One candidate hands you a glossy business card.

The second hands you his book.

Quickly: who just won your business?

You’re Already an Expert, Why Shouldn’t People Know That?

Let’s face it, in our business – in any business – success is all about perception. When we meet a book’s author, we immediately perceive that person to be an expert on whatever subject he or she is writing about. That author is far more impressive than the guy or gal who comes along without a book.

For someone to take the time to write about a topic, give it an impressive title and subtitle, organize it, review it, plan it and get it published, says much about a person. It says, “I am focused, clear, passionate and drive.” It says, “I am an expert in my field and, what’s more, I’m eager to share that expertise with all comers.” It reeks of credibility, expertise, influence, maturity, solidity and, above all, success. What’s more, it makes that person special and unique. It’s an impressive credential.

It will do the same for you. A book will also:

• Increase your visibility
• Bring new business
• Announce your presence
• Distill your thoughts
• Give you “portable expertise”
• Provide publicists tons of material

I tell you this because if you are ever to truly celebritize yourself, if you are truly to become an expert in your field and own the niche you’re in, you must begin to think about yourself not just as a celebrity but as an expert-turned-author-turned -celebrity. Books are central to the Celebritize Yourself process.

A book gives you instant cache. It ups your credibility factor. To stay competitive in today’s cutthroat world of would-be experts, a book is no longer a stand out – it’s a must-have. Name almost any expert you can think of – in any field – and you will find them listed on Amazon.com. And not just in the music or DVD sections, but under books. You’ll find thousands! Try it.

Business Card 2.0

You’ll see my point. Today’s book is yesterday’s business card. Or, perhaps, it’s today’s “Business Card 2.0,” an interactive, user-friendly, narrated tour through your expertise. It is an instant introduction to your thoughts, feelings, expertise, know-how, advice, wisdom, and personality, rolled into a neat 200-300 page package within a cover of credibility-boosting blurbs from respected peers and colleagues.

Add your snappy author’s photo, wrap it in a great title (and subtitle), create a slam-bang cover with your name on it and, presto-chango, you are now an author ready to compete on the same playing field as any other celebrity. Now, all you have to do is come up with that great idea for a bestselling book that can magnetize an endless stream of clients or customers.

Books provide what I call “portable expertise.”

Low-Tech, High-Impact

Anywhere a book can go, you can go. Yes, there are more high-tech ways to reach your audience, but when someone’s wi-fi isn’t working, your book still is. When someone’s at 30,000-feet and can’t use their laptop yet, he or she can still open your book.

In a bathroom stall, in a parking garage waiting for an appointment, at a corner café with a cup of coffee, in bed late at night not wanting to disturb their spouse, in an elevator, your book goes anywhere they can go; and if you have a book, so do you.

Speed is a constant in our hurly-burly world. Gone are the days of leisurely lunch dates, quiet afternoons, relaxing weekends or two-week vacations. Now it’s all about screen-time versus face time, productivity over quality and half-page memos versus quarterly reports. We are supposed to do more with less and sooner rather than later, and with all our high-tech gadgets and multi-tasking interfacing, our brains are still trying to catch up.

Enter…THE BOOK.

Stay With Them Even When They’re Gone…

The book remains as our link between then and now, fast and slow, more and less. Everyone has a blog, only a fraction of people have a book. Everyone has a website, only so many of those websites have a book for sale. Ebooks have yet to corner the market on credibility and creativity, and even books on tape have to be written, recorded, delivered and digested.

The book remains THE penultimate source of distilled wisdom and what I call portable expertise. If you give a conference and the audience was too wowed by your presentation to digest every word, there’s your book in the back of the room to take with them to devour your expertise later.

During a lecture, a seminar, a meet and greet or a conference, you only have so much time to present and then it’s on to the next speaker. Books let you deliver the entire range of your expertise in 300 pages or less – and all in a nice, neat, presentable, impressive, PORTABLE package.

Let’s face it: you can’t be everywhere at once. One of the unique values of a published book is that it lets people bask in your expertise wherever they are, whenever they can. It can also be liberally shared because, again, this expertise is portable; a quick handoff to a business associate, a client, a fellow parishioner, a neighbor, a colleague or a friend and your portable expertise has just doubled; now you really can be two places at once!

