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Tips To Getting Booked On Oprah
Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Susan Harrow. All rights reserved.
Most people believe that getting on "The Oprah Show" will turn them into millionaires, make their books bestsellers or incite the media to beat a path to their door. For your career to take-off like the last space shuttle, you must prepare to make the most of your appearance. Here are some hot tips to help you get invited as a guest on the show, captivate your audience on the air, and ultimately sell yourself along with your product(s) or book(s). As a media coach and marketing expert, I have helped many people get booked on "Oprah," so I know there is a strategy that, if followed, will help speakers increase their chances of getting on the show.
Pitch and prepare.
Before you actually get booked on "Oprah", you need to know how to pitch an idea to the show's producers and how to prepare yourself for the big day.
1. Tape and watch "Oprah".
At least a dozen authors, speakers and entrepreneurs call me every year for media coaching or to help them create a marketing plan. The words out of their mouths are: "I want to be on 'Oprah'." When I ask them if they watch the show, 90 percent say no. Part of preparing for success is becoming familiar with the content, format, rhythm and pace of "The Oprah Show".
Your first step is to record two to four weeks of "Oprah". Then, sit down in a comfy spot and watch them all at once. This will give you a sense of what's hot on Oprah" for the next few months. (It does change and the key topics are featured in cycles.) Notice which producers (listed in the credits at the end) are responsible for each type of segment. Send a producer information only after you are sure of whom you'd like to approach and why.
2. Pitch a hot topic.
Never pitch your yourself, your speech, your product or your book. Instead pitch something that's newsworthy: a pressing national issue, a controversial subject, a problem for which you have the solution, a common myth debunked. Propose a topic that is relevant to Winfrey's audience (controversy, relationships, personal triumph, makeovers) then prove you are the expert on that topic by providing only the information that is relevant to the idea you're pitching. Think about the areas in your personal or professional life for which you're an expert and connect that to a provocative theme.
3. Put together a winning press package.
Send your book (if you have one) along with a pitch or angle page with two or three different ideas, and a paragraph bio highlighting your expertise as it pertains to your pitches. Be as brief as possible. You must be able to sell your idea in one page. Remember "Oprah" producers get hundreds of packages every day. If possible include a two-to-four-minute video of yourself appearing on other talk shows or making a presentation to a group. This will help show the producers that you're a viable guest.
4. Explore the show's Web site.
Winfrey's Web site,
http://www.oprah.com, has as much information as you will ever need to get on the show. There, you can review her entire wish list of subjects. She even makes it easy for you with a link called, "Be on the show." You can send an e-mail that will reach her producers instantly.
Make your topic relevant in a short paragraph to receive a quick response. Let the producers know that you'd be glad to hop a red-eye at a moment's notice to be a part their show, and you increase your chances of being invited.
5. Create 6 dynamic sound bites.
Mark Twain defines a sound bite as "a minimum of sound to a maximum of sense." Sound bites or talking points, are the essential messages you want to convey. Describe out loud the most important ideas, concepts, and points of your book as they relate to the idea you are pitching.
These memory nuggets consist of anecdotes, facts, statistics, stories, or something extraordinary, controversial, shocking, funny, humorous, romantic, poignant, moving, or dramatic.
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Susan Harrow, CEO of
http://prsecrets.com, is
a top media coach, marketing strategist and author of
Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul® (HarperCollins),
The
Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah, and
Get a 6-
Figure Book Advance. Clients include Fortune 500 CEOs, bestselling authors and entrepreneurs who have appeared on
Oprah, 60 Minutes, NPR, and in TIME, USA Today, Parade,
People, O, NY Times, WSJ, and Inc. |
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