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W.T.D.A. In action

WTDA In Action

Candidate Bingo (10/6/08)

Palin Bingo

This one is incredibly simple - and timely.  Create "bingo" cards for each candidate that your listeners can use during the debates.  These cards have clichéd or stock phrases you expect from each candidate, with a photo and your logo as a "free space" in the center.  Post them on your site (and email links to your database) as PDF or image files that your listeners can print and use during the debates (and other speeches).  That's it!

Something along these lines can literally take minutes to put together and create tremendous buzz among your audience (once you promote them - don't forget to talk it up on-air).

If you have the time and resources, you could also build a web-based application (using Flash, for example) or even a sharable widget.  This would be loaded with sound-bites, allow you to compete among a group of peers via social networking, twitter, etc.

Obama Tax Calculator (10/13/08)

Obama Tax Calculator

Sure, it's got some fancy math calculations and requires some solid coding skill, but this is the type of feature that really drives traffic - it's topical, timely and has a real value to site visitors.  It's even managed to stay high up on the list of Google Trends for a number of days.

While this exact tax calculator may be beyond the scope of most stations, creating widgets and even inserting viral components like this - and talking them up on-air - is the key to getting page views and unique visitors.

Political Features II (10/20/08)

It's not too late to get your politics on.  It's simple, it's important, and will earn you not just site traffic, but kudos from your audience.  Whether you rely on widgets and embedded features from other providers or create your own material, it's easy to make your site a on-stop spot for local and national political resources.

This is a great way to show your community service side - and also create a valuable resource for your visitors.  From "Select A Candidate" features to a map of polling locations, there are dozens of ways to populate content to this portion of your site that are simple (and free) to implement. 

Be sure to check out The Globe/DC and how they've implemented their political resources.