The MEDIA PROS Show

Welcome to The Media PROS Show, the show that gives you quick, simple tips to grow your business by serving as an expert on your topic in the media. Learn how to get all the TV, radio, podcast, magazine, newspaper, and online interviews and appearances you want - and how to shine in those media appearances. I'm Dr. David Geier, orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine specialist, and media health and wellness expert. Now 33 episodes into this show, we have talked a lot about how to get more interviews to get your potential clients', customers', or patients' attention and how to be great in those interviews so they become your actual clients. customers, or patients. I feel like this is a good time to take a break and let you focus on implementing the tips I've offered you in these 33 shows. Don't get me wrong. I have tons of tips and strategies that can help you get more and more media to boost your business or practice. In fact, I haven't even used any of the modules of my coaching program as tips on this show. And my MEDIA PROS coaching program is 12 one-hour modules filled with strategies and action steps. And I haven't used any of it here. Plus, I have a list of tips, probably 50 or 60 tips long, that I can discuss if or when I resume this show. But don't think I'm abandoning you. You have all the media tips and advice in these episodes. But I need to focus on my media work and my live show on social media, and my practice honestly. And yes, I'm still taking on coaching clients who want to become MEDIA PROS. And who knows, maybe I'll resume these shows more in the coming weeks and months. After all, I want more experts in all kinds of fields who can explain complex topics in ways that the average person can understand. I want experts who want to help people in some way in their lives, and doing that on TV, or radio or podcasts, or newspaper, magazine, or online interviews is a great way to do that. Now please remember, that just like my website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more. Also, pick up my FREE eBook - The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.

Much of the media system I teach the clients I work with one-on-one, and I will teach you as a listener of this show, is how to get interviews by pitching a topic to a reporter, writer, show host or producer. You can't just sit back and expect people to reach out to you. They need to know you, know what you are an expert in, and know how you can help them. We have talked before about creating a pitch file or notebook to collect ideas to pitch reporters and producers. We have talked about how you can find out who to pitch. We have talked a little bit about how to pitch. But once you have the topic, and once you have written your pitch email, you have to actually send it. That's when you have to find that person’s email address so you can send that pitch. Where can you get that email? Sometimes it's very easy, and sometimes you have to do a little work. But with almost every media member, you can find their email address to pitch them. Bios on their work website The first place to start is the newspaper, magazine, TV network, radio network, podcast website, or online publication site. Go to their bio, and very often their email address will be at the end of it. If you are looking for a reporter, journalist or writer, you can click to read one of their articles. Then click on their name in the byline or the article. It will usually take you to their bio or their list of recent articles. Very often their email address is in there somewhere. Their personal websites Personal websites are a great way to find email addresses, especially for writers - and freelance writers. Often, they collect the articles they write and post them on their personal websites as sort of a portfolio or resume for future work. There will almost certainly be a contact form or a mention of their email address. Yes, this is more of a personal email address than one at that media outlet, but you can apologize in your pitch email for contacting them here. They will understand and give you a better email to use for future pitches. Twitter bios People in the media very often post their email addresses in their Twitter bios. Producers, writers, and reporters often love hearing ideas for stories. Putting their email address where people who care about the news is a great way to attract those ideas. Look in their bios. The address might not be something you can copy and paste, though. It might say jsmith and have a space and the word "at" instead of the @ symbol, then another space, then the domain, like gmail, then a space, then the word "dot" instead of the actual dot, then com. They don't want spam bots to fill their email, and that's a good way to do it. LinkedIn LinkedIn is another great place to find email addresses. Find that person in LinkedIn. Then there should be a box to click to see how to contact them. For many people, they will list a personal or work website, and maybe some other social media accounts. But I've found many people in the media will put their email addresses here as well. Now you can send an InMail message to them through LinkedIn, but I wouldn't start with that. Use that as a last resort. If you do that, make sure to apologize and ask if there is a better email where you can send a quick pitch. Many people don't like being pitched by people they don't know yet through LinkedIn, so I wouldn't recommend doing that right off the bat. But if you do find their email, and you do pitch them and get an interview, yes, add them as a connection on LinkedIn. You can figure it out based on email addresses of other people at that network or publication. Finally, this is the method that seems to work the best, and yet, very few people try it. Usually on the publication or network's website, there will be an email address or two for a host or writer or producer. Not all of them, for sure, but at least one or two. Almost every media outlet uses the same domain, like fast company.com or wrvu.

In episode 16 of this show, I discussed what the one goal of every media interaction you have should be - every email, every phone call, every conversation before and after an interview - and with every reporter, writer, journalist, show host, show producer - everyone, every time. That goal is to help them do their job, to make their work easier. And the reason you do that is to make them think of you whenever they need an expert in your area. Many of the interviews you will do will come about fairly quickly. And you need to be ready to help at a moment's notice. The more people in the media can trust you to respond to their emails or calls quickly and talk to them, even do their interviews, as soon as possible, the more they will reach out. You will become their go-to expert in your field, and they will use you even more than you expect. By being helpful, and being responsive, they will help you get more customers, clients or patients. One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I build a system for getting media interviews, and build a database of reporters, writers, show hosts and producers who you help on a regular basis, so that they reach out to you over and over to do interviews for their shows or publications. Now please remember, that just like my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more. Also, pick up my FREE eBook - The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.

