Have you noticed how Charlie Sheen has quieted down? It’s not that his public meltdown has slowed or that he’s run out of things to say. It’s just that he isn’t saying it on radio anymore.
I was actually surprised when I realized that Sheen’s daily presence in the news wasn’t just from his tweets or his videos that he posted online, but rather his radio interviews. The meatier comments the media used for their stories about Sheen actually came from his constant calls to national radio shows like The Dan Patrick Show, The Alex Jones Show and a wide variety of morning shows in different cities.
In fact, Philadelphia’s Wired 96.5 FM station – recognizing Sheen’s penchant for phone-in radio rants – flew a banner over Sheen’s house inviting him to call the station. He did and another news cycle ensued.
The interviews then fueled more tweets on Twitter and provoked TV and print outlets to seek out Sheen for other interviews. Now does that mean I’m saying that a public meltdown in radio interviews is a good PR strategy for drawing attention to your message? Of course not, but make no mistake, talk radio was the fuel behind his media engine.
And that’s a lesson that should not be taken lightly and it proved one thing that advocates of other, more technologically-driven media, seem to want to downplay: people are still listening to radio. They are listening to radio and paying attention to what they hear. That’s why I feel very strongly about the value of talk radio as a key component of any well-balanced media campaign.
A good radio interview can fuel social media, because it gives you something to tweet about. It also works well in conjunction with print coverage and appearances on local and national TV, because it provides a longer form format for your message. Whereas an article may only be 500 or 600 words or a TV appearance only 3 to 5 minutes, a radio interview can run anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, depending on the show and how interesting you are to the host and the listeners.
What I love most about talk radio is that it provides a forum for guests to demonstrate their expertise in their field, making them attractive to customers, clients and also decision-makers from other media outlets. It’s also the one place in which they can communicate their message in their own voice, in their own tone and their own words – unedited – to listeners within the range of the radio show’s signal. If it’s a syndicated show, their message can be heard nationwide.
So, if you’ve been thinking about doing PR, be sure to include radio as a key venue for your campaign. People are definitely willing to listen to you, if you’re willing to speak to them.
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I love radio. I always have.
Just the variety of ideas and exchange of communications bouncing back and forth in the air; it’s so simple, so elegant and so vital to a country founded on the principle of free speech. I also love how radio has been a survivor. When TV was first invented, back in the days when people had become accustomed to gathering around the cabinet-sized radio in their living rooms to listen to news programs, The Shadow and The Jack Benny Show, everyone predicted radio’s rapid demise. After people saw these moving pictures on the TV screen, how could radio ever hold their interest again?
But radio persevered. When the Internet was founded, radio was once again thrown into the dead pool, with pundits writing the medium’s obituary in advance. But it didn’t happen, and I doubt it ever will.
Radio represents a critical means of communicating ideas and opinions, and no matter the next technological breakthrough in communications, we will still tune in because we never know what those voices in the air will say next. And that’s why I am so incredibly excited to present to you an interview I did with one of the most significant voices in the radio industry, Michael Harrison, the founder and publisher of the talk-radio industry’s #1 publication, Talkers Magazine. He may be the one person in the world who loves radio more than I do!
Michael founded Talkers Magazine in 1990 and since then it has been referred to as “the Bible of talk radio.” A maverick in the world of radio broadcasting, in addition to being a weathered trade journalist, Michael has been at the center of many of the most exciting radio revolutions of the past 30+ years. Recently, Talkers was expanded to include the “New Talk Media” of Internet and satellite radio.
I’ve known Michael for years, and his friendship and guidance have been incredibly valuable to me. So I thought I’d extend some of that value to you. I recently interviewed Michael about the current trends in the radio industry and I also asked him the tough questions that many people ask me when we discuss talk radio. I think you’ll be surprised and enlightened with some of Michael’s insight and answers which are relative to the role of talk radio in your PR campaign.
MF: Some prospects/clients request that we only book them on Arbitron-rated stations and we often have to explain why that isn’t always in their best interest. Would you agree?
MH: What we have here is an example of a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It certainly isn’t in their best interest if it significantly limits the number of stations on which they can be booked or precludes them from appearing on a show or with a host whose specialty is the guest’s subject and whose audience, though small, is loyal and hangs on to every word.
