A lot of authors have enjoyed building their audience by hosting their own radio shows.
One of the most popular internet radio sites is http://blogtalkradio.com, and for a small monthly subscription fee, you can utilize tools to record your programs, air them live, and make the recordings available for listeners to download.
You can also decide the interval for your programming. The most popular format is to host a weekly show, though some host a daily program and others host theirs just once or twice per month. Shows typically last 60 minutes, though you can set a time frame that works for you.
As a host, you can invite interesting guests and conduct interviews during your program. Some hosts feature several guests over the course of an hour, while others feature one guest for the entire hour. What’s most important is that you come prepared, ask great questions, and create an entertaining experience for your audience. In my experience, the hosts that are most successful are the ones who know how to keep the banter going, who aren’t afraid to stray from their prepared list of questions, and who also know how to make guests feel at ease.
After each interview is completed, you can archive the recording on your radio show site and you can even distribute the recording through iTunes or Liberated Syndication (http://libsyn.com). Your radio program service should also provide you with statistics, including how many listened in live, how many downloaded the recording, and how many subscribe to your RSS feed.
Aside from the benefit of building your brand by hosting a show, you can build some great alliances by getting to know your guests. As you invite influential industry experts to be guests on your program, you will naturally build alliances and rapport. You never know where those connections may lead. Also, don’t forget to ask your guests to help promote their appearance on your show both before and after the interview is conducted.
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I love this! I’ve been hosting a biweekly show for over two years now and get well over double the traffic through audio than I do on my newsletter.
Even for me as a writer, I have far more time to listen than I do to absorb other’s content on a screen, and this is especially true for the demographics I want to reach. Plus, the connections we form when we hear someone’s voice is one of the strongest possible.
There is one question I have: why are you emphasizing the “radio” and “live” aspects of internet audio? I’ve done some radio guesting and really prefer the ability to polish my presentation I have when editing my own audio for scheduled release. For me, “podcasting” is where the power is. Even if you do something live, practically everyone gets exponentially more listens from the recording than they do at the time.
I hope lots of writers are encouraged to break into audio with your help!