While national media exposure is ideal, there is great power in local media exposure as well. By focusing on your hometown media outlets you will be able to build a solid base of fame and recognition from which to grow on. Creating as much “buzz” as you can locally will compliment your national campaign to no end and it also gives you invaluable media experience when the national media starts to knock on your door.

Fortunately many local journalists and on-air personalities enjoy interviewing local businesses and experts like yourself. This gives you an upper hand in grabbing their attention, and you will also gain their support in spreading the word about your company, products or services!

If you want to create solid “buzz” in your hometown, I recommend the following:

• Talk Radio Interviews and Television Appearances: Generally speaking, every city has radio and television programs that have a format for guests. Do your research on the web to find the main stations that broadcast in your hometown. Then go to their website where you will find information about the shows they broadcast. Look for those with a format for guests and find the contact information for the producer. Then call and pitch yourself as a guest. How many should you aim for? AS MANY AS POSSIBLE!
• Local Newspapers and Magazines: When it comes to the print media, at my firm (EMSI) we find that “Tips” type articles have an extremely high pick up rate with newspapers and magazines. If your topic offers any sort of solution to a problem, then a “Tips” article is what I would suggest. Write an article that gives 5-7 helpful, quality solutions (or “Tips”) to a problem that many people face.

Next, identify the newspapers and magazines in your local market, go to their website and find the right “beat” your topic falls in – for example – religious, business, health, lifestyle, etc – and send your article to the journalist that covers that “beat.” If there isn’t one person in particular that you can identify, “as you’ll find in smaller weekly papers” send your article to the editor – in – charge.

Make sure that the article is professional and print worthy, if so some publications will print it “as is.” And once again, get as many print placements AS POSSIBLE!

Although the above just scratches the surface, the takeaway is : when it comes to promoting your company, start locally and aim to get as much coverage as possible!

Women influence 95% of all purchases and control 80% of all household spending.

She specifically points out their spending habits in these categories:

• Domestic Products

“Buying the ‘small stuff’ has always been in the woman’s domain. Part of her domestic duties as wife and mother has been to keep the family healthy, warm, and well nourished. From the family meal to the family doctor, from shirts for her husband to shoes for her kids, chances are those choices have always been hers.

“What many marketers haven’t caught onto yet, though, is that women’s spending power now extends far beyond shoelaces and shirts.”

• Big-Ticket Items

“In the past, the big-ticket items like cars, insurance policies, and major appliances were historically bought by – and therefore marketed to – men. Things have changed! Nowadays, women need their own cars, their own computers, their own cell phones, and their own investment accounts – among many other new big-ticket items – and so manufacturers are facing a whole new market.”

• The Buying Power of Single Women

“Get this: Single women head 27 percent of households in the United States. Did you register that? More than one out of four U.S. households! Thus, a substantial portion of the market for cars, computers, and cell phones, for instance, is dominated by women serving as sole decision makers.”

• The Buying Power of Married Women

“Looking at married households (55 percent of U.S. HH), the fact of the matter is that the woman of the house spends not her own paycheck but a good deal of her partner’s as well. She still handles all the domestic spending. And when it comes to the big-ticket items, not only is she buying her own products – like the single women above – but she also has a disproportionate say in the shared decisions, such as cars, investment accounts, and family vacations.”

So, what’s the “take-away” from all this information? Again, it’s that – Women influence 95% of all purchases and control 80% of all household spending.

As it’s important to me that our clients are groomed to do their best, we provide them with helpful tips they can study and apply. Let me share a few of these tips, in case you’re also using this medium as a means of promotion. These particular tips relate to your appearance: how to dress, which colors show best, make-up (that includes you guys as well) and more. I hope you enjoy them!

1. Wear something that conveys your personality and your message: You don’t want to be judged by your appearance, but knowing that happens, prepare for it. You want to appear confident and professional, so make sure you are comfortable in what you wear and that the color and fit compliment you. Keep in mind that not every camera angle is going to be close up. Your whole outfit will show, including the shoes. Make sure that your shoes are polished and that laces are not frayed or missing all together. Remember, you want to give a good impression so that your appearance speaks to your credibility!

2. Be choosy about color and pattern: Small, tight patterns do not come across well on TV – they tend to shimmer, so solids are better. Certain colors are overpowering on TV or tend to bleed. Black, white and red fit this category. Blue works very well on camera. You want the audience to focus on your message, not your clothing, so keep it simple and classy.