One of the most important components of a system for getting more media interviews is a pitch file. This is a folder, or maybe a notebook, or some software online - I use Evernote - that allows you to capture ideas and articles for use later. In whatever field you work in, you will have one or more topics that are right up your alley. You should definitely pitch those ideas to reporters, producers and show hosts. You just can't keep pitching that same topic over and over. Instead, you want a large number of ideas ready for when you want to pitch one of them. That's why it's important to have somewhere to put ideas right when you see or read them instead of having to remember them later. It's also important to come up with ideas that will interest those reporters and producers. And one of the best places I have found to come up with interesting pitch ideas is People magazine. One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I create a system for collecting ideas for topics you can discuss in the media, topics that will get you booked on the TV or radio shows or podcasts that can help you grow your business or practice. Now please remember, on this website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more. Also, pick up my FREE eBook - The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.

Today we are going to discuss a problem I personally struggle with in interviews quite a bit. I expect that most experts do, even if they don't realize it. When you do TV, radio or podcast interviews, whether they are live or recorded, you want to avoid weak words and phrases. One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I pitch a TV or radio show host or producer or podcast host. When you get the interview, we help you craft your message and talking points and predict questions you will be asked. Then we practice your answers to hopefully eliminate any weak or filler words or phrases that make you sound unprofessional. Now please remember, that just like my website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more. Also, pick up my FREE eBook - The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.

This week's media tip might be a little controversial, but I feel strongly about it. You need to be very careful whose advice you listen to when it comes to interviews, whose feedback to get and act on, and who to ignore. Never take unsolicited advice. For your media work, focus on the opinions of people who matter. Who know what you are trying to achieve by doing TV, radio, podcast, newspaper or magazine interviews. Who you trust to give you advice that makes you better. Especially early on, you will get two kinds of unsolicited advice. On one hand, you will get friends and family that tell you did great, even if you didn't. They are trying to be nice and build your confidence. But you don't want or need that. You want people who tell you what you can do better. And let's face it, most of your friends and family don't know the media to give you tips that actually help. And then you will get the haters. People who don't know you that love to bring others down. It's especially bad on social media, these anonymous people who do nothing but criticize people. When you start posting your interviews on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, these trolls will make fun of your appearance or something you said or really anything at all. Don't listen to that at all. There is nothing worthwhile about any of it. What you do want is advice from people whose opinion you value, and who actually know what they are talking about. Maybe you become friends with a writer at the newspaper where you do a lot of interviews, or the news director of the TV station you appear on occasionally. You can ask for 1 or 2 tips to make your interviews better. If you have done what I tell my clients all the time - to help hosts or producers or reporters do their jobs more easily - then they will gladly take a few minutes to give you some tips. If you work with a publicist, he or she will give you feedback. And it's usually good advice. They want you to be great in interviews because they want to get their other clients on those same shows or in the same publications. Or you could work with a media coach. This is the strategy that will help you improve the fastest, in my opinion. I've worked with three media coaches specifically, and several other coaches who have helped me develop skills I use in the media. A media coach can review every interview and identify things you could do better. Then he or she can help you prepare for the next interview so you can get better and better, which gets you asked to do more and more interviews. A media coach can be expensive, but if you want to be great, this is the fastest and most reliable way of doing it. One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I figure out what shows or publications are best for helping you grow your business, pitch reporters for those publications or hosts and producers for those shows, work to make your performance amazing, then make sure you have the feedback to do even better the next time, someone you can trust to give you honest feedback and who knows what he or she is talking about, maybe even me as your media coach. Now please remember, that just like my website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and f...

This week's tip seems so obvious that I shouldn't even need to do an episode on it. But I see experts in every field - medicine, law, the financial sector, real estate and so many others - they do it throughout their interviews. I'm not even sure they know they are doing it. But it can not only detract from the interview, but it can also eliminate any chance you have of converting someone in the audience to a customer, client or patient. And that enormous mistake is using jargon, or technical language. Language you use every day in your job but language the average person, the average listener or viewer, doesn't know. It's really hard to avoid using jargon and technical language. We use it all day and every day at work. We have done training specifically to make us experts in our fields. But our customers, clients and patients don't know those words, that language. And definitely the audience of whatever media is consuming your interview doesn't know it. Talk in language the average person can understand. If you have to use a technical term, make sure you immediately explain what that term means. An easy way to make sure you are not using words and phrases that are too complicated is to explain your topic to a child or adolescent. You will see pretty quickly if they don't know what you're talking about. But it's more than simply avoiding complicated words. Use stories or anecdotes, or simple soundbites that make the reader, listener or viewer understand what you're talking about and why it's important to them. Compare the issue to something they have seen, maybe something a celebrity has dealt with. But find ways to make your message and talking points not only memorable but relatable. It takes work, but it will be worth it. It will be much more likely for that viewer, listener or reader to think, "Hey, I like her. I have that same problem. Maybe I should call her office!" One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I prepare for your next interview, come up with your message and talking points, anticipate possible questions you will be asked, and practice answering those questions without jargon and technical language so that the viewers, listeners and readers get the information they need from you but also like you and consider working with you in the future. Now please remember, that just like my website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more. Pick up my FREE eBook - The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.

