Dropbox is an invaluable tool … for the InterPrep staff, in my role as a Radio Pro, and in my personal life. One of the many things that makes Dropbox special is the way it works with other services. Here’s one way I’m using Dropbox — along with the website ifttt.com — to save a couple of minutes each day.

An advertiser is paying top-dollar for a live commercial read during my morning show. Because they don’t always hear their ad they have requested a daily aircheck. So I record each day’s live read as it happens then save it in MP3 format to a subfolder in my studio PC’s Dropbox. Here comes the time saving part.

After saving the file to Dropbox I do nothing else — nothing at all. I get back to the show. The magic happens at ifttt.com, where I’ve set up a task to check the Dropbox subfolder every 15 minutes for a new file. Once ifttt.com finds one it knows to email it to my sales rep automatically.

And that’s it.

ifttt.com works magic with a number of services, including Twitter, Gmail, Facebook and Evernote. With some trial-and-error ifttt.com can help you, too.

Producer Joanna’s got some ‘constructive’ criticism for callers…yes,
we know you’re rolling your eyes, but listen – J’s a pro, and if you
want your call picked up, you should listen up – her advice is golden!

1. Don’t call on speaker or blue tooth. We can’t hear you well…at all.
Seriously. Sure, dial hands-free, (be safe).

2. You have 20 seconds to impress her with your comment. If you
can’t, she has to move on. Have your opening line ready to go. All
the lines are ringing, and she’s not trying to be rude, but she has to
move to the next call.

3. Speak up, and don’t drag on. We all stopped listening five minutes ago.

4. Please don’t call when your radio is blasting. Turn your radio down
– if you can’t hear her, she can’t hear you. We’re also on a 15 second
delay, so you’re not going to hear yourself anyway. You’ll hear it all
on the phone! Oh, and put those windows up!

5. If you call and Joanna says “we’ve moved on from the topic,” don’t
get mad at her! It’s not her choice to move on from the topic – she’s
just the messenger! That’s the beauty of our Twitter and Facebook
accounts – we read it, and can get to it the next day! And don’t tell
her you don’t have the internet!

6. Don’t be monotone – be animated and enthusiastic! Bring some
passion and/or zest.

7. If we’re doing a segment that requires phone calls, don’t call and
say “I don’t want to be on the air.” Again, Facebook, Twitter – let it
rip.

8. If you’re at a drive-thru, either wait or don’t go through it.
You’re on the air, and Joanna doesn’t take orders for grande soy
lattes!

9. When you come on the air, just go right into your comment. You
don’t have to say “I want to comment on what so and so was saying…”
It’s ok, we’re on that segment, and we know that’s what you’re here
for!” ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/12/21/constructive-criticism-for-callers/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/11/30/use-evernote-for-show-prep-backup/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/11/30/use-evernote-for-show-prep-backup/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:35:07 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/11/30/use-evernote-for-show-prep-backup/ If you use the note-taking app Evernote (www.Evernote.com) you should consider using it as a show prep backup. Every Evernote account — even the free version — comes with an address that allows you to email notes directly to your account. So after you’ve gone through your nightly InterPrep feed and tweaked it to your liking, then added in your own personal prep, send it all off to your Evernote account in an email. That way if you arrive at the station and find the Internet’s down you’ll still have the prep on your smartphone or 3G tablet. ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/11/30/use-evernote-for-show-prep-backup/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/11/06/dierks-bentley/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/11/06/dierks-bentley/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:57:35 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/?p=276 Country superstar Dierks Bentley was in the area Friday night.

Is it time to remove “jumped the shark” from your show vocabulary?

If the poll revealed 83% of respondents did know what it meant, hasn’t the phrase “jumped the shark” jumped the shark?

If you don’t have time to read all of David’s review, here are two quick reasons to download the Dropbox program: 1) It’s free; 2) It’s magic.

I use Dropbox dozens of times a day, usually without even thinking about it. For example, every issue of our premium show prep service, InterPrep/PRO, is saved to Dropbox. Every time an edit is made the latest version is saved in my computer’s Dropbox folder, then to the Dropbox server, and then to a notebook PC in my office — all within seconds. (The notebook also runs the Dropbox program.)

Using Dropbox as a documents folder is smart for many reasons, the two biggest for me being instant off-site backup and the ability to grab my notebook computer and head to a coffee shop without having to copy files to a USB key.

But Dropbox really shines for “live” remote broadcasting. Recently I had the opportunity to fly to Washington D.C. with 75 World War II veterans on an Honor Flight. (You can learn more about Honor Flight here.) I was part of a two-person team recording hourly updates that were sent back to radio studios in Champaign, Illinois. Using iPod Touches, the iTalk recording app and a 3G mobile Internet device it was super simple to do interviews and ship them, via Dropbox, back to our producer in Champaign. After recording each segment iTalk lets you ‘share’ your audio using Dropbox. We shared our files to a Dropbox folder that our producer 715 miles away had access to. Over the course of 8 hours we sent 16 high-quality audio reports without a single problem.