3. Jewelry: Microphones are very sensitive, so although those dangling earrings and that big chunky necklace go beautifully with your suit, you will want to remove them so they do not make any distracting noise. Keep it tasteful and simple; a nice necklace, a ring or two and classic earrings are a good choice.

4. Manicures: Manicures are not just for the ladies anymore. Clean, buffed, trimmed nails are important for men and women alike. When the camera zooms in for a close up on your book or product, your hands will reflect your level of professionalism. For the ladies, if you choose color for your nail polish, tone it down so it doesn’t detract from the cover of your book or product.

5. Put on your face: Not all shows have make-up artists. You should make sure you are made up in an understated and professional manner. Some base and some powder should do the trick. Base will help keep your pores from showing and powder will keep you from looking shiny. This goes for the men, too. Yes, you are going to have to wear make-up, and you may have to apply it yourself! Make sure, gentlemen, that you cover your face and your forehead with powder; you want your message to shine, not your forehead! If the show has a makeup artist, they can then enhance what you have done. If they don’t, then you will look good anyway. Remember…less is more.

Now you can be more prepared for that close-up!

1. THE RIGHT DEMOGRAPHICS. Every year Talkers Magazine does a research project to profile who’s listening to talk radio. And, every year their survey confirms that the talk radio listener is, “diverse, educated, attentive, active and affluent…” If this describes your customer – it’s a perfect match!
2. TARGET AUDIENCE. Not only are the demographics of talk radio great – but with specialty talk shows on politics, health, relationships, lifestyles, finance, consumer advocacy, sports, etc., we can identify shows that are a perfect match for your service, once we know the audience you’re trying to reach!
3. EFFECTIVE SALES TOOL. Publicity is definitely not paid advertising. But it can be far more effective. Just ask Dr. Arnold Goldstein, well-known financial advisor and author, “The interest in our books from radio interviews has far exceeded the response we’ve seen from our advertising campaigns. Dollar-for-dollar, talk radio interviews has shown a much better return!”A compelling radio interview can promote your product or service without the audience even realizing it! And, as hosts don’t want to be bombarded with phone calls with questions about your company, they’re highly motivated to frequently mention your website or toll-free number.
4. THIRD PARTY ENDORSEMENT. Talk radio hosts have loyal followings – that’s how they maintain their ratings. And listeners tune in daily to hear what their favorite host is talking about. As that host is often thought of as an old friend or even a trusted advisor, when you appear as a guest on their show, listeners hear an implicit endorsement of you, your service and your message!
5. CREDIBILITY. This is a crucial ingredient in every marketing campaign – and talk radio supplies it in abundance. One of our clients told us, “…every show I’ve appeared on – the host tells his listeners about my great expertise, my many accomplishments and how proud they are to have me as a guest! Of course, the more important I am, the more important the host appears to be. As far as promotion and credibility goes – it just doesn’t get any better!”
6. TIME TO TELL YOUR WHOLE STORY. As a guest – you get not just 60 seconds, but ten to sixty minutes of quality time with a very targeted and attentive audience. You have enough time to talk about your service and in many cases you have a chance to answer questions from callers. It’s a perfect way to get your full message heard and understood by the audience!
7. COST-EFFECTIVE PROMOTION. Talk radio interviews are all done by phone. So without ever leaving your home or office you can have a direct and oftentimes live conversation with consumers around the country. Plus our fees for this publicity service are minuscule compared to what you’ll spend in advertising dollars to buy the same amount of air time!
8. IMMEDIATE EXPOSURE. You can be on the air within two to three weeks! And, because talk radio keeps up with changing times and topics, we can continuously create new angles for your topic that reflect current events, to keep you on the air and in the news on an ongoing basis.
9. BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK. With probably 1,000 + talk radio interviews under his belt, nutritional products spokesperson, Dr. W. Wong says, “Talk radio is the greatest way to get your message across to a large group of people at one time. There’s a captive audience during morning and evening drive times, in the middle of the day with stay-at-home moms and people in the workplace and for those folks awake late at night. It’s better, cheaper and faster than TV appearances. Without question – talk radio provides the best bang for the buck!”

And what about the 10th reason? You tell me! In the comment field below share with everyone your success stories using talk radio and other reasons why talk radio really is a terrific promotional tool.