In episode 4 of this show, I discussed all the reasons podcasts are a great medium for growing your business. Go back and listen to that episode if you missed it. But podcasts work two ways. You can host your own podcast, which can be great for a number of reasons. In a bonus episode I dropped right after episode 20, I interviewed a podcast host, Dr. Brent Lacey, a physician who has built a financial coaching business through hosting a podcast. Check that one out too if you are considering hosting your own podcast. Another great use of podcasts to build your practice and business is through being interviewed on different shows. Not only can a podcast interview be fun - after all, they are usually a lot longer than TV and radio interviews, and you can tell stories and give longer answers - but they can also be good practice as you look to do more media. Just like every media interview you will do, though, you need to prepare so that interview goes great. In this week's show, I want to give you 6 simple tips to prepare so your next podcast interview goes really well, and maybe you get customers, clients or patients out of it. Listen to the show. All podcasts are different. You need to know going in how that podcast usually goes. Is it rapid-fire, back-and-forth questions? Is the tone of the show light-hearted and joking? Does the host let guests sell a product or service at the end or promote themselves during the episode? Listen to a few episodes before you do the interview - and even before you pitch the show in the first place - to make sure you fit what that host likes to do on his or her show. Develop your message and talking points. This is a critical step before any interview, whether it's TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, online publication, or yes, a podcast. I work on it with my one-on-one coaching clients because it makes your interview much, much better. And it's a skill I'm still working on improving myself, even to this day. You want to go into the podcast with an over-arching message to share with the listener, the one thing they should remember and do. Then you want to have three or four talking points to support the message. These can be statistics, stories, personal experiences, quotes, or soundbites. Obviously, you aren't going to answer every question with this exact script you create. But you will use it as a guide to what you want to say. Go with the flow and answer the questions the host asks, but when you have the opportunity, you can pivot to your message and one of your talking points. Have stories to tell. I'm going to do an entire episode at some point on the power of story. The fact of the matter is that people remember stories, especially if they are told well, much more than they remember facts or statistics. And since most podcasts are at least 30 minutes long, you have time to give longer answers, and to tell stories. Tell stories of why you do what you do and why it's important to you. Stories of people who have had problems like the one you're discussing on this podcast, and how they overcame that problem, with your help, of course. People love stories. The podcast host will love you if you have stories to tell, and so will the listeners. Show personality. Again, the length and nature of podcasts lend themselves to a little more fun than you can have on TV or the radio. Enjoy it. If the host asks you personal questions, go with it. Show a lighter side, a funny side. Be willing and able to answer off-the-wall questions. Over the years, I've been asked about my favorite breakfast cereal, my favorite cartoon, my preferred type of alcohol after a sporting event, my walk-up song, and much more. Have fun. I promise the listeners will enjoy it more than if you are boring and just stick to the script. Have a call to action. Go into the interview knowing where you want to drive listeners. The host will almost certainly give you the opportunity at the end of th...

You've heard me mention on this show many times before that I'm the medical expert for two TV stations here in Charleston, South Carolina. I am actually working on a third station in a different market. But needless to say, I've done a lot of TV interviews. Before COVID-19, I was in studio at ABC News 4 every Tuesday afternoon for a weekly 4 Your Health segment. The host would interview me for 2 to 4 minutes about a medical topic. Once I was offered this opportunity, I reached out to the station's makeup artist. She didn't work for them, but she would come to the station and do a guest's makeup for $35 per appearance. It was really cheap. But she couldn't get out to the station on Tuesday afternoons at 5:00. So, I went without makeup. I watched the video of those first few interviews on ABC. You can probably find links to them on my media coverage page on my website - drdavidgeier.com. But I noticed that I looked washed out compared to whoever the host was interviewing me. For men, but especially women, makeup is critical. Even if you don't have dark shadows under your eyes or blemishes on your face you want to hide, it's important to use at least some makeup. The lights in the studio on set are very bright. And they will make you look pale, washed out. Especially compared to the host, who will certainly be wearing makeup. I am not going to get into the specifics of how to do makeup. Women definitely know more about it than I do. But TV makeup is a little different than makeup in real life. If you are going to be doing a lot of TV interviews, you might want to talk to a makeup artist who does TV to get some suggestions for you and your complexion. But even for men, you want some basic makeup. And here is what my media coach at the time suggested when she saw those first few interviews on ABC. There are wipes that remove oils from your face. Use these wipes to eliminate that shine off your face - and your cheekbones and forehead especially. Then apply some powder to add a little bit of color but to further reduce the shine. Again, for more extensive makeup application, talk to a makeup artist for tips to looking your best on TV. And if you are lucky enough to have an in-studio interview in a large market like New York or Los Angeles, the station will likely have an in-house makeup artist who knows the studio, the set and lights and will make you look great. And even doing remote interviews, you should consider it. If you're watching this episode on YouTube, you might not realize it, but I have a little bit of powder on my face. If you do remote interviews and use the equipment I've suggested - especially lights for the interview - they can make you look pale and washed out. Or they can show an unattractive shine you don't want. So, consider it for remote interviews, although you might not need as much as you would under the bright TV studio lights. One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I find shows that would be helpful for growing your business or practice, pitch the host or producer of that show in a way that makes them want to interview you, and then prepare to do your best on that TV interview, including easy tips to look your best on camera. Now please remember, that just like my website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your busi...

