Better Radio Websites

Jim Sherwood

5.0 (1)
Technology
Updated Weekly

The podcast for radio professionals who want to see their website generate more traffic and revenue. Each week your host, Jim Sherwood, and his special guests give you time-tested tips and secret tricks to ensure your radio station dominates digital in your market.

4h ago

How Radio Stations Can Attract Advertisers With a Blog

Could your radio station’s blog help bring in advertisers? Your sales team already answers questions that local business owners are searching for. Publishing that advice can help people find your station, get to know your team, and trust your expertise before they’re ready to buy. In this episode of Better Radio Websites, we cover practical blog topics, ways to turn everyday sales conversations into helpful content, and why your posts should offer useful information without becoming advertisements. I also share how blogging and podcasting have become our marketing investment at Skyrocket Radio. Read the full show notes: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/235 Does your station website need a better way to serve listeners and advertisers? Explore Skyrocket Radio’s websites and mobile apps: https://www.skyrocketradio.com
Sep 21

Are Ads Ruining Your Radio Station Website?

Your radio station website needs advertising revenue, but there’s a point where too many ads start working against you. Popups, automatic AdSense placements, slow-loading banners and ads competing with your streaming player can make listeners think twice about coming back. In this episode of Better Radio Websites, Jim Sherwood looks at how radio stations can balance digital revenue with a better website experience. We’ll talk about what happens when Google AdSense gets too aggressive, why you should regularly check your website on a phone, how advertising can affect page speed, and why your streaming player should always be protected from competing audio and intrusive placements. We’ll also look at the advertising itself. Too many radio station banner ads are little more than a business logo inside a rectangle. Just as a good radio commercial gives listeners a reason to visit an advertiser, a good digital ad should give someone a reason to click. Plus, we’ll look at sponsorship opportunities that go beyond traditional banner ads, including weather, community calendars, local sports and other useful website content. The goal isn't fewer opportunities for advertisers. It's creating better ones without turning your station website into something listeners have to fight their way through. Read the full show notes and article at:https://www.skyrocketradio.com/234 Need a better website or mobile app for your radio station? Skyrocket Radio builds digital platforms specifically for radio broadcasters, with the tools stations need to grow audience, improve engagement and create more opportunities for local advertisers. Learn more at:https://www.skyrocketradio.com
Sep 7

Stop Giving Your Best Local Content an Expiration Date

Radio stations put a lot of time, money and creative effort into spring gardening guides, summer boating guides, fall football previews and holiday shopping publications. So why does so much of that great local content disappear when the season is over? In this episode, we look at how stations can turn seasonal content into permanent website resources that grow year after year. Instead of starting over every season, your station can update and expand what it has already created while using print as a special edition with coupons, exclusive offers and other reasons for listeners to pick up a copy. The result is more useful local content, more reasons for listeners to return to your website and more digital inventory for your sales team to sell — without creating everything from scratch again next year. Read the show notes and see more ideas from this episode:https://www.skyrocketradio.com/233 If your current website isn't built to accommodate seasonal sections, local guides and other content that keeps listeners coming back, it may be time for an upgrade. Learn more about radio station websites from Skyrocket Radio:https://www.skyrocketradio.com
Aug 24

Do You Need a New Website - Or a Better Plan?

Does your radio station really need a new website — or do you need a better plan for the one you already have? Stations often start looking for a new website because something forces the decision. A provider is shutting down, prices are increasing, a service is being discontinued, or the current website simply feels like it isn't doing enough. But before comparing providers, platforms and feature lists, there's a more important question to answer: What are you trying to make better for your audience? In this episode of Better Radio Websites, we look at how to evaluate your entire digital operation — website, mobile app, newsletter, streaming, push notifications and more — before deciding whether changing technology is actually the answer. Sometimes moving from DIY to a provider makes sense. Sometimes changing providers is the right move. Sometimes bringing your website back in-house is the better option. And sometimes the technology isn't the problem at all. You may need better content, a simpler workflow, more promotion or just a better understanding of tools you already have. The best time to figure this out is before you're forced to make a decision. For more details and additional thoughts from this episode, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/232 And if your evaluation tells you that it really is time for a new radio station website, learn more about Skyrocket Radio: https://www.skyrocketradio.com
Aug 10