The face of radio has changed quite a bit over the past decade here are just a few of the changes. The hosts of major-market radio shows, which had extremely attractive audiences, used to bring guests in the studio for long chats. Not three or four minutes, but how about half an hour or longer! This was a time when a guest could knock off a couple radio interviews and send sales soaring. What has changed? First, there are not as many big stations that accept guests – many have changed to a music format or don’t accept guests that have a product or service to sell. Another change is that the amount of guest air-time has been greatly reduced. Radio talk shows nowadays find that listeners are more likely to stay tuned if they have three 10-minute guests per show rather than one guest featured for 30 minutes.

Unless you are a big name, the chances of hitting pay dirt with a couple of large radio interviews are pretty slim.

As a public relations expert who has been in the industry for over two decades, I believe that in order to get your book, product or service the exposure that it deserves, it is crucial that you know what the playing field is like. Now that you are aware of the competitive nature of this media marketplace, let me share a suggestion for anyone who is just starting out with their book promotion: small radio stations.

Below are some great reasons why small stations can really make a difference in the promotion of your book!

The More Interviews You Do…

When it comes to publicity, and in this case radio publicity, quantity is very significant. This means that you shouldn’t scratch a radio show off of your hit list or reject their booking request just because they doesn’t have the hottest host or the highest wattage. Every show counts! The more interviews that you do the more buzz you are building. Although it would be awesome to exclusively book yourself on shows in the top 5 radio markets that are 50,000-watt stations and hosted by a celebrity…but this no longer the norm. Don’t let this be a mental block, there is power in numbers…meaning quantity!

Think about it: even with a 1,000-watt station, you are still reaching an audience. So say a 1,000-watt radio station has around 100 listeners, it’s a waste of time right? Wrong! What if you had the opportunity to speak to an auditorium full of 100 people about your business? Would you go? Of course you would! Keep this in mind when looking at stations. Every small station has value and adds to your overall quantity which fuels the buzz.

Practice Makes Perfect

Imagine it: getting booked on your first show in a major market with a top host. You probably have never even given an interview in your life. Possibly you may do a few practice runs with a friend or colleague, but nothing live on the air. So you get on the air, the host throws you off your topic, you get lost, agitated all resulting in a very unprofessional start.

I have seen it with numerous clients; it takes at least 10 radio interviews before most guests get comfortable behind the microphone. This is the beauty of small stations. With a substantially smaller audience they give you the real live feel without the fear of massive embarrassment. At the end of the day small radio stations allow you to practice how to be not just a focused guest, but one that sounds like a “radio pro”.

No Fear, No Errors

Not everyone is a natural born communicator, and if you are an author whose expertise is in the written word it is rare to find a great author who is also a great verbal communicator. First time authors are especially prone to stage fright – yes, even on radio!

Stage fright on the radio has one major result: errors! Typical errors for first time guests on talk radio include not giving out the web site address or 1-800 number. Or giving them out too much or not enough! A huge mistake is to mention your web address and phone number too often and in turn upset the host, who will let you know in no uncertain terms that this is their show and not an infomercial.

Technical guests have a tendency to slide into techno-babble, and even good guests inevitably walk out of their first few interviews knowing they could have been better. Wouldn’t it best if you are new to the radio game to make your mistakes in front of a smaller audience? Getting your feet wet in on 1,000-watt radio shows will help you remove your fear factor and reduce the amount of error for when you get on the big-time shows!

Give Your Message a Tune-Up

When you are just starting out promoting on talk radio it can be pretty tough to know what your true message is. You know what your business is about and the passion that you have for it, but everything seems relevant! How do you cut it down? This is yet another great function of starting out your campaign on smaller channels….you find ways of trimming down your book’s message to a few powerful words.

The more you get to talk with interviewers, even though the audience may not be huge, will enable you to crystallize your thoughts on your topic. Hey, it may even give you new ideas about your topic that you never realized before the interviews!

Don’t Let Size Fool You: Be Prepared

Booking small stations can be an adventure. Be prepared to run into some hosts who are unprofessional. To beat this make sure you confirm an interview at least twice before you are scheduled to appear on the air. These hosts may also not be as prepared as their big-time counterparts (meaning they probably have not read you book). So you will need to be ready to walk them through your major topics.

The best idea is to prepare for these interviews by considering how you would explain your book to a stranger on the street that you have met for the first time. Just know that some very bright people listen to some very small radio stations; make sure not to talk down to your audience.

