I got my dream job

That's the words of Rob James, a recent demo tape client of mine. Well done Rob.


Here's a silly viral video we made to promote the breakfast show. What better way to do that than take the mickey out of your local area. Ummm.

Podcasting

I had a lesson with a podcast expert the other day. I intend to create a Best of Neil and Nicky podcast, so I went for a lesson....

and it was so easy.. so so easy.......

Surprisingly so...

Did you know that there are pretty much no roles on Podcasting- yep, no censorship.:):):)

And you can be live to the world.

And, as I said, it's easy!!

I wanted to offer my subscribers an easy lesson on how to do it, at a low cost, and I want to guage the interest, so if you would like me to teach you, wither by phone or online course, please just send a message to radio@neillong.com with the words YES PLEASE PODCASTS in the subject line.

..and I will be in touch.

World, here you come!!

Oh by the way, if you want a cracking demo made, hop over here....

http://tinyurl.com/266wca

Just for fun

How to make your co-presenters life a misery!

Here's what success sounds like...

Well done Rob James, who came to me to make a demo...

There's been a rather good response...

In Rob's own words...

I've had a phone call from Dave Owen (PC @ Radio Jackie for the one's who don't know the name).

He would like me to go into the studios and record an Air Check more aimed at R.J using local information as if I was ON AIR. I'm waiting for him to call me back once he is OFF AIR himself.

As you can all guess, I'm currently on cloud nine, I have a meeting/studio tour this afternoon at Time 106.6FM (Slough) ready for the show on Monday afternoon.

Plus I will be Co Hosting on Time 106.6, Saturday 19th May with Mike 'The Marathon Man' as he attempts to break the world record of 126 hours ON AIR (No break, and No sleep)

Needless to say I'm on cloud 9!



Well done Rob

Have a listen




Who's next then. Roll up, roll up. http://tinyurl.com/266wca

Vintage nostalgia

Sometimes it's fun to cast your mind back and remember.....

Today sees the funeral of Molly Catford. Without her, Radio Jackie would not exist as it does today. In the early days of RJ, when we were still pirates, she was the one that mothered, encouraged and supported the spotty teenagers that were trying to run Radio Jackie (illegally)!

But heck it was fun. I wish I had been there..

Her husband Jack didn't want anything to do with the "naughty pirate boys", so to protect him from annoyance, Molly would cut the articles out of the paper about Radio Jackie. He would go to read it and it would be full of holes!

Have a listen to this

http://www.offshoreechos.com/offshorethemes/Sounds/I%20spy%20for%20the%20DTI.mp3

It's a clip from a spoof song, I spy for the DTI!

3 years ago when Radio Jackie was relaunched Molly sat in the studio watching a long, long held dream, finally come true.

Believe in the power of your dreams. If it can happen to a sweet white haired old lady.. it can certainly happen to you.

Bless you Molly. We will miss you.

Pure Nostalgia and Exciting News

GREETINGS

I don't know about you, but I have found that one thing listeners LOVE is feeling good.

And generally (not always), people love to hear what they grew up with....


So as a suggestion, if you have a local celebrity who lives locally, and it fits with your demographic- get him on the show...

This morning we had Zammo Maguire from Grange Hill - Lee Macdonald on the show. Great fun- I love interesting radio where people sound like they're having fun.


I had another good idea as well. Would you like some jingles from Zammo "Hi, this is Zammo...and I always listen to...".

We can arrange a good fee to give you the best value.

Come to think of it, if you would like me or any of my colleagues to make some stuff for you..., have a look here.... www.jollygoodvoice.com

If you're interested, then drop me a line at radio@neillong.com


I'm excited about our Get Into Radio website, it should be live in about a week. It will be a buzzing interactive site with a forum where you - wherever you are in the industry, and you can network and share ideas with each other.

There will be stuff to buy that will help you.

There will be direct e-mail contact with me.

There will be tips and tricks from people in the trade.

...and an anorak corner!


I will let you know when it's ready.

All the best

Neil


PS Wanna hear the bit on air with Zammo?

Guess what I'm gonna do?

I bought me a domain name www.getintoradio.com

(Don't go there, there's nothing there yet)

But, my vision is an all singing all dancing site, where you can

*Learn radio skills
*Learn from others in the trade
*Join a forum to create prep
*Keep up to date with what else is going on in the industry
*Network with people on all levels in the industry.

It's going to be a membership site, which you can join for a very small fee.

I will keep you updated.

One way or another, I'm going to put the fun and passion back into this crazy industry.. Neil Long

There is a forum already, and it's here for you. Free! Normal forum etiquette please!
http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=100131


Matt e-mailed me with some questions about radio, and here they are for everyones benefit!


1. Whats the most important thing when youre building a brand within radio?

Consistency, trustworthiness, relateability, authority.- they are the big ones- depends what your brand is- how young the people are that you're aiming at- the younger, the more exciting you can make it. Fun of course as well, over seriousness kills radio!


2. Do radiostations use their brands to its full potential today? And if not what can be improved?

Some do, some don't. To improve, look at the demographic from every perspective. Who are you audience, what makes them tick? How else can you touch them? What related activities do they like? How could you increase your presence in the area? What fun events could you host? Could advertisers be tied in?


3. Do radiostations promote their brand enough to be top of mind with the listener?

And whats the ultimate way to do so? See above, There's a good book called "There's a Customer Born Every Minute" by Joe Vitale, that's worth reading.


4. What do you think of radio commercials as they look today?

Some are ok, some are dull, one way or another they need to be attention grabbing. Advertising basically links positive feelings with your product, there's a thing called AIDA Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. If you can see this formula in an advert they are doing ok.


5. What do you think is the big difference between radio and tv commercials apart from the obvious lack of images?

More captive audience, so if you know who's listening and when you can target your demographic really well.


6. What does the future hold for radio and radio commercials in your opinion?

As more and more media becomes available like the Internet, radio has some competition! The rules are changing in what you can and cannot do, they have to or they would get left behind. There's a booklet available from Ofcom that tells you the rules of advertising.


Thanks a million for this mate youre a diamond geezer

You're welcome. Hope that helps.

SHAMELESS TESTIMONIAL

I have been involved in Hospital Radio since the age of 17 (Radio 9, Tooting Hospitals) and after a break of some twenty odd years, due to Work and Family Commitments, became involved again at Kingston Hospital Radio, where I have been doing a regular Thursday evening show for the past couple of years.

I have always been passionate about Radio and wanted some advice on how to progress and make that 'step-up' into Commercial Radio, but after several attempts at DIY Demos being rejected I decided 'on a whim' to e-mail Neil Long at Radio Jackie.

To my surprise he answered my e-mail and offered his advice and services to make a Professional Demo at the Jackie Studios.

Obviously, going to the Studio seemed a bit daunting, but after a chat, cup of tea and a fag, we got down to recording my demo.

As we went along Neil pointed out some habits which needed sorting out (I had a habit of putting in a slight 'tutt' as a Full Stop when changing subject in my links) and a few phrases which needed tinkering with.

After an hour or so we had the demo done in its unedited form. Neil then painstakingly edited the demo and 'topped and tailed' the music, leaving a demo of 3.5 minutes duration. He gave me 3 copies to take away and sent one in an MP3 format. After that it was down the pub for a couple of pints !!

All in all, if you believe yourself that you have 'what it takes' to progress, you won't go far wrong by getting in touch with Neil. Obviously, his experience in Radio speaks volumes, and you can gain so much by listening to his constructive criticism, and encouragement. And, he is a very nice guy really !!

So can I help you?

http://tinyurl.com/266wca

On with the fun...