Look, I can understand guests wanting to be on big stations and logically, to a certain extent, size does matter. However, there is a huge difference between selling Coke or car insurance (like GEICO) to the masses and selling a book, a philosophy or a specialized small business product to targeted segments of the population. Arbitron’s basic mission is to give advertising agencies, concerned with making large spot buys for big clients, a thumbnail overview of very general statistics such as the age and gender of mass audiences.
The ratings for each station, as determined by Arbitron, provide information that fuels a system of convenience described as cost-per-point. It guides them in determining how much it will cost per hundred or thousands of sets of ears to get their message and brand out there to millions of people.
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MF: So to clarify for my readers, what you’re saying is that the information Arbitron collects is more quantitative in nature?
It is almost entirely quantitative. That is not to knock it. It serves a vital purpose economically within the Madison Avenue big time commercial segment of the business. It serves the advertisers and their agencies that don’t have the time or interest to really study the radio stations and their connectivity to the emotional, intellectual and psychological nature of their audiences.
The point simply is this method does not reveal very much qualitative information. For example, Coca Cola doesn’t care if the people who buy their product are Republicans or Democrats, or interested in sports, celebrity gossip, gardening, cooking or astrophysics. These qualities of their target customer base do not directly impact their business.
MF: So if you are not a megabrand or company, size is not as important as the quality of the audience?
By ruling out being booked on small stations, offbeat programs and relatively unknown hosts, the Arbitron-only crowd you described is missing the benefits of this form of marketing, which is often even more important to their success than sheer unqualified audience numbers. Nowadays you need to promote large and small, especially when in today’s electrically-charged digital environment, even a “small” host could go viral with information the world is eager to know.
The ratings don’t tell you if that host you never heard of in an unrated market has a Facebook page or a loyal army of Twitter fans capable of rivaling the reach of many medium-market radio stars, or if he talks and writes (blogs) fervently about the guests he speaks with on the radio. The ratings also don’t have much to say about whether the show is on the Internet and what kind of online audience it has amassed. Thus, to shackle the promotion of guests selling specific ideas to already motivated individuals, with the same system that GEICO uses to promote awareness of its gecko, is to miss out on where the true action is in marketing specialty products (such as books, opinions and other forms of eclectic direct-response merchandise) in today’s multimedia world.
MF: Can you give us a snapshot explanation as to how the Arbitron system works and how accurate the listenership numbers are?
MH: Keep in mind when discussing radio ratings that actual radio listening is a mysterious process. So the word “accurate” is a highly subjective premise. I am personally not a fan of radio ratings and never have been beyond accepting them professionally and industrially as a necessary evil. That being said, none of this is meant to be a slam against Arbitron per se. They do what they do very well. It’s just that even when done well, radio ratings are a sloppy business.
Most of the U.S. population has access to radios and more than 90 percent listen to some of the thousands and thousands of radio stations and shows out there, at least five minutes every week. At least that is what the latest research says, for whatever it’s worth. However, there is no way to measure mathematically precise numbers of an unwired medium the way, say, books or movie box office sales are tallied, or the way we can now determine the precise metrics of Internet usage. And, that’s what’s dangerous about overreliance on Arbitron or taking its numbers at face value. They do not necessarily reflect results.
MF: So how does Arbitron collect the data?
One of the main issues the radio industry is dealing with at the moment is Arbitron’s transition from what is called the “diary” method of audience measurement to a new system called the Portable People Meter or “PPM.” This transition has been slow and not without problems and criticism.
The diary represents the paper and pencil world of the 20th century, a world of simpler media and significantly long-term memory and attention spans. The PPM represents the 21st century world of instantaneous digital communications and the need for hard, fast facts. It is now an A.D.D. world.
The diary method measures listeners’ recall, meaning you go about your business listening to radio and then, when you have a chance you fill out what you listened to—from memory—in a workbook called a “diary.” Games are played the way games are scored. Football teams are designed to score touchdowns and field goals because that’s the way the game is scored. Baseball teams are designed to bring runners across home plate. In the diary method, there is a significant disconnect between actual listening and the act of thinking about listening. The diary basically asks listeners to vote for stations, shows and personalities. This method requires that stations program to create brand awareness, community involvement and listener loyalty to get the full benefits of its system. Although loosely accurate at estimating the relative popularity and brand awareness of radio, the diary method is an extremely inaccurate methodology of measuring actual minute-to-minute listenership.
