Years ago, I met and developed a good relationship with a producer at one of the top three networks based in New York. Since then, he’s booked many of my clients when they are in the city and it’s proven to be very fruitful. (Not during COVID, of course, but one day we will get out of this situation…)
On one of these occasions, the show had a limo pick up my client at her hotel and take her to the studio for her appearance. She was treated very well with every need tended to and the interview itself was fantastic.
However, once the interview was over, it was over. The attention, the help, all of it shifted over to the next guest coming up and my client was on her own. She needed to move on out of there ASAP. Oh, and no limo back to the hotel, but fortunately hailing a cab in the city is pretty easy to do.
This is the world of national television and as long as you know that, you won’t be taken by surprise. The problem is, it’s easy to get used to people fawning all over you and it feels a little abrupt when all that attention ends. Second, and more importantly, she had a few questions that she forgot to ask the producer while she had his attention prior to the interview. Once it was over, it was challenging to get them answered.
The world of news moves fast and everything around it moves fast. You may have your 15 minutes of fame, but just as quickly it will likely evaporate into a memory and if you don’t take care while you have someone’s attention, it’s much harder to get it later. Strike while the iron is hot is a well-known phrase for a good reason.
If you’re doing an interview live to tape (even though we don’t actually use tape anymore, the phrase lives on), and you want to know when it will air, ask BEFORE the interview. If you want to know if you can have a copy of the interview or if you’ll get a link to it, ask before.
Once the interview happens, it’s more challenging to get those questions answered. That said, here are some things that need to be done following the interview:
AFTER THE INTERVIEW
Make yourself available for post-interview requests: If the interview isn’t live, or if it’s a print interview, be sure and follow up and make yourself available to the journalist for any additional questions that may come up. The journalist may need additional information from you to clarify the story. Respond quickly, as they may be on a tight deadline for their publication.
Ask when the interview is scheduled to appear: If it’s print, you can ask if you can review beforehand but be careful with this request. Some journalists and writers get offended by it, so you might want to couch it by saying you want to be sure any edits made didn’t change the meaning you were trying to convey. See if you can get a publication date.
A picture or video is worth a thousand words. Ask if they want any photos, graphics, or B roll from you if they haven’t already done so. Do you want your material to go viral? Have ready-to-share, high-resolution images or video available with captions and image credits.
Thanks and an offer: Thank the reporter and offer to be a resource in the future. This may get you additional interviews.
Keep in touch and share: Offer to connect with them on your social media channels to keep in touch. Let them know you plan to share the interview with your extensive networks. (Hopefully you have been working on building them up.)
Publicize your involvement: Be sure and share the news on social media, add the article or interview to your website or blog. If you have an employer, ask them to share the news on their social networks, too. Tag the media outlet and/or individual when you’ve done this.
Bottom Line
There are lots of ways to become a Media Darling (someone the media wants to interview again and again). Being nice, helpful, available, and willing to share after the interview is critical. And, of course, you have to have a great book with an excellent message! Oh, and you can see part one and part two of this series here if you haven’t already seen them. Good luck!
To your success!
Joanne
P.S. I’ve got more on becoming a Media Darling here. Looking forward to releasing my new book, Media Darling: Shine Through Every Interview in 2021!
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