Ok, I admit it. I’m kind of a TV junkie.

That’s right. In my house – our digital recording device is constantly filled to the brim, and I’m frequently nudging my husband to watch and delete some of his Dog Whisperers.

I get flutters just thinking about the new episode of True Blood. I love most shows on HBO and Showtime, my NBC Thursday night comedies, and a handful of other random shows like Pawn Stars.

Obviously my TV watching schedule eats up a large chunk of my time. So, how can I manage to run a successful business while rationalizing my time in front of the tube?

Because watching TV makes me better at business. Here’s how:

Pay Attention to Previews

I’m equally obsessed with TV previews (also referred to as teasers or trailers), especially those with that epic music playing in the background. These previews are so specifically targeted to a niche audience that their demographic of viewers nearly leap off of their couch in anticipation for the next episode. This attention to detail in defining your target market is equally important for us entrepreneurs. While we may want to have a product or service that “appeals to the masses” – in most cases when you market to everyone, you market to no one.

By clearly identifying WHO your target customer is, you can create little marketing teasers that cause them to burst out of their seat with excitement – just like when they watch a preview on TV.

Here's one of my favorite previews – just for fun:

Story is Everything

I know. I’m constantly hammering home how important it is to use stories in your business. By watching scripted television, reading novels, and gleaning inspiration by these master storytellers, you’ll pick up some pointers on how to create captivating stories that sell.

Stories help people connect with your business and, most importantly, urge people to BUY. This is why advertising copywriters are paid the big bucks – because they can wrap a clever story around a business. It’s also why testimonials are so powerful, people are sharing their “story” about your product or service – encouraging and inspiring others to want to share that same experience.

Revamp your “High Concept”

A high concept is a “brief statement of the TV show’s basic idea that is felt to have tremendous public appeal.” As you know, several shows are axed after one episode because there wasn’t enough public interest.

As entrepreneurs, we sometimes feel married to a concept, or a service or a product – even though it doesn’t have enough public appeal to be successful.

Instead, go back to the drawing board and rewrite your high concept (a.k.a. survey your ideal customers to find out what they really want and make changes necessary to your business to appeal to this demographic).

Cast Well

The casting process is arduous for a TV series. As a ‘sometimes’ actress, I’ve been through the ringer auditioning for parts. I can only imagine what it’s like on the other side of the camera. Casting the wrong actor or actress can mean suicide for your passion project.

The same goes for your business. If you “cast” the wrong people – employees, service providers, partners – you are on the fast track to being cancelled (aka closed).

But looking for people that share your same values, that reflect the tone of your business, and that share your passion are critical factors for success. Taking the same care that a casting director and production team does when casting a show creates a blockbuster team.

Build to Last

We see a lot of TV shows that kick off with a bang, only to be cancelled after a few seasons. What went wrong?

The series was unable to hold onto that hardcore fan base. To avoid this kind of flop, you want to constantly reinvent your business, surprise your customers with innovation, and continue building without a conclusion in sight.

What lessons do you learn from watching TV? What are your favorite shows to watch? Don't be shy – share in the comments below!

Have you ever thought:

“I want to go big.”

“I want to play a bigger game.”

“I want more national visibility and exposure.”

Sure ya have. We ALL have.

But sometimes when we put all of our focus on getting bigger and bigger, we forget to sprinkle some love right in our own backyard.

That’s right. I’m talkin’ about dominating your hometown.

In the latest issue of O Magazine, Oprah talks about the early years of her now infamous show. She mentions how the network wanted her to visit the markets that didn't catch on to her show yet to try and boost ratings. Instead, she visited the markets that were already raving fans, and showed gratitude to the people that already supported her show.

Clearly, it worked.

Whether you’re an Oprah fan or not, you can still take a page from her book and show your local scene some love.

What’s extra superdelic about going after local press is their willingness to treat you like a star. In a national magazine, you might be lucky to get one line of ink on page 112. But your local paper might offer you a full page feature smack dab on the cover. The local media loves featuring local people with great stories.

This is also a great strategy for experts that want to eventually land national TV appearances. You can build up a series of clips as a regular guest on your local morning show and eventually have a professional video editor piece them together into what’s called a demo reel. Think of it as a video portfolio to show national TV producers what an amazing guest you are. National TV show producers want to see you on TV interacting with a host or reporter and sharing your information in short and sweet sound bites. The only way to get this experience is to get some local TV appearances under your belt.