The PPM, on the other hand, is a small mechanical device that is directly plugged into and measures, in hard numbers, the actual listening habit of the person wearing it. In playing the PPM game, stations are focusing on a much shorter listener attention span. At this point in the transition, I believe the PPM is in use in the top 50 markets. The diary method is still being used elsewhere. You can see this is causing a bit of turmoil in radio programming circles. If you’ll pardon the sports analogy, are we supposed to be scoring runs or are we now playing for touchdowns?
MF: So, when it comes to knowing how much of an audience you’re reaching, do the Arbitron ratings really matter?
MH: Only in as much as they provide a general overview of a stations bulk listenership and obviously it doesn’t hurt to reach as many people as possible. So don’t get me wrong. I am not saying this is useless information. What I’m saying is it doesn’t provide the complete picture in terms of promoting the kind of product and ideas your clients and potential clients are looking to expose. Unfortunately, most laymen don’t have a clue as to how to make sense of Arbitron numbers. They have so many different dimensions to them that even professionals in the field get confused. That’s why I said a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
MF: How many stations even bother with the Arbitron ratings system anymore? Are stations using Arbitron more or less now than in the past?
MH: Frankly, off the top of my head, I am not sure. I suspect it has remained fairly constant over the years, perhaps dropping off during recessions such as we have just experienced. Many stations don’t actually “subscribe” to Arbitron, which means they don’t pay for it. Technically that means they can’t cite their numbers to clients when doing sales pitches. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have an Arbitron rating attached to the station and it doesn’t mean the agencies won’t use it in determining buys. The key is not whether stations “bother” with or are using Arbitron; it is whether or not the advertising agencies are using Arbitron. And most of the agencies still find it useful.
MF: How would you recommend people judge a show’s value to determine whether the time they invest as a guest is well spent?
MH: Good question. No simple answer. The obvious answer is, if you receive a bump in response or sales as a result of going on the show, it was time well spent. But there is more to it. If a host does a particularly good job and has a loyal audience, you never know who is listening and what the longer term ramifications of that exposure will be. An appearance on a show that provides no immediate results might in fact trigger a bunch of reactions that comes back at you down the line. Plus the host of that show might have friends in the business and start a buzz about you. Or the host of a small station today could be the Sean Hannity of tomorrow. The nurturing of contacts is vital to doing business in the 21st century. As far as I am concerned, there are no small stations, hosts or customers. And, with the Internet buzzing beneath all of our feet, you never know when an appearance on any show, anywhere, at any time will strike pay dirt!
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Are You Taking Advantage of This Platform For Your Book Promotion?
In the age of the Internet, 24/7 cable TV news channels, news on your laptop, desktop, PDA and smartphone, I think it’s important to remind folks about the significance of talk radio as it relates to getting publicity for your book. But don’t just take my word for it.
The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism recently reported that 48 million people get their news from talk radio. Surprised? Don’t be. While other traditional media outlets in print and TV were shrinking, the genre of talk radio was growing. Inside Radio Magazine further reported that the number of radio stations that carry talk shows grew in 2010 to 2,056 from 1,370 in 2009.
When you complement this growth of listeners with the demographic survey results from Talkers Magazine’s (the leading trade publication serving the talk media industry in America) 2010 Talk Radio Research Project, and you can see why radio listeners are a perfect audience for your message. Here are some highlights from the survey:
- “A majority of the talk radio audience is…35 – 64.”
- “…talk radio’s audience has to be considered among mass media’s most affluent with a high percentage of listeners earning over $50,000 annually.”
- “…a notably high percentage of listeners have attended one or more years of college. (35% have graduated with a four-year college degree.)”
In summary, “Talk radio listeners are diverse, mature, educated, attentive, active and affluent…” A powerful audience!
But, being able to secure interviews on quality stations is only half the battle; you also have to be good on the air to make the most of the opportunity that this valuable medium affords you.
