Episode 102 - How to get on Good Morning America and Primetime TV with Correspondent Amy Goodman (Part 1)
PR 20 years ago vs today: What we’ve learned and how small businesses can benefit
In this week’s episode of The Small Business PR podcast, we were joined by media power house Amy Goodman, who has over 23 years of experience in the field, reporting for the Today Show, Rachel Ray, Good Morning America, Wendy Williams and so many more.
As an industry veteran who’s experienced the dynamic PR landscape first hand, she has invaluable insights to share on how small businesses can adapt and stay relevant by building meaningful relationships with key media figures.
The Need for Speed: The Changing Landscape of Media and Pitching
One of the most significant shifts in the media landscape has been the need for speed. In today's fast-paced world, everyone is in a rush to get their message out there, attract new audiences, stay ahead of the curve, and entrepreneurs and small businesses are at the forefront of this. So to grab the attention of busy journalists, your pitches must be concise and compelling.
While speed is crucial, the writing quality should never be sacrificed. Well-crafted, relevant pitches are essential for journalists to visualize your story and how it can translate into engaging content for their audience.
Adapt or Perish: The Power of Flexibility
Adaptability is just as crucial. Just as journalists are adapting to changing media formats from print, to radio, to TV, and now endless social media platforms, small businesses must be willing to embrace innovation and venture on non-traditional paths. Whether it's shifting your marketing strategy, exploring new platforms, or trying out unconventional ideas, adaptability is key to long-term success and creating a strategy that is unique to you.
Small businesses, just like seasoned PR professionals, need to wear multiple hats, from PR to business management and staying attuned to evolving trends. But strengthening your skill in one area can ease burdens in other areas of business. For example focusing on PR can decrease your ad spend, diversify your social media content, shorten your sales cycle, and more.
PR Industry Insights: Breaking Down the Barriers
The changing media landscape over the years now presents a big opportunity for small businesses to be seen and heard like never before. The public's desire for diverse stories and voices has created a demand for businesses that reflect the rich tapestry of our society.
However, some small business owners may grapple with imposter syndrome or barriers they perceive as insurmountable. To help overcome these barriers you can:
Prepare for Inquiry: Ensure that your website can handle a surge in traffic and orders when you secure media coverage.
Start Locally: Begin by pitching your story to local media outlets to gain experience and build credibility before moving to national outlets.
Embrace Timing: Understand the importance of timing in PR. The season, current events, journalist’s schedules all play a significant role in securing coverage.
Beyond Social Media: A Focus on Quality
Social media presence is not a primary consideration when pitching products or stories to media outlets. Unlike singers, artists, entertainers who these days might heavily rely on social media to make a name for themselves and attract representation from agencies, businesses aren't judged based solely on social media following. Instead, the focus is on the quality of your product or story. While a fancy website isn't necessary, it should be functional and capable of handling sales, especially if you don't have a brick-and-mortar presence.
The Art of the Pitch: Making Your Story Stand Out
Crafting a compelling pitch is an art form. What works and what doesn’t.
Avoid asking journalists basic, generic questions like “What are you currently working on”?
Instead, just pitch confidently!
Master the art of the subject line - make it timely and engaging
Include links to your product and high-resolution images in your pitches
Tailor your pitch to the journalist's recent work or interests
Always have a clear and concise story to tell
Branching Out: Expanding Your Story
Think about how your stories can branch out from existing themes. Don't just replace a branch; extend it. Find unique angles or connections that make your story more appealing. Like I always say, “We’re not reinventing the wheel”.
The PR industry is ever-evolving, so being able to adapt to journalist’s preferences is the key to success. They’re telling you what they want, so tailor your pitch in a way that speaks to them, and you’ll get the bigger conversation started.
Stay tuned for more industry insights and PR tips from Amy in the next episode of the Small Business PR Podcast.
The CPR Pitching Method™ helped small business-owning entrepreneurs from PR Starter Pack members see themselves as a go-to expert with a point of view, instead of JUST a founder, seller, or consultant – a standout mindset that takes you far in the world of PR.
I hope you take notes throughout this episode and maybe even listen to it again so you can really nail down the three parts of the CPR Pitching Method™ and use it to your advantage!
So get ready to press send and get your message. And I can’t wait to see you featured in the headlines.
P.S. If you want your small business to go from invisible to visible, seen, and valued, register for my FREE PR Secrets Masterclass. Soon enough, your credibility and visibility will skyrocket. Register now at www.gloriachou.com/masterclass.
Resources Mentioned:
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community: Small Biz Pros: By Gloria Chou
Additional Resources:
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Here’s a glance at this episode…
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[00:00:00] Yay. Welcome to another episode of the Small Business PR podcast. I'm like really giddy in my chair right now because I just cannot wait to introduce our, our guest. She is a media powerhouse. She's also really recognized. She's one of the what do, what do what, what do we call it? Um, probably the most famous people in media that we've interviewed.
So she's been on all of the shows that you recognize, that I recognize. For example, Kelly and Ryan, today's show, Rachel Ray, good Morning America, Wendy Williams. So many more. The view. I mean, I'm getting like tongue tied just talking about it. So thank you so much for being here, Amy, and um, welcome to the show.
I am so excited to be with you because we have some very shared social missions in our work, yours in public relations and mine in media as a journalist. So I am equally giddy. So there's so much I wanna get into, but first I want our audiences to know the depth of experience that you have had. You have really been a veteran, industry veteran in media for over 23 years, so can you tell us all the [00:01:00] different places that you've covered from broadcast to tv, to radio, to magazines, all of it.
I actually started in magazines when I first got into journalism, so I worked up the ranks in various magazines on, of course, the editor side and as a contributor, as an eventually an editor at large. And all along, actually, um, my first gig was at InStyle Magazine. Very sadly, no longer, um, in print, but available digitally.
And uh, very early on there, I was kind of tapped to do television broadcast. And what that meant was we would send out our very own staff to either a radio interview or an interview on television with C n n lifestyle, et cetera, to actually share the pages of the magazine and bring them to life. And so, uh, I was very young.
I was still an editorial assistant when I was tapped to do tv. And ever since then, those relationships, I've just been building them over time. Now, after doing magazines for many, many [00:02:00] years, my main gig right now is really doing on air broadcast. Both editorial and sponsored work. The sponsored work pays the bills.
