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.

At EMSI, we have three staffers fresh from jobs in traditional media. Penny Carnathan, our Creative Director/Writer, was a features editor at a major daily newspaper until last year; Alex Hinojosa, Senior Campaign Manager, has hosted national and major-market radio talk shows for more than 15 years; and TV Campaign Manager Russ Handler has decades of experience as a producer and traffic anchor for major-market news stations.

I asked what made them pay attention to some telephone and email pitches in their former jobs and what made them quickly hang up or hit “delete.” They came up with so many do’s and don’ts, we’ll follow up with a part II next week.

First, some don’ts:

• Don’t use “Please read” as your subject line. Journalists and show hosts, and just about everyone else we know, reads email subject lines in order to quickly triage incoming mail. Since “Please read” says nothing about the mail’s content or urgency, it goes to the bottom of the priority list, where it will likely be buried alive. Or, get deleted.

• Don’t fill the upper portion of an email with graphics and whirligigs. It takes time for images to load and more time to scroll through them to get to your message, particularly if your recipient is checking their emails on a smart phone. The time it takes for your graphics may be all the time you get – which means your message is never read.

And some do’s:

• Do research the person you’re calling or emailing. No one expects you to figure out all the duties that go along with esoteric job titles, but you should at least fire your pitch in the general vicinity of the target. That requires checking out the newspaper/TV/radio station’s website. Look for the names of show hosts whose topics and guests align with what you’re offering; look for editors and reporters in charge of the coverage you’re interested in getting. If possible, familiarize yourself with the newspaper or show, even if you have to do that by browsing clips on the site.

• Do respect the person’s time when pitching by phone. Some of the best calls start with an introduction quickly followed by, “I understand you’re very busy, but I’d love to tell you about a new natural health product that might make a great feature story/show segment. Is there a better time for me to call?” Know what you want (coverage? a calendar listing? an interview on Marsha and Alex’s national radio show? J) and describe in a nutshell what you have to offer.

• Do follow up phone calls with an email and vice versa. But don’t call and say, “I’m Suzy Bloozy, did you get my email?” Media folks who are portals to the public get hundreds of emails and phone calls every day. If you’re their grandmother or Don Quixote, they may remember the name, otherwise they likely won’t. And the question makes you sound both naïve and a bit foolish. Better to say, “I’m Suzy Bloozy and I sent you an email (or left a voicemail) about a cool new self-cleaning toilet, the Bloozy Bowl. If you think you might be interested and didn’t receive the information, I’d be happy to resend it.”

If you’ve been firing away and missing the target every time, try adjusting your technique using these tips. Penny says if the person doing the pitching was friendly and professional, she took the time whenever she could to at least listen to a pitch, or read it.

These days, however, she, Alex and Russ say, even more important is respecting the time of the person you’re contacting. Staffing at all the media outlets has shrunk considerably in recent years, meaning those who are left behind are doing double-, triple- and quadruple duty. They are busy!

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?

I’ve been on both sides of the microphone, so I understand the value of a robust debate – and the trepidation of guests afraid they’ll be lobbed a live grenade instead of a polite question. But people go head-to-head with talk show hosts every day and emerge smiling with all their body parts intact.How? They’re prepared.

I asked our senior campaign manager, Alex Hinojosa, to help prepare you with some tricks for holding your own – and even gaining the advantage – when a show host decides to stir things up during an interview. Alex is especially well-qualified; he’s been that snarky talk show host on national and major-market shows for more than 15 years.

Here’s what he had to say:

• Make it a conversation. During the interview, don’t picture yourself on a stage or as a voice blaring from car stereo speakers. Instead, picture yourself having a conversation with the host. Talk to him or her like you’re sitting in your living room together. Believe me;if you feel like you’re being attacked, it makes it much easier to react naturally. I’ve had many clients tell me that once they understood this, interviews were a piece of cake no matter what the host pulled.

• Boil down your thoughts to three to five general bullet points. These will be the messages you want to get across, the information that will be the most valuable to the listeners. (Note: I know the message most valuable to you is “buy my book/product,” but a sales pitch is not what the audience wants to hear. Give them something they can use, learn from or laugh about and they’ll be more likely to remember you.) Write your bullet points on a piece of paper and have it in front of you during the interview. That way, if you blank or get sidetracked, you can quickly get right back on your topic.

