be 80 later. So, my dog just turned 10 years old and I can’t imagine life without him. Fortunately, he’s not had any health issues yet. Can you share about your dog and when they started going downhill? I think next time I’m gonna get the Americano and sit at the table over there.” You’d probably be like...uh...he’s already had way too much coffee!

Where am I going with this?

Station Name.
Back sell artist and song.
Your name.
Time and temperature.
Content.
Give the phone number to call or text.
Front sell up the song intro.

It’s too much. With today’s attention spans people don’t have the capacity to follow all of that. The goal is to help listeners go from passive to active listening, connect with them, and then play their favorite song. Time to simplify.

3. NOT MATCHING PACING WITH THE SONG

If you talk up the intro of a ballad with too much energy and pacing, you’re going to sound disconnected. I hear this ALL OF THE TIME on every radio station. I’m pretty sure that 99% of these are voice tracked or pre-recorded liners. You should figure out a way to solve the “not-so-live-rushed-sounding-not-in-the-moment" pre-recorded pieces. Listeners are smart, and donors are even more in tune. It’s always a huge compliment when you’re voice tracked and someone thinks that you’re actually live.

I hope that this has encouraged you.

Todd is the Christian Format Editor at AllAccess.com as well as the Owner of a Consulting & Coaching service at beyond615.com. He helps build confidence where people feel unsure.