I remember when I started Talking With Tami back in 2005! I would cry like a baby on my way home from events. I was exhausted, frustrated, depressed and more! You guys have no idea how hard it was but as time went on, it became so much easier but with a lot of sacrifice, dedication and determination, I built my brand and now things have turned around for me! Nobody sees all of that though, they still seem to think I woke up like this as Beyonce likes to say! Lol!
If you are a newbie blogger and you are reading this and you are thinking of starting a blog, its going to be tough to get recognized and followers unless you are REALLY creative. You want to know why? Because its over-saturated now and EVERYONE has a blog pretty much! Some bloggers become more popular than others while you also have the ones “grandfathered in” like me that started at the beginning of blogging and have that loyal readership, its just the way it is!
By me starting off in television with my cable access show that I funded all by myself with the help of my husband, I built a great network of friends in the tv business over the years. I’ve said time and time again on here to always treat people with respect, network your butt off and surround yourself with likeness. All of these things will work for you if you are truly trying to gain exposure and grow your brand. So that leads me to todays posting about how you can get your brand/ blog more exposure on television. Here are some steps that I took that may can help you on your journey!
A lil backstory about how I got on television recently… I have a lot of friends who work in the entertainment/tv business and they have watched me grow over the years and always refer me for special projects etc and I appreciate each and everyone of them. Shout out to Nyssa Green and Karyn Greer at 11 Alive news who are my family! I was out with news anchor Karyn Greer and her friend is a tv producer over at CBS 46. They were looking for someone in the Atlanta area that was in the know of what was happening in Atlanta and more. She introduced me to the lady, she liked me, I gave her my business card and she said be at the station on Monday, ready to go! It happened that fast! Its great to know people and the lady knew if Karyn recommended me, she didn’t really have to worry. I was in the right place at the right time! God is Good!
So here are some simple steps that I have listed and I hope this helps you on your journey!
YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PERSONALITY TO BE ON TV! IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE AND THOSE THAT ARE DRAB/BORING/TOO SERIOUS! IF YOU ARE LIKE THIS, PLEASE JUST LOG OFF NOW! LOL! Why do you think reality shows and some of your best tv programs find over the top personalities? Because they get ratings LOL!
If you have the income, you can always hire a publicist to help you gain exposure for your blog or brand. I have NEVER had a publicist but if I become extremely huge like some top-tier bloggers, then I may seek out one. I’m telling you now, the lowest a really good publicist will charge is $3,000(monthly) for a retainer. Each city is different though, it may be more or less.
You have to be able to hold a conversation without any “dead air” and keep the momentum going. I’m not called, Talking with Tami for nothing lol! You have to be extremely chatty for tv! Nothing like dead air, producers hate that! NO yes or no type of answers when asked, you have to be able to elaborate on any subject or thing until they cut you off or the floor director yells cut! Live tv is totally different too and you are usually alerted off camera that its coming to an end. You just keep talking till they tell you to stop!
Email, Email, Email! Reach out to your local tv stations(morning shows) via their contact page or call them direct and ask to speak to someone over programming or producer over the morning talk show. Be persistent but have something unique to pitch. For example, if you have a fashion or beauty blog become a “style or beauty expert” and tell them that you work with several beauty and fashion brands doing product reviews etc and would like to showcase a beauty or fashion segment. You may want to add links to these post too!
If you work a full-time job, this may not work for you! Most daytime tv shows are LIVE and in the media world, you don’t get two weeks notice to prepare or even a few days. EVERYTHING is pretty much last minute and things change daily. You have to be mentally prepared for the media world and quick on your feet! If you move slow, you’re not going to make it! You have to be willing to drop everything and head to the station. People cancel all the time and they may call you to fill in and you have to be ready for anything and spontaneous! This happened to me last week, thank goodness I work for myself. They had a spot to fill, the lady asked me Friday if I would like to do CBS 46 Atlanta Plugged In, I was on air Monday at noon! It happened that fast!
I say “fast” a lot of my blog because that is how it is in the media world. I get on my daughter all the time because when we are on set in hair & makeup you have to have people done in about 15 minutes! Thats hair and makeup finished. Everything moves really fast, its upbeat and everything is always changing. You have to think fast and think fast. When you’re doing it daily it gets easier and its a bit of a rush but its exhausting! Some people I see move too slow for tv gigs and they are never invited back because people see that! It looks easy but its really not! Schedules change, people cancel or the producer may want to go in a different direction. You can NOT take things personal and if your feelings get hurt easily, this is not the business for you! For example, I may have been scheduled to go on live on Monday but if a huge celebrity is in town, they may bump my segment for that day and have that guest on, you can’t get upset, its the nature of the beast!
You have to have the capability of feeding off of others vibes and go with it. Play along, be energetic and fun to watch on tv!
Make sure your social media pages/blogs are clean as a whistle! If its ratchet, unprofessional, profanity everywhere you may want to clean up everything before reaching out to tv stations and networks. If they like you, they will comb through your site/social media and go back as far as a year. They want to see your personality and what you post.
Your website needs to be amazing! Full of engaging posts weekly, good grammar, photos etc. Do not pitch your brand or blog if you lack any of this! For example, They pulled from my blog for visuals when I was on air last week. Make sure you have great high res images! You just never know! That happened to me last week! I was caught off guard and didn’t know they were going to do that!
Don’t get discouraged if they do not respond right away. Trust me they see it but they may not be interested in your pitch at the time. I get pitched about 25 times a day but if it does not fit the format of what I am doing, I usually pass too. Its not personal though.
Be willing to work for free to prove yourself. Yes most times, you will not get paid for guest spots but the exposure is wonderful and you can parlay that into other things! It’s all blessings! This may not be ideal for someone who has a family but if you have a great support system, it may work for you.
Have a great media kit and headshot to send with your email or letter. It makes you look more professional too. Think of how a pageant girl or news anchor that you like looks on camera. Go for shots like that, they will love you!
If you do get a guest spot, wear basic and solid colors. If you notice most news anchors are very simple and plain on camera. There hair is neat and nicely styled. Visible tattoos, big earrings, face piercings, loud clothing and brightly colored hair you will never see. Its very distracting to watch someone on tv who is suppose to be giving you information if they have a lot going on. Noone will take you serious. If you are a guest, that is different but if you want a reoccurring position on television, you have to tone it down! Especially in the morning time lol! Trust me I struggled with this issue too! Ha!
And lastly have something interesting to say!
Tami…..great tips…as always! oh and Congrats again! 🙂
This is some really valuable and great advice Tami. Thanks for sharing!