If you’re pitching a story idea to a Spanish-language radio station, remember that the Hispanic market is diverse.
If you’re planning to treat all stations the same, and deliver the same one-size-fits-all pitch, you’re doomed even before you begin.
Dean Thompson, media relations associate at News Generation, a PR firm that specializes in radio media tours, offers these pitching tips:
–Provide information relevant to the geographic region and the demographics that a station reaches.
–Audio news releases, public service announcements and interviews must be written and positioned for specific audiences.
–Don’t send the same pitch to a South Florida station serving mostly Cuban or South American audiences as well as to a southwest Texas radio station serving a largely Mexican population.
–When pitching, include a specific reason for pitching an Hispanic audience.
Here’s my related tip: When pitching an idea, you get extra points for supplying contact information of somebody within that radio market who agrees to be interviewed. Radio talk show hosts and producers love it when you offer additional guests because it saves them time searching themselves.
Other tips for those doing radio interviews:
–Learn to talk in sound bites, and keep your answers short. Start babbling, and the host will cut you off.
–Before the show, work out details with the host on how he or she will promote your book or other product. Don’t take it upon yourself to pitch it.
–After the show, ask the host, “Who else do you know who might be interested in having me on their show as a guest?” Broadcasters often have friends in other markets and might be happy to pass along your name and contact information.
