Re: sponsorship

**"* F* <c*@mail.com>**

 Katy,
It's VERY common for radio programs to have to generate their own sponsors. It's also common for the person who has the show to buy the time and then they keep all the income from the ads that they sell.  Commonly, when someone buys the time they view the entire program as an ad for them, but this doesn't apply to the MGs of course. Every radio station is all about the bottom line and that is ad revenue.

On my station there are several people who need to sell their own time - I and the right-wing weekday morning guy are the only ones who are paid AND have the sales staff sell the spots that support our show. The host of The Handyman Hotline does two things - he sells ads AND he sells guest appearances - that is, the carpet guy or the roof guy (these are all guys on his show) pay $100. per month to be the "experts" and be on the show for a half hour every month.

Do you make cold calls? No. You make appointments to see those who buy the ads at local garden centers etc. But don't stop at there - contact the larger landscapers in your area, those that sell greenhouses and sunrooms, and those that sell BBQ's and outdoor furniture.  A face to face pitch is always better.  

Is there any money in the Master Gardener's budget to support this? If, for example, the MG's would commit to buying two spots, and only using one for promotion of MG events/projects, then you could offer the radio station the other minute that they could sell to someone else giving them income from three spots for the time of two.  MG's could use their minute to also give timely tips and garden info and perhaps that would come under their education budget.

The other thing to do is to do something to goose up the numbers - send out information about what is happening locally in the landscape to newspapers and connect it in with the radio show. (Callers to the program are asking about this insect....) Team up with local garden centers to have Design Days when people can come in for free design advice (bringing photos of their gardens) and you'll give each person who comes near your table a postcard about the show. Offer a prize on air and have people enter by sending in a postcard. (A flood of postcards that your station manager can see will help show him that people are listening.)  And I'm sure you can think of other ways to let people know you're on the air. You can't let them stumble on the program - you need to draw them in.

good luck with it!
C.L.

C.L. Fornari
www.gardenlady.com
"A Garden Lover's Martha's Vineyard" Available from Commonwealth Editions

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