It’s challenging to become the person everyone wants to interview. However, by following these five steps, you’ll be on your way to getting that coveted spot as a subject of intense media attention. Let’s face it; when you see or hear individuals on television or the radio, you can’t help but feel a bit envious. You wish it had been you… You’ve been working so hard that you’re confident it’s you. But when will it be your turn? The terrible aspect is that you already know that when your customers see one of your rivals on television or a podcast but don’t see you, they often ponder whether they should go with that other person instead. Therefore, it would help if you positioned yourself as an expert, and having your questions answered by radio, podcast, or television shows may help you achieve that. So, by portraying oneself as a subject matter expert, you may speed up the process.
Ways to Become the Person Everyone Wants to Interview:
Step 1: Face-to-face networking.
It’s all about who you know when it comes down to it. Because of a friendship, he formed with Tory Johnson, affiliate marketer Zac Johnson came to New York City to perform an interview at ABC Studios. Zac first met Tory at a Blog World Expo, where he was able to spend some quality time with her. Zac could get his foot in the door because he put aside the time and money to meet with influencers. When he received the call to interview Tory, he was glad he had taken the risk. It wasn’t simply a phone interview, and obtaining a few lines from him wasn’t the goal. With the experience, he received the entire treatment: make-up, producer guidance, and five minutes in front of a national audience. Never undervalue the importance of face-to-face networking. To meet the proper individuals, you don’t necessarily have to spend a few thousand dollars and go across the nation. At events like these, you could run encounter journalists:
- Local Twitter meet-up.
- Chamber of Commerce in the area.
The goal is to try new things and create time in your calendar to network. Also, don’t forget to attend events geared at journalists. The top 12 events to participate in in 2012 are listed below.
Step 2: Look for interviews on the radio and podcasts.
The second stage is to seek chances to become the person people want to interview. For example, look for radio broadcasters or podcasters that need expert interviews.
- On Google, type in “radio + your topic matter” or “podcast + your subject matter.”
- Look through the podcast collection on iTunes.
- Look for podcasts on sites like PodcastAlley.com and Podbean.com.
Contact radio or podcast hosts through their websites after selecting those you’re interested in. Then, call or send an email, whatever is most convenient for you. The podcaster will usually manage all of their bookings, while the radio program presenter, mainly if it is a popular radio show, may hire a booking assistant or producer. Whatever the case may be, don’t be scared to approach them. Make your proposal unique to them and their program, emphasizing how your appearance will help them rather than you. It is not your objective to sell your items or services to their consumers but to educate or amuse them. If possible, provide a valuable piece of information in your pitch. This might be original research or a personal experience that would be beneficial to your potential audience. Sign up for radioguestlist.com as a last resort. This free service will send you an email every day with a list of interview possibilities from podcasts, online TV programs, radio, satellite, and television producers searching for experts on a particular topic.
Step 3: Make Contact with the Press.
The next stage is to make contact with journalists. One approach to finding journalists is to use Google, but I’ve found that paying attention to the bylines of articles is the best option. Here’s how it appears on TechCrunch:
Here’s how it’s written in Wired:
You may view all of the author’s articles for the magazine by clicking the name link. You can contact the journalist by clicking the email button. If you decide to get a journalist, you must have something meaningful to say to them. You explain why the journalist should use you as a resource and why you are a resource. Alternatively, you may pitch an article idea to that individual. A “hello” should not be sent by email. It’ll almost certainly be hidden or erased. Follow the journalist on social media if you wish to interact with them and learn more about him. But suppose you have anything to give the journalist. Here’s how to write a convincing email:
- “I wanted to offer my skills to you as an expert in this subject topic,” he says.
- Explain why they should trust you as a reliable source – “I’ve done such and such with this prominent organization for the last 12 years.”
- Include evidence – provide a fact or statistic that might pique the journalist’s interest. For example, let them know if you’ve observed that they’ve been writing on a particular subject and you have anything to add to their views.
- Give them a narrative — keep it short and sweet, no more than three or four words – but tell them an anecdote that will resonate with their audience.
- Never attach a document to an email; instead, provide a link to supporting documentation. Instead, attach a link if you have an image or data that may be shared online.
Step 4: Help a Reporter Out by Subscribing (HARO).