Today's tip is very simple in theory, but it's so easy not to do. And it can disrupt an interview if you forget to do it. And occasionally it can ruin your interview. I am the medical expert for ABC News 4 and FOX 24 in Charleston, South Carolina. Before COVID-19, I appeared on TV, live in studio, every Tuesday during their 5 PM show. We did a live interview, where one of the hosts would interview me about a medical topic. Sometimes they picked the topic, but often I picked the topic. I'd would arrive to the studio around 4:45. I was usually in the B block, going on around 5:12. So I'd go into the green room, check my clothes, maybe remove oil on my face and apply powder if I had come from clinic or and not after I showered at home. Then I'd look over my notes before they were ready for me. At the commercial break before my interview, one of the cameramen or women would come get me from the green room, show me where to sit, and help me put on the microphone. I tell you this because there was a huge sign on the door into the studio I'd see every week walking from the green room into the set. It said, "Turn OFF your cell phone." Turn OFF your cell phone. I would always chuckle. Can you imagine if you're on live TV and your phone rings? It would be a disaster. But it doesn't even have to be the possibility someone calls you during your interview. If it's on, your phone will distract you. Even if you put it on silent. Alerts for text messages, reminders, calendar appointments, social media notifications, new emails – All of them are distractions. Your phone can distract you, even if viewers and listeners can't hear it. On silent, maybe the host or the viewer or listener doesn't hear it. But you will hear it, or at least feel it. And it will disrupt your train of thought. Or it might cause you to miss some or all of the question the host asks you. Those split-second pauses are awkward. Not hearing the question or losing your train of thought are even more awkward. And they make you look unprofessional. I know this too seems to be a small one. One that doesn't matter that much. But trust me, it does. Cell phones distract you during TV, radio and podcast interviews For TV, obviously it matters. The phone ringing disaster is surely what the ABC and FOX people were worried about, but those pings and alerts for everything on your phone would be almost as bad. I used to leave my phone in the green room so that there was no way I could be distracted by it. But those subtle distractions, even if no one hears the alert, are bad for you too. On radio or podcast, that makes sense. I've told you before that you should never do a radio interview by cell phone. Go back and listen to that episode for the reasons why. But even when using a landline or voice over IP line, turn off your cell phone or put it in another room. Notifications are bad for print and online publication interviews, too. Even for print and online publication interviews, get into the habit of turning off your cell phone. Or turn off the alerts while you are on the phone if you're using your cell phone to talk to the reporter. Those alerts are rude. Plus, you want to give them your full focus and attention. The interview will go better if you aren't distracted by what's happening on your phone. Nothing on it is more important than the interview anyway. So turn your cell phone off completely. Or at the very least, put it on Airplane Mode. Don't just turn it to silent. Turn off notifications on your computer before an interview And if you are doing a TV or podcast interview on your computer, by Zoom or Skype or similar software, make sure you turn your computer on Do Not Disturb. I know my iPhone is linked to my MacBook Pro laptop. I get texts through Messages and calls through FaceTime. I have the alerts turned off, so there is no sound, but I don't even want to see the popup that appears in the upper right of the screen.

Regardless of what you might have heard, radio can be a great way to grow your business. I know a lot of people argue otherwise, but I beg to differ. As I have said in a prior episode, radio and podcasts are the only media where you can reach people while they are driving in their cars. 128 million people drive to and from work in their cars each day. This is a huge captive audience that you can tap into to help people and get more customers, clients and patients. Now for a small number of radio shows, you will go into the studio to record them. In my experience, these are almost always pre-recorded interviews. But most radio interviews you will do will be done live and you will appear by phone with the host. In this episode, I want to share six tips to help you sound great on your next radio interview. Audio quality is key since there is no visual for the listener to see. If your audio quality is bad, the listener will focus on that and not what you're saying. Plus, these tips are all easy to implement, so you can focus on the topic and the host's questions, knowing you will sound great. Radio interview tip #1: Use a landline. I've discussed this tip before on this show, but it's so important that it's worth re-emphasizing. Your audio quality through a cell phone is terrible. Remember, the host is most likely in a studio (unless they are on location somewhere). That studio has a professional microphone, sound insulation and more. He or she will sound great. You need to sound as good as possible too. You want the listener focused on your message and what you're trying to explain to them or offer them. If they struggle to hear and understand you, your message won't land. You'll miss most of the benefits of doing the interview in the first place. Plus, cell phone calls drop. All the time. The signal quality can be unpredictable. Use a landline or Voice over IP line like Skype or a line from your internet provider to call the radio station. Radio interview tip #2: Use a phone with a headset but test it first. Some very sensitive landline phones can pick up sounds of the phone rubbing against your face, or your beard if you have one. A headset can eliminate those noises. Plus, if the interview will be a longer one, a headset can keep your hand from falling asleep. I have a cordless phone that has a headset, but I don't use the headset. The first time I tried it, the producer told me it sounded like I was in a tunnel. Having said that, some headsets sound really good. Test it first. Have a conversation with someone using the headset part of the time and without it part of the time. Make sure to record the conversation so you can see for yourself which sounds better. Radio interview tip #3: Use sound padding. The goal here is to eliminate or minimize echo. There are a few ways to insulate your room for sounds to prevent echoes. You can create soundproofing board. If you are watching the video version of this episode on YouTube, you won't see them. But there are 4 boards behind the camera and lights that absorb the sound of my voice before it hits the walls and bounces off. They are easy to make. I got four pieces of plywood - 4 feet by 3 feet - although the size isn't that important. The bigger, the better, as long as it works in the room. Then I covered the pieces of plywood with 1 foot by 1-foot pieces of foam soundproof padding I got on Amazon. Just search "soundproof padding" on Amazon. That kind of soundproofing works really well, but you might not even need them. But please beware of hardwood floors. Make sure there is a carpet or rug on the floor. Otherwise, the hardwood floor will cause an echo. Radio interview tip #4: Stand up. Standing up will give you more energy, and you will sound more energetic and enthusiastic. Plus, in my experience, it helps you focus a little more on what the host is saying or asking. Radio interview tip #5: Turn off the radio or internet feed for ...