Um, but yeah, so I do a lot of television work now across all spaces, whether it's talk shows, news shows, radio programs, and joyfully now the podcast world. And what I do wanna say is when I first started 23 years ago was a very different landscape. Blogs were just exploding. I remember coming out of J School at Columbia, everybody got a job.
The digital world of publications was just sprouting up. So if you didn't get a job in one of the traditional avenues of television, radio, or print, there was all of this digital publication that was exploding. So everybody got a job then out of J School. And now we have, you know, podcasts now. We have so many different outlets in social media as well.
So the way we distribute the news, the way we report the news, and the way we all [00:03:00] absorb the news as well, has changed dramatically during the course of my career. Not to mention with the AI revolution that's happening, that is a topic onto itself and one that we're all going to learn and adapt and grow with.
Yeah. So you've obviously seen all the changes. Can you gimme high level, like three of the biggest changes that you've noticed in terms of how media and pitching and how stories are being told? Hmm. We all seem to be in a hurry. I now, I don't know if that's different really, but I think because we feel, um, inundated from every different direction, so much information, even information overload if you don't have good filters for it.
So everybody's in a rush. We're in a rush to, if you are an entrepreneur, get your product, you know, in production, get your product on the airwaves, get your product in local publications. Get the word out right. And that's time every single business out there that needs to spread [00:04:00] the word. So I feel like as a consequence of all of us being in such a, Writing has also kind of fallen a bit by the wayside, which definitely impacts both sides.
So I love a good story and part of my world is telling stories, true stories. I'm telling stories about, um, if I have a product lineup of the best. Gear for the beach this summer, right? It's not only telling you how these products work, but also sometimes like an entrepreneur story of how it was about, you know, this person had a job in tech and was, you know, flopping around in a pool and then a de designed a new floaty thing where you can be, and it's like a hot tub floating in the ocean, right?
So, um, everybody has a story that I am also trying to tell, but the pitches, when they're not well written is difficult for me to then even envision what this could possibly, how this could possibly then translate for the airwaves. So we're in a rush. Riding has [00:05:00] fallen by the wayside. And also another big thing is the, the greatest trait that I've seen for people like me, Exactly like me experts in, in their field.
Um, I'm a general reporter, but other people might specialize in beauty or fashion or only home decor or right, or only food. So people just like me, those who have survived the test of time, um, and I do feel like I've been at this a little while, are those who have adapted. We've adapted to translating video on air to into social, whether that's reels or whether it's TikTok or now there's Lemon eight, which actually is not a video platform, by the way.
It's, it's more graphic and I'm, I, I just joined Lemon eight. I have seven followers, but it's part of being to adapt. With the times and how everything is being consumed. If I remained in the same mindset I had in the early two thousands, I, I don't think I would still be in this career. Right? So it's an ability to morph, [00:06:00] change, adapt, be willing to try new things, even when you're very nervous about not wanting to shift what you might already do.
Well, you have to do many things well, all the time. And I feel that for entrepreneurs as well as you wear a PR hat, you wear a business-minded hat. And you also have to really wear, wear, kind of like a, a worldview hat to see where trends are changing, where you fall into this landscape, how you can you present yourself in an innovative way that's fresh so that people wanna share your news too.
I love that. I mean, there is a saying, adapt or die, right? Yeah. Yeah. So true. So I actually read a, a statistic, and I think it was like a CISs, um, annual survey of journalists. Mm-hmm. And one of the findings was that the top concern for journalists was fake news. Right. The kind of this loss of authority of, of how people are not trusting, like, you know, journalists and mm-hmm.
I always say that that's actually a good thing for small business owners because it just means that journalists need to interview authentic, real different [00:07:00] people from all different perspectives. Would you agree that there's kind of an opportunity there for the little guys to be seen? Mm-hmm. And I think the voices also of, um, what we need is really expanding.
Oh, I, I like to say that that was always a, always a need, um, to hear more voices and to have more businesses and to hear from small businesses. But I feel like now cons, it really matters. And consumers, this is what consumers want. We want to hear from diverse. We want diverse stories. We want what reflects in society to reflect on the airwaves, to see what we see around us in our communities before us on, you know, the television screen.
So yes, I do think that this poses an opportunity for more an expansion of voices to be heard. I think that's exactly what I've been trying to say this entire time. Um, but also at the same time, it's really on us as journalists as well, to stay credible. You know, you have to, [00:08:00] you have to follow the rules.
You have to, and I very much have always been that way in my career. Um, and to steadfastly report, and also be very deep with the reporting and, and do my job as well, so that if you, if you have all these fears about fake news, you know, you can come to a trusted source. If you see my segments, you can come to a trusted source if you read any of my articles, that kind of thing.
So it, it, it works both ways, I think. Yeah. And, and I love that this landscape is changing because people do say that it's equalizing where mm-hmm. Now small businesses can get featured using social media and not having to pay a fancy PR firm, 10, 20, 30, 40 grand. So do you also notice that shift happening that people are doing PR just a little bit differently?
Oh, definitely, definitely. And I think also just, um, the accessibility of social where you can dmm a company, maybe you wouldn't have had that access before and somebody in some form will get back to you. Um, that is so, it's so helpful and it's a much quicker response [00:09:00] time. So before those PR lists of contacts were so coveted and people would be very protective of that, I think that information is just widely sourced now and is more accessible and enables everybody to at least have the opportunity to make the ask.
I love that and, and I love what it is. It's, it's breaking down the barrier. It's removing the middle person, if you will. Right. So that mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So that journalist, because you want to connect with the business owner, right? Like, do you actually prefer to, you know, have a PR rep in the middle, or do you prefer to talk to the, the business owner?
Straight up. So, in what, inherently what you said, I wanna speak to the person who tells the story with a clear and concise way, um, and tells the story well, so, Have every single business owner been a pleasure to work with? Oh, you know, I've had my handfuls of, of tough relationships there too, in the same regard that [00:10:00] sometimes publicists are very difficult, like can be big personalities and can be difficult to really connect with and, and get the information I need from.
So, to answer your question, it's really, I, I, whether it's a publicist and I work with tons and tons of people on the PR world, um, and have learned what, you know, pitches attract me and what products are gonna be great. And I know people that I go to, people that I rely and trust in that same regard. I, you know, want business owners to be very clear, very concise, gimme good pitches, gimme good stories.
