Media Interviews

 

Preparing to Get Interviews

 

 1.      Know the right objectives.

 

What’s your objective for being on a radio or television show? Perhaps to create a larger market for your new book, but more than that, to proclaim the message God has given you. Don’t come to a show producer or host just to sell books to listeners. There are a ton of authors wanting to be interviewed about their book. How do you stand out? First find out the objectives of the host.

                       

So, what are the objectives of the host? Go ahead and give an answer out-loud. Did you say to bless the listeners with great information and inspiration? Good, that’s the right answer! In a sense you want to entertain them as well. (They go away saying, "That was fun." However if they go away blessed, they will come back to the show tomorrow for more and I, as a host, have another opportunity to bless them.

 

Now, let’s meld the two goals into one. You bring a great message, well prepared, for the purpose of blessing listeners or viewers and I, as the host, will promote you and your book. That’s how it works and that approach affects the way you prepare to be my guest as you will see.

 

2.      Know your message.

 

Can you explain your message in one brief sentence so that others will say, “Oh, tell me more?” When you call, email or send the station your packet, they’ll want to know in 10 seconds what your message is all about and they’ll need to be engaged by what you tell them. So, prepare your 10-second pitch well. Imagine that all the time you’re allotted on the program is 10 seconds. Could you actually capture the interest of an audience in ten seconds? Yes, if you craft a succinct, engaging message statement. For further help on this see the work sheet on Developing a Power Statement in the Ministry Focus Division.

 

3.      Know yourself.

 

Are you interesting? Can you communicate well? Do you talk on-and-on? Is your voice too soft? Do you sound intelligent and colorful? For further help consult the Voice Personality Division.

 

4.      Know the media outlet and their target audience.

 

Many times people try to get interview opportunities by barraging the market. That’s OK. But once you get a nibble, be sure to find out something about that media outlet – even if someone else, like a publicist, gets you the interview. It’s easy to do. Just type the call letters of the station into a web search engine and look at the web site. You’ll find names of people, coverage areas, and get a generally good feel for what they’re all about and who listens to them. You can, most likely, listen to them or watch them on streaming audio or video.