I never really considered becoming a talk radio host but when the opportunity was presented last week I was quite interested. Perhaps it really appealed to my vanity 
I received a call informing me that my blog was considered to have material that would be appropriate for a radio show. I was asked if I would be interested in hosting a 13 week pilot program of Voice America’s business network. The producer said that a recent post where I had stated that, “my clients are all across Canada and my long-term strategy is to grow my network outside the country”, was what piqued his interest.
I fancied the idea of increasing my reach and trying out a new medium (though I have been involved in several podcasts). My main concerns were the amount of preparation time and the actual delivery of a good quality one-hour show each week. Each show averages about two hours prep time, I was told, so hosting a show would be a significant commitment; but it would be possible to pre-record a couple of shows. Unless I wanted to do all of the talking (boring), then I would also have to find interesting people to interview. Opportunities for co-marketing were discussed too.
I listened to some of the existing Voice America business radio shows and found some mediocre ones, but also good programs like Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends Radio. Anita is quite positive about her Voice America radio hosting, which she does in addition to her Small Business Trends site and newsletter. Anita’s show has attracted sponsorship from Six Disciplines as well.
I couldn’t find out much else about the company, so I considered the pros and cons for a couple of days. About a week later, I was contacted to discuss the business details. During this second conversation, I was made aware of the “production, promotion, training, marketing, internal web-site development, archive hosting, personnel overhead and bandwidth expenses“, and that in order to ensure that hosts will stay committed, an up-front fee is required. This fee equated to the cost of hosting this blog – for twenty years.
In light of this fee-for-service, in addition to what I had already considered to be a significant work effort, I began to lose interest. However, Voice America in total has about seven times more readers than this website does. Therefore, I could have a chance to increase my audience; but how many of these would become paying clients?
What I sell are intangible and usually complex services, with a proposal submitted only after having spent a fair bit of time with my client. Could Voice America radio hosting for 13 weeks help me with this? I’m not sure. Furthermore, my clients are usually referred through my network, and some clients check out my website before contacting me. There are two years of my comments and perspectives on this website. Should I reinforce this archive with audio? Again, I’m not sure. Anyway, I decided to decline this service primarily due to the cost, but also because of an uncertain return on investment.
Further investigation into Modavox, the parent company, yields this information from the NASDAQ:
Modavox produces weekly talk radio content programs that are distributed 24/7 on the Internet through its flagship Voice America channel at WWW.VOICEAMERICA.COM. The company derives its revenues through production fees received from hosts featured on the talk radio content programs and recently sponsor fees received from sponsors of certain of these programs. Production fees are generally sold in 13-week segments and are generally prepaid. Sponsor fees are generally split with the host. The company has also developed an e-commerce technology that will now allow host and sponsors to sell products and services on their programs. In future periods the company expects to earn revenues through the use by hosts and sponsors of this e-commerce technology. The company has also recently begun to market its patented Metaphor technology on a platform that will allow business and specialty and affinity groups to communicate live and stored voice and video content to intended audiences over secure internet channels.
I think that this medium, live Internet radio, has advantages for certain types of businesses, especially those selling a product/service mix or for someone who has a good sponsor that matches the program. As an open source evangelist and a provider of technology evaluation services, I try to be vendor-neutral. This makes sponsorship a difficult issue, because I cannot endorse any single product to the exclusion of others. Perhaps sponsors would flock to my door, but I doubt it.
Hey, Harold, can I be Niles to your Frasier Crane?!
Graham: I’ve got the hair style (or lack thereof) for it. You’d have to come up with a sponsor first
This posting was so helpful – I just got a voicemail from Voice America about hosting a show, and I’d never heard of them. Google pointed me to you. Now I’m still flattered at being called, but I also realize that I may just be a potential sale to them!
I got the call from Voice America on Friday, and a flood of follow-up emails and calls have ensued over the past few days. I was suspicious, but your advanced research armed me with exactly the information I needed, but could not otherwise access elsewhere.
Someone wiser than I believes that podcasts make internet radio unnecessary–Broadcast 1.0 in an Internet 2.0 world.
I really appreciate you sharing this. Great job!
Hi –
I just “got the call” and am glad that this post gave me some info before I phoned.
thanks for the “heads up”
Cynthia
************
Cynthia McKenna, LPC, NCC
Counseling & Life Coaching
Creating Healthy Relationships
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Internet Streaming Media Broadcasting is the new interactive solution for emerging, and veteran media personalities to establish a powerful online presence to a rapidly expanding internet audience. Voice America is Modavox’s unique venture, pioneering the concept of Internet radio.
VoiceAmerica has been streaming live internet talk radio shows via the VoiceAmericaâ„¢ Network, featuring more than 100 hosts broadcasting on four genre based channels. VoiceAmerica helps you to strike a new note in the fast-paced world of internet media by placing your message and brand identity front and center, far beyond simply “having a website”.