And, um, I, I wanna work with the people who are clear and concise. Easy to work with and have great attitudes. I mean, without a doubt, I'm a small, independent woman owned woman of color business myself, right? I over time, I, all I wanna work with is nice people. So, so I'm happy to work with people who are, um, energetic and energized, but are not overly pushy or, um, or condescending or, I mean, all the things that we want [00:11:00] in, in a good business relationship.
I love that. So it's not about how loud you scream in the chamber, it's, it's the value you bring. And that's really my ethos and what I teach in my PR program because I don't know if I told you this, but I've never worked a day in an agency, whether it's marketing or pr, so I didn't have relationships, you know, I studied political science and I just started picking up the phone and cold calling.
And so I kind of teach that method now, and I love how you validated that. It's not about the agency or how fancy you are or who you're rubbing shoulders with, it's the value of the pitch, right? It all comes down and, and that's really like knowing how to communicate your message. That is a skill you that is absolutely priceless.
Like knowing how to, how to write, knowing how to do that. So let's talk about pitching like very high level. Can you tell me about how pitching has changed throughout the years and what types of pitches just like work and what type of pitches are like an automatic no from you? Oh, again, I've been at this a while, so the good pitches really do stand out these days and it goes back to that idea of like writing and [00:12:00] writing.
Well, and I know you do such a phenomenal job in teaching really good pointers to your followers, um, and to your students. Uh, what I wanted to say was, the one thing that I have many, many pet peeves I'll run through real quick here. The first thing is when I get an email that's like, what are you working on right now?
Those are like, it's an absolute dead email to me because I get so, I get asked that so many times a day, and unfortunately, even if I love you, even if I have a great relationship with you, I don't have the time to answer that, like times 25 times 50. Um, personal, individual, personalized emails back to you on what I'm working on.
Always, always. Just pitch. I, I, I literally write that sometimes. I'm like, go ahead and pitch. It's like they need permission, um, to pitch me. No, no, just go ahead. Tell, tell me why you're, why are you here? What's your story? Make it concise. Make it clear. Um, I, I know you talk a lot about the subject line and yes, it's very, very important, whether it's something timely, something seasonal, um, all those things are very, if you can [00:13:00] throw that into your subject line and you, you understand the art of that very, very much.
Um, also, I hate emails that don't include links, links to product. So it can be, it could be the most beautiful pitch of writing in one deliciously concise paragraph, which I could eat for lunch. But if there is not a link in there or a picture of the product, um, or what a picture of, you know, the expert that you're pitching within that, um, email.
Uh, yeah, I'm at a loss. I don't know what this looks like. I, I don't know, maybe the, if you forgot the price part, I was just, I was just sending back, I'm like, this is so great. Sounds very promising. What's the price point? Right? Having to go back and ask those little questions, um, because.
Ooh. You just don't wanna waste people's time. You, you're gonna only get them for a very short period of time, so definitely don't waste their time. Like, just double check that. Um, editing down is very key. I know, I know. Let's just say like, somebody is [00:14:00] making these absolutely gorgeous bowls that have a section for hummus and a section for pita chips, and it's like your life's work, right?
It took a year to develop them. You finally got them made. Um, they have a special thing because maybe they're green, they're made from completely sustainable corn starch or something. Um, and you're, and you're ready. And so you, you're telling me your whole life story. You starting from when you were 12, you dreamed of wanting to be an entrepreneur and being on Shark Tank and da da da.
And I, you know, I'm, I'm lost already. Like, whatcha pitching? What's the thing? So please, I know we ask many things of you as entrepreneurs, but you've gotta be an editor, almost, like go through your pitch a few times and, and if you are yawning, I'm yawning. If you think, oh, this sentence is just not falling right.
I'm gonna be feeling the exact same way too. Like less is more. Cut it down, make it concise, and give lots of resources, right? Again, the link to product. Um, anything that you might think a person might need, a high resolution photo. Photo of the product. Um, some people like attachments, [00:15:00] some people don't.
I'm not necessarily opposed to attachments if they're relevant to the pitch. And if I wanna click more, I wanna click more on it, like, right, right there. Um, another thing is for me, and this is coming from the TV world, if it's something that I just covered, it's unlikely I'm gonna be covering it right?
Again. So I'll give you an example. Uh, I'll do a segment. I had a segment. This was, this was really great, very fun. It was all about honey products that had honey in them. Beauty products that had honey whipped, honey butters, any, anything that, like products that were infused with honey that you could then wrap things up with.
Right. So, um, and it was also a bit about bee conservation and how we need to take care of our pollinators. So it was multi, a multi-fold social project as a segment. Right after that segment aired, I received 10 pitches on honey. And this is how the pitch started. You know, I, I just saw your segment on honey, and here are five products that I have about honey.
But when I've just done a national segment on honey, [00:16:00] unfortunately it's very unlikely that in the next month, in the next three months, even in the next five to six months that I'm gonna have another segment. So specific. About a topic such as honey. Now it would be different with a more generalized category like best beauty buys for fall.
If I've covered a range of beauty products and someone writes me say, oh, I just saw you on covering this and that mascara and this and that blush, and I have these cosmetics. I know we've never been in touch before. Well, something more general like beauty would, might be something I might revisit in three months.
But again, please just be aware of, uh, an individual person's work. It, it, it's not helpful. Super helpful. Anyway, I have to, it's more like a product that I would be like, oh, thank you so much for your outreach. I will keep this on file for the next time that I cover honey. Yeah. Yeah. And we have a whole training on gift guides that really talk about that too.
But just to reiterate what you said, I mean, I hope, I hope y'all are taking notes. Okay. Whoever's listening to this, you are just dropping so many gems. One of the things you said [00:17:00] is if it's for tv, don't pitch something that you just pitch. So just. Be a good steward of the news. People like, just look at what they've covered.
Right? And so you could turn that into an opportunity. So let's say if I do have something with honey, I might say, I love what you did with like edible beauty. Here is another product with this tea flower that is similar to what you covered, right? So like culinary things that can be used as beauty. So even though my stuff might have honey with it, I'm not leading with the honey, but I'm leading with a similar theme that's a little bit different.
Like, would that work? Yes. I love that. Even just saying, showing awareness that you even saw one of my segments is just like so flattering, right? So even if you said, oh, I just saw your green good segment last month on Earth Day. I have another sustainable idea, but it has like a cooling function. It might be really great for some of your summer pitches.
