Better Radio Websites

Better Radio Websites

By Jim SherwoodTechnology
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Better Radio Websites episodes

  • Should Your Radio Station Publish an AI Policy?

    Only 27% of Americans trust businesses to use AI responsibly. If your station uses AI, your listeners should hear it from you first.

    Full show notes: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/237

    Most radio stations already use AI somewhere, whether that's drafting a news story, summarizing an interview, writing show prep or making a quick image for a post. Your listeners don't see any of that, and they're getting more skeptical about how businesses use AI.

    In this episode of Better Radio Websites, Jim Sherwood explains how a short AI policy page and a plain label on AI-assisted stories and images protect the trust radio is built on, and how your sales team can turn that into a reason to advertise with you.

    In this episode:

    - Why trust in businesses' use of AI is falling, and what iHeartMedia's "Guaranteed Human" policy says about it

    - The four questions your AI policy page should answer

    - Where to link the page, and why it needs a date

    - How to label AI-assisted stories and images, and what Google says about disclosures

    - Why AI-created people are the line most people don't want crossed

    - How your sales team can use the policy to sell real voices and local talent

    - One thing to do this week

    Resources mentioned:

    AI policy page outline you can copy: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/237

    Bentley-Gallup Business in Society survey, via Radio Ink: https://radioink.com/2026/10/09/price-doubts-ai-wariness-shape-radios-ad-pitch-to-main-street/

    iHeartMedia's "Guaranteed Human" policy, via Radio Ink: https://radioink.com/2025/12/01/iheartmedia-draws-industry-line-against-ai-voices-with-new-policy/

    Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content

    Better Radio Websites with Jim Sherwood gives radio stations one practical idea per episode to get their website, app and digital content more attention and more revenue.

    It's produced by Skyrocket Radio, which builds websites and mobile apps for radio stations: https://www.skyrocketradio.com.


    #RadioStation #AIPolicy #BetterRadioWebsites

    13 min
  • Protecting Your Radio Station from Impersonation Scams

    Someone pretending to be your radio station could collect payments from advertisers or trick listeners with fake contest messages. In this episode of Better Radio Websites, learn practical ways to prevent impersonation scams, verify payment requests, protect station email accounts, and help listeners confirm what’s real.

    Here’s the question to send whoever manages your email:
    “Are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configured correctly for our domain, including all the services we use to send email?”

    More show notes: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/236

    Ready for a website that does more for your listeners and advertisers? Skyrocket Radio builds websites specifically for radio stations, with tools for local content, contests, and advertising revenue. Explore the features and schedule a demo at https://www.skyrocketradio.com.

    13 min
  • How Radio Stations Can Attract Advertisers With a Blog

    Could your radio station’s blog help bring in advertisers? Your sales team already answers questions that local business owners are searching for. Publishing that advice can help people find your station, get to know your team, and trust your expertise before they’re ready to buy.

    In this episode of Better Radio Websites, we cover practical blog topics, ways to turn everyday sales conversations into helpful content, and why your posts should offer useful information without becoming advertisements. I also share how blogging and podcasting have become our marketing investment at Skyrocket Radio.

    Read the full show notes: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/235

    Does your station website need a better way to serve listeners and advertisers? Explore Skyrocket Radio’s websites and mobile apps: https://www.skyrocketradio.com

    21 min
  • Are Ads Ruining Your Radio Station Website?

    Your radio station website needs advertising revenue, but there’s a point where too many ads start working against you. Popups, automatic AdSense placements, slow-loading banners and ads competing with your streaming player can make listeners think twice about coming back.

    In this episode of Better Radio Websites, Jim Sherwood looks at how radio stations can balance digital revenue with a better website experience. We’ll talk about what happens when Google AdSense gets too aggressive, why you should regularly check your website on a phone, how advertising can affect page speed, and why your streaming player should always be protected from competing audio and intrusive placements.

    We’ll also look at the advertising itself. Too many radio station banner ads are little more than a business logo inside a rectangle. Just as a good radio commercial gives listeners a reason to visit an advertiser, a good digital ad should give someone a reason to click.

    Plus, we’ll look at sponsorship opportunities that go beyond traditional banner ads, including weather, community calendars, local sports and other useful website content.

    The goal isn't fewer opportunities for advertisers. It's creating better ones without turning your station website into something listeners have to fight their way through.

    Read the full show notes and article at:
    https://www.skyrocketradio.com/234

    Need a better website or mobile app for your radio station? Skyrocket Radio builds digital platforms specifically for radio broadcasters, with the tools stations need to grow audience, improve engagement and create more opportunities for local advertisers.

    Learn more at:
    https://www.skyrocketradio.com

    18 min
  • Stop Giving Your Best Local Content an Expiration Date

    Radio stations put a lot of time, money and creative effort into spring gardening guides, summer boating guides, fall football previews and holiday shopping publications. So why does so much of that great local content disappear when the season is over?

    In this episode, we look at how stations can turn seasonal content into permanent website resources that grow year after year. Instead of starting over every season, your station can update and expand what it has already created while using print as a special edition with coupons, exclusive offers and other reasons for listeners to pick up a copy.

    The result is more useful local content, more reasons for listeners to return to your website and more digital inventory for your sales team to sell — without creating everything from scratch again next year.

    Read the show notes and see more ideas from this episode:
    https://www.skyrocketradio.com/233

    If your current website isn't built to accommodate seasonal sections, local guides and other content that keeps listeners coming back, it may be time for an upgrade. Learn more about radio station websites from Skyrocket Radio:
    https://www.skyrocketradio.com

    14 min
  • Do You Need a New Website - Or a Better Plan?