I recently got back from a trip to Florida. I was gone for three days, and I packed for fun. Yes, I brought my laptop in case I needed to do a little work in the morning before we set out, but I was there for vacation, not work. When I got an email from a TV show host I've worked with for years asking to do an interview one morning, I immediately found out I was in trouble. I could do the interview by Zoom through my laptop, but I didn't have a few essentials to look and sound great. In this episode, I am going to share a few media essentials you should consider putting in your travel bag to always have with you so you can look and sound great doing an interview while on the road. External webcam The video quality of your laptop’s built-in webcam is terrible. Its resolution is probably no better than 720p, but you also have no way to zoom in or out. Instead, get an external webcam that connects to your computer through a USB connection. External microphone and headphones Just like the poor video quality, the audio quality of your laptop’s built-in microphone is terrible. too. Use a microphone that connects to your computer through a USB connection. You can get one small enough to travel in a tech case that still sounds great. I have a Logitech Brio webcam that fits both roles. It has an HD camera with a mic that's certainly good enough for a quick interview. It's not a professional sounding mic, but it works for an interview you need to do quickly. Also, using your computer's speakers to hear the host can sometimes cause an echo, so using headphones or Air Pods can help. Adaptors for the webcam and/or microphone. Most devices have USB-A connections, but newer laptops, like my MacBook Pro, only have USB-C inputs. Make sure you have what you need to use your webcam and microphone. I had my Logitech Brio webcam in my travel tech kit, but I didn't have a USB-C to USB-A adaptor. External lights The lighting can be a huge challenge in a hotel room. You don't want an open window behind you, as you will appear very dark. But the hotel lamps are often not very bright, and they are usually not somewhere useful for the interview. Buy one or two external lights that clip to your laptop. These are inexpensive, small, and make you look much better than you will with the lighting in the hotel room. With respect to the lights, look at your appearance before the interview, and make sure there are no mirrors behind you that will reflect those lights. Ethernet internet or the premium internet from the hotel The complimentary Wi-Fi in a hotel room can be spotty with an entire hotel's worth of guests using it. If it's an option, pay the extra fee that day to get the faster internet. It's usually more reliable with video signal quality. Better yet, if there is a way to connect the internet directly through ethernet to your computer, do it. If you aren't sure your internet is good enough, test your internet upload speed with the Speedtest software. You want an upload speed of 10 MBPS, but ideally, 50 MBPS is better. Here, upload speed is what matters, as your audio and video have to reach the station quickly and cleanly. Professional clothes to wear You don't have to travel with a suit. Just have something that looks like you're an adult who knows what you're talking about. Not only did I not have a suit, I didn't even have a scrub shirt, like the one I'm wearing now. You can see it if you're watching the video version of this show. Since I did that interview in a Nike t-shirt (seriously), I learned my lesson. Now I have a scrub shirt in my travel suitcase, and it will stay there so I don't forget it on any trip. Work with me to master remote TV interviews One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I decide what types of interviews you should be doing to grow your business. Then we identify exactly what equipment you need - a basic level and a pro level - depending on h...

Most of the physicians and other experts I've talked to who want to do more interviews usually focus on TV. And that makes sense. Right or wrong, people seem to think that being on TV gives you more credibility. It can also help you reach more people than other media, depending on the show. I do a lot of TV interviews, and with COVID-19, most of them are remote interviews I do from my home studio. So, if you want to do TV interviews to get more patients, customers and clients, you will probably be doing interviews by Zoom or Skype remotely. Today's tip is very simple. Whenever possible, use an ethernet connection directly into your computer for your internet and not Wi-Fi. Learn why on this episode. Wi-Fi is very unreliable. I have great internet in my home office, where this studio is, but I still don't trust it 100 percent. Wi-Fi is too slow for remote TV interviews For one thing, your internet download and uploads speeds by Wi-Fi are much slower than they are when connected through ethernet. Test it for yourself with the Speedtest app. I have gigabit internet service, but when you test the speeds, I really have about 900 MBPS download and 750-850 MBPS upload. But when I connect through Wi-Fi in my house, those speeds drop to about 300 or 400 MBPS. Now those speeds are clearly fast enough for a good interview. Remember, you want an absolute minimum on 10 MBPS upload speed (upload, not download is the key), but I'd prefer you have a minimum of 50 MBPS. If you have to use Wi-Fi, make sure you have internet at least that fast right before the interview. Wi-Fi is too unreliable for remote TV interviews But like I said, Wi-Fi is unreliable. If you do enough interviews that way, you will eventually have one where you lose the signal or you can't connect at all. Ethernet isn't perfect. After all, someone could cut the internet line outside your house or the cable could be out (if it's cable internet), but at least through ethernet, you aren't competing with kids watching videos on their phones or family streaming TV shows or movies somewhere else in your house. And in an office, it can be even more important. Almost every office I've ever worked in has really slow Wi-Fi. Maybe it's all the people working there trying to use it, or the practice or company doesn't pay for expensive internet, but it's too slow to trust for a TV interview. For your next remote TV interview, connect to your internet router through an ethernet cable directly into your computer. And know that many computers default to the Wi-Fi even when they are connected by ethernet to the internet router. So, make sure that once you are connected by ethernet, turn off the Wi-Fi. Work with me to learn to do great remote TV interviews One of the things I do with the clients I work with one-on-one is that you and I discuss every aspect of your next TV interview, especially a remote interview. We discuss your message and talking points, prepare for possible questions, discuss how to look and sound great, and make sure you have the equipment you need to be great in that interview. Now please remember, that just like my website, my coaching and everywhere else, that I am not giving business, financial, legal, medical or any other kind of advice here. Talk to a professional for advice specific to your situation. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more.