As I said, day in and day out I use Dropbox dozens of times, often for my morning show. A copy of the program is on a main studio computer, which means I can ‘drop’ audio files and show prep into a shared folder on my home computer. When I arrive at the studio in the morning I know the files are waiting for me.

I don’t just recommend Dropbox, I urge you to use it as a super-simple backup solution and a wonderful radio tool.

1. When the app loads the station begins streaming. You’ll want to allow the listener to turn this option off under ‘Menu’. (Most won’t since the reason they’re using your app is to hear your station.)

2. App users love to flip through pages, album covers, features, photos, etc. Your station app should present options the way the Bloomberg app does — with flicks of the finger.

3. You only need 3-4 panels tops. Panel 1 is the stream. Panel 2 delivers on-demand audio (original content and best of). Panel 3 might be local concerts. Resist the urge to add much more to your app. Listeners won’t be using your app for “the latest music news” and “profiles on your favorite DJs.” They just won’t. A panel with a link to your station’s Twitter and Facebook pages would be a good idea.

]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/06/12/classic-production-library-music/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/30/are-you-saying-ea-sports-correctly/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/30/are-you-saying-ea-sports-correctly/#comments Mon, 30 May 2011 21:19:54 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/30/are-you-saying-ea-sports-correctly/ ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/30/are-you-saying-ea-sports-correctly/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/27/how-to-talk-tornado/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/27/how-to-talk-tornado/#comments Sat, 28 May 2011 02:00:51 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/27/how-to-talk-tornado/ From Yahoo News:

With killer tornadoes in half a dozen states in the last month, information about the effective force of each tornado has been thrown around, but few people use the terms properly and fewer still know what they mean.

The Fujita scale was first proposed in 1971 and suggested a rating system for tornadoes and hurricanes based on the wind strength and damage done by the tornado. Since the evaluation of damage cannot begin while the tornado is on the ground, it is improper to discuss a tornado as an F-anything in the midst of the storm.

According to the NWS, the EF scale functions from 0 to 5 and while in theory an F-6 tornado could have been possible under the original Fujita scale, the enhanced scale considers an EF-5 representative of total destruction. Since nothing goes beyond total destruction, a tornado greater than an EF-5 cannot exist.

Based on the EF scale, an EF-0 event represents winds of less than about 75 mph and would damage roofs and tree limbs. An EF-5 tornado would have winds in excess of 261 mph and include total or near total destruction of all types of construction.

Read the full story. ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/27/how-to-talk-tornado/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/26/keeping-it-brief/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/26/keeping-it-brief/#comments Thu, 26 May 2011 23:19:26 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/26/keeping-it-brief/ ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/26/keeping-it-brief/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/26/the-postal-service-cares/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/26/the-postal-service-cares/#comments Thu, 26 May 2011 20:58:07 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/26/the-postal-service-cares/

The birthday card sent by my parents to my wife arrived today. But not really. The envelope arrived, minus the card and a gift card.

At least the United States Postal Service cares!

— Seek out food-water-necessities drives and go to them. Do live shouts and invite organizers to phone in for regular updates. Get photos and video for your blog and social media.

– Launch a food-water-necessities drive of your own. Again, get photos and video that can be shared with your listeners online.

— Organize a day of text giving. At least three charitable organizations are accepting $10 donations via text. Pick one and push the text code all day. Produce sweepers that instill a sense of urgency.

— Go old school with a stunt. Promise to stay on the roof of a prominently-located business until listeners have donated a certain amount of money. (Missouri is known as the "Show Me State" so tell your listeners to show you the money.) ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/24/four-ways-your-station-can-help-joplin/feed/ 2 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/17/how-not-to-start-an-on-air-conversation/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/17/how-not-to-start-an-on-air-conversation/#comments Tue, 17 May 2011 19:45:09 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/17/how-not-to-start-an-on-air-conversation/ Heard on a talk radio station:

Talk about side-tracking the conversation before it ever got started!

Two things:

1) I don't care what format you're on, if you've never heard of Stephen Hawking you're not on top of world events — and that's your job!

2) The host didn't do his job by explaining to the fill-in co-host what the next discussion topic was. ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/17/how-not-to-start-an-on-air-conversation/feed/ 3 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/08/is-it-a-benchmark-or-is-it-a-feature/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/08/is-it-a-benchmark-or-is-it-a-feature/#comments Sun, 08 May 2011 17:07:55 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/08/is-it-a-benchmark-or-is-it-a-feature/ From Tracy Johnson' Personality Radio blog:

Personalities and programmers use the term “benchmark” frequently, but it is often misunderstood.  More often than not, it’s used to identify a daily or weekly feature that’s performed and promoted at specific times, like Hollywood Gossip or a “song of the day”.  Those are not benchmarks.  They’re feature.

The literal definition of a benchmark is a standard by which something is evaluated or measured.  Our use of the term in radio is to help the audience get to know us for something, a standard of recognition and hopefully, affection.  Yes, features can be benchmarks and benchmarks can be features (Letterman’s Top 10 list), but benchmarks are so much more.