• If you don’t know, don’t bluff. If a host asks a question you can’t answer or cites a report, event orstatistic you’re not familiar with, be honest and say so. Then go right back to your bullet points and steer the conversation to your message.

• Any information publically available about you is fair game. Google search your name and see what pops up: Anything you can easily find, the show host can, too. He or she may ask about information in your bio (“So, you worked for BP Oil. Have they always been completely irresponsible?”). Or the DUI from 10 years ago, found in a Google search, may come up.  You won’t be caught off guard if you’ve thought about the possibilities.

• Get some media coaching.At EMSI, it’s a service we provide at no charge toour radio clients, but media coaching is also widely available for hire. Look for someone with plenty of experience as a show host and if you’re worried about particular questions, ask for help preparing answers. The coach can give you a good idea what to expect, run through a mock interviewand give you tips to polish your delivery. If you feel at all insecure, media coaching will boost your confidence and you’ll sound much more relaxed during that first interview.

Alex makes it sound easy, doesn’t he? And it is – if you remember the three P’s: preparation, practice and passion.

Where does passion come in, you ask? That’s how strongly you feel about your message. We tell our clients to focus on what’s closest to their hearts when they’re on the airand they’ll have no problem delivering their message, or defending it.

Now that you’re ready for radio, get out there and enjoy it. And, if you happen to get in an on-air debate, remember, that’s entertainment!

• 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.

And local media are far more accessible – even more so than just 10 years ago. With state, national and international news now available from myriad sources online, many local outlets are focusing on their community.  Stories and segments about hometown people, events and issues are the one thing they have to offer that can’t be found on a million websites, so if you have a good story to share, you’ll likely find more receptive listeners.

How to get started? Here are some suggestions:

• Look for radio and TV shows that have a format for guests.  Search online for the stations that broadcast in your area and take a look at their websites. Look over show descriptions and if past shows are archived online, take a minute to listen and/or watch. If they’re not archived, jot down the times and days they air, because you definitely want to experience the show to see if it’s the right fit for you and your message. Pay attention to the topics, the host, the kinds of questions asked and the guests. Think about whether you can tie your message into that format.

• Look over local newspapers, magazines and online publications for opportunities.  Read the columns and the articles; what sorts of content do the various editors select? What topics, tone and length? How polished is the writing? Can you provide content that would fit in well? If your message is about animal welfare and the publication is about business, can you craft a column, article or tips that will resonate with that publication’s readers? Or, if you think a reporter might be interested in writing your story, look for the appropriate beat reporter. If you’ve got a new cookbook and a related story idea, i.e. three great Crockpot recipes with just three ingredients, find the name of the food writer.

• Think about what you’ll say before you call or email. Your job is to catch the interest of the editor, show host or producer, or reporter, so it’s important to think through what you plan to say. You can start by showing that you’re familiar with the show or publication: “I have a topic that would be perfect for Dottie Dolittle’s show about relationships,” or “I’d love to write about how I lost 100 pounds for your ‘Real-Life Losers’ column.” Explain your segment/story idea as succinctly as possible and provide a phone number where you can be reached at any time during the day. If you start with a phone call, follow up with an email a few days later and vice versa.

• Remember, you’re providing content, not selling. The media will fall in love with you if you provide great, interesting content that resonates with their audience. They will fall out of love – just like that! – if you use the platform they give you to pitch your book, product or service (that’s why they sell commercials and advertising for)! The payoff for you being a guest, writing an article or being featured in an article is that you will usually be identified by your name, claim to fame and website: “This is Crazy Joe from Crazy Joe’s Coffee, www.crazyjoecoffee.com.” And that’s where celebrity begins.

If you dream of someday dancing with Ellen Degeneres or being interviewed by Howard Stern, don’t give up! Instead, start working toward that now by plugging into your hometown media. Where do you think those big national outlets get their ideas?

• 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.

With the rise of social media and the decline in the economy over the past decade, newspapers, TV and radio have lost readers, viewers, listeners – and their main source of income, advertising. They’re cutting costs wherever they can and, too often, that has been book critics, sections and shows – they just don’t rank up there with crime, weather and sports for audience appeal.