In this bonus episode, I am privileged to interview Dr. Brent Lacey, a gastroenterologist and the host of The Scope of Practice podcast. In his podcast and coaching, Dr. Lacey helps healthcare professionals learn to manage the financial side of their practices and master their personal finances. In our interview, Dr. Lacey explains why having a podcast can be great for growing your practice or business, what you need to consider before starting a podcast, why being a guest on podcasts can help you get more patients, customers, or clients, what makes a great podcast guest, and much, much more! Go to https://www.thescopeofpractice.com to learn more about Dr. Lacey, his podcast, and his coaching. Work with me on landing podcast interviews and mastering them If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more. Pick up my FREE eBook - The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.

In Episode 4 of the show, I gave a number of reasons why podcasts, and being a guest on podcasts, can be great for growing your business. Please go back and listen to that episode if you missed it. But among some of the key points I made are the huge audience - roughly 90 million people listen to a podcast each month, and the niche aspect of podcasts - there is a podcast for every type of field, industry, interest, with listeners who are passionate about that topic - your topic. Hopefully after listening to that episode, you decide being a guest on a podcast or multiple podcasts can help you get more clients, customers or patients. You research podcasts that might be a good fit for you and your topic. You pitch the host or producer of that show. And hopefully you land one or more interviews on those podcasts. Now the challenge is to be great on that podcast interview. Here are a few ideas you should consider before your next podcast interview, so that you are a terrific guest, and so that you might get some new contacts, leads or business. Listen to a few episodes of the show. Knowing how the show usually goes is very important. Is the discussion fun and light-hearted? Is it serious? Is there are a lot of back and forth between the host and guest or does the guest get time to give long answers and explanations? Who is the target audience? Understanding the nature of the show will help you adapt your message, your tone, your answers and be a great guest for that particular podcast. Use the best equipment for the interview Usually, the host or producer will send you technical information ahead of time. Things like whether the interview will be on Zoom or Skype or Remotely or some other service. He or she might recommend specific types of equipment. Always read those instructions and follow them. Even test your setup for that interview before you go live. But at a minimum, you need these pieces of equipment to sound great: An external microphone - It can plug into your computer through a USB port or the headphone jack, depending on the microphone. But do not use the internal microphone on your computer or laptop. You will sound like you are talking into a tin can. And bad audio is very distracting to a listener. Headphones to hear the host (don't use the internal speakers on your computer). You will often get an echo in the recording that sounds terrible. Don't worry about how you look with the headphones or Air Pods or whatever you use because the episode will usually be audio only. Appeal to one type of customer, client or patient - your avatar. You want to focus on your ideal client, ideal patient or ideal customer. Hopefully that avatar - that's the term to describe your ideal listener - matches up with that of the show. But then answer your questions to attract that type of person. Maybe it's a newlywed couple looking to buy their first house (if you're a real estate agent). Maybe it's a woman in her 40s going through a divorce (if you're a divorce or family attorney). Maybe it's a young adult who likes to play sports or run or lift weights (if you're a chiropractor, physical therapist or personal trainer). I know people who actually find a photo of their avatar - their ideal client, customer or patient - and they post that photo on their computer and actually speak to that person during interviews. Tell stories. Podcasts give you the opportunity to give longer answers than you can on TV or radio. And since the interviews are longer, you can do more than just shares facts and statistics about your topic. You can tell stories - stories of patients or clients who have had that issue, success stories where someone overcame that problem. And people love stories. They remember stories. They can be much more persuasive and encourage people to take action than facts. Make your information and message timeless. People often listen to podcasts months or even years after the episode was recorded.

In the last episode, I talked about the benefits of working with a publicist to get you media interviews. If you missed it, definitely go back and listen to it, as there are a number of good reasons to work with one. But as I said then, it's not for everyone. In this episode, I want to go over some of the drawbacks. And as someone who has worked with three publicists in the past, I know first-hand the drawbacks that they don't mention. The monthly fees are very expensive. Expect to pay somewhere between $3000 and $20,000 per month, again often with a minimum length of contract or a certain length of time you have to give them notice - 30 or 60 days. Yes, as we talked about last time, you are saving time by investing money. Although you are still going to be doing some of the work helping the publicist with the information for the pitch. But hiring a publicist can let you spend more time on your business. What you have to decide is whether the return on that investment - more patients, more customers, more clients - justifies that investment. They can't guarantee getting you interviews. They can only guarantee they will send out press releases or make contacts. I have heard of publicists you only pay by the interview they get you, but I'd be nervous about that. Are the interviews they get you that way helpful for you and your business or just ones to get the numbers up? Most are paid by a monthly fee, and that can be for a certain number of hours worked or maybe a certain number of pitches sent out a month. Also, many publicists, and definitely most PR firms, hire low-cost interns or assistants to actually send out the pitches. It's a volume business. Sending out more pitches gives them a better chance of getting you interviews. But it can also lead to publicists "carpet bombing" the media. I get these pitches all the time to my website, and I don't even do interviews for articles or videos. Again, not all publicists do it. Many reputable ones will develop relationships and pitch a specific reporter or producer for you. But beware those who send mass press releases. The interviews publicists get you might not actually be helpful to grow your business. They might not be in your city or state. A radio interview in Oklahoma City probably won't get more clients for an attorney in South Florida. Maybe appearing in a national publication like USA Today or The Wall Street Journal, or on a national TV network like CNN will provide credibility, but appearing in a different local market if your goal is to grow your business in your town might not be that helpful. And unless your publicist lives and works in your town, he or she probably doesn't have that many media contacts in your town. And honestly, getting contact information for people in your local media just isn't that hard, at least compared to finding producers of national shows or writers for national publications. Along the same lines, the interviews might not be on a show that has your target audience. If you are trying to appeal to a certain demographic and certain ideal patient or client or customer, you want to be interviewed where those people are. You won't have the contacts to follow up yourself. All the contact goes through the publicist. The publicist sends the pitch and gets the response. They set up the interview and send the thank you notes. You never get the email address or the cell phone of that producer or reporter or show host. And without that contact information, you have no way of following up in the future and pitching them new ideas. Or even if somehow you do get their contact information - maybe you get the reporter's cell phone number to call for an interview - it's highly frowned upon for you to pitch that person if the first outreach came through a publicist. So the only way you will get repeat interviews on a show or in a newspaper or magazine that your publicist lined up an interview is to keep wor...