Yeah. So you're, you're literally giving me ideas for a segment and that the ne the next segment propelling things forward, always thinking about what the next steps are or. [00:18:00] Another way to think of it is like, how does this come off the branch of the tree? So she just covered green goods. So how can I segue that and tie it in with what I'm doing for what the future branch might be?
Which might be, um, again, like cooling products for summer, which I think I actually did. I have that last summer or two summers ago. So sometimes I revisit very specific pitches, like, um, things that keep you cool. Literally, I think that was the segment or sleep awareness always comes about like sleep awareness.
I think it's in April. This is mental health awareness month. Now. I won't have as much with mental health awareness, but um, back to, I'm already working on Back to school. We're in May and that's for August, but I've already been booked for back to school. So certain themes circle back every year. Um, other ones are just, maybe I might have it one year.
It might revisit it another three years. I had International Women's Day last year, which I. I mean, it was such a ballpark home run segment on multiple levels because not only was it women-owned [00:19:00] businesses, but it was women-owned businesses that give back and many of them gave back to other future women rising entrepreneurs or organizations or education like women, like girls in education or so.
Um, so that, unfortunately I didn't get that one rebooked, but I'm like, please, please, like a year from now, I, I, I want the, I want, uh, March 8th, I think it's an International Women's Day again. Yeah. And you know, our audience here is 95% women, women of color. So for the people that are listening, get your pitches ready.
Because if Jamie does get that, we will, you'll we'll have so many amazing businesses to pitch that give back. Um, I wanna reiterate what you said that was so powerful, which is think about how you can be a branch in the future. How can you extend that tree branch a little bit more? So it's not about replacing the branch, right?
Like pitching the honey, but how can you take that a little bit further and as you were talking about the different seasonalities, because as you know, especially with product, it's all about the season, right? Nobody [00:20:00] wants to get pitched an entire catalog of all your 24 products. Pick one. That's great. I was thinking we could even do one for like adaptogenic beauty stuff that helps you with focus and productivity for fall back to school, right?
That could be another one. I love that. I love it. Um, yeah, it's, and you know, I wanna, oh, you, something just sparked, I love this when this happens, but even when I have themes that repeat themselves, like back to school, and I have them every year, or, and for years I did kids fashion, by the way, I retired from this kids fashion, and now I've been roped back in.
So you just, you just never know how things are gonna go cyclically. Um, but I do, you know, sometimes you'll have like repeat, or you'll see it again and again, maybe it's, you know, Easter decor or like it's, um, fun summer games, or it's like how to throw the backyard party or these repeat themes. Whenever I'm given an assignment that's a repeat, I always try to one up myself.
I mean, like, why not? It's like how do I do this better? How do I bring something different to this? Maybe a corner of this tabletop for the best [00:21:00] backyard barbecues is gonna be all green products like green, replaceable, you know, the green, um, plates that are portable, but like disposable. But you don't put 'em in the trash.
You put them in the composter. Maybe it's, um, maybe it's all local. Um, it's difficult on a national segment to do just local, but as long as they have a website, right? Local fines for barbecue sauces, and maybe you have diversity within that. So it's, um, countrywide. So you have one in Tennessee and then you have another one from Alabama, and then you have one from Texas.
Um, and maybe hey, maybe hey, there's one from Seattle. You know, like having a variety there. Or maybe it's, uh, different types of beers from breweries that are owned by Bipo, you know, owners, you know, it's like. What can I bring to this segment that is one step up from what I did previously? So I always have that attitude with all my segments, actually.
I'm like, how do I make this better? How do I make it brighter? How do I make it more entertaining for people who are listening at home? What's gonna be the catch [00:22:00] that's gonna make them think, oh yeah, you know, I, I need this in my life. Or it can be a passion story about behind the product. You know, I have, um, some amazing, amazing stories coming up.
I'm just trying to think of, um, most recently I did actually have green goods and I had these products called Uni, and they're like changing the, the face of how we view showering products. So they have like a body wash and shampoo and conditioner, but they're all refillable systems. So it has like an end cap on it where it, it squirts, and then the bottom part is what's replaceable.
It's made out of aluminum. You can recycle that yourself, or you can send those aluminum empty canisters back to the company and they will refill them and send them back to you for a closed loop system. So this was the first time I've ever done closed loop, I think closed loop on today. Anyway, the Today Show, and you know, it begs almost for another level of explanation, right?
But I'm like, okay, so how do I, and it was made with super plants and it was, you know, phthalate, synthetic, no [00:23:00] fragrance, you know, all the freeze free of everything, parabens, everything that we don't want. So there was a, it was really, really loaded with a lot of information. But how do you explain a closed loop sec, uh, closed loop system in 10 seconds or less?
I mean, I must have practiced that. For two hours. So depending on if Al was gonna ask me, well, what does that mean? Or if somebody followed up and like, well, what does closed loop mean? Um, I don't understand what if I got that back from a host? Right. So, um, needless to say, some things require more explanation, but it's like how to, that had an incredible story, right?
Like, not, not to, and that main product, uh, one green product out of many. It was really explaining for me on that one. It was like explaining point of origin coming to you, cycling back, coming back to you. That's what closed loop is, right? So, um, making it concise and digestible. That was the story behind that, that product, that was, that was my job to explain it Well.
I, I love that and [00:24:00] I love what you said actually before we got on this call, you told me you're half Japanese and you speak Japanese. It was really important for you to highlight women of color and people doing different things. And so that's really why I wanted to have you on that. Not only are you trying to shine a light on small business, but really bringing different voices and, and people from all lived experiences.
The one thing though, I will have to say is for a lot of the communities, right by bipo communities, there's a lot of, um, barriers that have to, that we feel like we have to overcome, right? We somehow feel like, uh, oh, we're just not ready, or We're too early stage. And there's all these like what ifs, right?
How can you, mm-hmm. How can we, as small businesses that maybe just have a little product, great product, but very small, maybe we don't have a fancy website, what is the best way to get over that imposter syndrome so that we can still confidently pitch and think, wow, I can get onto the world stage, such as today's show.
