How To Get on Television

Often when clients contact me for a publicity campaign, they express the luck they've had getting placements online, on radio and in print (newspapers, magazines)and their disappointment at lack of television placements.

Television spots are not impossible to land. In fact, if you take the time to learn how to pitch producers properly and have a story that's relevant to the show you're pitching, you'll see your TV coverage results increase exponentially.

So where to start? Simple - watch the show you want to be on and check their website.

Oprah, Rachael Ray, Ellen, Bonnie Hunt, Dr. Phil and Tyra all have a 'Be on the Show' section of their website that shows the topics they are covering. It can't get any easier! Oprah and Rachael Ray also have Facebook fan pages with even more insider information. Oprah's producers also blog on the Facebook fan page (great way to learn how things work behind the scenes)

If you're trying to land Good Morning America, The Early Show or Today Show, tape a week's worth of shows to really see what they cover and how they cover it. Your pitches should be tailored to the shows' format.

If you're approaching your local news station, think about where you would best fit in. Lighter segments often end up on morning shows and hard hitting news is reserved for the evening spots. Always pitch a local angle - the segment must tie in to a local event or story or have a local angle on a national story.

My next post will be devoted to identifying the right kind of segment to pitch!

What Topics Should you Pitch to Oprah?

Everyone wants to be on Oprah - and that means the poor producers are inundated with pitches every day on every possible topic imaginable.

So how do you decide if your topic is a good fit? Simple - check her website!

The Oprah show website has a prominent section right on the homepage called 'Be on the Show.' They list all of the hot topics they are covering. After you click on the appropriate topic, you'll be taken to a form where you can contact the show. These submissions are read and passed along to producers if it's a good fit.

If you subscribe to a media database (such as Vocus) that lists producer contact information - don't just pitch any or every producer on the list. Instead read the credits at the end of the show to see which producers are handling which segments (example: fashion, beauty, finance, lifestyle, etc). Then use the topic list on the website as your guide to the topics they are planning to cover and pitch the producer covering your specific 'beat.'

How do you Monitor and Measure your Personal Brand?

From my eBook Creating a Winning Personal Brand

As with any marketing or publicity initiative, you want to put a system in place to measure your personal brand. Follow these steps to insure your brand is positioned correctly in the public eye and use the feedback to refine as necessary.

Have a Personal Brand Advisory Board

Form a team of personal brand advisors. This can be made up of colleagues, current customers and non-customers. Ask for honest feedback on your performance, your current brand, your marketing materials and your customer service.

Help Reporters Communicate your Brand

Give them a copy of your biography, full contact information, and even sample interview questions. Ask ahead of time how they will refer to you within the story. A good trick is to use your web address as your business name (example - Omaroma.com instead of Om Aroma). People can then easily find your website for information on you and your products/services.

Set up Google Alerts

Want to know what others are saying about you? Set up a Google alert for your name and your company name. You can also use keywords to search for your competition and where they are being featured and how they are positioned.

Use Social Networking to your Advantage

Social networking lets us become very visible to a broad audience. Your customers and the media are using social media – are you? If your personal brand is to educate on a specific topic, make sure your social networking activities reflect that. Your profiles should have the same biography information coupled with professional photos.

How to Focus While Growing a Business

As entrepreneurs, we often want to do everything - start more businesses, develop more products, write more blogs and books, create more keynote presentations. I find myself thinking every Friday morning "where did the week go?" and wishing that it was Wednesday again so I'd have two more days to get things done.

So here I am again - Friday morning with coffee in hand. I've been working since 7:30am and can't name one tangible thing I've completed. I have about five excel spreadsheets open, about 45 open tasks in Outlook and a list of messages on my notepad that need to be returned or dealt with today.

I made a pact with myself to make this weekend a 'weekend of organization.' I will go back to my old ways of scheduling and prioritizing so I don't fall out of the loop when I'm overwhelmed with too many things to accomplish. Here's my plan:

Schedule Tasks by the Time of Day I do them Best
I can't write creatively during the day. There are too many distractions. I know that my writing needs to be completed after 8pm at night when my mind is free and there are no distractions by phone and email.

Schedule Social Media Breaks
Many people do this for email as well. As a publicist, I can't risk missing an email from a reporter that needs a source within one hour, so email is a MUST all day. Social media is a different story. I need to start checking Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/Savor the Success/Speakersite once per day.

