When I was working in news, so many people would ask me, “How do you get to be on TV?” First, I would explain to them it’s not as glamorous as it looks. Then, I’d explain the process I went through of school, internships, making a tape, sending it out (hundreds of times), making a new tape, sending it out (hundreds of more times), then bouncing from market to market. It took a lot, but many can bypass all of that. If you are an expert in your field and you think you’re good enough to be a panelist on TV – you can do it too. I work as a coach to both media train and put together a reel for experts who want to do this exact thing! tv-time Here are five ways to earn TV time as an expert in your industry:
  1. If you are a doctor, attorney, computer programmer, etc. – pretend you’re talking to 5th graders. These types of experts have a tendency to try to sound smart and they go on too long. Keep it short and simple and speak in normal language.
  2. You have to practice being on TV before you can get on TV. You can do that with your phone. Pretend you are having a normal conversation. Also, a reel doesn’t hurt. Before anyone puts you on the tube, they want to know you can do the job!
  3. Stand for one thing. Have an opinion about issues… if not, what are you there for?!
  4. Hire a publicist (like me!) until you make your own relationships with assignment desks, reporters, bookers, etc. (I think I have a leg up on working in PR for this reason… I used to be the media!)
  5. ALWAYS send out an email the minute you hear a story breaking you could be an expert on. It can be as simple as, “I am an expert if you guys are doing a story on such-and-such.” That’s it!
free-media Do you want to promote your brand? You can! Sign up for my FREE e-course to learn how you can by doing PR yourself. Click here to master your PR. For more, email me at Christina@MediaMavenAndMore.com.