To
get radio, podcast, and TV interviews, here are 8 steps to take to build your
publicity effort for your company, book, or public relations clients:
1.
You need to identify your niche, find what media that customers in that niche
consume, and get to know who the radio, TV, and podcast reporters are who cover
that niche.
2.
Then start reading/watching/listening to those stations and shows that reach
your target market to note reporter's names and specialties as well as the
kinds of stories and formats they prefer.
3.
Make sure that your "News" is newsworthy. News is about current
events - that's why they call it "news". Your local radio station
isn't interested in hearing about topics that their audiences will ignore. They
are looking for "new" topics to cover, or more often, interesting
angles on current events. For you this means that you need to keep your pitches
fresh and timely.
I
know that it's unlikely that your book, products or clients change daily but
the news must. So instead of trying repeatedly to get radio, TV, or podcast
coverage of your product itself, try instead tying its benefits or features to
a current event that is already hot in the news.
4.
Think in terms of stories not products. It's no one's job to promote your
product but you. It is not the obligation of any media outlet to cover you or
interview you as a guest expert. Their job is to create interesting stories
that offer information to their audiences.
5.
Tie your pitch to the interests of the reporter or publication you are
pitching. Nothing frustrates radio, TV, and podcast journalists and more than
having to deal with time wasting pitches that are not appropriate for their
outlets.
6.
Be concise. Because they are deluged with pitches and always working under
tight deadlines, broadcasting people cannot afford the time to wade through
overly long pitches. You need to make a strong case in a very short space.
Liberal use of bullet points, bolds, and highlights is recommended to help the
journalist quickly understand what you are offering them.
7.
Polite follow-up: Given all the submissions that they receive even an
interested podcast producer or radio booker may not get around to contacting
you due to competing distractions. It's your job to spoon-feed the story to
them and convince them that it's worth covering on their radio, TV, or podcast
program. Polite, pleasant, and persistent reminders, whether by e-mail, phone,
or letter are a part of doing business in the world of public relations.
Additionally, if a reporter says no you must believe them and back off. Wait
until you have a new angle on the story or a different story entirely to
contact them again.
8.
Pitch formulas can help. Watch your evening television news to quickly learn
the easiest way to attract attention of reporters. If you note the way that the
news anchors tease the stories from upcoming segments you'll quickly get the
idea of how to both summarize and make your story idea as attractive as
possible. Common examples include pitch formulas like: "the secrets of X
that Y don't want you to know", "how to do X faster/cheaper than you
ever thought possible", "three simple steps to X", "the
dangerous fact about X you need to know to protect your kids", "how
to save money by doing X", "the surprising truth about X", and
so forth.
By
using these strategies, you can more effectively craft your pitch so that
radio, TV, and podcast producers and bookers will give your expertise the
attention it deserves. Also take advantage of free radio booking services
online to skip many of the steps above. To find these sites, simply type in a
phrase like "free radio booking service" into a search engine like
Google to take advantage of these free online tools.
Scott
Fox runs http://www.radioguestlist.com, a free radio
interview and TV public relations booking service that can help you skip many
steps above.
