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 guest would be able to do a handful of interviews and see their sales go through the roof!

Marsha Friedman, CEO of EMSI , a national public relations firm says, "Sadly, those days are gone. In the current market, without a stellar name, a handful of interviews won't set your sales afire.

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." What is to blame for this? The researchers. 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.

Think about it. 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? Absolutely!"

See the contradiction 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.

A rookie baseball player doesn't throw his first pitch against the New York Yankees, does he? Of course not!and the same applies to radio.

Marsha Friedman says, "I have found in my nearly 20 years in talk radio public relations that is takes generally 10-12 talk radio interviews before clients feel totally comfortable being interviewed in the air. 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."

Also, doing lots of interviews gives you a fantastic on-air experience. You'll be able to crystallize your thoughts on your product better!get your presentation down to a few succinct words!sound like a pro instead of a floundering amateur.

There are many mistakes made by "rookie" talk radio guests such as not mentioning your product or website enough, or being too salesy. It is a huge mistake to undersell and/or oversell!so avoid that at all costs!

Marsha Friedman says, "If you have a overly technical subject, try to avoid being too dense. 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.

But hey, what can prepare you for the 500 watt station in the middle of nowhere that's hosted by a recent college grad. Many hosts won't be as prepared as their big-league counterparts. So you may have to walk them through the major points 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. Don't leave everything up to the host. Always be prepared for the interview. Very bright people listen to some very small radio stations; so don't ever talk down to your audience."

The bottom-line here is that small-station interviews not only can generate sales, they can prepare you for the big time.