Christine:
I’m allowing your comment, which in my mind is blatant advertising.
In the same spirit, I will share with my readers a “free” internet radio service – Blog Talk Radio:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com
I am not affiliated with any of these services, nor do I use them.
I wish I’d read this great post BEFORE I called the guy back. What a con job! They don’t tell you about the fees up front. I’ve been invited to participate in real radio talk shows before, so I wasn’t all that suspicious even though I’d never heard of “Voice America.” I really appreciate your doing the research for me. Thanks again.
You’re welcome, Karen. I learn much from others on the Net and this is my small part in contributing to the “wisdom of crowds”.
How about a podcasting service that not only records and syndicates your show for you — but they pay YOU!:
http://www.talkshoe.com
I’ve had a “show” for about a year. Cost me nothing. That’s my only affiliation with Talkshoe.
I was also pointed here by google after a search for Voice America and appreciate your comments. A rep e-mailed me stating,
“I am in the process of developing a new show for our Health & Wellness channel on our network. After reviewing your information, I am interested in speaking with you about the possibility of hosting a show on our network.”
Although the implication is they’re looking to hire, the wording is suspicious, and I’ve had a local AM station contact me trying to sell airtime after I appeared on a show by another person who was paying for a time slot, so I thought this might be the case.
It did get me interested in the idea though, so I appreciate the heads-up on blogtalkradio.
Glad to see that a 3 year old post is still of some use!
Yes – 3 years and still kicking – both your article and the company. Sure wish I could figure out the right keywords to find more articles about VA from other that VA generated link. We are one step away from walking away from an unsigned contract for the reasons you stated
I appreciate this blog, which I found by Googling “voiceamerica.com hosting.” I got “the call” from VoiceAmerica on Friday. I thought maybe they were looking for free content — which would have been quite an investment of time on my part. That they actually want people to pay is fairly astounding. The business model for legitimate media is to offer the best possible content in order to build their reputation and attract listeners. Can you imagine how quickly people would turn off a news program if they only interviewed people who paid to be on? A channel with paid hosts is just not going to attract listeners; most people would do better buying audio equipment at Radio Shack and creating their own “radio show” on their own website.
I also got called by them today, and was very flattered and also slightly suspicious since I hadn’t done anything to put myself on their radar. A little Googling and here I am. I’m scheduled to talk with them tomorrow and I’m better prepared (and a little less flattered).
As of today VA has called me three times in the past 18 mos. What they said on the phone sounded suspiciously similar to this:
“I am in the process of developing a new show for our Health & Wellness channel on our network. After reviewing your information, I am interested in speaking with you about the possibility of hosting a show on our network.”
Sounds great, right? Maybe it is for someone, but not a very small biz like mine facing their starting fees of $5,200 for 13 weeks.
I’m glad to be of some small service, and save you that $5,200
There is not much out there in terms of reviews on Voice America, so was glad to have found this blog and people’s comments.
I wish prior hosts would give feedback on how it impacted their income (in a positive way), how difficult it was to get sponsors, etc.
Just had a call from VA and, like others, I was glad to find this post. The caller was very enthusiastic but not very forthcoming and, as others have mentioned, did not disclose the fees. Thank you so much for posting this information and allowing continuing comments.
So glad to find this thread. I just got “the call.” After I got over being flattered, I realized that I hung up without ever asking how they got my home telephone number–which isn’t on my blog or my business page. But the person I spoke to was very upfront about the costs, so I didn’t feel misled. He was knowledgeable about my area of expertise so he had at least glanced at my blog at some point. But there is no way I can afford to pay for my own radio show. He also mentioned me being a guest on someone else’s show, which is something I would be interested in so I will probably pursue that. There is VERY little on the internet about people’s experiences with VA, which is kind of odd since they are huge. I’m still wondering how they got my home number…..
VA is still calling as of today! We’ve had solicitations like this before. Thanks for letting me know about this particular company.
Hasn’t the ability to publish and market your own podcasts through iTunes made companies like VoiceAmerica Radio obsolete? Who in their right mind would pay for the “privilege” of being on that network? I’d rather put $5K towards a good paid advertising campaign to market our own website!
Hi, I know this is an older post but it is still very helpful!! Thanks for the information. It really helped.
Thank you so much for this information. They called, I was interested and chatted with them today. All the same stuff and a whopping $6700 cost…
I will for sure try the free radio options.
Thank you and to all those who commented here as well…
tony
Hey Thanks for this blog. I figured this was a sales call. I’m glad he told me to check out the website first. It did make me wonder how much it would cost. It seems like a good opportunity for those of us who are “vain” but I feel what you are saying is correct – you need to have a product that people can buy or a streamlined service, so unless you have that, you might be better off sticking with your current marketing plan. Maybe enhancing it a little. We are working on a couple of other ways to produce products and feel like video is more what people are moving towards anyway. Radio is always fun because you can listen to it while you do other things….but…being a guest on several shows might help you just as much.