'cause that seems like an impossible dream for so many. Oh, definitely not impossible. It's just a matter of connecting and, and [00:25:00] story and, and timing. You know, we haven't talked about timing. We, we can talk in depth about when to pitch. Um, one thing that you said made me think of something else within what you were saying about, um, oh, you, you said the website, you might not have a fancy website.
So honestly, there are some like, key components that you'll need for, for any segment. You know, I always say start local, you know, start in your local markets. Local television makes the world go round. I love doing segments by the way, not just on a national stage, but like I do them all over the country all year long.
And, uh, I love working with locals, so, you know, it's really good. Get on with a, a local station at first, get your feet wet if, whether it's you talking about the product or another fellow expert, um, such as myself, like. Doing a roundup of products. Uh, it doesn't, it doesn't really matter. It's really, really good and, and somewhat important.
So when you're first starting off, um, you do need a good, a good solid functioning website. Like you said, it doesn't have to be fancy, [00:26:00] but I do need to be able to turn viewers somewhere to purchase your product. If you're not in a brick and mortar or any kind of national distribution yet you, you do need to be able to have sales from your website.
And then the other thing, it really does help to have been featured in some other markets. If they're local, it's not necessarily a requirement, but it does add strength to a pitch, especially if my, when you're small, my producers will ask me the same questions over and over. Amy, have you vetted production?
Have you vetted whether they can handle a heavy inquiry of, um, orders? Uh, how many variety of products, you know, is this the only product? Do they have, do they have other products? Sometimes that's a factor. Sometimes it's not. So please, I don't mush to make anybody feel trepidatious about that, but sometimes it is a factor.
So these are all the questions that normally I vet out before I even pitch a producer. Or even I, I, I have, you know, my little, um, my little antennas go up when I'm concerned, you know? And sometimes I have had to pull out product [00:27:00] from a smaller business because they didn't have the production. Like they only had maybe 50 product samples or maybe a hundred product samples.
And I'm like, oh, well those are gonna go really quickly. Whereas that is a good thing. We also can't have people turning back and saying, um, well, I wanted to order this, but I couldn't order this. And what's up with that? So that causes frustration, unfortunately, for the consumer, and we want everybody to be happy.
Oh, I love that. So I feel like I'm gonna need to turn this into like a two part, uh, podcast episode. 'cause there's so much that you just covered. You're right, we did not cover timing yet. But just to recap, what you said is you don't need the most optimized tech advanced website, but if you wanna get on a show like today's show that has millions of people watching, you need to be ready for that inquiry, right?
Mm-hmm. So making sure that you are able to sustain that, so that's important. Um, what about social media presence? Do they need to be like, you know, really mastery of the social media or can they be somewhat [00:28:00] unknown, but they have a great product? I. So social media actually really doesn't come into factor unless you're an expert trying to put yourself to be on national tv, and then they'll look at your social media numbers and they want them to be quite robust.
Uh, if you look at mine, they're moderate. And that's only because, I mean, I've been at this, I've been actually on today for 20 years and many other shows for numerous years. Rachel, Rachel just finished her final season this past season, but I've been with Rachel since 2011. Um, and you had said Kelly and Ryan at the top of the show.
Now it's live with Kelly and Mark. And so I've been with her through, this is her third cohost that I've been through with, um, Kelly. So, so I've been on other show, numerous other shows like Meredith Vera's show that's now defunct. I mean, I've, I've been around a little while. Um, and so, uh, yeah, those social numbers, they actually don't even ask for social numbers for businesses.
So please don't worry about that. It's more about if you can, you know, what stage your product is in. If it has been wildly tested. Over time. [00:29:00] And, um, meaning like you, you've maybe been out for a bit and they, they see the distribution channels are fine and then it's really about, uh, product quantity.
Here's a little, another flag that just comes up in my reporting all the time. I might find something that I really want to cover. Um, but several of the items are sold out on the website. Let's say, I actually just recently had this, I'm trying to remember what it was like a, was it an inflatable canoe? I can't remember.
An inflatable canoe. I just loved it. So fun for families safe and my, my, my, you know, producers like, is this safe? I'm like, no, no. It's been out for like a solid year. It's really good. People absolutely love it. But I think there was a problem, like certain sizes or colors were really not available. My producer really wanted, was worried about, again, distribution, quantity and deliverables.
So, um, in that case, we had to take a pass. I can't really remember if it was the inflatable canoe, if it was something else, but, um, if there's low inventory, it is a concern. It's like a red flag. I'll give you another, uh, tangible example. It was for Olympics. Actually two of those Olympic games were very, very close [00:30:00] together.
It wasn't Japan, the Japanese Olympics, it was the other Olympics, so it must have been winter. And I wanted to feature these goggles, ski goggles, uh, definitely winter, sorry, ski goggles. And, and I had to make sure there was an Olympic athlete tie in to them, et cetera. But there was something wrong with, like, they didn't have enough distribution of the exact goggle that the athlete wore, and thus I could not feature it.
I had to feature something else. So this is just an example of what happens on my end. Um, you are busy pitching, but I'm also very busy vetting and there's lots of different factors that go into it. So if I have, um, Let me think of another segment. If I have like a lineup, oh, I did like camping in your backyard, right?
So I'm gonna need like a tent. I might need some kind of like, uh, stove of some kind for heat. I might need products for snacks, like maybe innovative backyard snacks that don't bring a big mess, some version of a s'more, but maybe that has a different twist to it. So once I did one with like blackberry, gem and marshmallow, [00:31:00] something different from your chocolate.
Um, but see, so from my end, I'm also looking to fill certain categories and full. There isn't, then again, space for, for maybe your product that would've filled that category. So there's lots of different things on my end that I'm trying to balance as well. And as I told you, um, at kind of top of show behind scenes, increasingly over time, if you watch any of my segments, if you go back and watch any of them, especially on the national level, I always try to include at least one to two small businesses.
I always love to have Bipo, wherever possible, Latinx, Asian American business, A A P I, um, nh, uh, you know, native Hawaiian. I love to incorporate more voices, give more platform. So if you watch any of my segments, you'll, and you'll see me here, I said, oh, you know, this is, um, a black owned, a black American owned business, or this is a, this is a small business, you know, um, I really love, you'll, you'll see that the, so again, I'm trying to, I'm trying to fill those slots too.
