How to Get Free PI Advertising on Radio

PI Advertising or pay-per-lead advertising on radio is a great cost-effective way for small businesses to market their product.

Advertising is the life-blood of any successful business. Unless you advertise and promote your business effectively, your business can't flourish. However most home-based businesses cannot match the resources of large businesses to advertise in traditional media like televisions, popular magazines, and hence they have to look out for cheap and effective means of advertising. One such form of advertising that is not only affordable but extremely effective is P.I. (Per Inquiry) Advertising.

This type of advertising is generally associated with broadcasting mediums like Radio where you pay only for the responses generated for your advertising message. As you pay only for the results, P.I advertising is very popular among small businesses, who can't afford to waste lot of resources on testing.

To get started, get a loose leaf notebook with about fifty to hundred filler pages. Now get a copy of Broadcast Yearbook on radio stations from your local library or the standard Rate and Data Services Directory on Spot Radio. These publications should provide you with all the information required by you regarding licensed radio stations.

Start with one or two states where your product might be likely to have more demand and then gradually move to other states. If you are trying to sell a product on improving fuel efficiency of two wheelers, start with states that have high two wheeler concentration. Once you have targeted the state you'll start with, list down all the stations in cities and town of that particular state and note down the following data in your notebook - name of general manager, station call letters, addresses and telephone numbers

Initially, do not try to list more than one radio station per city. From the programming description contained in the data block of the station in the Broadcasting yearbook or the SRDS directory, shortlist stations whose listeners would be most interested in your product. Once you have listed around 200 stations, it's time to contact the station manager of the stations either through a phone call or letter. Contacting by phone is far more productive and cost-effective than a letter or postcard. Some situations however will deem it to be less expensive to make this first contact through letter or a postcard.

Begin with introducing yourself and inquire if they would consider a PI advertising campaign. Mention to the station master that you have a product that you think will sell well in his market and before going with the paid advertising you wish to test it. Mention your product price and tell that for each response that would be generated from his station, he would be paid 50% of that. Explain that all the details such as writing the advertising message, accounting and bookkeeping, refunds and complaints, will be handled by entirely by you and all he has to do is to schedule the advertising and give his best.

If he agrees to look over your material, thank him and assure him to send a complete package by mail immediately. Your PI advertising package should contain the following:

1. Cover letter. Make copies of letters to suit all situations. When sending, just fill in the business salutation and sign it. If there was some other aspects discussed, type a different letter discussing it. Such personalization may boost your chances of getting approved.
2. Product literature. If possible, hire a professional copywriter to get a brochure done for your product. Do not leave anything to guess and mention as much in detail as possible about your product. If you have any positive feedback regarding your product, include them to.
3. Thirty second and sixty second commercials.
4. PI Advertising contract. Mention everything about your program, the way everything is to handled, how the payment will be made to the radio station and at what frequency, clauses on refunds, complaints and liabilities.
5. Self-addressed, postage paid postcard for the radio station to use to let you know if they decide to run your program, the date from which your commercial will be aired, how frequently and during which time periods.

If the station master isn't interested in conducting a PI campaign, just tell him thanks and make a note of it in your notebook by his entry and move on to the next station.

When contacting through a letter or postcard, use a professional letterhead and type everything in a systematic and positive tone. You must also attach a self-addressed postage paid postcard for response to your inquiry.

Final Word

Before you decide to jump off with your campaign please see to it that you have a product or service that lives up to its standards and is worthy enough to be sold via the radio inquiry system. Radio station people are as professional and dedicated as anyone else in business.

Apart from the product, the success of your campaign depends a lot on the content of your commercial. Stress more on benefits and not on the features of your product. If you are selling a book on losing weight, stress more on how they would feel after losing weight, the compliments they'll receive and the boost in self confidence they'll get. You have to write your message in such a way that it'll not only capture their interests but also make them feel free of all their problems after using whatever you are offering. It's the product and how you write your commercial that is ultimately going to bring in the responses.

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