I just got off the phone with Pam Newman, who interviewed me for one hour on her program “Unlocking the Secrets of Your Small Business” on Hot Talk 1510 AM Radio in Kansas City about how small business people can generate free publicity.
I called in about 5 minutes before the hour, as instructed, then listened to the commercials that aired before the start of the hour-long show. Suddenly, I heard the timer on my microwave oven beeping. I had set it earlier this morning to alert me to when I was supposed to call in.
Luckily, I was able to slip away for 15 seconds, run to the microwave, turn off the timer and get back on the line with plenty of time to spare.
But that wasn’t the only thing I forgot to do. I didn’t post my “Please don’t knock or ring the doorbell” sign on the front door. About halfway through the show, the UPS guy started banging on the door and rang the doorbell twice.
These things always happen in threes. I never disabled call-waiting on my phone. Twice during the call, as I was explaining an important point, I heard a beep in my ear. And listeners probably heard a split second of silence–twice–and knew I had calls coming in.
Don’t make the same mistakes I did. Create a checklist of things to do before a radio talk show. It should include:
—Post sign at the front door
—Turn off all timers, alarms and beepers
—Disable call-waiting
—Silence the ring on the fax machine
—Turn cell phones to vibrate, or off
—Put the dog outside or out of earshot
—Take a deep breath and smile!
You especially don’t want to make these dumb mistakes when you’re on national radio talk shows. Alex Carroll shows you how to get onto the biggest shows that are looking for informative, entertaining and controversial guests experts. On “Get Booked on Big Radio Shows in the Top 20 Markets,” he talks about 4 ways to get booked, the 8 essential elements of giving a great show and the 5 ways your press releases to the radio stations should look different than the standard press releases you write.
[…] Publicity Hound Carol White of RLI Press in Wilson, Oregon adds to last week’s item about things to do before you doo your stint as a guest on a radio talk show. […]