There are thousands of amazing online radio stations on the web that attract hundreds of thousands of listeners every day. Shoutcast hosting is a great way to get heard online, whether you are an up and coming radio personality or a journalism enthusiast looking for a little extra, an online radio station is a great mix to your portfolio.

Unfortunately, it’s not free to run an online radio station, it takes both time and money. Looking for a sponsor for your station is a great way to pay for service fees and your time to maintain it.

Why would people sponsor you?

Lets face it – people don’t sponsor radio stations for fun, they typically purchase ad space in order to sell their products or services. You need to give them a good reason to sponsor you before you try to seek out sponsors.

Does your genre attract a certain type of listener, or are you a local-focused station? If your station has a well defined target market, it will make it much easier to find a sponsor.

How to find potential sponsors

Finding potential sponsors takes some time, but is a fairly straight forward procedure. It’s all about making contact and asking. Unfortunately, many people do not even attempt to ask because they sell their station short.

The first place to start to look is in your local community – if you are an up and coming radio personality, there may be local businesses willing to invest in your online radio initiatives, no matter what the genre or focus is. Start with your contacts in the local business community – specifically in the web and tech industries. You can exchange on-air and website advertisements for a monthly fee to cover your hosting and other expenses.

If your station focuses on a specific target market, you might be able to find other websites in your niche that are selling products and services. Making contact with these sites is straight forward and can be done through their website’s contact forms.

Local artists are another great source for sponsors. Up and coming musicians are always looking for new places to play their music. These artists are typically selling their tracks on itunes and can hugely benefit from exposure on the web.

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Finding a sponsor for your station is not easy – but it is simple. Keep reaching out and you will eventually get sponsored.