Features are what you do.  Benchmarks are how you’re known such as David Letterman’s chuckle, Conan’s hair and Stephen Colbert’s opening lines of his show (“Tonight…”).  Ditchy and Salty, the Real Radio Breakfast Show in Manchester, England offers cash prizes in Vietnamese Dong (currency).  Their benchmark isn’t the contest but their catch-phrase “That’s a lot of Dong” that they repeat every time they mention the prize.

When constructing a new show, creating features that fit are fairly easy, and they are useful.  They add structure that helps define boundaries to follow, but listeners don’t remember features without benchmarks.  How are you building benchmark layers into your show?

Tracy is the author of the superb Morning Radio Revisited, an invaluable resource for those who manage radio talent and those ready to take their show to the next level.

   ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/05/08/is-it-a-benchmark-or-is-it-a-feature/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/04/03/pinewood-derby/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/04/03/pinewood-derby/#comments Sun, 03 Apr 2011 13:18:14 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/04/03/pinewood-derby/ Each year I'm invited to emcee the local Pinewood Derby races. Today's cars look a lot different than when I was a Scout.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Kentucky has won seven titles and UConn two. Butler is trying to get back to a second consecutive final and VCU is in virgin territory. We know that, too.

As well as the four teams are on a combined 37-game win streak and that the seed total (26) is the highest ever.

"Tell me something I don't know." That's what our listeners are thinking when we talk about the things they've already heard from their favorite news source, Twitter feed, blogger, or Facebook. When every radio host is talking about the same thing, you and I need to find the thing about the thing no one is talking about.

Regarding the Final Four, the something the listener doesn't know can be any number of things, from a phone conversation with someone connected to a team or player, to your strong opinion of why the current system of finding the best college team is broken. (Your opinion, carefully crafted, is something your listener won't see on TV or read on a blog.)

If you can't come up with something new for the listener, use the topic as a starting point for something related — like the time you scored a basket for the opposing team in middle school. Now that would be something the listener didn't know!
]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/03/28/tell-me-something-i-dont-know/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/03/16/turn-your-ipad-into-1980s-radio-cassette/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/03/16/turn-your-ipad-into-1980s-radio-cassette/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:44:02 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/03/16/turn-your-ipad-into-1980s-radio-cassette/ Want to check up on the competition? Hear what your favorite morning show across the country is doing? Stereolizer turns your iPad into a 1980s stereo, complete with twitching VU-needles, a big volume knob and a tape deck, so you can pirate your music the old-fashioned way. Stereolizer tunes into internet radio stations searchable by name or country. You can also spin the dial to find radio streams, and you get authentic-sounding fake radio interference, just as you would with a real radio. Press Record on the tape deck to capture audio for later, and then write on the tape to remember what you recorded. Stereolizer page.

via Wired

Learning to relate emotionally is difficult, and can be overwhelming if you try to do it all at once.  Start small, but start now.  Modify your language to create colorful segments directed to individuals rather than a large audience.   If you have trouble understanding how to do it in content, work on telling short stories in teases.  The most common point of tune-out is when commercials begin, so learn to promote effectively into those breaks.  Encouraging the audience to listen through breaks, tune in more frequently and tell their friends should be part of your show already, so work on designing these elements creatively.  

Personalities commonly relate what they are going to do instead of selling why to listen.  A typical promotion may be, “Your chance to win tickets to see (artist) at the arena is coming up tomorrow morning at 7:20.  Just be caller 7 to win.”  This is giving away paper (tickets), when they should be selling the experience.  A more effective promotion would be, “On (date), the lights in (arena) will dim…a buzz will rise through the crowd…and (artist) will sing (play song hook in background)…and you’ll be there…listen tomorrow morning at 7:20 to win”.

Promotion is selling, and an effective sales technique is providing a solution to a need or fulfilling a desire.  There’s a big difference between selling and hype.  Think of it as creating demand for content by placing it in the path of your audience’s interest.  It’s not how many times you say it, but how you stimulate a desire to buy it. ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/02/10/effective-teasing/feed/ 1 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/01/26/e-books-can-be-updated-with-corrected-information/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/01/26/e-books-can-be-updated-with-corrected-information/#comments Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:42:57 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/01/26/e-books-can-be-updated-with-corrected-information/ This morning my wife found this in her inbox:

Maybe, instead of errors, the updated version has new information about a long lost Cleopatra half-sister. ]]> http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/01/26/e-books-can-be-updated-with-corrected-information/feed/ 0 http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/01/18/questionable-headline-judgement/ http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/01/18/questionable-headline-judgement/#comments Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:17:05 +0000 Steve http://www.interprep.com/blog/2011/01/18/questionable-headline-judgement/ From the Champaign, Illinois, News-Gazette…

Back in my program director days I would steal from the newsroom's supply drawer. I found the classic reporter's notebook to be the best way to stay organized and keep a to-do list. I still need to-do lists but find I bounce around from the paper kind (including 3×5 index cards) to the tech kind (an app on my phone). Here's an updated replacement for the reporter's notebook I just found.