    Does your radio station really need a new website — or do you need a better plan for the one you already have?

    Stations often start looking for a new website because something forces the decision. A provider is shutting down, prices are increasing, a service is being discontinued, or the current website simply feels like it isn't doing enough. But before comparing providers, platforms and feature lists, there's a more important question to answer:

    What are you trying to make better for your audience?

    In this episode of Better Radio Websites, we look at how to evaluate your entire digital operation — website, mobile app, newsletter, streaming, push notifications and more — before deciding whether changing technology is actually the answer.

    Sometimes moving from DIY to a provider makes sense. Sometimes changing providers is the right move. Sometimes bringing your website back in-house is the better option. And sometimes the technology isn't the problem at all. You may need better content, a simpler workflow, more promotion or just a better understanding of tools you already have.

    The best time to figure this out is before you're forced to make a decision.

    For more details and additional thoughts from this episode, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/232

    And if your evaluation tells you that it really is time for a new radio station website, learn more about Skyrocket Radio: https://www.skyrocketradio.com

    15 min
  • The Local Image Library Every Radio Station Should Be Building

    When breaking news happens in your community, do you already have the photo you need—or does someone start scrambling through Google, Facebook, stock photography and AI-generated images looking for something that will work?

    Radio stations have an incredible opportunity to build their own libraries of authentic local images. Your staff is already driving past courthouses, schools, police and fire stations, landmarks, businesses, stadiums and community events every day. The problem has never really been taking the pictures. It’s everything that has to happen afterward to get those pictures off someone’s phone and onto the station website.

    In this episode, we talk about why every radio station should be steadily building a local image library before those photos are needed. We also look at how those images can make local news coverage faster, eliminate many copyright concerns, and eventually create a valuable visual archive of the community your station serves.

    Then, I’ll show you CaptureRelay, an app we built specifically to remove the friction between taking a picture and getting it into WordPress. I’ll walk through the CaptureRelay WordPress plugin, connect a mobile device, take and title a photo, and show you how quickly it arrives properly optimized in the website’s Media Library.

    CaptureRelay works with WordPress websites whether you're a Skyrocket Radio affiliate or not.

    Get CaptureRelay:
    https://capturerelay.app

    More notes and information from this episode:
    https://www.skyrocketradio.com/231

    Looking for a modern website platform built specifically for radio stations?
    https://www.skyrocketradio.com

    25 min
  • Ensure your Mobile App is on Your Digital Inventory List

    Most radio stations have a well-defined inventory sheet for on-air commercials, sponsorships, and stopsets. But what about your digital products? More specifically, your mobile app?

    In this episode, I explain why your mobile app shouldn't be treated as a separate product that only one person on staff understands. Instead, it should become another section of your station's Digital Inventory List alongside your website, newsletters, podcasts, streaming, and other digital assets. When every advertising opportunity is documented before a salesperson walks into a client's office, your team presents a more professional, consistent, and confident digital strategy.

    I also share why it's important to be exhaustive the first time you build your inventory list, how to uncover sponsorship opportunities hidden throughout your app, why advertisers care more about where a promotion leads than where it appears, and how a simple inventory document can eliminate confusion between sales, programming, and your digital team.

    For a deeper dive into building your station's Digital Inventory List and identifying mobile app sponsorship opportunities, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/230

    If you're evaluating a mobile app for your station, take a look at our fully integrated platform. Unlike standalone app providers, our mobile apps and websites are managed from a single dashboard with one login, making it easy to keep your entire digital presence synchronized while creating new opportunities for advertisers.

    Learn more here: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/radio-station-apps

    Our integrated approach helps radio stations simplify day-to-day management while creating a stronger digital experience for listeners and advertisers alike.

    9 min
  • How to Extend the Life and Value of Every Remote Broadcast

    Radio remotes don’t have to end when the van pulls away. In this episode, I share a simple strategy to turn every remote into lasting content that continues benefiting your listeners, advertisers, and website long after the broadcast is over.

    We’ll discuss how to build a single event page that evolves before, during, and after the remote, why your website should be part of every promotion, and how to uncover valuable evergreen content—even if the weather turns bad or hardly anyone shows up. Sometimes the biggest opportunity isn’t the crowd… it’s the access you have to local experts.

    For expanded show notes, examples, and resources, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/229

    If you’re ready to upgrade your radio station’s website, mobile app, or overall digital presence, learn more at: https://www.skyrocketradio.com

    16 min
  • Your Station Website Needs Local Good News

    Everyone likes hearing good news, and radio has always been great at sharing it. The problem is that most of those stories disappear after a single break.

    In this episode, we talk about creating a Local Good News section on your station’s website and why it can become one of your most valuable content features.

    You’ll learn:

    • Why your station is already producing great community stories every week.
    • The types of good news that listeners enjoy reading and sharing.
    • How a single on-air mention can become evergreen website content.
    • Ways to encourage listeners to submit stories from your community.
    • Why good news builds audience loyalty and attracts sponsors.
    • Why you should start with one simple section instead of creating Teacher of the Month, Hometown Hero, Volunteer Spotlight, and other features all at once.

    A simple Good News section gives your station a place to celebrate the people, organizations, businesses, schools, and volunteers who make your community special, while creating content that continues working long after it airs.

    For more in-depth notes and examples from this episode, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com/228

    If you’re ready to upgrade your station’s website or mobile app, visit: https://www.skyrocketradio.com

    14 min

About Better Radio Websites

From the publisher's feed

The podcast for radio professionals who want to see their website generate more traffic and revenue. Each week your host, Jim Sherwood, and his special guests give you time-tested tips and secret…