Doctors all the time tell me they want to do more interviews and ask me how to get them. That's true of any type of expert who wants to grow his or her business - attorneys, dentists, real estate agents, financial planners, accountants, therapists, chiropractors, veterinarians, personal trainers and so many more. But we are all busy. So if we don't want to spend time developing a system to get TV, radio, podcast, newspaper, magazine and online interviews, is there another way? Actually, yes, and it's a strategy many experts use. And that's to hire a publicist. There are a lot of reasons working with a publicist can be a good idea. But there are some drawbacks you should know and consider as well. So, in this episode and the next one, we are going to talk about the pros and cons of working with a publicist or public relations firm. Here are a few pros or benefits of working with a publicist: The publicist will likely have media contacts and relationships that you don't have. This is probably the biggest benefit to working with a PR professional. They already know people at different TV stations or with certain TV shows. They know people at certain magazines or newspapers across the country. They know producers of some radio shows or podcast hosts. They have worked with these reporters, journalists, and producers over the years, sending them clients for interviews. And if those interviews went well, those media people would learn to trust the recommendations of those publicists. Especially with national media outlets, you are more likely to get an interview if you are presented by a publicist that media person knows than if you pitch yourself. As we will talk about in the next episode, that might not matter as much if you want local media coverage and interviews. Many publicists specialize in certain niches. There are publicists that specialize in media for different fields, like medicine, law, even dental practices. There are publicists who specialize in different media, like podcasts or network TV. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, a publicist with a specific niche can be very valuable. With a publicist, you will get some interviews. It might be one, or a few, and it might take several months of working with them and paying their monthly retainers or fees, but you will almost certainly get some interviews. But they can't guarantee interviews. They can only guarantee reaching out to media contacts - maybe it's a certain number of pitches, or a certain number of hours worked. And as we will talk about next week, the interviews they get you might not be that helpful for your business. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren't. With a publicist, you won't have to do any of the work. This is probably the biggest reason physicians use publicists (and most other busy experts too). We don't have the time to find people in the media to reach out to. We don't have time to pitch and ask for the interviews and to follow up when we don't hear back. So, we hire a publicist who will do all the work for you. Well, that's not exactly true. You won't have to do any of the work pitching. But remember, they aren't doctors, or lawyers or whatever type of expert you are. They are publicists. They can present you as an expert on a topic, but they will rely on you to provide them information they can use in their pitch. There will be a lot more time than you expect talking to them and answering whether a particular topic is one you are comfortable discussing on TV. They will want bullet points about that topic for the actual pitch. Yes, they will be the ones taking the time crafting the wording of the pitch and sending it out, but you will be involved in it to make it appealing (or at least you should be). So, you will still be spending time here. Publicists can help you perform well in the interview. They want you to be great, if for no other reason than your success helps them create relation...

We are all busy. I'm busy. You're busy. It doesn't matter what type of work you do - doctor, lawyer, financial planner, realtor, dentist, chiropractor, veterinarian, therapist, pharmacist, or really just about any line of work - you have more to do than you have time to do it. One of the concerns I hear from people who want to do more media interviews is that they worry they don't have enough time in the day to do them. They see it as one more thing to do on top of an already busy schedule. And it's true, doing interviews can take time. And if you do a lot of them, and you do the work to get more and more media interviews, yes, you can invest a lot of time. As we are going to talk about in the next two episodes of this show, we are going to discuss the pros and cons of working with a publicist to get you media exposure. You can either invest money – a lot of money with a publicist or public relations firm - or you can invest time. But your media efforts don't have to take 10 or 20 hours a week. Here are just a few ideas to save time and do interviews around a busy schedule: Set up an RSS feed. Instead of scrolling through Instagram or Facebook while standing in line or while you are wasting time at work or at home, use those few minutes here and there to scan an RSS feed for topics for media interviews. Save the interesting articles in a folder online so you have a library of topics you can pitch. That way, you don't have to spend hours looking for ideas when you decide to pitch someone in the media. Batch activities. Maybe you can't insist that you do the 2 or 3 TV interviews you have that week or radio shows or any other media opportunities all at the same time. You are on their schedule. But there are other activities you can batch. Write all your pitches for the week in an hour or two and schedule those emails to go out at different times using a service like Boomerang. Batch your research of media contacts - scrolling through their Twitter feeds to see what they're talking about, watching the shows on their websites or recorded on a DVR or a streaming service like Hulu to see what shows and reporters discuss topics in your field Set up alerts and notifications of emails from media contacts so that you don't have to check your email all day long. Create a system where emails from reporters, producers, hosts, writers go to a VIP folder or some account that notifies you with a ding or some sound, but only emails from those people alert you. Those 60 seconds checking your email, scrolling through to make sure you don't miss an email from someone in the media, done 20 or 30 times a day, adds up to a lot of wasted time. Get equipment to do remote interviews COVID changed how interviews are done. Instead of having to go to the TV station and do the interview in studio, or in their newsroom, you can do a quick Zoom interview. As we emerge from the pandemic, I don't expect that to change. Doing remote interviews is much easier, and in some cases cheaper, for the stations. Things you need: • High-definition webcam, like the Logitech Brio (you do not want to use the built-in webcam in your laptop or computer) • A USB microphone (you do not want to use the computer's internal microphone) • Earbuds, or AirPods or some other type of headphones to avoid an echo when the host or reporter is speaking • Lights that you can clip to the laptop or computer or desk lamps you can put behind the computer Ideally, you would have these with you at work and at home or wherever you are so you can be ready to do an interview in a matter of minutes. Or get a small bag for the webcam, the mic, and the clip-on lights and bring it with you and your laptop to work. Hire an assistant, virtual or in-person An assistant can help you with some of the media work and tasks you don't need to be doing: • Posting links to the interview on your media page and on social media

