How to Win Radio Contests

My relative Jared Pot is simply a household fable for each kinds of reasons, the main 1 being that you can't perceive to FM radio successful the greater Toronto country without proceeding him triumph a contest. I'm lone hardly exaggerating: The antheral routinely wins 3 to 4 prizes a week. Everyone successful my household has a communicative wherever they were listening to the vigor lone to perceive Jared winning immoderate prize oregon another, usually portion besides making the big laugh. There’s a familiarity—they’ll inquire however his girl is doing, for example, oregon gag that they've heard his dependable determination before.

A batch of these prizes aren't huge—a $50 acquisition card, say, oregon a travel to African Lion Safari. But immoderate of them are big—he went to the Grammys successful 2012, for example, and erstwhile got a cheque for $1,200.

You mightiness beryllium reasoning of Canada arsenic a bid of tiny towns, and the vigor stations successful question arsenic lone having a fewer 1000 listeners. That's not the case: Ontario, wherever Jared lives, is location to implicit 14 cardinal people, which is much than each but 4 US states. He is calling into immoderate of the most-listened-to vigor stations successful North America and routinely winning. How does helium bash it?

I asked him what proposal helium would springiness to idiosyncratic hoping to win. “Rub my caput for bully luck,” helium said, grinning. And that's Jared: a somewhat off-kilter consciousness of wit that's a small confusing but yet charming. It's nary wonderment Jared is known, by name, by seemingly each of the DJs successful the province. One I reached retired to declined to remark but knew precisely who I was talking about.

Now, I person a occupation to do—I'm a superior journalist—so I followed up. Seriously, though, Jared: How bash you triumph this consistently? Here's the proposal I got.

First, Make a Schedule

You mightiness deliberation the champion mode to triumph vigor contests is to perceive to a azygous vigor presumption each time and telephone successful erstwhile the punctual happens. Jared doesn't bash that. Most vigor contests hap astatine a acceptable clip each week, and Jared says a unsmooth clip is mostly listed online.

“I spell to each vigor station's website and I spot what the contests they're doing this week are,” helium says. He past compiles each of the contests for the coming week into a spreadsheet, noting what clip the contention volition happen, the sanction of the station, and what helium needs to bash erstwhile the clip comes—generally either telephone in, substance in, oregon capable retired a signifier online. This spreadsheet, which is meticulously crafted, allows him to artifact retired his week of listening and calling.

Save the Stations’ Phone Numbers

Most of the contests Jared enters necessitate calling into the station, the classical vigor giveaway format. Typically you request to beryllium among the first, but not the first, callers in—the ninth caller, for example. It's essential, fixed the format, that you don't discarded immoderate clip really dialing the fig connected your phone.

“If you truly privation to get into it, enactment each the telephone numbers for the stations successful your phone,” Jared says. His Contacts app is afloat of vigor stations, truthful he's acceptable to deed the telephone fastener close erstwhile the contention starts.

Speaking of: If you're listening to the presumption online, there's going to beryllium immoderate lag betwixt the terrestrial broadcast and the integer stream, meaning you won't beryllium proceeding the presumption successful existent clip and arsenic specified volition beryllium mode down erstwhile it's clip to telephone in. Jared's reply to this: Call early, telephone often. “Most stations volition marque the enactment engaged truthful that nary 1 tin telephone successful until the contention starts,” helium says. “So I conscionable support dialing until the telephone rings.”