'Tis The Season

To be grumpy.

Yep, Sharathon/Friendraiser/Fundraiser/Your Least Favorite Week of the Year is here. Many stations are in full swing campaigning for money and giving away free prizes to entice those faithful listeners for a few bucks.

You've probably already "wined and dined" your top givers, mailed something to your occasional givers and emailed your listener base to get a head start on things this year. Good for you. You've done whatever else does. Way to really "change" the way your station is viewed.

But how about this: have you plugged your station's sharathon into the world wide Internets? What, or more importantly who, are you missing that could be giving because you didn't go online? Do you have PayPal account or some other online giving equivalent set up on your main website? Are you campaigning as a cause on Facebook so that you'll gain money just from getting a few people to believe in your cause? Are you Twittering pictures of everything you are giving away?

Are your listeners truly getting the message that without them you are nothing? Obviously you can't beg -- but you can paint a picture of their life without you. And you need to paint that picture year-round. Don't be two-faced. Thank people every day for what they are doing this week beyond the lame "Thanks to Debbie and Bob for their generous support." Geez. I can totally feel the love there.

Treat your listeners with respect, love and admiration 365 days (except during a Leap Year when it's 366). Remind them that they are appreciated every day, so that when sharathon rolls around again, they don't feel like they're being held at gunpoint.