I wrote a booklet of 50 tips to help you be all you can be on the air, and every so often we like to dig in that bag of tricks to remind you of some basic—but important—tips to being a good radio guest. So, here are five top tips for turning those media opportunities into action:
- 1. BE ENTHUSIASTIC. Enthusiasm is more contagious than the common cold, so be sure you bring lots of it to the table; radio hosts love it when you do. When you’re excited about your message it can’t help but radiate to listeners too. That excitement in turn propels them to learn more about your book when the interview is over. So heed this insightful Zig Zigler warning, “For every sale you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you’re not enthusiastic enough.”
- 2. AVOID DISTRACTIONS. Having listened to talk radio, you probably know that 90 percent of all interviews are conducted by phone. That’s both good and bad news. The good news is you get to do your talking in comfortable, familiar surroundings. The bad news is you get to do your talking in comfortable, familiar surroundings; in other words, in places where there may be barking dogs, meowing cats, noisy kids, and blaring TVs. Be sure you’ve eliminated, at least temporarily, any potential distractions. Turn off your computer and the TV (or TVs) and make sure you switch off your cell phone. Put the pets outside. Alert your family about what you’re doing. Remember, nothing screams “amateur” more than listeners hearing you yell at your kids to quiet down. If necessary, lock yourself in a room for total privacy—and stay focused.
- 3. BE HONEST. This may sound like good, old-fashioned advice—and it is—but here’s what I have in mind: Your host and his listeners have this uncanny ability to detect falsehood. They’re like organic lie-detectors, and there’s absolutely nothing worse than getting caught, on air, telling less than the truth. Be open and honest with everyone. Remember, listeners relate better to people they feel they can read like an open book. Take a page out of Howard Stern’s book, no matter what you think of the guy, Stern built an empire by being honest with his listeners.
- 4. BE THE REAL YOU. This is a corollary to #3 above. Present yourself as…yourself, warts and all. Do not, for instance, use the occasion of a talk show interview to try out that impressive British accent you’ve been practicing. And, don’t use six syllable words when you’re used to talking in everyday language. I’m joking around here, but you get the idea. The real unprocessed “you” communicates a lot about your character and that gives audiences a better handle on both you and your message.
- 5. DEFINE YOUR MESSAGE. Before going on the air, know the key points you want to communicate. Make sure those points will be of greatest value to the listener. Then stay “on message” no matter how far off the host’s questions take you. Always steer your answers back to your own key message and all will be well.
While it may seem like common sense on paper, applying these tips isn’t necessarily second nature. But you’ll find that the more interviews you do, the more these tips become second nature and the more value you’ll derive from your publicity campaigns.
When I speak to authors who’re looking for cost-effective ways to build or strengthen consumer awareness about their book, talk radio is one of my absolute favorite recommendations. Spending 10 to 15 minutes out of your day to speak to an audience of thousands or more about your book, with no travel involved…does the opportunity get any better?
Actually, it does. We’re one of the pioneers of “pay-for-performance” PR, which means our clients don’t pay a monthly retainer for “best efforts,” rather they are guaranteed a specific number of radio interviews for the fees they pay us.
So, if you have a book that answers a common problem for consumers, appearing as a guest on talk radio is a smart PR tactic that should be part of your overall marketing strategy to build awareness around the country.
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“What may be done at any time will be done at no time.” — Scottish Proverb
Okay, don’t ask what the Jewish grandmother from New York is doing with a Scottish proverb. My chief strategist found it for me, and it fit the tone of my message today.
In my time counseling clients, I have found that the two biggest obstacles to a good PR campaign are the two Ps: Procrastination and Perfection. Too many times, companies will procrastinate in getting their campaign started, and tag their campaign launch to something artificial like a product launch (which isn’t news, unless it’s the iPhone 4) or a new initiative. By and large, the media could care less. Your message, combined with something that is hot in the news cycle, is your hook, and if you’re doing it right, waiting is not an option. The second element, perfection, is something that drives many companies to delay their campaign. Executives will debate messages and news angles to the point of diminished return, and wind up unnecessarily delaying their PR campaigns.
My point is simply this: you need to start now. Not next week, not next month. Now.
After all, isn’t that when you want your potential customers to act? Many consumer businesses have taken to using the “right now” message in their advertising. A leading brake service provider uses the “now” message in their radio ads, stressing that waiting to take care of a potential brake problem could cause more costly damage to your car’s brake system. Empire, a leading manufacturer and provider of flooring and carpet solutions for consumers, has even changed the name of its company to Empire Today. Their point is that waiting for the “bargain” will cost their customers more money in the long run.