Last week I sent you Part 1 of my interview with Lee Habeeb, a friend and business associate who is a “Talk Radio Coach to the Stars.”  To refresh your memory, Lee currently coaches 7 of the top 10 talk show hosts in America; people like, Michael Medved, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt and Bill Bennett.  He also developed “The Laura Ingraham Show” and was Laura’s Executive Producer for many years.

Below is Part 2 of my interview…I hope you enjoy the information!

Warm Regards,
Marsha

My Interview with Lee Habeeb: Part 2

Marsha Friedman: One thing I regularly tell my clients is the importance of not only being interested in the talk show host who is interviewing them, but also demonstrating a caring for him, his show and his listeners.  In your opinion, how important is this?

Lee Habeeb: In my opinion listeners are attracted to this sort of caring.  Take the case of Click and Clack, the two car brothers.  I don’t really care about car repair or cars, but every time my wife and I are in the car and those guys come on, we tune in because there’s such energy there.  You get the sense that they live, breathe and love cars.  But furthermore, they love each other.  The audience loves them!  The show is so rich in detail, in warmth and humanity, you can’t help but tune in whether you like cars or not.

The best performance comes from those who are relaxed.  These brothers are so relaxed because they prepared for so long, they’ve got the details down so well that when they get on the air, they are ready to go.  And this is what happens as you can probably imagine for most guests doing a radio tour.  The more prepared they are and the more interviews they do, the better they will get!

MF: That’s a great example of how to manage the expectations of a guest.  After booking guests for 20 years, I know that by their 15th interview, that’s when they start hitting their stride.

LH: Yes. The staged interviews you do in a room that aren’t real can be a real waste of time.  It’s like scrimmages.  If you ever coached college basketball and said, “Hey, let’s scrimmage and then we’ll play one basketball game” no one would ever get better.  That’s why there’s lots of practice, but then you get right into the season and you start playing games.  And luckily, there are a lot of games before the NCAA tournament so you can get really good.

It’s the same with radio interviews.  There’s generally a progression.  In the beginning – you’re awkward, not sure what you’re doing, and after all, it’s your first time.  Then step by step, interview by interview, you get better at it.

MF: I often try to explain to people that this is an art – a skill that you develop.  It’s not the same skill as being a public speaker or being a professor.  Just because you’ve done hundreds of public speaking engagements or talked in front of groups, it is not the same thing.  It’s very different, and that difference really needs to be understood.  I emphasize the fact that there is a skill attached to this kind of activity.

LH: Well, look at E.E. Cummings – I think if you had stuck him in sonnets, I don’t know how good he would have been.  So even with poets or even actors who are great on the stage, they just may not be as good in front of a camera.   A good 100 meter sprinter is a different runner than a 440 or a 400 meter.  And I get this all the time.  “Man, he’s such a good guest.  He should host a radio show.”  My response is, “Oh, no, no, no, no.”  Most people who are good guests can’t host a show because they’ve been so good at reducing stuff to six minutes that the idea of carrying a show for 15 hours a week doesn’t work as well.  They’d rather spend 15 hours in a week to get six solid minutes.

So if you’re a professor and you have an hour a day, three days a week, 15 school hours, and you’ve had 8 years to prepare this, that’s a lot of time to make your point, get those ideas across, and do all the goodies and magic you do in that classroom.  But it has nothing to do with coming on a radio show and having seven minutes to impress the listeners.  It’s a totally different format.

MF: You know you’ve really sent home the point that being a good guest is a craft.  You’ve got to study, prepare and drill.

LH: I can go to a basketball game and during the practice, I can pick out who the captain is by how he walks around.  He’s not the guy slamming the ball down and trying to impress the cheerleaders.  No, he’s the guy in a quiet conversation over here because he’s actually the leader.  He’s acting like it; he’s talking like it.  The best way to credibility is to be credible.

The best way to be credible is not to talk about yourself.  Talk about the problem and the solution.  Talk about the audience’s problem, the host’s problem, not your own problem.  Here’s the solution.  I’m not the solution.  This is the solution.  And then your credibility goes up the more comfortable you are in your own skin.  The more you try and sell yourself, the less credible you sound.

MF: That brings up the question about how someone should pitch themselves as a good guest?

LH: For starters, don’t pitch yourself.  Talk to the host, engage him and then through him, define a problem and offer the solution.

These hosts and producers could care less about you…they care about their show!  Every day they look at the pitches they get and think, “Hmm, what would make this show work today?”  And in the timing of the news cycle, what would make the show work.  No matter what business you’re in, there’s a news cycle.  If you’re in the vitamin business, it’s vitamin news.  I’m just trying to make the point that there’s always news you can tie your message into.

