I tell people that you're not really in the radio industry until you've been fired at least once. We work in an industry with a lot of turnover, and that means we can lose a lot of time to learning curves as new people step in to take over the duties of previous employees.

It's not just staffing changes that can cause disruptions. If a member of your team gets sick or injured, you may need somebody to step in and fill their role for a bit. To minimize the digital disruption in these situations, it's helpful to write instructions and save them in a place where multiple people have access to them.

I am a big proponent of writing out clear step-by-step instructions, complete with annotated screenshots, for every digital task you can't live without. Here are some of the things you will want to have instructions for:

• How to send an email blast
• How to send a text message blast
• How to publish a blogpost
• How to update the website's concert calendar
• How to set up a contest on the website
• How to publish a podcast episode
• How to back up the website
• How to restore a backup of the website
• How to publish a video to the station's YouTube channel
• How to set up online ticket sales for a station event
• How to post an advertisement on the website

These instructions are useful not only to people who have to take over a role, but also to the same person who may have performed the task in the past. Because I do it so infrequently, I often have to go back and figure out what I did the previous year. If you're responsible for an infrequent task, such as setting up ticket sales for an annual station concert, it can be incredibly valuable to go back and read instructions — even if you're the one who wrote them!

If you don't already have instructions for your most important digital tasks, start writing them today. The next time you have a staff position turnover, you'll be glad that you did.

More Digital Tips

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Seth Resler

Digital Dot Connector at Jacobs Media Strategies

Seth Resler is a 25-year broadcasting and podcasting veteran who worked on the mic and behind the programming desk at radio stations in New York City (WXRK), Boston (WBCN), Seattle (KNDD), St. Louis (KPNT), Providence (WBRU), and Silicon Valley (KEZR) before crossing into online marketing. As the digital strategist at Jacobs Media, Seth works with radio stations across the U.S., helping them design and implement action plans that combine websites, social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, content marketing, lead generation, and other online tools. Seth is currently the Vice-Chair of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation. He is also the founder of Community Marketing Revolution.

Latest posts by Seth Resler (see all)

• Rethinking Radio Station Swag in Light of Social Identity - March 27, 2023
• Rethinking Radio Station Swag in Light of Social Identity - March 27, 2023
• What Are the Goals of Your Radio Station's Website? - March 20, 2023

Building Better DJs

Fred Jacobs shows radio personalities how to take their game to the next level in this webinar recording.