3 (More) Mistakes People Make When Trying To Get Featured On TV

Earlier this year, Guide My Brand brought you a blog on 3 mistakes we see people make when trying to get featured on TV. Our tips sparked a lot of interest and discussion on our social media, so we’re back with three additional mistakes you should avoid when trying to book television appearances or any kind of TV publicity. 

We get it. As an entrepreneur, you are so supportive and excited about your brand and company. That’s great! But sometimes an eagerness to spread the word about what you can do works against you. We’re here to help. Here are three ways you might sabotage your shot at a TV interview before you even get in the studio:

1.Assuming connections or friends will make it happen

As a journalist myself, I have plenty of friends and acquaintances in the broadcast field. Does this translate into publicity or tv interviews for every single one of my clients? No. Sure, I’ll pitch my friends, and I can be confident they’ll read my email. But my friends have never accepted a pitch without a great story behind it. Do you know your story? Is it compelling? That’s what will land you an interview. This is also true if you hire a PR company. We hear from potential clients that they want to know what “connections” we have, and they sometimes work under the assumption that this will translate into instant publicity. If anyone promises you their connections will provide you these kinds of results, take our advice and run. 

2. Insisting your fellow team members also be included in the interview

You might be surprised how often this happens. As a former reporter, I’ve asked potential interview subjects for sit-down, TV interviews, only to get told, “I’ll do it if you can also talk to my colleague about [insert slightly different angle here]” or “Sure, but you’ll also need to talk to my client about a new project we’re working on together.”  Micromanaging how a reporter or producer does their job is a really quick way to get them to rescind their interview request. TV reporters typically only get a little over a minute to tell their story, so if we’re asking for an interview with you, it’s often because that’s what we have time for. We’re open to suggestions for more sources, but think about it: Do you like strangers telling you how to do your job?

3. Cold calling or spamming producers/reporters

Don’t call assignment desks or reporters if you don’t have a personal relationship with them. Just don’t. We strongly advise pitching your story via email. It’s the method we most often use at Guide My Brand. In our experience, it’s the best way to catch a producer or reporter at a time that is convenient for them. Calling a reporter or producer in the middle of the day means you’ll almost certainly catch them on deadline and your pitch won’t really get the attention it deserves. 

For more steps to landing great publicity and continuously getting featured on TV and podcasts, check out our other blog posts with advice for authors on book publicity.

Want to learn more about how to land television interviews? Schedule a discovery call with us. We’d love to chat with you about your PR goals and how our team can help meet them.