How to Be a Radio DJ

Do you want to be a radio DJ or want to know more about it?

When you become a DJ for a radio station you can work on various kinds of formats.

Is This Thing On?

Many  DJ's are versatile and change their style enough to work at a station that

• plays music,
• as a news announcer,
• as a live talk show host,
• or as a commercial announcer.

Other DJ's only want to work on one highly focused format and will not consider any other.

Testing 1,2,3...

A DJ must decide which job to apply for.

Country music is the largest format. That means there are more country music radio stations than any other type.

Note-DJ means- Disc Jockey as in-- records and music presenter. But the term has come to mean 'announcer' as well.

Other popular formats for announcers and on-air personalities are

• News-Talk,
• Sports,
• Contemporary Hit Radio ( top 40),
• Adult Contemporary,
• Ethnic,
• Urban and
• Religious.

It is usually best to apply for a job at a radio station with a format that  fits your personal interests.

For Example- if you enjoy sports and would like to make a career of it you could look into the possibility of getting a job at a Sports-Talk station.

How do you go about getting a radio job?

That's a great question. There are a few schools that train people for radio. Some of these schools will help with job placement upon graduation.

If you are determined to be in radio there are a few things you can do that do not involve going to radio school.

Here is a step by step method that I have seen work hundreds of times.

One- Decide exactly what you want to do in radio.

Even if you are not sure, make the best decision you can under the circumstances.

You might change your mind later but it is vital that you have a very clear goal at first.

• If you want to be a Hot Hits DJ on an afternoon show, write that down as your goal.
• If you want to announce the news on a morning show, write that down as your goal.

This first step is crucial.

Two- Develop a plan that will get you there.

It does not have to be the perfect plan but it is very important that you get some ideas.

• Going to school could be the plan,
• or working part time helping file or as a sales assistant at a local station so you can get some experience or watch, could be a plan.

I knew a young man who wanted to be a sportscaster so he announced the local softball games for free. Then moved up to high school football, then to minor league baseball. Today he is a sports reporter and sportscaster in a major US city.

You could make a few calls to your target radio station and try to get an appointment to talk with the program director, production director, promotions director or someone in a position to answer your questions.

• During your first meeting, ( without being a pest)
• try to get a second meeting.
• During your second meeting, you guessed it,
• try to get a third, and so on.

Then you can get a more elaborate plan going.

Three- Find a partner who is already doing what you want to do.

This might take weeks or even months but if you are determined, you can do it. Find a person who has either been in radio, is in radio or knows how to do what you want to do.

Figure out a win-win partnership with that person or people. This is very important and a step many people try to skip.  This is the fastest way to your goal. The time and effort you spend acting on this will be well worth it.

Four- Take action.

Get notebooks, pens, paper, phone numbers, get organized around your goal.

Start making calls as soon as you finish this article. This is a serious step that will help you succeed more than any other.

Action is absolutely necessary if you are going to make it.

True Story

I have seen a person visit a live broadcast, talk with the DJ during an off mic break, get interviewed on air and land a job at the radio station. That is the power of action. It might not happen for you that way but one thing is certain, without action, you got nothin'!

Five- Build momentum toward your goal using all these steps and don't stop until you have reached your goal. Once you are there, use these steps to set your next goal.

I use these steps every day and write about them quite a bit. They are very powerful and can change your life for the better.

I have helped hundreds of people with their desire to be in radio. I know you can do it.
When I say that, I am not just being rah,rah. I mean it.

• People with big voices,
• untrained voices,
• young ,
• older,
• male,
• female,
• ethnic.

It can be done.

If you want to be a DJ and are willing to put in the effort as listed in the steps above, you can do it. There are radio stations in every city in America. The large cities have 20 or more stations. Of course there are a limited number of jobs but one can be yours if you really want it.

You might be required to move to another city or across the country, so be prepared to consider options like that.

What kind of money can you make as a DJ? From $25,000 a year up to millions. The salary range is huge and it all depends on exactly what you are doing.

If you are willing to follow your dream, I know you can make it come true.
 
 

Practice All the Time

If you are dedicated to being a good radio announcer or DJ, you will need to practice a lot.

Even if you were born to be in radio that's great , but you still must refine your talents and keep getting better every day.

Always Practice

There will never be a time in your radio career when you do not need to practice.

Exactly what this means.

You need to know how you sound when you feel a certain way. You need to know , before you open your mouth, what it is going to sound like.

• What kind of inflection it will have
• the tone
• the volume
• the diction or enunciation

Smart Practice

So when you practice, record it. Listen back and make improvements or changes.

Interview

You can also practice interviewing. I heard a female announcer on a New Jersey station the other day who was just great at what she does. She had a talk show and was simply taking callers and chatting with them on the air about chosen topics.

She had all the basics under control but the thing that made her so good was -

she knew how to keep her conversations moving forward. She could sense when the call had reached its peak-- at that moment, she was on to the next caller.

She never allowed a caller to hang idly around with nothing else to say or with boring chatter.

Something that simple takes a lot of practice. You can spend months getting good at that. It is something most listeners will never even think about. But if you are a good DJ or talk show host you will know all about it.

Word economy

You can practice using less words to get a lot said.

Try talking in headlines. Short phrases that tell an entire story.

News writers and bloggers do it every day. You can too if you practice.

Word Pictures

Use descriptions that paint a picture in the mind.

Like this-

• 'She reached over with her freshly painted pink fingernails and carefully turned the black radio knob.'
• 'This weekend you'll be leaving footprints in the snow.'
• 'Current temperature, as I squint and lean into the computer screen....33 degrees.'

How do you get good at word pictures? Practice.