Sandra Larson of Elm, Texas writes:
“I’m very interested in hosting a radio show as an animal communicator. On the air, I would do live readings for your audiences’ favorite furry friends. Also, we could take the on-air audience on soul journeys which are guided meditations. After the meditation, if time permitted, we could share your callers’ responses!
“I’ve always used my voice as a singer, teacher, speaker and storyteller. I’m comfortable in front of an audience and a microphone. People have often told me I have a soothing, easy-to-listen to voice and that I bring a lot of joy to the room. I believe the on-air audience is looking for a host that can be empathic and yet share their love and enthusiasm for animals. Can you help lead me in the right direction?”
Here’s what I told her:
I’m an animal lover, and the concept for your show is great. But I just can’t see a mainstream radio show clamoring for you to be on their show so you can talk to listeners’ dogs. You have several options however:
Option #1: Before starting your show, which is a huge commitment, try to get onto other people’s shows as a guest and talk, not to animals, but to humans. Talk about the power of the voice when you’re dealing with animals, and why voice is important, whether you’re scolding them or telling them you love them. National Public Radio is one possibility. See “How to Get Booked on National Public Radio.”
I’m not sure how you plan to make money from this venture, but why not record your voice—talking to animals—and sell it as an MP3 file or a CD?
Option #3: You can also pitch current talk show hosts. In this week’s ezine, and at this blog, I included an item about Alex Carroll’s new radio show database, which focuses on New Age, mind-body-spirit and self-improvement topics. Your topic is a perfect fit with this. Many are Internet radio shows, but they have huge audiences.
Option #3: You can, of course, start your own Internet radio show or podcast.