Top 5 Media Pitch Questions For Authors (With Answers!)

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BONUS FREEBIE: You’re preparing to promote your book in the media but what questions do you need to have answers to? Click here to grab my free “10 Media Questions Every Author Needs to Answer.” There are questions for fiction and nonfiction authors!

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As a television producer for over 20 years, I get asked a lot of questions about how to pitch media and what they’re looking for. During my career as a news producer I saw a lot of awesome pitches and even more that I deleted without a second look.

Now as a media trainer who works with authors to get and keep media attention, I’ve helped dozens of non-fiction and fiction writers to prepare for media opportunities. 

But it all goes back to pitching media and making sure you’re giving them what they want before you ever get interviewed. And for authors it makes a big difference when it comes to who will get booked on a show or podcast and who will not.

So let’s dive in to the Top 5 Media Pitch Questions I get from authors.

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The Communication Skills You Need

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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.”

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Everyone can benefit from taking a communication skills course. (Yes, even you!) Think about it — we’re communicating at work and at home every day. All day.

I was a television news producer for almost 20 years and my expertise is working with the media. When I work with authors and leaders one-on-one, we talk about how to look their best on camera, what to say, and I give them tips to make their own videos.

Sure, you can learn communication skills on your own, or you can learn from me in my popular LinkedIn Learning course, External Communication Skills for Leaders.

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Preparing to Speak on a Panel

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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.”
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Panels are a great way to promote your book or expertise and connect with professionals in your industry or your audience. But it can be tricky to know how to start preparing for a panel, especially if the topic is not exactly in line with your usual talking points.

I’ve spoken on many panels as a media expert, author, and LinkedIn Learning Instructor.

And they’re always a rewarding experience because I do a set of things to get ready every time.

Here’s my list of things I do to prepare for a panel.

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Book Launch Highs and Lows

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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.”
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A book launch is a lot of work. There’s speaking engagements, there’s events, there’s media and so much more. It can be exciting and exhausting to prepare.

I learned so much from writing and launching Listful Thinking and Listful Living. And from keeping the book in the media long afterwards. (My first book came out almost a decade ago and I’m still talking about it in the media!)

And I love sharing my knowledge with authors to get them ready for their big launches. In fact, I just lead a group training called Media-Ready Author to help authors get ready to launch their books in the media.  You can check out the replay here.

On a recent episode of Inside Scoop I brought one of my media-training clients, Chelsea Conaboy, on to share her experience launching her new book, Mother Brain.

Here are three lessons Chelsea learned from the book-launch process.

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Become a NYT Bestseller

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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.”
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There’s a difference between being an author and a bestselling author.

But what does that really mean? How many books do you have to sell to qualify? Is getting on the New York Times Bestseller List a realistic goal? Is there a secret to getting on that list?

Book marketing expert, Rob Eagar, joined me on Inside Scoop to answer those questions.

Rob has helped both fiction and non-fiction authors hit the New York Times Bestseller List, along with USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. He just had a client about 120 days ago, who was on all of those. And helped a book that was 23 years old finally become a New York Times Bestseller, after already being in print for over two decades.

Here are four of Rob’s pointers to sell more books.

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Behind-the-Scenes of a Bestselling Book

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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.”
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Where the Crawdads Sing is one of my favorite books and it’s becoming a movie! It takes a team of people to create a bestselling book.

And one of the most important people on that team is your book editor! The editor of Delia Owen’s bestselling book is Tara Singh Carlson, who joined me on Inside Scoop.

Tara is an Executive Editor at G.P. Putnam’s Sons and has worked on The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo (which was also a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick), on The Family by Naomi Krupitsky (which was a Read with Jenna pick in November), We Must Be Brave also by France Liardet and many celebrated and bestselling authors.

Here are a few points from Tara about what editors do and how they can help your book become a bestseller.

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The Business of Being an Author

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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.”
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If you want to be an author (or already are one) I’m going to let you in on a secret: You are also a business owner.

Yep! Having a book means you have a business (like it or not)!

Writing for fun is great but being a professional author means you need some business know-how to be a success.