So as much as you're scrambling and pitching and wondering why aren't they [00:32:00] responding at our end as well, there's a lot that we need to process. Many things we need to consider and we haven't even talked about. Price points and where those fall. And every show has different rules and every show has different deadlines and every show needs, you know, I could be asked to do a segment, uh, with a, within a week's time, or I could have a month's time.
So, um, those all, all, all of those things come into factor, right. I always say it's kind of like a revolving luggage. Um, you know, like when you're at the airport and you get your baggage, baggage carousel. Yeah. It like, that's how the stories are. They're, they're always moving. It doesn't mean that your story's gonna get picked up, but it's on the baggage carousel.
Right. So do you find that sometimes you go back into your inbox and you're looking for one very specific thing, and you might go back to a pitch that you got a few months ago because you needed that one little piece. Oh yeah. You know, I, I actually, whereas my respond rate is probably relatively low, except for, except for people that I'm in regular communication with in the PR world and [00:33:00] individual businesses as well.
Um, I actually open a lot of emails if I'm interested, and then I have, like, on my own little system, I resend the email back to myself and in the subject line, if, let's say there's five products in it, but I'm interested in product number four, I'll be like, okay, so whipped moisturizer, I'll just put that in the subject line, resend it to myself, and then it goes in a file that's for beauty.
So I just did one where people are now pitching me. I have a Father's Day segment and um, you were talking about the baggage carousel. Ove is all I have to say to that. So Friday I sent out an ask to my peeps and I said, listen, I have Father's Day and it's last minute, so it'll be on a Tuesday before Father's Day last night, overnight with my producer texting me, it changed to the Friday.
Before Father's Day. So no longer can products be really shipped unless it's overnight. So all the asks in my inbox, I have to talk about the baggage carousel. I gotta go back and say, okay, thank you so much for providing detailed [00:34:00] shipping information, which was one of the requirements on my ask. Please include shipping information so I know when the final deadlines are and I gotta go back and say, unless you can ship overnight or you're available at a large distributor, that's nationwide.
Can I cover your product re-pitch? That's what I'm gonna do after this. Oh, joy. Wow. The bag, the baggage carousel of life. Yeah, it's this kind of, um, very complex web of so many different stories, and we don't have an insight into your editorial calendar because it's always changing. So the only thing that we can do as small businesses on the outside is to do our work, to understand what you're covering, to be a good steward of the news, and to know how to pitch in a very pithy and concise way.
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Do you think that that's pretty much like the only thing we can do? Because like, we don't have a crystal ball to know what your editor's gonna say. Right? Right. And you know, when you say, um, I, I know you're very good with the subject headers and like pitching for a season or pitching an idea. If I like a product, I'm going to actually try to find a space for it.
So again, I resend the email [00:35:00] to myself, I put the, the header of what I'm thinking it for, and then I put it into a folder. Do you know how many folders I have on the side? I have things from pride to pets, to babies. I've got gadgets. I've got techie gadgets. I have kids fashion. I have kids fashion back to school supplies, right?
And so one of the pitches I received for Father's Day, I'm like, Oh my. It's really not for the father. Let, okay. I, I don't, I don't wanna identify the person, so let me switch it up. I was pitched baby bottles for Father's Day. They said fathers love to connect with their babies by feeding them. This is not the type of product I'm looking for Father's Day, nor do I think a father would enjoy receiving a baby bottle in a box that says, I love you, dad.
Right? It's not, it's not. So the, the pitch was misplaced, but I thought, okay, well baby bottles go on, goes in the baby folder, and if there's something interesting about this baby bottle, then I will think about it for that, not for this, but for that, I don't have [00:36:00] time to actually respond to the person who pitched, um, to say, this is not good for this.
But I'm thinking about it for that. So actually that's been happening with a number of my Father's Day pitches. I'm thinking, Ooh, this would be great for a summer roundup. So it goes into my summer roundup summer. I called it the summer fun folder. Summer fun. Summer fun, summer fun. I almost have a complete segment to pitch for Summer fun right now.
Again, I don't have time to get back to the owners about, I'm doing this because I'm actually working on the Father's Day segment. So, so, you know, it's a matter of time management, but when you pitch me a good pitch and I like a product and you can pitch it multiple times, wearing different, you know, like a chameleon of different colors.
This is for Father's Day, or this is for, um, this is for the beach, or this is a really great item for like, for parents from back to school or whatever. Whatever. You're, if I still like the product, it's already been put in that folder so you, so you're good so to speak. Ooh, Amy, what I would not do to get into your inbox and just look at all of your folders.
Amazing. I embarrassed. Yeah. I had one that was like Summer Sense [00:37:00] and my producer loved it. And then she came back, I guess she got feedback. She goes, we don't have smell of vision. I'm like, that's true. But it was, oh, but I loved it. It was like products. I had products that smelled like papaya. I had like a something coconut thing that you could like eat.
I had, um, you know, all the different scents of summer. I even had like a palm leaf scent. I don't know. I really, I still love it. I think that segment could live on somewhere else. Yeah, exactly. And, and you don't even know what your editors love, so it's all very subjective. Oh, oh my gosh. Yeah. The point of this is to say, and what I teach in my PR program is the hat's open you guys.
Mm-hmm. Just put your name in it because if you don't even put your name and you're like, oh, I can't pitch this, and you're just, just, you're just cutting yourself out of the race and people are gonna just put themselves in there. So I, I love how you just affirmed that we have to, as small businesses just pitch anyways and not just get, just get over the fear of pressing send because you never know when you're gonna go back to one of your folders and you're gonna say, Hey, are you still there?
Would love to cover this. [00:38:00] And that is a life, an absolute life changing opportunity for a, for a business. Oh, for sure. And also the converse of that, maybe I'm like, suddenly got booked something and something lands on my inbox and I'm like, ah, you have no idea. Your timing is impeccable. Yes. So again, it's like, you know, uh, I, I, so much of it is the hard work, and thank you for putting the hard work in your words.
Thank you for putting into together a concise pitch. Thank you for your links. Thank you for your pictures. Um, and then the rest is timing. And it, it's not necessarily even something that I have control of. Um, it's, it's what I, what I'm booked for. And I both do a balance of both pitching myself out for segments, but also now I have regular producers who will come to me and, and know they can rely on me.
And I, I wanna say that goes also, and it extends to you that same thing. Um, the reliability, right? So I am asked to do a lot of work, a very diverse work, and very, like all over the map work in, um, in some shows I'm known for d I y and other [00:39:00] shows. I'm known as the Green Cleaning Expert and other shows I'm known for Style and other shows.