Here at EMSI, we do reach out to reviewers for clients who are authors, but we can generate far more publicity by establishing both authors and entrepreneurs as experts in their fields. We follow the news closely and watch for opportunities to offer up their timely input to journalists, and TV and radio talk show hosts.

In many cases, the expertise is obvious: A knowledgeable financial planner with a book about saving for retirement is a great source of information for almost any article or talk show related to the economy. The person who’s created a calorie-counting app can offer insights about the newest diabetes statistics or tell listeners what that stick of fried butter at the state fair will really cost them.

But what about the fiction writers?

Some read my book, “Celebritize Yourself,” in which I share how anyone can position himself as an expert and they say, “Marsha, that makes sense for people who’ve written how-to books, but I wrote a novel. How can I be an expert?”

To which I reply, “How can you not?”

Maybe you did extensive research on a topic, place or character to make your novel more plausible. That is now an area of expertise for you.

Perhaps your story is loosely based on your own life’s experiences. Whether it’s memories of being bullied as a child or knowledge gleaned from your years as a caregiver, you are certainly qualified to offer opinions on the topics you’ve lived!

Or, you feel passionate about the themes in your novel – they are, after all, your message. It may be that loyalty trumps virtuosity; that a single decision can influence lives for generations to come; that each of us must sacrifice some individuality for the good of society. These are the same themes we find in the daily news stories, and you can add depth and context to events and issues by identifying and expanding on them.

Here are some real-life examples of novelists, our clients, who have become (or are becoming) established experts because of the research, life experiences or themes related to their novels:

• A lawyer and novelist researched the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – the Mormons – for his contemporary murder-mystery. He learned the basis for the church, the Book of Mormon, came from ancient text that founder Joseph Smith said was written on golden plates given to him by the angel Moroni in 1827. Our client’s novel focuses on those missing golden plates and weaves in rich detail about the church uncovered in his research. As the campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination geared up last year with two Mormon candidates, our client became a popular source of information for journalists and talk show hosts eager to learn more about this sometimes mysterious religion.

• A woman who’d worked as a senior executive in a high-end department store during the 1980s drew on her experiences for a series of novels about intrigue and deceit among fictional fashion mavens. She’s now a go-to for the media on topics ranging from fashion to the retail industry to launching a new career (as an author) late in life.

• A former police officer with a love of dogs wrote a collection of short stories written from a distinctly canine perspective. He has become a popular guest on talk radio, where he discusses current events related to animal welfare.

As you can see, all of these authors have plenty of expertise to offer. In exchange for the content they provide, grateful journalists and show hosts give their books a plug. When the authors post links to these media placements on their websites, they build credibility that makes them rise above the thousands of other authors publishing fiction.

So, yes, do what you can to catch the attention of the book reviewers and bloggers, but don’t stop there! Trust me; you have plenty to offer. I know; I’m an expert!

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.

In radio, one of the largest chains of terrestrial radio stations mandates that their hosts push social media on a regular basis. In fact, on-air personalities are not only judged by their ratings on the air, but they are equally judged by the number of followers and Web hits to their online blogs. Not only that, they put their money where their microphones are by handing out cash bonuses for hosts that overachieve in the social media arena.

The stations understand that the easiest way to get listeners to their Web sites is through their hosts’ social media connections. They also understand the culture of social media that you can’t be too commercial or sound like you’re trying to sell them too hard on going to the Web site, so they post daily news updates, more information about topics they discuss on the shows, celebrity news and even funny viral videos – any kind of content that adds value to the consumer’s online experience. Many stations require their hosts to post something on their blogs at least three times a day, so it’s not something they do of their own discretion – it’s a job requirement!

The host just needs to do shows that are fun and informative, keep listeners tuned in so that the listeners will want to connect with them on Twitter or Facebook, which leaves the train of breadcrumbs back to the station’s Web site.

Stations can then use this online funnel as a way to directly affect their bottom lines, because consumers don’t have to buy a thing once they get there. All they have to do is visit early and often and the advertising dollars can justifiably be multiplied.

