QX-FM is a
local community based radio station. Our first
responsibility is to our local listeners. We love to
broadcast news about your nonprofit organizations
events. There is no charge. We are happy to do it,
but please take a moment to read these tips and
suggestions to make your announcement more effective.
1.
You may submit your public Service Announcement in three
ways:
By Email at
kzqxfm@aol.com
By Fax at
(903) 643-8272
By Mail:
KZQX Radio, P.O. Box 1008, Kilgore, TX 75663
2. All PSA Requests must be
in writing. We cannot accept the
information over the phone, but you certainly may call
us to ask questions, seek our advice or alert us to your
request. We are always happy to hear from you.
Phone: 903-643-7711 Our office hours are
9:30 AM until 5:30 PM Monday through Friday. We
are in and out at other times, but if you leave a
message along with your phone number, we will be happy
to call you back.
3. Please send us a
written description of your event that takes roughly 30
seconds to slowly read out loud. If you have
a flyer or poster, you may include that too, but keep in
mind that those things make our job much more difficult
because we sometimes have to guess what you want us to
say. It also puts your information at the bottom of the
pile of items that have to be creatively written.
If you furnish us with copy that is ready to go, your
spot will get on the air much sooner.
4. Be
sure to include the following information:
A..
What is your event?
B.
Where is your event?
C..
When is your event (Date and Times)
D. Why should our listeners
be interested? (It's fun, it's for a good
cause, the food is great, all of the above, etc.)
E.
What would you like our listeners
to do? Call you? Drop by the ticket
office? Just show up? Visit your web site?
You'd
be surprised how many people leave out these important
details.
Experience
tell us that it is best to zero in on a single "call to
action." A main call to action, followed up with a
way to get more information (phone or web site) also
works, but be careful to limit the choices to something
that is easily remembered. Many of our listeners
are driving when they hear your spot. They do not
have the ability to write anything down and probably
can't remember if the message is complicated.
We have
also found that listing a phone number or web site as
the words of the last sentence of your spot makes it
easier for people to remember. If you ask them to
call for information, be sure to pick JUST ONE phone
number. If you list multiple numbers, it merely
confuses listeners. The best bet is to pick one
number and repeat it during your spot.
5. We need your copy roughly
two weeks before your event. If you
send it too early, it may get lost in the shuffle of
everyday business. Unfortunately, we are only
human. Sometimes we've unearthed something at the
bottom of a pile of papers on somebody's desk that
should have been aired earlier. We hate it when that
happens!
If you
don't give us a couple of weeks to produce and run your
spot, then you run the risk of it not getting enough
exposure to do much good. Radio is very effective
when used properly. Research tells us that radio
listeners need to hear your spot at least ten times for
it to become effective.
6.
How often will my spot run?
In an
normal broadcast week, we have roughly 48 no-charge
availabilities per day, or 336 availabilities per week.
We usually have about 20-24 organizations per week who
would like free air time. That means your spot
will run at least twice per day or 14 times per week.
During slow seasons, it may run as much as twice that,
or 4 times per day, 28 times per week. During peak
times like Christmas, Easter, most of the months of
October and November, it could be less, but we try to
accommodate everybody.
7. Can we get more spots?
The answer is "yes" but we must charge for
them. We do offer a special half price rate for
non-profits. A lot of organizations take advantage of
this offer. It is less expensive than you think
and best of all, it works. Please call our office
at 903-643-7711 for complete details.
8.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. We want
your event to be successful. We are here to help.
