Establish who you want as your primary audience and know their demographics. Established formats such as adult contemporary, country, contemporary hit radio, rock and alternative music all have their audience, and each is different in age, education, buying power and buying habits.
Study national surveys that monitor listening and watching habits and balance those findings against knowledge of your identified audience. Add or subtract content that is of greater or lesser interest to your viewers.
Program a rotation that keeps your demographics in mind. For example, country listeners tend to enjoy hearing a song over a longer period than alternative listeners, who generally look for something new and different more rapidly. Keeping a video on the air several months might delight your audience, or bore them. Know the difference.
Daypart your programming. That is, choose videos to match the demographics and desires of viewers who are watching during a specific part of the day. For instance, early mornings, when people are getting ready for work, might be programmed with a brighter, more uptempo sound to invigorate viewers. Videos after 8 p.m., on the other hand, could be more relaxing, helping viewers to settle into their night routines.
Provide continuity, but don't become predictable. Viewers know what they want to see when they tune into your station, and if they don't see it they'll look elsewhere. However, if they feel they will see only the "same ol', same ol'" every time they tune in, they will also soon look elsewhere. A quick change can jar the audience, but subtle variation over time will bring the audience with you.
Hire better-than-average veejays or don't have anyone at all. A mediocre veejay can drive away audience even with a well formatted playlist.
Give your sales account executives something attractive to sell to the community to provide the station with enough income to continue. Provide sponsorship opportunities and prime times during the day to advertisers.