If you aspire to get on the news programme’s sofa or be a feature on a magazine show on radio or TV, start locally.
There are dozens of local radio stations as well as regional TV stations and they’re all looking for interesting material for their listeners.
Do your research into what kind of programmes each station runs and consider who might be listening to or watching each one. If you’re selling direct to other businesses you’ll probably find the morning shows (the breakfast show) or late afternoon/early evening (drive time) will work better in reaching your audience, than day time shows. If any of the presenters has a regular business slot, that would be a good fit. Also, sometimes there are evening talk shows that may be a good platform too.
If you can talk to the presenter that’s great, but a better bet might be the programme producer as they do a lot of planning of features and interviews.
Check the station’s website for contact information – and don’t try and call during the actual show as they will have other things on their mind.
Alternative broadcasting
Radio and TV are no longer the only broadcast media available. The world of podcasts and video interviewing is rapidly growing.
Of course, you could start your own podcast, but that will require a great deal of planning and you will need to grow an audience and then sustain it. How much better to find existing podcasters who have already established their following and now are looking for interesting people to keep them engaged?
Go on iTunes or Spotify (or anywhere else that podcasts are hosted) and search under your key words. You’ll find plenty of podcasts that target your ideal clients. Now all you need to do is contact the host and suggest you’d like to discuss if you would be a good fit for them. Some hosts have a questionnaire to complete, certainly the popular podcasts will have many potential guests lined up, keen to be involved.
Start with podcasts that are more modest. If they have millions of followers and interview lots of well-known names in your industry or celebrities, you’ll probably struggle to even get into conversation with the host. Look for podcasts with a decent following that feature ordinary business people with a message. I have featured on several podcasts through meeting people on LinkedIn.
And don’t forget to check out the video channels for business hosts who do live interviews, either via online conferencing or face-to-face. If you have an interesting subject or an unusual take on something that your clients (and their audience) will find useful, most podcast and video hosts are always looking for new material.