So, if you want your potential customers to act today, that’s exactly when you need to start your PR campaign. Getting ready to get ready never got anyone any additional business. What’s more, the dog days of summer will soon give way to the busy days of Q4, and if you want to have a chance at making an impression during the busiest time of the year, you HAVE to start now. Here’s why:
The Holidays – Yes, I know that when it’s 90 degrees outside, it seems like a weird time to be thinking of the holiday season, but the media doesn’t think in those terms. Media folks like to take time off for the holidays as well, which means they have to start working on their holiday coverage early. Long lead publications are already working on their October and November issues, and if you want to be included, you need to start communicating with them now. Moreover, short leads start working on their holiday gift guides and reviews in August and September. If you have a consumer product or service that is compatible with the holiday season, this is when you need to start communicating with the media to promote it.
Authors – If your book is a fall release, you’ll be competing with a hundred thousand other authors for the attention of book buyers. If you want your book to rise like cream to the top, you need to make sure that as soon as your book becomes available, you will be on the air and in the news to talk about it. Furthermore, the holiday market beckons for you, as well. The summer reading season is over, so you need to focus on your book as a holiday gift.
Revenue – If you’re like most businesses, the year is going by faster than you’d like, and you are behind on your revenues – either falling short of your projections for 2010, or compared to how you did last year. Either way, the only way to increase the inflow of business is to increase the outflow of marketing. There is no better value in marketing than PR, so why let your campaign languish as your revenues stagnate? If you’re going to have any hope of picking up the pace, PR is your best friend.
At the end of the day, the old Scottish proverb rings true. If you’re comfortable putting off your PR campaign until tomorrow or next week or the week after, what guarantee do you have that you’ll ever launch it? Start today, right now, and you’ll be surprised how fast your campaign can be up and running.
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You may have heard me say this over and over – but it’s a fact: Talk radio is a great avenue for getting your message in front of a wide audience. With such an abundance of shows airing on terrestrial stations, online stations and satellite radio, and covering such a wide range of topics, you’re sure to find many that will be a good match for your message.
So how do you get on the air? Here are six tips designed to get you talking:
- Tie Your Message to Current Hot News. You’ve heard me say this before as well – but it’s the foundation for any good publicity campaign: First and foremost, you need to follow the news. What are people talking about? What is the media saying? What’s the buzz? Keeping up with the news is important because talk radio is all about current events. When you know what’s current, you can package your message to fit the news…making you an attractive guest for a talk show. Your job is to scan the network and cable news channels, the newspapers, look at news websites, and, most importantly, monitor the talk radio landscape. As you follow the hottest stories in the news, think of ways you can relate your product or service to them. Look for controversy or big names, big money or even relationship issues…these are always tantalizing topics for talk show hosts (and their listeners).
- Never Pitch Yourself or Your Product. The pitch letter to radio hosts and producers should focus on the issue about which you are an expert, or the problem which your product addresses. Radio hosts are interested in what you can do to inform and entertain their listeners, not what the host can do for you. Your credibility and expertise in your field is important, but it’s secondary to the topic you’ll be discussing. Pitch the segment, not yourself, and you’ll be on the same page as the host.
- Write a Kick-Ass Pitch. The quality of your pitch will have everything to do with your success in getting booked as a talk radio guest. You want to make sure your headline is enticing – it’s got to grab the media’s attention. The text of your release should elaborate on the subject matter and what the “on-air” conversation will be about. It’s always good to include 5 to 10 questions you’d like the host to ask you and a short, but impressive bio.
- Find Contact Info for Shows. These days most stations have websites listing all their shows. Look for a “Contact Us” page – in many cases the email address and phone number for the show producers will be right on that page. If that doesn’t produce results, find the station’s phone number on their website and call them, explaining that you would like to contact the show’s producer to suggest a segment. Ask them for his email address and the best phone number for following up – they will give this to you since this is how producers find guests and content for shows.
- Personalize and Send Your Pitch. Do not send your pitch as an attachment to your email message – copy the pitch right into the body of the email instead. At the top, add a very brief note to the producer or host (sometimes they are one and the same) to introduce your pitch. Your introduction should tell the producer why you think your topic would be a great fit for his show or why you think his audience would be interested in what you have to say. The producer is far more likely to respond favorably to your proposal when he can readily see that you’ve done your homework.
