June 17, 2010
Broadcast Media Training
No Comments
With all the excitement brewing about submitting videos for the Oprah Winfrey Network and beyond, it seems timely to share useful tips to be a super TV guest. Here with a new guest blog post is Janet Vasil of Your Media Moment. Take it away Janet!
Polishing your TV interview skills takes time and practice, but rest assured, great guests are made, not born.
Here are some ways to be a super guest.
Arrive early. Be prepared to deliver what you pitched. Politely ask the questions you need answered before your appearance, but don’t be pushy or badger the producer for special treatment. Be patient and flexible. Live shows and tapings can be chaotic. Don’t add to the mayhem.
The show invited you to be informative and share your ideas in an engaging way. Show your passion and your expertise and have three main points in mind that you’d like to make. However, don’t be so focused on delivering them that you repeat the same thing word-for-word over and over again. Answer the questions you’re asked and subtly segue into your message points.
This may surprise you (Ha, Ha) but many on-air people have big egos. Be aware of the host’s personality and be ready to roll with it. They may interrupt you, go off on tangents, make jokes at your expense, twist your words around, etc. to get an audience reaction or entertain the viewers. Don’t be a doormat, but don’t try to one-up them or pick a fight. It’s their show.
Even for the pros, there’s no such thing as a perfect show. Stuff happens, especially on a live show. Many interview shows are “look lives.” In other words they’re taped in advance and can be edited. But the purpose of the live-to-tape format is to get the “live” feeling without a lot of editing. The crew may stop a taping for technical reasons, but generally not for performance missteps. If you stumble on a word or a demonstration goes awry, don’t get flustered or freeze up. Smile and keep going.
Appearing on TV can be exciting and the publicity boost might amaze you. Just be yourself and have fun. You’re sure to shine.
Media Momentum Coach Janet Vasil uses her more than 25 years experience as a radio/TV anchor, reporter and producer to help women entrepreneurs, authors, service professionals and other experts step into the spotlight, reach out to the media and profit from free publicity on TV, radio and the “virtual airwaves.” For more information, visit this link.
May 19, 2010
Broadcast Media Training
No Comments
Today’s broadcast tip of the day comes from Guest Blogger Janet Vasil of Your Media Moment and Beyond.
Take it away Janet!
Most authors have to do their own book promotion these days unless they are established stars. Consider interviews on radio and TV, even online podcasts and web TV, to promote yourself and your ideas. You may sell a few more books.
Here are some things to keep in mind.
DO ask the producer a few questions before the show.
How will you be introduced? Will they identify you as an author and say the name of your book or will they title you more generally as an “international adoption expert” or “registered dietitian?”
Will they show the book cover on TV?
Will they give out your website or put a link on their website to yours?
They’ll probably say yes to most of these, but don’t push. You may be able to subtly work your book title or website name into your answers.
DO bring extra copies of your book to the studio, even if you sent copies in advance. Props get misplaced in the rush to get on the air. A radio host might flip through your book and comment on something specific. A TV host may hold up the book or put a stack of them on a table in the shot.
DON’T be stingy with information. Please don’t answer questions with, “You’ll have to read the book.” Or, “I talk about that in my book.” The show is not a commercial. The interview is a showcase for you as the expert guest. Talk about the problems you solve and offer insights about issues. Do not say, “You can find the answer to that on page 46.”
DO say instead, something like, “We cover more than a dozen ways in my book. Here are the top four.” Or, “I devoted a whole chapter to that subject and here’s what we found.” Put real substance in your answers.
DON’T think your job is to plug the book. An interview is about showing personality and sharing ideas. Aim to be chatty, credible and interesting. The viewers and listeners who want more of YOU, will want your book.
Media Momentum Coach Janet Vasil uses her more than 25 years experience as a radio/TV anchor, reporter and producer to help women entrepreneurs, authors, service professionals and other experts step into the spotlight, reach out to the media and profit from free publicity on TV, radio and the “virtual airwaves.”
April 14, 2010
Broadcast Media Training
No Comments
Just this month, I had the wonderful opportunity to make a pitch to a new daytime talk show in the Seattle area called New Day Northwest. I read the press release and other stories about the show, called to find out the best way to reach the lead producer, and I made what I thought was a pretty compelling email pitch. Of course, I watched the debut broadcast so I had an up close and personal understanding of the show format and its overall approach.
Within hours of me sending the pitch, the producer made contact and expressed genuine interest in the segment I suggested. I love when that happens. And it happened just that way because I do my homework and craft pitches that are focused squarely on serving the audience and the show at hand. If you have been wondering how to do that, you are going to love today’s post.