Subscribing to Help a Reporter Out is a terrific method to be interviewed by major media outlets. Peter Shankman launched this free resource as a Facebook group roughly two years ago. It quickly grew in popularity, with more than 100,000 customers and 50,000 reporters utilizing the program. HARO sources have been cited by almost 30,000 journalists, including The New York Times, ABC News, and The Huffington Post.
- Joe Cockrell proposed a story, and it was picked up by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Good Morning America, CNN, FBN, and dozens of other television stations around the nation, including Inside Edition. On CNN.com that week, the story was the “most seen” clip.
- Randall Heath proposed a concept to Cold Sweep Solutions and received an hour-long phone interview with a Wall Street Journal writer, who eventually published the story.
- According to David Lewis of Operations Inc, the New York Times, Reuters, and MSNBC have all hired Operations Inc as subject matter experts. It also allowed them to appear on numerous local radio news stations.
The service operates in the following way: you will get three emails each day detailing the requirements of the reporters. You check the list, which takes about 10 seconds, to see if there’s anything you can assist with. The demands span from space travel to blogging to sports medicine, with each email including around 15 to 30 requests. You then contact the reporter if you locate anything you can assist with. Please do not spam the reporter or propose an alternative issue; instead, use the template I supplied above. Keep in mind that these reporters clamored for sources for that article, so stay on topic.
Step 5: Keep up with the latest trends.
Another method I’ve discovered that aids journalists are keeping track of trends and warning them as soon as feasible. Reporters welcome your suggestions because they need more eyes and ears to keep top of topics. Keep in mind that it must be relevant and valuable to their subject of interest. This implies you’ll have to educate yourself on what this journalist requires. Follow them on social media, share their work, and engage in conversation with them. The more you can build a rapport with a reporter, the more likely you are to be successful when presenting them an idea. But how can you keep up with the latest trends?
- Google Trends and Yahoo’s Buzz Log are two examples of extensive trending tools.
- Use specialized trending tools, such as Twitter Stats and Trends Map (they allow you to localize the trends, which can be handy if you are hoping to help out a local journalist).
- Listen to others – whether it’s your customers, friends, acquaintances, or family, and pay attention to what they say and their needs. You may be able to find a link between that and what a reporter stated at times.
- To remain on top of trends, read many articles and subscribe to as many blogs and periodicals as feasible.
Make a note of any facts or trends you come across in a notepad or an Excel spreadsheet. Then, when you have the opportunity, pitch the reporter. Remember that it’s ideal to be as prompt as possible, so submit it as soon as possible if you have a juicy tip.
Step 6: Make something extraordinary.
Finally, you can become the person people want to interview by producing something unique. With his book Permission Marketing, Seth Godin established himself as a thought leader. With his blog, Robert Scoble accomplished this feat. Many individuals have become famous as a result of their YouTube videos. Remember that building anything extraordinary takes time. Take Christina Perri and Barrett Yerestian, for example. When Perri and Barrett first met, she was a singer/songwriter who worked as a barista. She’d been attempting to build a name for herself on YouTube for four years but had been unsuccessful. Her time was approaching. Christina had been working on a song, and the two created and produced a preliminary version of it. She told a buddy who works on the So You Think You Can Dance program about it. A buddy loved the music, but he didn’t believe it was ready. She pushed the two of them to improve their skills. They did, and the game was dubbed “Jar of Hearts.” They returned it to her So You Think You Can Dance pal. The buddy liked it so much that he included it in the program this time. That was the point at which they became renowned overnight. The song became one of the most popular tracks on iTunes and Amazon that night, and Perri’s name became the most searched phrase on Google. She finally appeared on CBS Early and has since performed in front of a live audience. She’s getting a lot of inquiries, and significant labels are interested in working with her.
Conclusion
Other offers will eventually pour in when you obtain that first interview and push it around the internet. That was true for several HARO success stories, and I know from personal experience that I am approached with requests for more interviews when I speak at a conference. When you think about it, those two minutes on So You Think You Can Dance altered Christina’s life, but there were years of hard effort behind those two minutes. Both artists had day jobs and other obligations, yet they found time to concentrate on and improve their craft. So, what is the moral of the story? Are you ready?
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