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

In the 'golden days,' the hosts of major-market talk radio shows used to bring guests into the studio for long chats. 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 pr 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 main question is: why? There are two reasons for this.

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.

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 that certainly doesn't mean you should thumb your nose at them."

Look at it this way. "If a 1000-watt radio station had, say, only 100 listeners, you'd probably think it wasn't worth the trouble, right?" adds Friedman. Think about this. If you were booked to speak at a conference that had 95 people would you do it? Of course you would."

See the contradiction here? "I would suggest that you go on every talk radio show that you can, no matter what the size is! This is a fabulous way of creating a solid consumer base and awareness", adds 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, "It takes approximately 10 to 12 radio interviews before most clients are comfortable behind the microphone. So it's far better to make your first inevitable mistakes on a smaller stage than a bigger one, and that's where the little stations come in. 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 is a huge mistake to undersell and/or oversell!so avoid that at all costs!

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. Hosts on the smaller talk radio stations may not do as much research as the big national hosts. 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. 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 bottom-line here is that small-station interviews not only can generate sales, they can prepare you for 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.