Finally, newspapers and magazines are beginning to understand the same paradigm, because they are producing online-only content to drive more Web site visitors. It’s not enough anymore that they simply repurpose their print content for the online visitors. They are now investing in content that is available only online to continue to monetize their Web traffic through advertising. It’s a simple formula, like the radio station model. The more Web site visitors you get, the more you can charge advertisers to reach them.

But if it were about the ad dollars alone, it wouldn’t be worth it to devote so much effort into social media. The media gets far more than that. Let me try to put it into perspective.

The main reason the mass media does social media is exactly the same reason you should. They use social media to build a RELATIONSHIP with their audience. In any business-to-consumer interaction, there is no interaction that is more valuable than the establishment of a relationship with your potential customers.

That’s why I’m such a firm believer in investing the time and energy in social media marketing to develop RELATIONSHIPS (I can’t emphasize the word strongly enough) and build a strong following. Yes, it takes time and energy, but the payoff is that you are building relationships with people, who may one day turn into a client or refer clients. Through this exchange of communication, people learn about your expertise and you get their feedback so everyone benefits in some manner. This interchange takes the relationship to a higher level. The highest level, of course, is that handshake (virtual or face-to-face) that takes place when they become a customer or client.

So, if you want to drive your marketing to a much higher level, do like the big boys do in TV, radio and print – use social media to build relationships with your potential customers and then watch as that potential is realized.

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.

That’s a major mistake for anyone engaged in or thinking of engaging in a media campaign. The holidays are exactly the time to pop the clutch and put your campaign into overdrive.

The reason is obvious. Although many assume that nothing of any consequence really happens over the holidays, what it really means is that fewer people are competing for those guest interviews on radio and TV and in print. This opens up an opportunity for you to jump in and compete for that media, with fewer of your competitors in that mix. Let’s face it, the media still needs people to interview to generate content.  So, if your competition is not in the game over the holidays, this is the perfect time for you to step in and get the coverage.

Because, even though many companies tend to run silent during the holidays, the media doesn’t. In fact, as we sit there on Christmas morning wondering what store is still open when you’ve run out of aspirin, the media is one industry that doesn’t ever shut down.

During the holidays, turn on the TV.  While CBS might be running reruns of Two and a Half Men, of course, the evening news isn’t running a repeat. And, what about CNN? They still report the day’s news just like any other day.

Same thing holds true for the print media – on Christmas morning and the day after Christmas, your newspaper is still delivered to your front door. And you can bet Yahoo! isn’t recycling content from November.  No, they’re aggregating news from all over the world that was written on Christmas day.

The media works every day of the year – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Halloween, Yom Kippur, Purim, Kwanza and yes, even Arbor Day. They need fresh content every single day of the week. Their crews may change and shift, their lead people take vacations while second stringers fill in for them. But every day, they broadcast, print, publish and distribute the news. Every day. And their need for content, combined with your competitors’ need to relax, can result in excellent press coverage for you.

You can deck the halls and sing the songs and eat the food that will no doubt be the inspiration for at least one or two New Year’s resolutions. In the meantime, though, consider celebrating the holidays by making them productive. Get yourself in front of the media while your competitors are guzzling eggnog. After all, isn’t success the best holiday gift you could give yourself?

Since then, Michael has been the co-executive producer (along with partner Benjamin Melnicker) of the Batman franchise of films, including the recent blockbusters Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He has also been involved in other films, such as Constantine, National Treasure and upcoming film versions of The Shadow and Shazam.

Yet, few people know Michael’s name. So we set out to change that. We started in July 2009, with more than 70 radio interviews and a solo panel at Comic Con International, arranged by EMSI. That panel drew 1,000 people, despite being scheduled at the same time as the panel which would show the first footage from James Cameron’s future hit Avatar.

Our goal is to make Michael the go-to guy for top tier media when it comes to topics or stories concerning movies or popular culture, and make him recognizable as not only the initiator of the Batman movie franchise, but also as an entertainment guru with industry knowledge and experience that’s helpful and interesting to consumers, as well as those in Hollywood. Towards that end, EMSI has steadily booked Michael in electronic media such as Fox Business News, CNBC, Bloomberg TV and BBC Worldwide, as well as print articles including The New York Times, Forbes, The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today and many others.

You may be thinking about what else you can do to get the news of your products or services more broadly known within your target market. Or, you might be brainstorming future steps to expand your business and make it even more successful.

