If you’re looking for a way to get the attention of top national journalists, pay attention to these four tips courtesy of Mahesh Grossman, author of the book “Write a Book Without Lifting a Finger”:
–Relationships are the name of the game.
–You need to be your own publicist.
–Try to tie in with the news
–Milk your appearance for all it’s worth.
Mahesh is one of the many success stories from the National Media Summit sponsored by Steve Harrison. It’s the annual event where Publicity Hounds meet face to face with top producers for shows like “Live with Regis and Kelly” and “The View” and with top editors such as those at Oprah’s magazine, Ladies Home Journal and Family Circle.
“It’s like speed-dating with the country’s top media,” says Mahesh. “I got brief personal meetings with each, arranged and agreed to beforehand. No cold calls. No voice mails.”
It was during one of those meetings at the Summit when he spoke with the producer for “Fox & Friends.”
“I also made a great contact at Time magazine, with a former Oprah producer, and a producer at ‘Regis & Kelly.’ I’ve kept in touch with all of them and most have helped me to one degree or another. In fact without those relationships, I probably never would have gotten onto national TV.
As a result, he now has more business than he can handle. Read the entire article he wrote, including a clever way he lured the producers at FOX & Friends by tying his topic–why authors should hire ghost-writers–into the presidential election.
Note: Several Publicity Hounds got closed out of the National Media Summit last year because only 100 people are accepted, to allow one-on-one time with prodcuers and editors.