Get Featured On TV: 3 More Steps To Getting Interviewed On Television

written by Julie Parise

For an entrepreneur or author, getting featured on TV can be a great credibility and confidence booster. It establishes you as an expert in your field, and shows others that you can speak intelligently on the subject matter that you know so well. 

Plus, it’s kind of fun to see yourself on television, right?

So, how does an entrepreneur or author get featured on TV? A few months back, we gave you three strategies to get started with this blog post. It was such a hit, we’re now back for more. 

Here are 3 more ways to get featured on TV:

Build your social media accounts (especially your Instagram or TikTok following!) 

Social media videos like Instagram reels and TikToks have done wonders to help influencers and entrepreneurs carve out their niche. Use yours to show off your expertise. On your social media pages, create videos to give actionable advice in your field, interact with people looking to learn more about it, and start to build a following.

The benefit to building a fresh, innovative social media following is three-fold: First, it builds your credibility and showcases your ability to speak about your expertise on camera. Second, the engagement numbers will give you an idea of what types of content people like and don’t like. Finally, your social media page gives you something to show producers when you’re pitching them, so they can get an idea of who you are. 

Plus, if you have a large following, it gives them even more incentive to put you on TV — they know if you share the coverage link, they’ll get higher engagement, too. 

Find “newsjacking” opportunities. 

Newsjacking is when you jump on a hot topic or trending news story and use it to demonstrate your expertise. 

For example, one of our clients — a life coach and confidence expert — recently did several television interviews about navigating different opinions on mask and vaccine mandates. Is she an expert on health and sciences? No, but she added her own expertise to insert her knowledge into a trending story. 

So, pay attention to the headlines to see what new information or perspective you can add. The tough part is that the news moves really fast these days, so if you have an idea — jump on it quickly! 

Know how to reach producers, and when to follow up.

Email is the fastest, most reliable way to make sure your pitch gets to the right person. But producers and reporters get hundreds of emails a day. If you don’t get a response, wait 1-2 weeks and send a brief (1-2 sentence) follow-up email. 

It’s okay to follow up via other methods but skip the phone. Chances are, if you get a producer on the phone for a cold pitch, they’ll just tell you to hang up and send them an email. 

But there are other ways to follow up that don’t include the phone or yet another follow-up email. Does the person you’re trying to reach have a public Instagram or Twitter page? Try sending a message on one of those platforms, instead. It’s a bit more personal and some people may be more likely to see your message there instead of a flooded inbox. 

Want to learn how to pitch yourself for television appearances? Check out our TV pitching program where we show you real pitches that landed television interviews and give you tips for coming up with angles producers love!