The Local Image Library Every Radio Station Should Be Building

When breaking news happens in your community, do you already have the photo you need—or does someone start scrambling through Google, Facebook, stock photography and AI-generated images looking for something that will work? Radio stations have an incredible opportunity to build their own libraries of authentic local images. Your staff is already driving past courthouses, schools, police and fire stations, landmarks, businesses, stadiums and community events every day. The problem has never really been taking the pictures. It’s everything that has to happen afterward to get those pictures off someone’s phone and onto the station website. In this episode, we talk about why every radio station should be steadily building a local image library before those photos are needed. We also look at how those images can make local news coverage faster, eliminate many copyright concerns, and eventually create a valuable visual archive of the community your station serves. Then, I’ll show you CaptureRelay, an app we built specifically to remove the friction between taking a picture and getting it into WordPress. I’ll walk through the CaptureRelay WordPress plugin, connect a mobile device, take and title a photo, and show you how quickly it arrives properly optimized in the website’s Media Library. CaptureRelay works with WordPress websites whether you're a Skyrocket Radio affiliate or not. Get CaptureRelay:https://capturerelay.app More notes and information from this episode:https://www.skyrocketradio.com/231 Looking for a modern website platform built specifically for radio stations?https://www.skyrocketradio.com
Jul 27

Ensure your Mobile App is on Your Digital Inventory List

Most radio stations have a well-defined inventory sheet for on-air commercials, sponsorships, and stopsets. But what about your digital products? More specifically, your mobile app? In this episode, I explain why your mobile app shouldn't be treated as a separate product that only one person on staff understands. Instead, it should become another section of your station's Digital Inventory List alongside your website, newsletters, podcasts, streaming, and other digital assets. When every advertising opportunity is documented before a salesperson walks into a client's office, your team presents a more professional, consistent, and confident digital strategy. I also share why it's important to be exhaustive the first time you build your inventory list, how to uncover sponsorship opportunities hidden throughout your app, why advertisers care more about where a promotion leads than where it appears, and how a simple inventory document can eliminate confusion between sales, programming, and your digital team. For a deeper dive into building your station's Digital Inventory List and identifying mobile app sponsorship opportunities, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/230 If you're evaluating a mobile app for your station, take a look at our fully integrated platform. Unlike standalone app providers, our mobile apps and websites are managed from a single dashboard with one login, making it easy to keep your entire digital presence synchronized while creating new opportunities for advertisers. Learn more here: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/radio-station-apps Our integrated approach helps radio stations simplify day-to-day management while creating a stronger digital experience for listeners and advertisers alike.
Jul 12

How to Extend the Life and Value of Every Remote Broadcast

Radio remotes don’t have to end when the van pulls away. In this episode, I share a simple strategy to turn every remote into lasting content that continues benefiting your listeners, advertisers, and website long after the broadcast is over. We’ll discuss how to build a single event page that evolves before, during, and after the remote, why your website should be part of every promotion, and how to uncover valuable evergreen content—even if the weather turns bad or hardly anyone shows up. Sometimes the biggest opportunity isn’t the crowd… it’s the access you have to local experts. For expanded show notes, examples, and resources, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/229 If you’re ready to upgrade your radio station’s website, mobile app, or overall digital presence, learn more at: https://www.skyrocketradio.com
Jun 29

Your Station Website Needs Local Good News

Everyone likes hearing good news, and radio has always been great at sharing it. The problem is that most of those stories disappear after a single break. In this episode, we talk about creating a Local Good News section on your station’s website and why it can become one of your most valuable content features. You’ll learn: Why your station is already producing great community stories every week.The types of good news that listeners enjoy reading and sharing.How a single on-air mention can become evergreen website content.Ways to encourage listeners to submit stories from your community.Why good news builds audience loyalty and attracts sponsors.Why you should start with one simple section instead of creating Teacher of the Month, Hometown Hero, Volunteer Spotlight, and other features all at once.A simple Good News section gives your station a place to celebrate the people, organizations, businesses, schools, and volunteers who make your community special, while creating content that continues working long after it airs. For more in-depth notes and examples from this episode, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/228 If you’re ready to upgrade your station’s website or mobile app, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com

The podcast for radio professionals who want to see their website generate more traffic and revenue. Each week your host, Jim Sherwood, and his special guests give you time-tested tips and secret tricks to ensure your radio station dominates digital in your market.

Creator

Jim Sherwood
Years Active

2021 - 2026
Episodes

233
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© Jim Sherwood
Show Website

Better Radio Websites