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MEDIA-READY AUTHOR: Go From Uncomfortable to Confident and Sell More Books with my Media-Training Class for Authors on Tuesday, October 18th! Reserve your spot now!

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Fresh content is great, and you can turn any podcast, blog post, video or thought you have into a media pitch!

The trick is knowing what (from your content) is most interesting to viewers.

This is especially important for authors who want to sell more books. A book is a piece of content and knowing how to leverage that content in the media is integral to sales!

(In fact, I’m hosting a quick and easy-to-implement live online training called Media-Ready Author: Speak in Soundbites, Set Up Your Virtual Studio and Sell More Books to help you learn those skills.)

 

I spoke with my friend Kate Hanley on her local news station about how to repurpose our content to create a media pitch. Kate is a journalist, podcaster, author of How to Be a Better Person, and has written for publications including Real Simple, Parents, and Martha Stewart’s Whole Living.

Here are three tips from Kate about how to turn your content into a successful media pitch.

1) Making the Connection..

In the beginning, the media probably isn’t going to come to you. You have to go to the media. You have to initiate contact.

Kate lives in Providence, RI, and she heard of a new morning show that might be looking for pitches. She posted in a local networking group to see if anyone had a contact, and a connection suggested reaching out to a producer over social media.

People who work in media often have their email address in their bio — because they want you to pitch them.

“That’s one thing that we have to just tell ourselves. We’re actually helping people do their jobs by pitching them,” Kate said.

Especially if you…

2) Make your pitch timely.

One of the elements of a well-written pitch is the “hook.” Why is this relevant right now?

Kate took this into consideration when she planned out her pitch. When Kate thinks of a pitch, she connects her ideas to current events or holidays.

“I just Googled ‘crazy national holidays’,” Kate explained. “There were all these wacky days like Flip-Flop Day and Hotdog Day. I noticed Make a Difference Day was coming up, which perfectly aligned with ‘How to Be a Better Person”.”

By connecting your pitch to an upcoming event, producers feel more urgency when considering your idea.

“Not only might they like that idea, but they need to act on it because that day’s coming up,” Kate added.

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3) Reuse and recycle.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they start to pitch media is that they think they have to create completely new or different material for a pitch.

Nope!

Use all your content to feed your blog, your book, your podcast, your pitches. They all go hand in hand.

Tailor your ideas for each outlet, but use the ideas you already have.

Kate’s lightbulb moment happened when she realized she didn’t need to be creating totally separate blog posts and pitches. She made a Google Drive account to organize her ideas and realized she already had lots of great material. She just needed to update and adapt what she already created.

“I found old pitches and blog posts that I had written and stuff I thought might be useful in a lot of different ways,” Kate said.

That doesn’t mean you should use the same posts and pitches over and over.

It’s important to refresh and customize your content and pitches to the outlet you’re pitching.

Check out Kate’s podcast “How to Be a Better Person” and watch our entire conversation here.

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MEDIA-READY AUTHOR: Go From Uncomfortable to Confident and Sell More Books with my Media-Training Class for Authors on Tuesday, October 18th! Reserve your spot now!

____

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Photo by Gavin Whitner.

 

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

 

Figure out your niche. 

Before you become an expert, you have to decide what you’re going to be an expert in. How can you figure that out? 

Ask yourself these two questions:  

  1. What are you always telling clients? 
  2. What are you always answering questions about? 

These are two good ways to tell where your expertise lies. 

Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

When I was on vacation in Mexico a few weeks ago, I unexpectedly got an interview request from Aditi Shrikant, a writer at CNBC.com. She was working on an article about making more effective to-do lists. 

Of course I said yes to the opportunity. 

I put down my margarita and did the interview in my bathing suit poolside. 

Why? 

Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

I work with lots of experts and authors on media training and strategy, and a lot of them struggle with self promotion but want people to know about their books. 

Like many of us, they don’t want to seem “salesy” or as if they have a huge ego. 

For example, I worked with Brandi Doming, author of “Vegan 8,” to train her for media while she was promoting her book. She initially didn’t want to do video and struggled a bit with self promotion. 

Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

On the flight from NYC to San Francisco I watched Won’t You Be My Neighbor? You know, the documentary about Mister Rogers? 

As a kid I loved that show. 

But I also loved this documentary and one of the unexpected lessons was about video and television!

When Mister Rogers said “television is community,” I thought yes, that’s it!  Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

As a TV producer for nearly two decades, I’ve interviewed lots of experts. 

I began to get a pretty good idea of when someone had prepared for an interview and when they thought they could just ‘wing it’. 

Here’s something to remember – this isn’t always dictated by the amount of experience the expert has at their craft. Just because you know your stuff doesn’t mean you’ll be able to translate it succinctly and effectively in the media. 

As you can imagine, I’ve always been a firm believer in the importance of being prepared.

Now that I’m a media trainer and strategist I practice what I preach and I try to be a good example of what’s possible for my clients.  Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

In a few short weeks my newest book, Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed You, publishes! I’m super excited. 

Many of my clients are authors as well and I always give them the same advice when I’m media training or working on media strategy with them. 

So I’m practicing what I preach! 

Here’s what I’ve been doing to get my book out there before it hits bookshelves:  

Get Traditional Media Mentions: When it comes to publishing a book, I always tell my clients to get media attention well before the book comes out. If you’re lucky you could be like my friend Ilise Benun who got one media mention that brought her ten years worth of business! Check out my video interview with her here.  Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

 

How much business do you think you get from every media mention? 

It’s not easy to gauge and it depends. 

You may hear from clients that they found you thanks to a particular mention in a magazine or TV segment. 

But I’m a big believer that media begets more media. That’s why you shouldn’t be a snob when it comes to which opportunities you take.  Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

Teleprompters – they keep coming up again and again with my media-training clients. Questions like: 

  • Should I use a teleprompter? 
  • When do I not need a teleprompter?
  • How do I use a teleprompter? 
  • Which teleprompters are the best for entrepreneurs? 

Those are just some of the questions that have come up over the years. I’ve worked with dozens and dozens of anchors and reporters who have mastered the skill of using a teleprompter. 

If you’re unfamiliar with them though it can be a bit daunting at first. So let me break it down for you.

Read more

BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

I recently presented, “How to Pitch Broadcast Media” at Robert Wynne’s “BroadcastU” event in New York City.

The event is designed to let public relations professionals personally network with broadcast reporters, producers and bookers in one place, at one time, to finally answer the big question – what does the media actually want?

I’ve known Rob since my Fox News days when he had me on as a panelist.

He very kindly invited me back to speak to the group about media training and how to get their pitches read by the media.

The audience was predominantly made up of hospital and university PR people, which meant I got to see a ton of people who I had worked with as a senior health producer at Fox News Channel – how great! Read more