As we count down the days until Friday’s 2nd Annual Publici-Tea™ and Book Publishing Summit, I am pleased to share a guest blog post from in-kind promotional partner Debbie Whitlock.
She is president of Sound Financial Partners and the executive producer and radio host for Femme Finance™ – The Power of Money and Women, airing each of the last 52 weeks on the I’m Thankful Network. She is also the new managing director for the Bellevue Chapter of eWomenNetwork, starting in January, 2011.
After producing a year’s worth of quality shows, she knows what it takes to both attract and book quality guests to delight her listeners. Read on to learn what you can do if you want to be a quality guest on her show and other shows like hers. It’s not enough to want to be a rock star. You’ve got to get dressed up and ready for the show before you go. Take it away Debbie.
Getting Booked Again and Again –
Insider Tips to Getting and Rocking the Interview
by Debbie Whitlock
Follow these simple steps and you’ll be on the road to becoming a favored guest and possible regular contributor to a local or national radio show.
1. Have a short bio and intro ready at a moment’s notice. The short one is the sassy (as Nancy would say) sound bites of what makes you the BEST at what you do (if you need help – I highly recommend the Bye Bye Boring Bio – I’ve used it myself and it works!) – save the two page CV for the next board position for which you apply.
2. Create 10 questions that will provide the host the leading questions for you to give the answer that makes you the most informed person in your field. These are not “yes” or “no” questions. These are the ones that give you the opportunity to showcase with rehearsed spontaneity your expertise.
3. Order the questions with a beginning, middle and end. This is how you get to tell your story. The host of the show cannot be an expert on all things, yet your topic is interesting to them – so give the host questions that make her look informed and showcase your brilliance!
4. Why 10 questions? They’ll get you through a one hour show – (also have 5 that tell the same story – but for the 30 minute interview and have 3 for a 15 minute interview.)
5. Promote – Promote – Promote. As much of a win as it is for you to get the interview, it is an equal win for a radio show host to find the perfect guest that has the right message to share. They’ll be chatting it up with their network, and you should do the same. Begin following them on Twitter and Facebook, and Linked-In (ask them where they are most active and play in their pool!) make favorable comments, and tag them in your posts.
6. Thank you – Thank You – Thank You! A follow-up handwritten note expressing your pleasure at being on the show will set you miles above the others looking for interviews – you never know when you might be called on again!
When most people in her industry weren’t picking up the telephone, Debbie picked up a microphone and created confidence for women and investing – first through her town-hall like forums and now to more than 1 million listeners each week on her radio show.
Debbie elegantly weaves 15 years of investment knowledge and entrepreneurship throughout her client and community work. Her personal tagline, “Create the prosperity and good fortune you deserve,” is as much a statement about the non-monetary as it is the monetary elements of life.
For more information about Debbie, her investment work, radio program or speaking, visit her website www.debbiewhitlock.com ; and connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/femmefinance or on Twitter @femmefinance.