I'm known for Product roundups. I mean, it's like, it's, it's, it's, it's really funny. But they can call me in a moment's notice or with a super long lead and they know I will deliver. Again, every segment has to be better, so they know I'm gonna bring it and I'm gonna do it better. Right. Yeah. Please think and adopt this concept, this mentality, also this mindset for yourself when you're pitching.
Um, because if I know that I can rely upon you, if I get like a last minute assignment, who do I reach out to? I reach out to a very small select group of people that I know deliver time and time again. They know I'm gonna need overnight shipping. I'm gonna need detailed information about the product. I'm gonna need, you know, they, and they'll give it quickly, concisely, and without questions or pushback.
Yep. That's the kind of person I wanna be. Like a, a resource, like a really, really reliable resource. Exactly. It's, it's a, once you're in, there's no limit to the amount of times that [00:40:00] you'll go back to that source. So to me, it's a worthwhile thing to build a relationship. I'd rather do that than dance and make Instagram reels that get no reach.
Well, there's a place for, if you, if you go to my Instagram, you'll realize there's a place for Instagram reels too, but, and you never know who's watching. Um, for sure. But yes, no, it's, it's a good balance. I, I think it's a very important balance to do a little, a bit of social too, and, and also obviously to develop those, those good.
Well, it's not 30 million people, at least not for me. What I would rather do is to have you cover something on like the Today Show, and then we can take clips and put that on social media. But, you know, I wouldn't start with social media, is what I'm saying. Like that's not the foundation. Mm-hmm. Oof.
You've, you've given us so many things. Now I wanna just break apart everything that you said. 'cause we're all about, uh, showing, not just telling, right? Mm-hmm. So show us how it's done, right? Tell us about the timeline. Let's say I make a body serum, right? Mm-hmm. And it has many different properties. Um, when do I pitch [00:41:00] that?
If I wanna get into Mother's Day versus when I wanna get into like Q four, like holiday season. Like what does that timeline look like? So it's different for different media. So because I used to work in magazines and for those that are still around in, in existence, oh, we used to work, um, anywhere from three months to six months in advance on certain topics.
So in December, when the December issues would hit, the stands we're looking at swimsuits, beach towels, beach games we're already in summer, like late spring, early summer. So it be anywhere from three months is the minimum. Minimum three months and, you know, you're, you increase your chances the more you step back.
If you get a four month lead, a five month lead, and, but no more than a six month lead. It just depends. Um, and like, you know, gift guides, some magazines would start in July, no exaggeration. So literally six months in advance. Um, so that's for like magazines and print, um, TV pitching, there's gonna be a range on [00:42:00] this.
I know that you had a segment, or you had a podcast in February where the expert said, you know, a month, a month before Mother's Day, A month before Mother's Day, I was done with Mother's Day. So for me it's two months. Two months for tv. Um, father's Day, I think what I still have the month of May and it's in June.
So yeah, I'm about a month and a half out. Um, but that's, like I said, I have back to school booked already and that's in August. So I've already got my little, my light feelers out for back to school because with the luxury of time I can make it the better bestest. Segment ever. I know there's no such superlatives, but I'm always trying to outdo myself.
Right? So, um, yeah, I say for TV give it two solid months. There's no reason to wait. Like I'll give, give a 30 day lead when a lot of those spaces might already be occupied. Like, you don't wanna miss miss the boat. What about today's show? Don't you do like last minute things or it's already all your guests are booked?
Um, not, not, well, it depends on the hour. [00:43:00] Every hour has different producers that feed into it and so, um, I was just asked to do a segment next week and I had to turn it down 'cause it's a conflict of interest with another segment I have in the same week. So yes, sometimes segments are, are more like, have a shorter lead, but if it's not like necessarily news related, like Pantones color of the year and then maybe they forgot to book it or something, and then they need you to whip something together once the color comes out.
Um, unless it's something like that, no, I have, I have, I have a producer I should say, who has like a longer lead time for that. Um, but then, you know, conversely print, uh, online. 'cause I think mostly what we're looking for is like searchable online magazines. Yeah. And so like online, the digital space, the, the lead times are much shorter as, so that's the, the be the shortest end of it could be anywhere from like, literally you could a week to two weeks.
It just depends on how those editors work. And I have worked for our verticals before where I was working more on that kind [00:44:00] of timeline where you could pitch me within a week and I could still get it in, into a digital print. Um, and also, yes, the converse of the long lead in television, because I'm lifestyle I'm not news.
So is, is that you might get a segment, you have a week to put it together and, and you're, and you're scrambling kind of thing. And again, who am I calling? I'm calling people that are trusted, trusted sources. I love that. So we also had quite a few people talk about gift guides because we have a lot of product makers in our pro, in our program as well.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And it's good news that it, you can still pitch last minute 'cause there's a whole thing on last minute gift guides too, right? You can pitch like a week before Christmas. Um, but I wanna reiterate for those that are listening, if you are pitching a gift guide, do you put the price point in there so that you know if it's like a under 50 or if it's a luxe gift put in the shipping, right?
Like how many days? Mm-hmm. So, um, what about like samples or promos or discounts? How do you put that in the pitch? So, excuse me. I wouldn't even, I wouldn't even necessarily, um, [00:45:00] Uh, well that's two prong. So people are actually starting to pitch me Memorial Day. I just saw some of those in my inbox this morning.
And, um, if you're like a shopping expert or you're a deals expert, or you are, or you're, or you're pitching to, um, these experts, then you know, of course they wanna hear about the deal. In my case, it's not necessarily such a big deal, no pun intended. Um, and actually sometimes I'm not, my producer prefers that I don't mention any kind of like, deal on air.
Um, promo codes are difficult also to share on air. So it's just, it's a matter of legal and all that stuff has to be approved by legal on my end. So, um, usually I don't even get there until, you know, maybe actually I'll, I'll book a product, uh, book a given item that's already been approved. My run list is solid, it's done.
And then at the very end they're like, oh, well we would love to give your viewers a discount. Then I have, you know? Yeah. I'm like, okay, well gimme the discount. We'll see what we can do. Sometimes it's only shared in the online story. Um, if I'm allowed to say it verbally on air, then, then it's a go. But that, [00:46:00] that all depends.
