Radiothon Mistake #5
Assuming the Listener Can't Afford to Give
(updated for 2012)
A few years ago, I was hosting a “How to Beg” session on
a weeknight before the telethon. One of the attendees, no longer with
the station, said the following statement:
 “We
need more premiums at lower donation levels. Our listeners can’t
afford to give thirty-five dollars.” (At the time, we were
offering CD’s at the $35 level.)
I said:
“How do you know your listeners can’t afford to give
that much?”
She responded:
“Well, I just know. We don’t reach people
who have a lot of money to spend on WRUW. For example, students don’t
have much money. Sure, there are some wealthy people who can give that
much, but our average listener can’t afford to.”
To which I responded:
“How do you know for sure?”
To which she adamantly responded:
“Well, I just know.”
And I thought (but didn't say):
"You don't know 'diddly-squat' about your listeners."
It's true, isn't it? We don't do Arbitron ratings. We don't survey our
audience. We don't know anything about our listeners - who they are, how
old they are, what types of incomes they make, or where they live. We
just don't know.
So why do we assume they "can't afford to give"? It
just doesn't make sense to me.
This programmer is not the only one who has ever said it. I’ve
heard other programmers say such statements on-air during
the fundraiser. Statements such as “I know $40 is a stretch for
most of you” or “I know we’re asking for a lot of money
...”
The fact is ... you don’t know “diddly-squat”
about your listeners income and expenditures. You have no idea
what your listeners can afford to give, and you would be surprised at
what people are WILLING to give ... whether they can afford to or not.
Those Who Want to Give, Do
When Annie Weatherhead did the blues on Monday nights, I was told that
a female caller who donated didn’t want her name read on the air.
She was donating some of the money her husband gave her as an ‘allowance’
for food and supplies and she didn’t want her husband to know about
the donation to WRUW. This caller was WILLING to give money that
she didn’t really have.
On the other hand ...
I used to work with a guy named Derek who sold our company’s computer
training services. Derek was in his early 30’s, and had a “clean-cut
Fortune 500 corporate-business-guy” image with an appropriate salary.
Derek and I were talking about music one day, and I was surprised to
learn he was a confirmed “metal head”. He often went to metal
shows, bought metal music and listened to the metal shows on all the college
stations. He definitely COULD AFFORD to give money to college
radio, but confessed he never had.
And ...
Just before the 2003 telethon, I met one of the top managers at The Plain
Dealer. He recognized my name and voice, and he asked "Do you do
a radio show on WRUW?"
He said his wife listens to my show on Sundays, and they often listen
to a lot of college radio. In 2004, this top manager gave $35 to the WRUW
telethon. In 2005, he gave $35 again. He didn't give anything in 2006.
He definitely COULD AFFORD to give money, gave some, and may have
been able to give more.
Listeners Have Money, Even in "Tough Times"
Just about everyone has some amount of disposable income ...
that is, money that they use for “non-essential”
purposes.
Oftentimes, disposable income is spent for emotional reasons
such as to “feel good”, to “look good”,
or to “live as good as or better than someone else”.
Then, the expenditure is justified with logic such as
“I deserve it”, “it was on sale”, “it fit
my décor”, or “I was here and tired of shopping around.”
You have listeners who willingly shell out $3.00 for a cup of coffee
at Arabica, Starbucks, or Caribou. Some of your listeners do this
at least five days a week. ($15/week)
 You
have listeners who pay to see live shows at places like the Agora or Beachland
Ballroom. They pay an average ticket price of $10 to $17 plus probably
buy at least one drink. Some of your listeners do this two or
three times a month. ($25+ each month)
You have listeners who work in offices downtown who easily spend $6.00
to $8.00 a day on lunch, rather than “brown bagging” it. ($30-$40/wk)
You have listeners who pay $35.00 per month for basic cable, over $50
with premium channels, and more for cable internet access.
You have listeners who pay $20.00 per month for internet dialup access,
plus monthly fees for caller ID, call waiting, and voicemail services.
Listeners with DSL lines pay even more.
You have listeners who regularly pay $25 to $40 for a carton of cigarettes,
depending on the brand. If they smoke a pack a day, they buy a new carton
every 10 days. ($75+ per month)
 You
have listeners who dine out once every two weeks rather than cook for
themselves and spend at least $30 for a meal for two people (two entrées
at $7.95 each, plus drinks, appetizer, dessert, and tip).
You have listeners who pay $15 to $40 per month for cell phone service.
Your listeners go to amusement parks ... they go to concerts and movies
... they purchase books and magazines, buy CD's and rent videos and DVD's.
They buy beer and cigarettes.
Your listeners have money to spend even in these so called “tough
times.” They spend money just like you do.
You just have to give your listeners solid reasons why they should direct
some of their money to WRUW at this time of year.
Take the Right Approach
Now, just because they have money to give does not mean you should turn
on the mic and say “I know you have money to give, so why the
hell aren’t you calling???!!!”
Wrong approach.
What you can do is be confident and assured that your listeners
have money, and that they will give ... at some point ... if you give
them enough emotionally convincing reasons to do so.
You can confidently say “When you give at the
$40 level ...”, or “When you give at the
$50 level ...” or “When you give at the $75
level...”
Help your listeners understand ...
... their money is well spent on the things they like about WRUW –
music and sound quality.
... we are all volunteer, so nothing goes into our pockets. All the money
goes into buying music for them to hear, and the equipment to make it
sound great. The more specific you can be about noticeable improvements,
the better.
... a donation put on a credit card helps us right away, and the listener
can pay it off as he or she sees fit.
... a donation of $40 ... or $50 ... or $75 ... or $100 ... does seem
like a lot all at once, but when spread out over a year, it's
really not that much on a monthly or weekly basis.
In fact, a donation to WRUW is comparable to a lot of the other
"fun money" expenditures they make in their lives.
Remember the "Stairway to Given"
Yesterday, I included information about a report by the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting. The study, called Audience 98, measured the effectiveness
of public radio fundraising.
The researchers found that the ability to afford a gift is the
last step a listener must take before giving money. The first
four steps all relate to a listener considering the programming important
and worth supporting.
So, I’ll repeat ...
When you give your listeners enough reasons that they can appreciate,
they will be more likely to give to your show ... at whatever price level
you recommend to them.
Have fun getting ready for the telethon!
FACTOID: In 2011, 194 people gave $50 each during the
fundraiser, and over 229 people gave $100 each. 841 listeners
had money to give. See the pledge
breakdowns from 2011.
Read
“The Stairway to Given” chapter of the “Audience 98”
report from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Mistake #1 | Mistake
#2 | Mistake #3 | Mistake
#4
Mistake #5 | Mistake
#6 | Mistake #7
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