UPDATE ON SEPT. 14, 2012:
We really rocked the “Get On TV” webinar yesterday. Here’s the replay, including what I think is the best part: Step-by-step instructions on how to write a segment proposal. Access the replay here.
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Any author who has been booked as a guest on a TV talk show has probably had the nagging thought, “Will the host hold up my book, or show it on the TV screen?”
If the cover is on the screen for say, five seconds, consider yourself lucky.
Your chances of that happening, and for longer than five seconds, are usually greater on local shows in smaller markets than on the national shows.
One reason is because on the big talk shows, the hosts are the celebrities. The stars. The personalities. And on a show like “Fox & Friends,” you and your book are competing with three hosts, not just one, for camera time.
When author and life coach Clint Arthur appeared on “Good Morning Arizona” to talk about his book, The Income Doubler, the interview lasted 4 minutes and 20 seconds. The cover of his book appeared three times on the screen—for a total of 31 seconds!
Look for yourself:
That’s why Arthur is such a huge proponent of Publicity Hounds really working the local TV talk show circuit, not just in your hometown, but out of town, too, before trying to get onto the big shows. You can piggyback a TV interview onto a consulting assignment, a speaking engagement, or even a vacation.
Arthur has appeared on 40 TV shows in the last three years, and he’s teaming up with Daniel Hall to present his tips during a free webinar I’m hosting at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Sept. 13, on “Get on Local TV: To Sell More Products & Services, Build a Bigger List & Become a Celebrity.”
Authors, speakers and experts will learn how to pitch, how to use appearances to sell anything from books to real estate, how to parlay one local media success onto another for a shot at the national shows, and why Arthur thinks TV media beats social media every time.
Joan, it’s so great of you to point this out. Step one for any author to increase the chances of having their book displayed full screen or in the station’s chyron is to make the producer’s job easier by providing a high resolution (300 dpi) image of the book cover. If it’s low resolution (72 dpi) and fit for web use only, it will look grainy on today’s big screen, high def TVs. That’s a “no go” for most producers and will likely shut down the chances of getting the book cover included in the segment. If you’re an author and you want your book cover shown during your interview, a simple solution to provide the right sized image to producers every time is to make sure it’s in your online press kit. Send a link, not an attachment, to that online press kit when confirming the interview, and producers will have everything they need at their fingertips to put together a segment that makes you look like a media superstar.
Shannon, I never even thought of explaining the difference between a paper book cover and digital image. Thanks so much for this explanation. And authors everywhere thank you, too!
Joan thanks so much for your,wonderful insight and for sharing
with us. Are the networks charging a fee to put a talent on
the TV?
Osiris, these TV shows that Daniel Hall and Clint Arthur are referring to do not charge a fee for guests to appear. I’m sure there are some out there that do charge, but if you have a good story, a good hook and you pitch it properly, you should never have to pay. Thanks for stopping by.