I’ve gotten back into hosting a talk radio show and giving interviews, and the experience takes me back – way back! – to how I started EMSI Public Relations in the first place.

I was, and still am, a huge talk radio listener. It’s educational, entertaining, and the most open of the mainstream media to any and all topics. Pair a great show host with an informative guest (tips on that coming up) and I’m rapt. That’s why, when I started EMSI 23 years ago, I focused on booking clients on talk radio shows.
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What It Does and Who Gets It
Judging from the questions I’m asked by people from every walk of life, misconceptions about publicity – what it can do and who can get it – abound.

By definition, publicity is media coverage you get because you’re deemed to be of interest to an audience. If a journalist or talk show host thinks you have something valuable to share, something that will keep their audiences reading, watching or listening, they may interview you for an article, ask you to write something for their publication, or invite you to be a guest on a radio or TV show. (Important note: None of the above should be considered an invitation to hawk a product, company or book.)
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Take My Quiz to Find Out
In my book, Celebritize Yourself, I write about my three-step method for increasing your visibility in order to promote your business, product, professional practice or book. It’s all about becoming an expert “celebrity” – someone journalists and talk show hosts turn to for informative and/or entertaining content.

Celebritizing yourself offers a number of benefits over other forms of promotion. First, it lets people really get to know who you are and what you’re about. Second, it gives you the implied third-party endorsement of media professionals – valuable! And, finally, if you’re providing valuable content, audiences are more likely to buy from you than from your competition.
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When I suggest to people that they give away their best tips, tricks and advice for free as a means of marketing themselves, some look at me aghast.

“But then why would anyone want to buy my book/service/product?” they ask.

Because when you provide them with something of value, they not only become familiar with you and respect your expertise, they know your book, service or company may also be valuable to them.
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Try These Tips for Tweaking Your Delivery

Article at a glance:

• Don’t use ‘Please read’ as your email subject line.
• Do your homework before calling or emailing.
• Respect the journalist’s time. 

It’s beyond frustrating to discover that one of the first steps in your media campaign is a doozy.

Connecting with the print, radio or TV person who can get you in the paper or on the air can be like hitting the target at a carnival shooting gallery. You miss so many times, eventually you figure the game’s rigged.

Really, you just need to know how to play.

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Tips for Taking on the Tough Questions

Article at a glance:

• A lively debate makes for a memorable interview.
• Prepare yourself by writing down bullet points.
• Invest in media coaching.

What makes good talk radio? Often, it’s a good argument – just the thing a lot of first-time guests hope to avoid.

They hear shock jocks like Howard Stern or commentator Bill O’Reilly try to skewer interviewees with pointed questions and they want no part of it.

“Please find me talk show hosts who agree with my point of view,” clients will ask us here at EMSI.

The trouble with that is, preaching to the choir doesn’t make for memorable entertainment in most show formats. And if the audience doesn’t remember you, what have you accomplished?

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Article at a glance:

• Local media can position you as a celebrity and expert.
• A hometown fan base can help you grow.
• Look for shows, publications that are a good fit.

I admit, I’d be on the first red-eye to New York City if I thought I’d land in the chair next to Matt Lauer on the Today show. Imagine! An audience of millions and Matt Lauer’s hand on my arm!

But while national TV exposure is great, you won’t hear me sobbing if he never invites me to his set. (Well, maybe a sniffle or two – hey, he is Matt Lauer.)  I know that local TV and radio shows, newspapers and magazines can also position me as an expert and a celebrity. They can help me build a solid fan base that will help carry me to national prominence, if that’s what I want. And they’ll give me a chance to polish my message, so when the big time’s ready for me, I’ll be ready for it.

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Article at a glance:

• For maximum exposure, establish yourself as an expert.
• Look to your research, experience, book themes for ideas.
• Follow the news so you can craft timely pitches.

I hear from so many fiction writers who believe their only shot at publicity is through the journalists and talk show hosts who focus on books: reviewers, book-related shows, book sections in newspapers and magazines. Sure, they’re worth pitching to, but book critics are a shrinking specialty in traditional media and you’re making a mistake if you limit yourself to that target audience.

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Three Ways Social Media Affects What You See, Hear and Read in the Media

You don’t have to do a lot of research to see that the mainstream media uses social media every day. Every major news anchor has a Twitter account and many of them have Facebook fan pages with thousands of followers who receive regular updates on that anchor’s activities and interests.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper spends several minutes every night asking viewers to connect with him on Twitter and Facebook. Ed Schulz of MSNBC’s The Ed Show runs interactive polls on a nightly basis connecting those using social media back to his evening show. Every major host or anchor has a social media presence in which they not only promote their appearances, but also seek feedback from their audiences.

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While Your Competitors Guzzle the Eggnog, You Can Be Getting the Media

And now, the season begins.

In the office, everyone is hanging around the coffee machine longer and enjoying holiday deserts.  Outside the office, people are caught up in the holiday parties, shopping, food, family gatherings, and enough reruns of holiday programs that they are replaying the Grinch song in their head. They spend a little more time online surfing eBay for gifts and writing emails to associates hoping to put any real work off until January 2.

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