I learned a lot about this after my first two books Listful Living and Listful Thinking were published and since I media-train authors I get a first-hand look at what happens in the book world.

And as I start the publishing process on my first fiction book, I’m already learning that the business opportunities are different.

Book publishing and business expert, Jane Friedman, joined me for my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to teach us all about The Business of Being an Author.

Here are four insights she shared to help you make the transition from amateur to professional.

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Website Tips to Amplify Your Brand

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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.”

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We all know that if you have a business, you need to have a digital presence. But, you need a digital experience to make an impact. And that’s a little more complicated.

Digital strategist, website developer, and founder of Alchemy+Aim and North Star, Brandi Bernoskie, joined me on my live-streaming show, Inside Scoop, to talk about building a digital experience and amplifying your platform.

Here’s four ways to bring your website to the next level.

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2022 Media and Productivity Predictions

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BONUS FREEBIE: Want even more ways to stay organized, productive and less stressed? CLICK HERE to get access to my List-Making Starter Kit. It will boost your efficiency and get you back to doing more of the things you love.

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2021 has flown by and it’s almost 2022! I thought it would be fun to look back at my productivity predictions from last year!

Here’s a look back at my thoughts for 2021 and my predictions for 2022!

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Building An Online Following

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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.”
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What good is it to have an amazing business, book, or creation if no one knows about it? You have to get yourself out there!

I know it’s not always easy to toot your own horn. But it’s essential. There’s no point in doing all those wonderful things if nobody can find, enjoy, and learn from them.

That’s why I invited book publicist and President & Co-founder of the publicity and digital marketing firm Pacific & Court, Kourtney Jason, on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to chat about Building an Online Following.

Here’s a quick list of our top tips for building your following.

1) “Be your own amplifier.”

That’s the first thing Kourtney said. And she’s right.

You need to be sharing content across all of your social media platforms consistently. Just because you shared something doesn’t mean anyone saw it.

“There’s so much new content coming out online everyday. It’s so easy for things to be overlooked,” Kourtney added.

 

And while we’re on the topic of sharing your content on all your platforms…

2) Get on multiple platforms.

I feel like I’m constantly opening apps, looking for something I saw earlier, and saying “oh, where did that go? Oh, I should have saved that.”

People will follow you in multiple places. Sharing your content in multiple places will help your followers find the content they’re looking for.

Another way to do that is to think beyond social. As we saw recently, you need to have an alternative way to communicate with your followers in case Facebook or Instagram go down. Create your own website. Have your own email list. No one else will ever own those and you’ll be in complete control.

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3) Understand your platforms and create your content accordingly.

Not all the content has to be exactly the same on all the platforms.

“The big misconception for a lot of people is that they think, okay, I’m going to do this one thing. I’m just going to blast it everywhere. In the exact same form in the exact same way. And that’s actually not great,” Kourtney said.

Look at the analytics on each of your platforms.

Kourtney says to ask yourself when is your audience online? Also you should know how many likes and comments you are getting. She also suggests doing your own social media audits.

Know when people online are engaging with you. Use the platform analytics to figure out the best time to post. Because it might not be what you think.

“It’s a good time for us [Pacific & Court] to post on the weekends. And you wouldn’t always think that for a company, but that’s when we are getting good engagement,” Kourtney said.

There are so many different services on each platform. Make sure you’re using them.

Instagram is great for photos. The Instagram algorithm recognizes faces so Kourtney suggests posting photos of yourself and videos there.

Share Articles or Press Hits on Twitter Kourtney says Twitter is great for links and sharing things that take you somewhere else.

Facebook is great for events and calendars. If you’re hosting an event, doing a speaking engagement, or a book signing that people can attend, Kourtney says to  create an event and your audience can add it to their calendar.

Hashtags work everywhere. Kourtney suggests that you, “really know what the popular and engaging hashtags are.” If you’re not sure what those are, check out Social Media Examiner.

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Join me for my NEW LinkedIn Learning Course “Be an Effective Hybrid or Virtual Employee” streaming now!

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Kourtney and I also discussed podcasts and best practices for authors looking to build a following online. Check out our entire conversation here.

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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.”
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