- Follow Up After You Send Your Pitch. After you email your pitch, call the producer to ask if he received it, or has any questions. If you get him on the phone, this is your opportunity to expand on your pitch and really sell him on what a great show it would be and how much it would interest his audience.
I know I’ve given you a lot to chew on, but if you truly do each of these steps it will get you and your message on the air!
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Ever since the days when every TV set was a massive 12 inches, and millions of Americans tuned in to watch I Love Lucy in glorious black and white, television has been in the center of our living rooms.
Today, the screens are larger, the picture is in high-definition color and the programming choices are near infinite. Also, in addition to shows of general interest, there are now literally hundreds of cable network shows that cater to specialized niche markets. Plus, millions are now watching TV shows on their cell phones and computers. All in all, TV viewership continues to soar.
So, whether you are promoting a book, your business, product, or service, if you want to reach the greatest number of potential customers in your target markets, your aim should be to get on the air.
I’ve written dozens of articles with tips on how to get on the air, but what happens once you get the nod? It’s not enough to just get on the air – you have to make the most of the time you have. In most guest-driven news and talk shows, the average segment length is in the 3 1/2 to 5 minute range, so it’s important to make every minute count.
Here are some tips that will help you make the most of that interview:
- Prepare, but not too much. Of course you don’t want to go on the air blind, but you don’t want to over-prepare either. If you’re any kind of businessperson, you know your stuff inside and out, and can speak convincingly on just about any topic related to your industry. However, 3 1/2 minutes is not enough time to get everything in, so you need to organize your messages and stay focused on them. Don’t try to come up with sound bites or cute slogans. Just be yourself and make your points. If it sounds too rehearsed, you’ll come off as a fake, and if it sounds like you are fumbling for what to say, you’ll come off as inarticulate. You want to walk that tightrope somewhere in-between.
- Don’t be too commercial. Television is the medium, but there is a difference between advertising time and show time. Consumers are used to commercials being, well, commercial. They know that in those 3 minutes of ad time, in-between show segments, companies are going to try to sell them stuff. Consumers generally dislike commercials, and when they sit down to play their favorite shows that they previously recorded on their DVRs, they usually fast-forward past the commercials. So, when you’re on the air in-between the commercials, don’t try to sell. If you do, consumers will either fast forward through your segment, or simply switch to a different show. Most likely, the producer of the show has booked you as an expert commentator on a specific topic. Stick to the topic, answer direct questions with direct answers, and give an informative and entertaining interview. If you do that, the hosts will generally make sure to mention the name of your company, your book or your product, because those are the elements that helped establish your credibility to be on the air in the first place! Just don’t be a carnival barker or an infomercial host. It will backfire, and very likely limit your chances of being booked on that or any other show ever again.
- Be yourself. When you’re watching TV, a lot of the on-air personalities make it look easy to be on TV. That’s their job – they go to school and are trained to make it look easy. When you arrive at the studio, it’s easy to be intimidated by the cameras, the set and the general sensibility of knowing you are going to be in front of thousands and thousands of people. Try not to let that get in your head. Don’t think of it as being on TV. Think of it as being invited into someone’s home to chat with them, because, in essence, that’s exactly what’s happening. You’re appearing in someone’s living room, so treat your interview as if you were out having coffee with a friend. You should still be passionate about your message and articulate about your ideas, but treat it like a one-on-one conversation. Engage the host, look at them when you talk to them, and just have an intelligent conversation.
- Post it online. In many cases, you can get a digital copy of your interview to post on your Web site, giving your interview a life of its own long after it has aired. After you post it on your Web site, make sure you email all your contacts and let them know about your interview and where they can see the clip. If you are involved on social networking sites, like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, use those forums to spread the news even further. Maybe even post it on YouTube and other video sharing sites. It’s not enough to just get in the media – you have to promote the fact you were there, and let the good job you did on the air speak for you and your company.
If you can stick to your message, be yourself and let your intelligence and wisdom do the selling for you, your TV interview will do wonders for your image and your business.
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And How to Make Sure Hosts Invite You Back
Successful CEOs know a secret.