So how do you make this all happen?

1. Get copies of all your local newspapers and magazines and make time to listen to your local talk radio shows and watch the morning news programs. If you loathe your local news, get over it. This is all about publicity baby!

2. Make a list of all of the places that would be appropriate to cover your business (example: you might be able to pitch your business story to the local business journal and the business section of your newspaper, and then you might spin a lifestyle angle for your local magazine or morning news program.)

3. Find contacts for each of the outlets you’ve researched. For TV and Radio, call the station and ask to be transferred to the producer for the specific show that you want to guest on. For newspapers and magazines, look for the editor or appropriate section editor contact information.

4. Come up with at least one pitch idea for each local outlet you choose. Make sure it’s appropriate for the outlet you’re pitching (example: local newspapers like covering interesting entrepreneurial stories where TV looks for visual stories, usually with some sort of demonstration – like a fashion show or cooking segment).

5. Contact each of the folks on your local list with your idea (via email or phone). Make sure to make your first sentence an introduction – “Hi, I’m Judy Smith with Bella Boutique right on 7th Street. I have a story idea for you…”

6. ALWAYS follow up about a week after you’ve delivered your first pitch.

7. For any outlets that are interested, take pride in your interview or story and treat it just like you would any national placement. Promote it out via social media, post it on your website, tell all your family and friends, and – most importantly – thank the media and ask them if you can send them regular story ideas for future coverage (they’ll love you for it!)

8. For any outlets that aren’t interested, shimmy up some new pitch ideas for the next month and repeat the same process of pitch + follow up. This allows you to stay on their radar with good story ideas, rather than nudge them unnecessarily.

What is your experience with local press? Have you done anything within your local media? Do you want to? Post a comment below!

While attending a women entrepreneurs conference this week, the topic of the 30-second pitch came up quite often. While most business owners are aware that they need one, and many already have one, when it comes time to actually delivering the pitch it leaves many in a tongue-twisted mess.

A 30-second pitch is always important to have in any situation to answer the question “what do you do?” This is relevant for dinner parties, networking events, sales presentations or even when you meet someone in line at the grocery store.

But when it comes to the media – your 30-second pitch is often chopped to about one sentence. The media has a very short attention span, and if you can’t get to the point when speaking to them directly, how will a producer trust you to deliver juicy, newsworthy soundbites to their audience? If your product can’t be explained in one sentence, how will it be featured on a magazine page with a small caption next to it describing its benefits?

For example, Living Proof haircare line is one company that was mentioned at the conference. The VP of Marketing for Sephora mentioned how impressed she was that they had attained so much media coverage in such little time with few resources. I took a quick look at their website, and loved the product description for their “Full” line – “Makes Fine, Limp Hair Look and Behave Like Thick Hair.” Boom. We know exactly what it does in one sentence, and are intrigued enough to ask more questions and try the product.

There is no secret formula to designing your quick pitch, but there are a few exercises you can begin with:

• Pretend you bumped into the editor of your favorite magazine on the street. They ask, what do you do? Write down exactly what you would say (don’t worry if its more than one-sentence at this stage).
• Now look at your description and see if there is anything you can chop out (for example – too many adjectives, like powerful, beautiful, delicious, etc).
• Look at the product packaging of other successful competing products. There isn’t much room on a package – meaning the description has to be concise. If you’re a service-based business, check out taglines and websites of other successful providers.
• Come up with 3-4 one-sentence pitches based on your research for your own product/service.
• Gather a group of “testers” (family, friends, neighbors, co-workers) and give them your one-sentence pitch. Note feedback.
• Revise, revise, revise!
• Once you’re comfortable with your pitch, practice it daily – even if you just deliver it once into the bathroom mirror. Before long, you’ll be so comfortable delivering it, you’ll never stammer again when talking to the media!

Some other one-sentence pitches I like:

The Original Pen Style Permanent Marker
Sharpie

The relationships you want. Start here.
John Gray, Author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

The Queen of Putting People’s Lives in Order
Julie Morgenstern, Organization Expert

We Make Today Delicious
Kraft Foods

Today I vlog about booking multiple TV appearances!

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