Talk radio interviews aren't what they used to be.

Back "in the day", hosts would invite guests into the studio for 30 minute or longer interviews. A talk radio guest could just knock off a couple of those interviews and sales would instantly hit 'turbo.'

Marsha Friedman, Founder of Event Management Service Inc , a national publicity firm says, "Sadly, those days are gone. Unless an author is a truly big name nowadays, the chances of hitting pay-dirt with just a couple of big radio interviews are history."

The reasons are two-fold.

The first element is that the number of talk radio shows with a guest format has dwindled over the years. Friedman adds, "Next, the time each show allots for guest interviews has been drastically cut." Blame the research. The result of much research found that the shorter the segment, the more the audience will stay involved.

When it Comes to Talk Radio Publicity, Quantity Still Rules.

Let's think about this fact. Marsha Friedman says, "There are 1,000's of stations available that seem to be small and a waste of your valuable public relations time. But wait! Don't make that decision so quickly!"

Think about this point of view. "Say a low wattage stations had an audience of 95 people. A utter waste of time, right?" adds Friedman. "But what if you could go to an auditorium and talk to 100 people about your book, would you go? Of course you would."

See the quandary here? "I would suggest that you go on every talk radio show that you can, no matter what the size is! You'll be building lots of selling momentum!and something else, too", add Friedman.

Get Your Feet Wet in the Small Markets Before Taking the Plunge With the Majors.

Marsha Friedman says, "It takes approximately 10 to 12 radio interviews before most clients are comfortable behind the microphone. It is a much wiser decision to cut your teeth on the small stations so that when you get the opportunity to appear on a huge national show you are comfortable enough to really take advantage of the terrific promotional opportunity. Small talk radio stations let you practice becoming a great guest."

Having a large number of interviews under your belt will definitely give you experience. What is meant by practice is that you will be able to gather your thoughts, your pitch and interview style and sound like a pro in no time.

Typical errors for first time guests include not giving out their website address or the title of their book, or not mentioning it frequently enough. It's also a mistake to mention these too often and upset the host, who will let you know that the show is not an infomercial.

Technical clients have a tendency to slide into techno-babble, and even good guests inevitably walk out of their first few interviews knowing they could have done better. But if you are going out to smaller stations initially, you won't have a national audience hearing your mistakes."

Of course there could be problems using the smaller stations. It is important to get yourself ready because sometimes you will run into unprofessional situations. So make sure that you reconfirm your interview a couple of times before you are due to appear on-air.

And, nothing can save you from the 500 watt or 1,000 watt radio station in Peoria that's hosted by a kid right out of broadcast school, so be ready for what an unprofessional host will throw at you. Many hosts won't be as prepared as their big-league counterparts. So always be prepared to educate the host on every single aspect of your topic.

Marsha Friedman says, "Prepare for these interviews as though you have just met someone on the street for the first time and you're telling them about your book. If the hosts aren't as prepared as they should be, you still need to be on your toes. But remember; don't talk down to the audience of a small radio station. You may be offending some very intelligent people without even knowing. Win over your audience, no matter what the size of the station!"

The point: small stations can get your sales going while getting you ready to hit the big time!

Marsha Friedman has been a leading authority on public relations for nearly two decades as CEO of Event Management Services, Inc (EMSI). If you would like to receive her free Ebook "How to Be a Great Talk Radio Guest" visit http://www.emsincorporated.com.