Want to Promote Yourself?

 How to Pass the Media Test 

One test question that journalists and talk show hosts ask of every potential story or guest interview is: Why should my audience care?

 

If they can't come up with a good reason, it's not worth doing the story or the interview. Keeping audiences reading and tuned in is critically important to publications, radio and TV stations because the bigger their audience, the more they can charge for advertisements and commercials.  

 

It's equally important for someone seeking to promote themselves, their book or their business to ask, "Why should an audience care about my message?" Because if the best answer you can come up with is, "Because I (or my book or my business) is terrific," you don't have a message that the media will want.

 

Journalists and talk show hosts aren't interested in promoting an individual, her product or his service; that's what their advertising departments do. Rather, they want to give their audiences interesting, valuable and/or useful content. They know their readers and listeners are investing precious time with them in order to learn something or gain understanding.

 

If you haven't had any luck getting the media to care about you, you may need to demonstrate to them that your expertise and your message will add value to the lives of their audiences.

 

For people with how-to books full of tips and advice, crafting a helpful message is pretty straightforward. Share some of your great tips and advice!

 

But people with memoirs and non-fiction books, or products and services, may have more trouble figuring out how to develop a helpful, useful message that's not basically a sales pitch. If that's you, try not to think quite so literally.

 

We've had many clients who've had successful publicity campaigns based on their memoirs. Their life experiences can offer tremendous value to the media's audiences. Survivors of domestic abuse, for instance, have shared not only hope and inspiration, but practical tips for escaping the violence - and helping others escape it.

 

Michael Uslan, executive producer of the Batman franchise of films, wrote a memoir detailing his decade-long battle to get Hollywood to take a serious Batman film seriously. His message of perseverance in the face of ridiculous odds resonates with anyone who has ever had a dream they wanted to fulfill.

 

These media campaigns weren't about a book or a product or a person - they focused on what each of these people could offer an audience as a result of their experiences and expertise. Their advice, backed up by their eventual success or the lessons learned from defeat, attracted the media. They didn't try to actively sell people anything. Instead, they offered themselves as experts in their fields with something of value for the media's audience.

 

Offering something of yourself for the benefit of others is a great way to earn the trust of media audiences. In not trying to promote yourself, you'll actually achieve a greater degree of self-promotion! Audiences appreciate your expertise and willingness to help. They trust your information and so, by extension, they trust you. They become interested in who you are and what else you have to offer.

 

If your efforts to get publicity have fallen short, pull out your message and ask of it, "Why should audiences care?" A good answer might be, "Because with my message, I help them solve a problem without ever buying a thing." Or, "Because in the few minutes that they read or listen to what I have to say, I teach them something that will make their lives better."

 

Remember, the media will be asking the same question. And if that's the answer they come up with, too, you've just passed one of their biggest tests.

I hope I've helped!

Marsha 

P.S. If you've been struggling to get media exposure, give us a call. 

727-443-7115, ext. 208, or just reply to this message. We'd love to hear from you!

 

Marsha Friedman  

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