Radiothon Mistake #2:
Thinking You Can "Wing it"
(updated for 2012)

Every year, I hear programmers who think they can just "wing it" on-mic when talking about the fundraiser. I guess they assume that since they can ad-lib their play lists, the concert calendar, and song introductions, then "obviously" they can just ad-lib what they will say to their listeners at the most important time of the year.

Do you know what it sounds like when someone is winging it during the fundraiser? Let me help you ...

The Winging-It programmer sounds like a disorganized and inept ass. He (or she) will often jump from topic to topic in the hope that something RANDOM will click with the listener to call in a donation.

... he usually gives out the wrong information about premium levels and about the premiums themselves.

... she reiterates the same tepid points and never really adds depth to those points. She will say "it's really important to give," but never say WHY.

... he apologizes for interrupting the show to have to "beg for money."

... and then she blames the listeners for not calling! (Usually off-air, but sometimes on-air, too! Ouch!)

I find it pathetic and embarrassing ... for both the guilty programmer and the station itself.

How to Sound Great During the Fundraiser

The magic secret to sounding great during the fundraiser is to avoid having to "wing it" by planning out what you're going to say to the audience ahead of time. Let me give you an example through a story of one of our programmers.

Several years ago, we had a one-hour show on Saturday mornings called Finnegan's Wake. The host was a man named John Zeitler. John played Irish and Celtic folk music for that hour and had a devoted following.

John came to a "How to Beg" session because he had never been to one and he felt he needed help.

He said he always felt disorganized during the fundraiser. He could never remember what he wanted to say. He even confessed that he never really thought about what he specifically wanted to say to his audience.

In other words, he would usually just turn on the microphone and "let 'er rip."

He didn’t want to do that anymore.

I told him to sit down and think about his audience ... who listens to his show ...
... why people listen to his show ...
... what makes his show unique ...
... why he likes doing his show ...
... why WRUW needs the money ...
... what the money goes towards ...
... what the money doesn't go towards ...

... and then to WRITE DOWN whatever comes to mind IN HIS OWN WORDS.

I told him to read through the giant list of premiums and pick out a handful of premiums to really focus on to his audience.

Then, I told him to outline or even script out WHAT he wanted to say, and specifically WHEN he was going to use each script during his 1-hour show.

So John left the "How to Beg" session and did all that I suggested.

How did he do? John raised over $1,000 in one hour, the most he had ever raised until then.

And he told me afterwards that his scripts had really been the success factor he needed.

He said that his scripts really helped him relax on-air and feel more confident about talking to the listeners about the fundraiser. He easily remembered what he wanted to say because it was all there in front of him on paper.

You can gain the same level of confidence that John did by scripting out what you are going to say ahead of time.

In addition to the increased confidence, you'll also sound so much more organized on-air, and you'll sound like you CARE about the station and the whole fundraiser's success.

How to Make Fundraiser Scripts

You don't have to script out word-for-word what you want to say to the listeners during the fundraiser. In fact, I discourage word-for-word scripts. They usually sound phony when you read them on-air, unless like John Zeitler, you're a good reader.

You can easily get by with detailed outlines of what you want to say. And you only need 4 to 7 different outlines, as follows:

Content for Outline #1

Your first outline should be for the beginning of your show. Create an outline that basically says "welcome to my special fundraiser edition of the show. Here’s what’s happening and why ..."

Content for Outline #2

Your second outline should be for the end of your show. Create an outline that basically says "this is your final chance to make your donation count to this show, and this is why that's important ..."

Content for Outlines #3-#8

Create two to five other outlines to use interchangeably at other times depending on how long your show is. A one-hour show may only need two others. A three-hour show may need 5 or 6 others. Adjust accordingly.

Basically, you can plan on talking about the fundraiser 3 or 4 times during each hour of your show ...

... and you only need to talk about the fundraiser for about 5 to 7 minutes each time.

Therefore, you can create short, one-page outlines.

As for the major content of the outlines, read back over what I told John to think about and do the same. Write down things in your own words. Pick premiums ahead of time.

Get Ready NOW

The 2012 fundraiser starts on soon! Use your time wisely between now and then to make yourself sound great during the fundraiser.

You can't afford to "wing it."

Mistake #1 | Mistake #2 | Mistake #3 | Mistake #4
Mistake #5 | Mistake #6 | Mistake #7