MF: Lee, you’ve given us so many nuggets.  Is there a final piece of advice you would like to share?

LH: Get with a professional media coach.  You’re not going to get good as a talk radio guest by yourself.  And, if you’re going to spend x amount of dollars on a PR campaign, make sure you’ve got the coaching.  And make sure you get coached from a seasoned professional who’s actually done it as this is a specialty.  If you’re going to get out there, be prepared.

MF: Lee, thanks so much for taking the time to sit down and speak with me today.

LH: It has been my pleasure Marsha!

###End of Part 2###

Click here to read Part 1.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed my interview with Lee and found some interesting points to consider when thinking about your own talk radio publicity campaign.

But, having been in the PR industry for 20 years, I know public relations has always been like that 2-for-1 advertising deal.

With advertising you need a big budget because a successful ad campaign comes down to repetition, repetition, repetition.  Even with the right vehicles in place for your ad buy, as well as the best placements and a quality message, consumers still must see or hear your ad numerous times in order for it to be effective.

And spending on advertising can be hefty.  In the United States alone, from January to September of 2008 over $54 billion was spent on advertising…and that was just the amount spent by the TOP 10 ADVERTISING CATEGORIES!

So it is no surprise that in this tough economic climate that advertising would be the first to go.  A recent survey conducted by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) found that 77% of marketers who responded are planning to cut their advertising budgets.

But, even if your ad budget isn’t being cut, one thing that advertising doesn’t deliver as well as PR is consumer trust.

TNS, a leading marketing information group, surveyed 1,000 US households regarding consumer trust late last year. In that survey, a mere 35% showed any level of trust in advertising.

As well, in a Nielsen Online Global Consumer survey, when asked what sort of advertising they trust the most, a whopping 78% said they trust referrals from customers more than any type of advertising.

And that is exactly what PR delivers: trust, credibility and word of mouth promotion.  The implicit third-party endorsement that comes with appearing as a guest on radio or TV, or to have a story written about you in newspapers and magazines is absolutely priceless.  Something you can’t put a price tag on.  This is what can be achieved with PR and at about one-half to one-fifth of the price of an ad campaign.

What They Need & When They Need It

With that in mind, if you have products to promote, I want to let you know it is not too late to get on the air before the holidays! If your products are available for purchase and have mass appeal, then now is the time to let holiday consumers know about it…and there are still a limited number of interview slots left for you to take advantage of.

As talk radio “insiders” we know what the hosts and producers are currently thinking about.  Right now, they are gearing up for the pre and post holiday season.  Why?  Because most producers and hosts go on vacation during the holidays and as a result their show goes on “hiatus.”  During this hiatus they run “best of” shows instead of new programming.  So in the run up to their vacation, hosts and producers are deciding: who they will be interviewing as guests in December, which shows they will re-run during hiatus and finally who they will be interviewing during the first week of the New Year.  The final point is very important to them, as the last thing they want to do when they come back from vacation is to have to scramble for guests.

The advantage for our clients is that we not only understand the timing and scheduling of talk radio, we also understand the needs of the producers and hosts and the fact that there are only a certain number of talk radio interview slots available for choice guests.  For example, we know that there is an intense scurry for the “must-have” New Year interview slots, where hosts and producers are really looking for the New Year/New You angle. So with that in mind, we position our clients in a way that is going to grab the media’s attention during the holidays and after the holidays.

And because we’re a top resource for talk radio guests, hosts and producers take our calls and schedule our clients if the topic is a good match for their audience.  This gives us a distinct advantage over the hundreds and thousands of pitches that hosts and producers receive daily.

But keep in mind that when it comes to radio air time, being interviewed as a guest is much different than buying advertising time.  With advertising you have a broad selection of stations and shows to choose from to run your spots.  While the playing field for being interviewed as a guest is not anywhere as wide.  You first have to know which stations have a show with a format for guests.  Then, you need to know which of those shows have an audience that would be interested in your topic.  It’s also knowing who to call; when to call and how to reach them to respond to your pitch.  This is where we can help – as this is what we do for our clients, day in and day out.

The point I really wanted to press home to you is if your products are available now and if your message is timely, then you can take advantage of the few cherished interview slots still available out in time for the holidays and for the beginning of the year.