There's something I noticed in various writer's groups, networking events, entrepreneur meetings etc is that most people have trouble answering the number one question nearly every member of the media starts an interview with - which is:
To do this let's go back to the query process. In order to have a successful response to a query letter, the guest has likely already listened to at least one episode. They've liked or shared the host’s material, perhaps even subscribed to the channel. They've read at least one article and browsed the website (s) thoroughly, paying special attention to the media guidelines. At this point the guest has a clear understanding about the audience and what they are interested in.
Could you tell us about yourself?
While this open-ended question might seem like an easy one to answer - here is the thing... it isn't. You see, when you are in the media a lot you'll find that the most important thing is to come up with something new, a slightly different angle, new tips or resources and a slightly different conversation. The last thing we want is to send our list of contacts to yet another redundant interview they've seen a hundred times.
To do this let's go back to the query process. In order to have a successful response to a query letter, the guest has likely already listened to at least one episode. They've liked or shared the host’s material, perhaps even subscribed to the channel. They've read at least one article and browsed the website (s) thoroughly, paying special attention to the media guidelines. At this point the guest has a clear understanding about the audience and what they are interested in.
Guests need to examine who the host is, what their passions are and what the focus of the program is. What the guest decides to say and how the guest says it should reflect that research. Deeper research might mean they need to find out what the audience is saying about the show, which episodes matter most to them and what types of content has received the most comments.
Once the initial discussions for the interview have taken place, both the host and the guest will have determined the topic and the length of the interview. A long interview warrants lengthy responses and stories to share, whereas a short discussion will result in very brief responses to questions. Knowing this is vital to a successful interview.
Now, the guest might have a general reply in mind for standard questions. For instance a general reply to the opening question might be:
Dave and I run the Brummet Media Group together, which acts like an umbrella - housing every product or service that we offer including our books, blogs, YouTube channel, drum teaching studio, as well as our drum repair and dog-sitting services. We live in the Kootenay region of BC, Canada where we have converted our property into the little park-like residence it is now - attaining eco certification for the home and the yard is certified through several bird, butterfly, bee and organic organizations.
That draft reply is handy but the I will need to tweak it for a specific audience. Let's imagine I am going to be a guest on a self-help motivational talk show and it was decided that the episode would focus on sharing stories about surviving a rough situation. In this case, the bio I submit will reflect that topic. The books or services that I want to highlight will fit in with that topic. My responses to the host will be geared to that topic.
For example the bio might read: Our guest today is Lillian Brummet, author of the book Towards Understanding which shares her journey of survival from a rough childhood to finding understanding that she does have value, that her voice matters - and based on this, she began creating a life with purpose.
And my response to the Q: Why don’t we start by having you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a survivor of childhood abuse and neglect; I was on my own at 13.5 years old and yet I paid my own way in life, put myself through school and college, started (and lost) a business after a major car accident. In our 32 years together, Dave and I experienced the exhaustion of caregiving and the grief of losing our parents, stepparents, beloved fur-kids (pets) and numerous friends. We saw death and murder and suicide, and together we faced it all. Just 13 years ago we sold everything we owned and moved to our dream location where we strive to live a life filled with purpose and passion.
Now, if the host wanted to focus on the world of writing the bio would then read:
Our guest today is Lillian Brummet, co-owner of the Brummet Media Group. Her days are balanced with managing 2 popular blogs, a YouTube channel, helping run the Angle Hill Studio and promoting 6 published books - including Purple Snowflake Marketing - How To Make Your Book Stand Out In A Crowd.
And my response to the prompt: Tell us about yourself:
In the 25 years in the world of writing I have been a staff writer, assignment writer, and free-lance writer... I was the host of the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show that ran for 15 years and had around 30,000 listeners per month. I also ran a podcast called Authors Read that ran for a couple years, and the Brummet's Muse bi-weekly newsletter that ran for about 6 years. Today I run the Brummet's Conscious Blog, Drum It With Brummet blog and the Brummet Media YouTube Channel. We have 6 published books available on Amazon with a trilogy coming out in 2023 and another book coming out in '24/'25. So I keep very busy managing all of this.
Taking the extra time to create a highly targeted bio and opening response will ensure the audience knows exactly what the topic is going to be and settle in for the ride. It also helps our long-term contacts continue to feel curious about us through revealing different sides of our lives, experiences and expertise in a professional way. Media love guests who provide something different each time they appear in the news, and they'll often want to have you back to speak on other topics you did not cover in depth the first time.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment!
http://www.twitter.com/brummet
http://www.facebook.com/lillian.brummet
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ldbrummet