Radio for lead generation works. No really - it does.

Guess what? Advertising on the radio works for lead generation. Really...it does. How?

When most marketers advertise on the radio - they often get trapped in what the media sales representative tells them. Repetition is a must - and paying for premium stations - is a must. Why do the media sales reps say that? Because that's how THEY - not YOU - make the most money. They are in sales - after all - are they not?

So while we can't mock the sales process - because you are also in sales - hence why you want more leads - we can find a better way of using radio to our advantage. The answer - I have found - is in remnant buying and BUYING LOTS OF SPOTS ON THE CHEAP! This is the only way to go - unless money is not an issue at your company ... and unfortunately, money is always an issue.

Buying remnant space is easy - and I've found there's little sacrifice to be made. You can always ensure your dayparts (AM, PM, EVENING, LATE NIGHT) - so you're not just running at 3am (unless that works for your business - it works particularly well if you're selling GET RICH QUICK STUFF, Mattresses or FAST CASH LOANS). Further, you'd want to make sure you're buying your spots at a low-cost - not rate-card. You can dictate the price. You can also target the stations to your key demographics (women, men, teens, seniors, etc.) and lastly, you can also target any geographic territory you like.

There are tons of online sites where you can bid - via auction - or you can buy spots directly and secure your inventory. I've bought spots for as little as $2 per spot - usually not much more - and therein lies the key. Because - if you were buying spots at $50 per spot - you might need one lead per spot - on average - to create an acceptable cost per lead ... no matter what business you're in. However, when buying spots at $2 per spot - you've now got a 25 to 1 ratio - which makes all the difference in the world when talking about lead generation. Now you can run 25 spots - to get one lead - and still have an acceptable CPL.

Do your research - and you'll be pleasantly surprised to see how quickly the radio media landscape is changing. It's no longer a "i'll call my guy or gal" and see what they can do for me - but a "let me go online and see what's available myself - and I'll be the judge of what'll work for my metrics" way of buying media.