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The One Phrase Producers Hate to Hear That Could Mean TV Face Time for You
Posted by: | CommentsSometimes you miss the things that are the most obvious because they seems way to - well, obvious.
I am guilty of doing this from time to time, but I’ve gotten a bit wiser about it when it comes to pitching producers at the perfect time.
The phrase, “slow news day/week” is not a welcome one among producers, in fact they hate to hear it because it essentially means they have a show to fill and nothing to fill it with. This is bad news for them, but great news for you if you know how to take advantage of it.
Consider slow news days a form of second chances for stories that might not have made the news before - not because the story wasn’t good but because there were other competing factors at play - but can now actually find their way on the airwaves.
This applies mainly to television news, but can be tailored to TV talk shows, radio shows and newspapers as well, just be sure to keep your eyes open for the possibility of a slow news day/week in advance and be sure to have your pitches ready.
If you watch the news carefully you’ll notice that the majority of the stories covered are about the government in some form or another be it court rulings, changes in public policy, schools under scrutiny or government officials at the state, local and national levels.
The media spends a large chunk of time covering government related topics. So what is a producer to do when schools are closed and the government becomes a ghost town?
Well, that’s where you come in, because if you know the slow days/weeks in advance you can plan your pitch to land on the producers desk at the perfect moment. Heck, you might even magically get them on the phone!
Go online and search for federal and state holidays, grab a calendar to track all of the national and state holidays and be sure to mark the day before and the day after as potential slow news days as well because historically government officials don’t make news leading into and coming out of a holiday. This exercise will give you more than a handful of dates on which you could get free publicity for your business.
Now before you think your story is an absolute shoe-in for the six-o-clock news, you’ll have to do some work to make sure that what you’re pitching will be of benefit to the viewers. Don’t attempt to use this media trump card as an excuse to be lazy. Your reputation is still on the line and the coverage you get is valuable no matter when you get it so be professional and provide value.
One really obvious slow news week that publicity seekers tend to overlook is the time between Christmas and New Year, it might take some juggling between your family and other holiday commitments but pitching something newsworthy that week could be a wonderful way to get your foot in the door and your face on television.
TV Publicity - The Pros and the Cons
Posted by: | CommentsBefore you decide to include television publicity into your marketing strategy there are a few things you need to consider. I will highlight some of the pros and cons of TV publicity and show you how you can use it to get major exposure, gain creditability and increase your sales.
Television is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. In fact, according to a recent study by Ball State University on the media consumption habits of the average American, “Television remains the dominant medium in most U.S. households.”
In addition to the massive amount of exposure you can get through television publicity, TV viewers and potential clients get to see and hear you which gives them a greater sense of connection with your.
While there are many great things about TV publicity, it is important to recognize its limitations by acknowledging some of the benefits as well as drawbacks of being on television.
Pros of TV Publicity
- Provides the ability to reach a large target audience during a concentrated period of time. Regional news programs and talk shows capture between 500,000 to 1.5 million viewers while national shows get an average of 3.5 million viewers daily.
- Gives you, your business or product instant credibility because of the implied third party endorsement. Just having a picture of your book displayed on the TV screen can increase your sales. Plus, when your website is mentioned or linked to the shows official website viewers can get additional content and information about you.
- TV publicity is free. The cost for a 30 second TV commercial during a regional news program or talk show to promote your product or service could be as much $100,000. The cost is more than triple that amount for a national commercial. Television publicity allows you to showcase your expertise without the hefty price tag.
- There is very limited time to convey a lot of information. Talk show segments are approximately 4 to 6 minutes long. News programs cover stories in even shorter times, averaging just one to 3 minutes per story.
- It’s one of the most competitive forms of publicity so you have to be persistent and keep contacting producers with compelling pitches until you grab their attention and convince them to book you.
- Television publicity requires repetition to be fully effective. In marketing, “The Rule of 7″ says it may take up to 7 impressions before a potential customer will take notice of you and then take action. Being on TV one time may not be enough to get the desired results.
Now that you are aware of some of the pros and cons of TV publicity you can better determine if it fits within your overall marketing plan.
Five Factors to Determine if Your Pitch is Nonsense or Newsworthy
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re looking to get newspaper, radio and TV publicity at a cost of nothing more than a few minutes of your time then follow my five factors for success and incorporate them into your next pitch.
News comes in all forms, from the 24-hour format of CNN to the “Give us ten minutes and we’ll give you the world,” format made popular by New York based all-news station1010 WINS. Be it long and drawn out or quick and concise news can be defined as “Information about current or recent events and happenings, as reported by the news media”.
But what makes news newsworthy and not just nonsense?
I’ve identified five factors, detailed below, that are often taken into consideration by an editor or producer when deciding whether to run with a particular story or bring a segment to life. Determining whether a pitch meets at least three of these criteria is part of separating news from nonsense and are often the standards by which your pitch is judged.
1. Timing
The word news means exactly that - things which are new. Be sure to pitch time-sensitive news with ample time before the event or your chances of coverage will be greatly diminished.
If something is being covered heavily in the news, for example the rise of Autism in children or the Presidential election, then you can greatly increase your chances of being covered if you can identify an angle that is in line with what’s already being discussed.
2. Significance
How many people will the information you want to convey touch?
Having a niche is a nice way to grow rich and dominate a market; but for the purposes of publicity, the more people who can benefit from what you have to say, the better.
You might be able to work with a narrow topic for a news paper or radio show, especially one that has a specific demographic that will benefit from your information, however you’ll need to create a case for broad appeal when it comes to pitching television producers because their reach is so wide.
3. Proximity
Proximity doesn’t have to mean geographical distance but it could. If you are pitching your local television or radio station or newspaper about your business it helps that your story idea has a “local flavor,” because the story will mean more to the viewers, listeners or readers to know that one of their own has something relevant to share with the community.
In the national media proximity relates more to demographics and groups of people. Will your story idea relate to working moms, business owners, baby boomers? Get clear on who and how you can appeal to the target audience that the show or newspaper you’re pitching reaches.
4. Prominence
Celebrities often get media coverage just because they are famous not always because they’re newsworthy. In fact more often than not I would categorize celebrity stories as nonsense, for example if you get into a finder bender on the freeway, it won’t make the news but if the person you happen to bump into is Elton John, it’s big news - even if no one was hurt.
Think of ways you can attach your message, product or service to a celebrity and it’ll increase your chances of being highlighted as newsworthy.
5. Human Interest
Human interest stories tend to be the exception to the rule in news, they don’t loose their timeliness as quickly and they may not affect a large number of people yet can still be seen as significant because they attempt to connect by tapping into human emotions.
Television news, talk shows, radio stations and even newspapers look for ways to work in human interest stories because they endear the audience and keep them coming back for more.
When you’re pitching a story and you can incorporate a human element - do it. Producers will be more likely to fit your story into their show and reporters will be more inclined to write about a person over a product anytime.