I would bet that whatever type of expert you are, and whatever kind of work you do, you want to do media interviews to grow your practice or business. That is literally the goal of this podcast - to teach you how to do that. But growing your business, and getting more patients, clients and customers can't be your goal when you go into a media interview. If you've listened to some of the other episodes of this podcast, you've heard me say over and over that success in the media, especially over the long term, is about building relationships. Relationships with journalists, writers, reporters, TV, radio and podcast hosts, and show producers. Win-win media relationships And to build relationships with them, you have to make each interaction a win-win. The win for you is simple. You get an interview that shares your message and potentially helps you attract patients, clients and customers. But you need to focus on making it a win for that journalist or producer. What kinds of actions or steps can you take to create wins for them? Bring them an interesting story idea or topic for an interview. Be available to provide expert opinions and information on a topic they don't understand, even if it's for background, and you are never quoted directly. Give them a name and contact information for someone who could speak about a topic outside of what you're comfortable with. Help them attract readers, listeners or viewers. Be great during the interview so that they look good. Approach every interaction with people in the media with this goal Basically, you need to approach every interview with the goal of helping that media person. One of my former media coaches used to ask me, over and over, to consider this question: "How can I be a producer's solution?" Apply that same question with every medium. "How can I be the host's solution?" "How can I be a reporter's solution?" Think about how you can help, and how you can be a solution for them in every interaction - before, during and after the interview. Focus on how you can help them in every email, every pitch, every phone call, in every social media retweet or share or mention of your upcoming interview. That approach will make you stand out from all the other experts out there doing media interviews. It will make that reporter, journalist, producer or host like you, value you as a resource, and encourage them to use you over and over again in the future. Promoting yourself and your business will often have the opposite effect But if you take the approach that most experts use - using the interview as a way to promote yourself and your business - you won't develop those long-term, mutually beneficial relationships, and you'll probably hurt your chances of having a successful interview. Trying to make yourself look good and promoting or even selling your product or service instead of offering information that helps the audience and that makes the media person look good will almost certainly have the opposite effect. One of the biggest reasons media interviews work to help experts grow their businesses is the credibility the interviews provide. If you offer information that helps the audience, and not try to promote yourself and your business, it makes you more credible in the audience’s eyes. And without selling, you become more attractive to that listener, viewer or reader. He or she thinks, "You know, I've had that issue too. Maybe I should talk to this attorney, or physician, or whatever type of expert you are." True media success and growing your business comes from not just one interview, but lots of them. Repetition is huge. If someone sees you on TV a lot, or hears you on a radio show every week, or reads your newspaper column or sees you quoted in newspapers and magazines a lot, that is what really makes you the go-to expert in your industry in your town. Work with me to develop and implement your media strategy

As you start doing media interviews, reporters and journalists will reach out to you. It might be a breaking news story, and they need a quick quote or reaction. It might be a situation where they need an expert to break down some news topic into information the public can understand. And they get your email or phone number or call your office hoping you can do an interview for the story. Usually, they don't need you immediately. In fact, in the email or on the voicemail, they will usually say something like, "My deadline is in two days, Thursday, so if we could talk before then, I would really appreciate it." So, when should you arrange to talk to that reporter or journalist? Right after you get the request? Right before the deadline? There is not always an absolute right answer. Here is my simple rule of thumb. Do it as soon as you can, but not so fast that you aren't prepared. Do it when you have had time to do your research. Look up the latest facts and statistics about that topic. If the reporter sent you questions, look through them and make sure you have coherent answers to each one. Also, give yourself enough time to schedule it when you can do it somewhere quiet, when you won't be interrupted. Yes, you want to get back to the reporter quickly, but you don't want a lot of noise from people coming into your office asking questions. You don't want anything that could distract you from giving a great interview. Like I said, the reporter will probably tell you his or her deadline. But that does not mean you should wait until close to the deadline. Here is the risk you run by waiting until the deadline. In that day or two before the deadline, the journalist is getting facts and quotes from other experts. By doing the interview as soon as possible, you get to give quotes first and will likely appear earlier in the story and in more of the story than if you wait until the end. If you wait, you might only have a quote at the end, or you might not be in the article at all. Plus, by doing it as soon as you can, you can influence the subject and tone of the article more than if he or she has already learned from others and made up his or her mind on the direction of the piece. If you want to learn more...if you want more customers, more clients, more patients, you want to make more money, you want to be recognized as THE expert in your industry, or you even want people you don't even know to come up to you at the gym or in the grocery store, thanking you for helping them, I can help you become a Media PRO. Go to MediaProsCoaching.com and sign up for a FREE 30-minute media strategy session with me. We will see where you are and what you're trying to achieve in your business, and then plan some strategies for you to get more media interviews and appearances to achieve all those goals and far more. While you're there, pick up my FREE eBook - The Media PROS Interview Checklist, offering you a handy reference full of tips to shine in your next media interview or appearance so they keep asking you back, over and over.