Schedule Time for Business Growth
I spend the majority of my time working for my clients - which is a necessity since they are so wonderful to pay me to get things accomplished! In addition, I'm also developing products and trying to develop the infrastructure to actually sell those products.

Schedule Columns and Blogs
I currently write a regular column for the Newark Examiner and write a blog for Savor the Success as well as this blog. My column and Savor blog should technically be updated 3-4x per week and this blog should be updated 4-5x. Where do I get all of this content or have time to write it all? I keep an idea file for blogs and columns that I refer to frequently. I also post queries on HARO and Profnet for my column to help with content for stories. These should all be scheduled or even written ahead of time for posting throughout the week.

What are your favorite organization and time management strategies?

PR 101 - Basic Publicity Questions Answered

For those of us who haven't embarked on a PR campaign - here's a little background on what to expect:

What is Publicity?

Publicity is spreading the word about you and your product/service through the media. The goal of your campaign is to land media coverage on TV, radio, print or online in the form of an interview, profile, commentary, anecdote, book excerpt or by-line writing opportunity.

Why do some people refer to it as Public Relations?

Public Relations includes more elements than just publicity. It is comprised of crisis communications, event planning, annual reports, etc

What is a Press Release?

Wikipedia defines this as a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. I can't say it any better!

Why Can't I Just Post my Press Release on a Wire Service like PR Newswire?

Because it's passive - and journalists don't just rely on newswires to get stories. Journalists are pitched stories hundreds, if not thousands, of times each day. Your success rate for coverage will be low if you only rely just on newswires. However; these sources are useful for helping your search engine ranking. If a journalist is assigned a story on empowering women through the workplace one of the first things they do is search Google or another engine for 'Empowering women in the workplace.' If you posted a press release on the newswire with these keywords - you may come up as one of the first results in that Google search.

Can I just email my press release to a bunch of media outlets?

You can...but don't expect much coverage. They receive hundreds of press releases a day by email/fax/mail. You need to stand out above the pack. Every contact with a reporter should be personalized to that reporter.

How do I pitch then?

Do your research! Identify which section of the publication or segment of the TV show your topics could fit within. Make sure they haven't already covered the topic your pitching. Find the appropriate contact for that segment or section. Send them an email with the title of the segment/column/section in the subject line and then a short catchy headline for your topic next to it. Introduce yourself (briefly). Let them know you've read/watched/listened to their work. Tell them exactly how you could fit in with a news story - give them breaking news, a unique angle, an interesting segment. The provide your contact info. You can also copy/paste your press release into the email (no attachments!). If you don't hear back, chances are they weren't interested. Feel free to follow up with a call to pitch (practice a 30-second phone pitch). If they don't bite - come up with a new angle.

You can also just reach out to reporters to let them know you enjoy their work and introduce yourself. Relationship building is key.

I can't think of anything newsworthy

Sit down and brainstorm. Think of all the possible topics you can speak on. Then whittle it down to the most unique or think of how you offer a new opinion or insight into the topic. Then think about which outlets the topics would work for. Have you always wanted to sit down with Bill Maher? What would you talk about? Really visualize the situation.

The best place to start is to think of themes within your speeches, your book, your blog. Think of interesting situations or events over the years. Have you overcome anything? Won any awards? Made a big career switch?

How do I know my Publicity Efforts will Translate to Sales?

This is where you need to prepare before launching your campaign. Just like advertising - there's no guarantee your ad will transate into sales. But with a front page story or a news segment - you're broadening your reach to a whole new audience - an audience that may turn off commercials or flip by ads but will watch/read a news story.

Follow these tips to increase your chances of leveraging media coverage into sales:

• Target media outlets that reach your target audience. Don't waste time on those that don't
• Don't overlook the smaller outlets. Sometimes your hometown weekly newspaper can bring more sales from locals looking to support their neighbor than national coverage
• Make it easy for them to buy and contact you. Often times the only thing you'll get with media coverage is a mention of your web address. Make sure your website is an effective sales tool. If you're selling something, make it easy to buy on your site
• Prepare for interviews ahead. Write sample interview questions and give to reporters beforehand (they won't always use them, but might). Write down the key messages you want to get across in each interview so you don't forget and practice working them in.
• Make sure your personal list of connections knows about your coverage. Send an email newsletter. Create a media page on your website. Mention the coverage on your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN profile.