More of this Feature • Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3 • Chapter 4 • Chapter 5 • Chapter 6 • Chapter 7 • Chapter 8 • Chapter 9 • Chapter 10 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 12 • Chapter 13 • Chapter 14

• Join the Discussion Discuss in the Forum

Related Resources •  Want To Work On The Radio? •  Back On The Air - And Now It's Personal •  Radio Morning Man Terminology •  So, You Wanna Work In Radio? •  Confessions of a Morning DJ •  The Radio DJ FAQ •  How Do I Break Into Radio? •  You Don't Have To Be On The Air To Be In Radio •  Be A DJ: Radio Jobs Available

Searches by You

One of the tools I like to use for discovering new prep sources on the Internet is random searches at different search engines. I find all sorts of new and useful websites by typing in a couple of keywords about my audience (example: tattoos modern rock music) and seeing where it takes me. You will be surprised at the new resources you find.

It's important to try the same words at different search engines because they all operate using different search technology and will yield different results, which is good for you!

Places

Watching people who are in your target demo is a keen resource for information about how they act and what they are interested in. Sitting at a mall for an hour and eyeing the traffic will yield valuable clues to your demo's behavior. Watch how they dress. Watch what they buy. Listen to what they say. (That's right: eavesdrop on conversations if you can!)

If you have occasion to be at the supermarket, see what magazines they pick up at the register while waiting in line.

If you have occasion to be at a racetrack, a skating rink, a ski lodge, a bus station - be alert and pick up slang associated with the location or the people who inhabit it. Your best showprep is right from real life.

Individuals

Do you take advantage of people you know who are in the target demo you are prepping for? Pick the brains of these people! Is there a bit you do you're not sure of? Run it by them and see what they think. Is there a bit or certain content you're thinking of introducing to your show? See what they think.

Just talking to people you know who are in your target demo should continually give you good information about what kind of material your audience will find amusing, interesting and compelling. This is an especially important technique if you are NOT in the demo you are targeting!

Newsletters

With the advent of the Internet, free newsletters have been a boom to showprep. Do you take advantage of them as much as you could? I personally subscribe to any newsletter I think might remotely help me in my prep. They arrive by themselves and I view them at my leisure. If, after I have subscribed to a newsletter I find it is not very useful, with a couple of clicks, I have unsubscribed. When it is this easy to mine new showprep, how can you refuse? See chapter 9, “Getting The Most Out Of Free Mailing Lists” for more tips.

Television

I know a Radio guy who does himself a great disservice. It's not what he does, it's (cont.)

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