Publicity and public outreach are one of the best ways you can get the word about you, and most importantly, your brand. TV shows, podcasts, and magazines are great ways for you to spread your publicity and let the world know more about your existence. Located below is a step by step guide for how to get featured on award winning TV shows and podcasts. 

Step #1:

Build a list of magazines, podcasts, and TV shows you would like to be featured on. Most importantly, the media outlet must be a good fit. In order to determine whether or not the podcast is a good fit for you, or to find other podcasts, we recommend following these steps: 

    1. Do you know anyone that has a podcast, or a family/friend who has been featured on a podcast or show? Local community radio shows are a great way to get the word out there. You can find out about your local radio station through the local newspaper or family friends.
    2. Look for author podcasts/shows which are located in the Relevant New and Noteworthy category on iTunes. These podcasts are growing, and they also need more interviews with authors like you. 
    3. Podcasts/shows which have content uploaded on a regular basis are a good match. You also want to join podcasts which are not solo podcasts but guest podcasts. Another great way to see whether or not the podcast would be a good fit for you is to check out their audience reach. You can’t directly check their reach since it’s not publicly available, but you can make an estimate based on their social media engagement, number of Twitter followers, and the reputability of the people they have hosted in the past. 

Step #2:

Once you have filtered out which shows or magazines you would like to be on based on their reach and resemblance to your brand, add their social media profiles and contact information on an Excel spreadsheet. Especially list down their LinkedIn information (and you will see why this comes later in handy). 

Step #3:

Watch their shows and make notes on how you found them when you reached out. See if there is anything about their show you can relate with, or any topics they discuss which you feel you can contribute to. Podcasters who upload content regularly spend hours thinking about what content they can upload, so if you can come up with an angle and do the work for them, your pitch would be much more appealing. 

Step #4:

Sort out which individuals are closely connected to you by first and second connection on LinkedIn (if you want to learn more about connections on LinkedIn read this article here). I would recommend reaching out to people who have a medium-large sized audience, first-second connections on LinkedIn, and people who have a show which closely resembles your brand.  

Step #5:

Create an intriguing subject line to catch their attention. They are probably reading anywhere from 50-100 emails a day, so in order to catch their attention you have to provide an intriguing headline. To create an intriguing headline you may want to add a question mark in the end. Within the email, you want to focus on three aspects. The three aspects you would like to focus on as mentioned in the article kaidavis.com are the following. Located over here is also an article which includes an email pitch deck template. 

    1. Demonstrate your value to the audience
    2. Show that you have done your research
    3. Show that you have shown genuine interest in the podcast
    4. Give a clear call to action to have you on the show

Step #6:

Send at least 2-3 follow up emails if they don’t respond within a couple of weeks. Don’t be annoying and constantly send them emails, they will notice and ignore you. You don’t want to approach from the perspective that you want to be on their show, but rather that you are offering free value. 

Step #7:

Sometimes the best way to reach out to individuals is on social media. Depending on who you reach out to, the person may get hundreds of comments they don’t even have time replying to. If you want to have the opportunity to connect with them, I would recommend seeing what times and dates they post. The second they post, reply with a comment which relates to their post and provides them value. If you consistently do that, they will recognize your brand, and may even serve as a mentor.

Step #8:

Once someone responds and gives you a time that works for them, make it as easy for them to work with you. As soon as you receive the email, it’s recommended to reply with several times that work for you. Even better, if you can set up a calendar like Calendly, they can easily schedule a time with a click without the back and forth.

Step #9

Repeat the process and start getting more podcasts and TV shows scheduled on your calendar. 

Red Penguin Books also hosts a TV show and podcast. If you are interested in applying to the podcast and TV show, click on the application form here.