In either case, one immensely valuable marketing strategy can be summed up in two words: get published!

Now, you may be tempted to dismiss this out of hand…after all, you have a profession, and very likely it isn’t “writer.” But there are many ways to be published and each, separately or in combination, can be incalculably valuable in terms of its contribution to your marketing efforts.

We’re talking about:

• Articles written about you, or by you, which are published in newspapers and/or magazines.  They provide great credibility to your position as an expert in your field.

• Op Ed (opinion-editorial) pieces you’ve written that get published.  It’s a great way to take a stance on an issue important to your business and get published, and it positions you as a thought leader.

• A book with you as the author—my favorite!

Getting published opens the door to the media and provides a powerful platform that is magnified a millionfold when you subsequently get invited to appear as a radio or TV guest, or are quoted in the press.

Furthermore, when the press publishes an article about you, it is really a public relations coup! A paid advertisement is always seen for what it is—an attempt to persuade more people to buy your product or service. Don’t get me wrong…there is definitely a place for advertising.  But the power of PR is that when the press writes about you, they are giving a tacit endorsement of you and your business. It lends credibility which is absolutely priceless!

And, let’s face it—being published sets you apart from other CEOs and distinguishes you as a leader in your industry. Not only does it boost your status above that of your peers in the eyes of the public, it also makes them aware of what your company is about, who its leader is and helps them to form a positive opinion about your company and its product.

If you decide to be the author of a book or article but don’t have the time or expertise to write, there are droves of professional writers who freelance as ghostwriters (and are easily found on the Internet).  For many a busy executive this is the best and only way to go. There is no shame in employing a ghostwriter—their job is to translate your own thoughts into an enjoyable and clearly-understood form.  It’s no different than hiring any other professional who helps you run your business more smoothly.

The bottom line is that getting yourself in print can have a very positive impact on the success of your business. You can invest as much or as little of your own personal time to bring it about—it’s entirely up to you. But you will reap great benefits whichever path you take.

But you may think the only way to get TV and radio exposure is to buy advertising time, which can be very cost prohibitive. And that’s simply not true. An even better and more effective means of promotion is appearing as a guest on TV and radio talk shows.

What you may not realize is that TV and radio talk shows are always looking to interview quality experts who will help them entertain and inform their audiences. Regardless of the product you’d like to promote, with the correct PR strategy you can land these priceless interviews, and when you do, it’s pure marketing gold!

Why are these interviews so valuable? You see, when you or your spokesperson is on the air, you’re on as part of a regular show with a host the audience has come to trust. By interviewing you, the host is giving an implicit endorsement so the listeners believe you – they’re hearing about you from their trusted friend. And they tell their own audience in turn.

If you think your product isn’t interesting enough for TV and radio interviews, in and of itself, you’re probably right. But keep in mind you won’t be invited as a guest to deliver a commercial. You’ll be there as an expert to discuss an important issue which of course your product provides a solution to.

Let me share an example…

We had a client who was CEO of a life insurance agency. Now, I don’t think it will offend anyone if I say that life insurance is a pretty boring topic. An angle was needed that would generate interest from the media so they would have him on as a guest.

We created a very effective headline for our pitch: “Can You Afford to Survive without Your Spouse?”  The interview focus was about the need for spouses and children to be protected financially after the death of the family breadwinner. In effect, it became a human interest story instead of a boring interview with an insurance salesman.

The CEO appeared on numerous radio shows, as well as on local and national TV shows, speaking to the vital issue of financial security for women and families. The result? The highest number of new leads the company had ever experienced, for any type of promotion.

We’ve had similar success arranging interviews for clients promoting everything from anti-fungal liquid to a book on ridding your home of termites!

The reason we’re so successful in arranging media for most any product is that we understand the formula needed to gain the media’s attention and interest in our clients.

Two crucial points we keep in mind when approaching the media:

1. We never pitch the client – we pitch the issue on which he/she is an expert. (And you ARE an expert – have you read my book, “Celebritize Yourself”?)
2. We never pitch the client’s product – we talk instead about the problem the product addresses and how it ties in as a solution.

No matter what it is you’re promoting, publicity is a valuable marketing tool you should make use of. The possibilities are endless, so get creative!

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