I read an article in Publishers Weekly about authors hosting their own Internet radio shows on BlogTalkRadio.com.

“The company is based in New Jersey and has about 14 employees. Levy, who has a background in the telecommunications industry, says, ‘Anyone can host their own show. All you need is a phone.’ Signing up for BTR is free. New members get a logon that provides access to their site’s “switchboard” technology, which allows each show to field up to six live phone calls and upload music or recordings. Hosts can offer weekly, monthly or occasional shows.”
-Publishers Weekly, December 24, 2007, page 6

As I perused the site I saw just about everything you could imagine, some of it pretty vile. But I did find an author of ours utilizing the technology. Rebecca Totilo, author of His Majesty Requests, says:

The Blogtalk radio show has been instrumental in getting the word out regarding my book and teachings. I recommend it to new authors. However, like everything, it takes work and lots of networking. I am spending about half an hour per day managing the radio emails; added to that MySpace, YouTube, GodTube, etc. It is a full time job just to keep things going.

Internet radio seems to be really catching on, but you have to work to get people to tune in. There are lots of programs for doing interviews, so there’s plenty of opportunity if an author would prefer to do an interview on their book and not host a talk radio show.

I added a link to BlogTalkRadio on my Web site and people can find it there and tune in. I like it better than Paltalk because you can upload prerecorded programs and interviews and interviews. You can do it at your convenience and not be bothered with having to sit down and “do it live.” The best thing is it’s FREE!

Author and talk show host, Dave Baum (a media trainer with Extreme Marketing) uses a higher-end Internet radio option called TalkZone.com. He says:

As a longtime over-the-air talk show host, I have found Internet radio to be an exciting new way to be heard on a national and worldwide basis. Knowing that I now have listeners around the globe is terrific, as it allows me to delve into topics that affect everyone, everywhere.

Another advantage of Internet radio over traditional radio: all of my past shows are available on TalkZone on-demand, for 24/7 listening. This allows people to hear my shows anytime, even months or years after the original broadcast.

There are many ways to do a radio show on the Internet – everything from amateur podcasts, to freebie talk sites, to posting audio files on a personal Web site, and so on.

There are many amateur talk radio sites, vanity talk radio sites, blog radio sites, and mass consumer sites out there. Some of these have hundreds of talk show hosts, all competing for listeners. I am afraid that if you host a show on a site like that, you will get lost. So I suggest you look for an Internet talk network that is professional and has high standards. This will help you stand out from the crowd and make a real impact with your show. Also, you will probably have more revenue opportunities at a well-run site, because the quality of the shows will attract advertising dollars.

TalkZone is professional. The sound of my shows, the look, and the marketing has all been top-notch. Knowing my show is being presented in such a quality way has been rewarding to me, as this is my first venture into Internet radio. Also, the worldwide response I’ve been getting to my show has been very gratifying.

If you want quality and support, then you should expect to pay something for it. It shouldn’t cost you a fortune, though. Hosting a show on TalkZone is fairly affordable for the average person. But only you can decide if having a quality show is important to you, and whether you’re willing to pay for it. If not, there are free sites out there you can use.

Athena Dean is a Solutions Advisor for the WinePress division. She works with new authors who have a need for at least 1,500 copies printed on a traditional press.