Today’s blog post comes to you from my colleague and co-collaborator Janet Vasil, founder of Your Media Moment and Beyond. Janet Vasil applies her more than 25 years experience as a radio/TV anchor, reporter and producer to help women entrepreneurs, authors, service professionals and other experts step into the spotlight, reach out to the media and profit from free publicity on TV, radio and the “virtual airwaves.” Take it away Janet!
Pitching TV Talk Shows – What a Producer Really Wants
Local television talk shows are always on the hunt for great guests. The producers book guests for short segments on topics ranging from topical and serious to light-hearted and fun. The segments generally run three to seven minutes so a one-hour show has about seven segments. A half-hour show runs about four. That spells opportunity for publicity-seekers because the producers need a constant flow of lively informative entertaining guests every day or every week.
Here are a few things to consider when pitching TV talk shows.
Know The Show. Few things annoy producers more than wading through pitches that don’t fit their show. Just because the host talked about her pet cat that morning does not mean the show does cat stories. Use a DVR or TiVo to record a week’s worth of shows in your area and study them. Check the stations’ websites for more information and to find out how to pitch them. Some will tell you exactly what kind of stories they want and will have a guest or idea submission form right on their site. You can also call a show to ask who handles your topic so you’ll pitch the right person.
Show and Tell. During your research, keep notes on how different talk shows handle visuals. Some will do straight interviews while others love guests who do makeovers, show dramatic before and after photos or video clips, can cook on camera or do other demonstrations. What could you do or show, and especially get the host or audience members involved in, for your segment?
Local vs. National I recommend you get your start pitching local shows and with experience, widen the net to national talk shows, if that’s what you want. If your local TV market is in a major city like New York or LA, target shows in smaller nearby markets initially.
TV talk shows have a voracious appetite for fresh ideas and new faces, plus if you’re a terrific guest, the show could invite you to do regular segments.
Happy Pitching!
March 13, 2010
Broadcast Media Training
No Comments
Earning broadcast attention for your product, cause, expertise, or event can make a big difference in the results you enjoy in your business. Today I am happy to introduce a new guest blogger to Authentic Visibility who can elaborate with a great deal of credibility on this particular subject. Janet Vasil is an award-winning broadcast journalist with more than 25 years experience as an anchor, reporter, producer, host and voice-over narrator in radio and television news and information programming. When your needs call for someone with this experience, Janet Vasil is one very talented professional to have on your team. This is the first of a periodic series of blog posts Janet will be sharing to upgrade your broadcast publicity skills. Your comments about this and all posts at this blog are always welcome and appreciated, so let me hear from you!
Take it away Janet!
Local television news is what they call in a sellers market in real estate. Because the station has what you want — free publicity — they can ask for a lot and they’ll get it. Here are a few things to consider when pitching TV news people.
Think visually. No matter how great your story is, if the reporter can’t imagine what the video will be, they’ll pass. If you call or send an email pitch that says, “CEO Bob of ABC company is holding a news conference about the new electric doo-wop,” that’s a big yawn. News conferences make bad video. But if it’s “CEO Bob of ABC company is unveiling the new electric doo-wop with a factory tour for members of the media and the opportunity to drive the new doo-wop,” now they “see” a story for TV.
Make it easy for them. Local television news crews work on extremely tight deadlines, often with multiple deadlines, throughout the day. They want to shoot everything they need quickly and easily. Think of it like “One Stop Shopping.” They don’t have time to drive across town, picking up a sound bite here and some video there. If you pitch them a story that’s all in one place, they’re more likely to do it.
Be ready to go. If you are pitching a local connection to a big story breaking in the region, state or nation or a story that’s a localized sidebar to a major hot story making news, the TV station may want to come out right away or in a few hours to shoot it. Be sure your business calendar is clear. If you say, “That’s not a convenient time.” or “I’ll get back to you when I can do it,” forget it.
Be honest. Deliver what you promise. Getting a TV crew to come to your business or event with empty hype (Brad Pitt is invited) can backfire. Be an honest expert with a solid story and offer to act as an industry resource on future stories. That’s the way to build a relationship and can lead to more publicity.
Media Momentum Coach Janet Vasil uses her more than 25 years experience as a radio/TV anchor, reporter and producer to help women entrepreneurs, authors, service professionals and other experts step into the spotlight, reach out to the media and profit from free publicity on TV, radio and the “virtual” airwaves. For more information, visit this link.