They know that when it comes to getting real marketing traction for launching a new product or service, it’s not just about advertising. They know that – unlike the movie Field of Dreams, where all Kevin Costner had to do was build a baseball diamond and the fans magically would come – just putting a new product on the shelf does not guarantee anyone will hear about it, let alone buy it.
What they know is that getting interviewed on talk radio shows is one of the best ways for their products and services to become known by a wide audience. In fact, talk radio is more popular than ever, and with the increases in specialty programming that cover a wide gamut of topics, there is more opportunity than ever to become a talk show guest.
And let’s face it, what better way is there to:
- Kick off a coast-to-coast publicity campaign in less than three weeks
- Create promotional “buzz” for your products or services at the grassroot level
- Reach America’s greatest cities – Boston to LA – from the comfort and convenience of your own home or office
- Talk directly to consumers in your target markets
Sounds great, but how do you make this happen? How do you get a talk show host to invite you to be a guest? Having arranged talk show interviews for clients for twenty years, I know the precise formula for successfully hitting the talk radio circuit, so let me share some tips with you.
1. Stay Current
First off, you need to follow the news. What are people talking about? What is the media saying? What’s the buzz? This is important because talk radio is all about current events. Current events in politics, business, the economy, sports, weather, health, culture. And when you know what’s current, you can package your message to fit the news, making you an attractive guest for a talk show. You need to scan the network and cable news channels, the newspapers, look at news Web sites, and, most importantly, monitor the talk radio landscape. Take time to listen to a few local and national talk shows, and get a feel for what the public is talking about.
2. Tie-Ins to the News
A critical step is “packaging” your message. As you follow the hottest stories in the news, think of ways you can tie your products or services into them. Look for controversy or big names, big money, health, or even relationship issues. These are always tantalizing topics for many talk show hosts and their listeners. I’ll give you an example, because this step is a hard one for many people. I had a client who’d created a line of oral hygiene products that addressed the causes of bad breath. Yes, bad breath. With a little help, that client became a popular guest on radio and TV talk shows about dating, first impressions (like job interviews), holiday menus and entertaining…you get the picture.
3. Pitch Your Topic, Not Your Product
As you develop your message, keep in mind that radio hosts are interested in what you can do for their listeners, not what they can do for you. They want an interview, not an infomercial for your company. So, when pitching to hosts and producers, put the emphasis on the issue you want to talk about on the air, rather than on your product or service. And when you’re on the air, there will be plenty of opportunity to plug your products during the interview.
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4. The Right Press Release Formula
Nothing is more important than the press release itself – it’s your key to the media’s door. The quality of your press release has everything to do with getting booked as a talk show guest. You want to make sure your headline is enticing – it’s got to grab the media’s attention. The text of your release should elaborate on the subject matter and what the “on-air” conversation will be about. It’s always good to include a couple of juicy or provocative quotes. Also include a short, but impressive bio, and 5 to 10 questions you’d like the host to ask you.
5. Be Prepared For Your Interview
Before you go on the air, make a list of all the questions you think your host might ask. Come up with the answers you want to give on the air and then…practice! Enlist the aid of a friend to help you prepare, and ask that person to play the part of the host, while you answer the various questions. The more time you spend doing this step, the more comfortable you will be during the actual interview. And very important: don’t read your answers! Just talk to your “host” like you would talk during a meeting with a business associate.
6. Be Relaxed, Friendly and Informative On the Air
Even if the host asks a tricky question – stay calm! Make sure your responses are thoughtful, insightful and entertaining. And above all, your comments should highlight your expertise on the show’s topic. You’re on the show because you have positioned yourself as the “go-to” person on the subject, so share your expertise with the host and his audience. Don’t answer each of your host’s questions with a plug for your product or service, but you do want to find (or create) a few openings where you can segue into the fact that “…your product is the solution for that very issue, etc.”
7. Make the Host Look Good!
Make every effort to make your host look good, and thank him for having you on the show! Don’t forget that it really is the host’s show…it’s his livelihood, his career, and will continue to be long after your 20 minutes are up. The interest and approval of the audience are very important to every talk show host – he’s there to inform and entertain. So help him do well, and in most cases he will help you shine also…and be interested in having you back on the air.
I know I’ve given you a lot to chew on, but if you truly do each of these steps it can be a rocket ride to success.
And if you need some help, let us know…it’s what we do, and we can do it for you!
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