Yes. What about samples? Um, yeah, put as mood samples. I actually prefer, and I'm known for this, is not to accept samples unless I have a place for it. That's simply because I have limited space in my house. I'm also super Asian, modern minimalist, and I don't like, think to acquire things and it's, it's always, um, I always feel terrible if I accept something and I can't find a place for it.
It's like my Asian guilt factor, even though I make it very clear that I, I never guarantee placement. It's just still, it just, it rides me too much. I can't deal with it. So I actually prefer not to receive samples unless I'm pretty serious. About, um, when I'm moving forward with, and I need to pretest it before it goes national.
Ooh. I love that because I think a lot of the, uh, how do I say, pseudo journalists slash influencers are, they just want free product, but they're never gonna write. And I think they kind of taint the environment for all of us. Right? Because you're someone that's saying, I don't really like samples. But then we have other people who are asking for samples, and I always tell my PR students like, you should never have to give something away for free to be, for it to be featured.
Mm-hmm. [00:47:00] Because that, that technically is not editorial. Then it becomes advertising. Right. Then it's kind of pay to play. Right. So I, I love how you validated that. It's not a requirement, but can they mention it in the email? Like of course. Oh yeah. Yeah. And sometimes I'll have people on the follow up say like, okay, well let me know where I should send this.
And I'm like, oh. And I'll always be very clear. I am like, I actually prefer to have placement for this before I accept. Thank you. The only, I just wanted to preface, um, it's not really a requirement, but there are some avenues of reporting where you actually do have to like, call everything in in order to kind of know whether this is a product that works really, really well.
I'm thinking a little bit more like in the beauty areas, especially with skincare, body care, those kinds sometimes, uh, a journalist, I mean, you have to call in everything in order to like see if it's gonna be something that viable that you can work with. And testing does take time. Um, they might have limited staffs or whatever, and there's only so many parts of the body you can test all at the same time.
So there, you know, there's certain industries and certain, um, avenues of reporting that actually really do need to always call in products. So I just wanted to [00:48:00] make that one note. There's seems like there's an exception for every rule. Um, and everybody's different. You know, there's other people just like me who, who love samples.
So it just really, it really depends. I love that. So now that we, we know that we have to do the price point, we have to tell, talk about shipping samples, not really a requirement for gift guides. Is there anything else? Specifically for a gift guide that my audience should know when pitching for a gift guide?
Hmm. Yeah, for gift guide, I can't, I would just say again, start early, I start to see a holiday gift guide pitches as early as usually August. Like don't necessarily feel like you have to wait to pitch. And then again, like you say, there are, might be last minute scramble, but because the holidays are like probably the number one shopping days of the year, increasingly I don't really see editors and I don't really see producers waiting to, to book these, these items or to like complete their run list.
Um, it seems like it's earlier and earlier and I always know if I have holiday segments by basically September. There's um, different booking producers for different [00:49:00] things, but sometimes there'll be a designated producer for just all the holiday content for like a given hour of a show. And so that could be done as early as September.
So you don't wanna like, Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, so for TV they should be looking to pitch, um, you know, not the director, not the anchor, but the, what would it be? The booking producer or what, what's the title? The right title of the person. So that's really, um, difficult to say. Sometimes it's like a senior producer level, A booking producer can be anything from booking.
Producers are usually dealing with high level talent, so like, more like celebrity level. Um, and then, uh, I really wanna be clear that if you're doing a book, you need to find the person who handles books. There's always a producer who only handles books. I get pitched a lot of books. I'm like, oh, you know, I don't, I don't place books.
I don't usually, I rarely have a book like in my lineup of products. I'm like, you need to speak with the person. Actually books, just the authors, because that person is very busy actually speaking with publishing houses as [00:50:00] well as independently published, um, authors too. So it's matter kind of hit or miss.
I would always say definitely associate producer level. Um, Producer level, level. And then usually it's the senior producer level that's, that has designated senior producers or handled for booking. It's, it's, it's, you know, it's kind of fair game, um, to at least try and just always ask like, are you the right person for this pitch?
You know, are, do you handle booking product? And they'll, they'll let you know. Yeah, I, I love that. I mean, it doesn't, it doesn't hurt to ask. So let's say somebody listened to this podcast. They, they, they took my pr advice, they pitched what happens next? If you like the pitch, like, let's, let's go through the timeline, like from pitch to actual interview.
So if I actually, um, if I'm liking something, it made it into my folder and, um, then I'm pitching a segment with the final product. So I want to be super transparent on what that product is like, because I also [00:51:00] wanna talk about not only getting booked, but also what happens after you get booked, which is really, really important.
And we often only talk about the front end and we never talk about the backend. So, um, let's say it makes it into my run, my initial run list. This is just a draft of up to 40 to 50 products for a given segment of a given theme. Um, then I'll send it off to my producer and they will pick, uh, they either as a team or one single producer.
We'll narrow down that list to their top six to seven products out of 40 to 50 products that I have pitched. When I get that final list, it's all green. I'm green to go, and I have, I've been doing this a while, so I have a very, very detailed pool request that has all the information you could practically know.
It will even tell you what time to go to the bathroom. So, um, it's, it'll give you the information of when the show is how many quantity I need of a product. Um, I confirm the [00:52:00] exact product, the link and everything. And then, um, I'm very specific with my pool, so I'll be like, I need two purple ones. I need two pink ones.
I need two orange ones. I need two green ones. If this is your first time, like, do not be overwhelmed by the quantities that might be requested, because not only do we need ones for front display on countertop, but we might also need ones. To test or if it's a food item to have in the back for host to sample should they wish.
If it's something we have to prep, we need one set to prep and one set to be the, be what's called the beauty or the display item. So if you, if you are asked, and you're a small business, and they're like, okay, well we need 10 of these and they cannot be returned, please do not be overwhelmed because it's still an amazing opportunity, um, that we need these quantities for a very specific reason.
By the way, also, if I request 10, please don't decide to send five because then I just need to come back to you and ask for the other five. My producer is annoyed. The props person is annoyed. The art per art director [00:53:00] person is annoyed. We're all annoyed. So if I ask for something specific, it's usually for a very specific reason.
Um, and that was actually just recently happened in a segment. I'm like, why did you only send like half what we requested? And they just seemed like a lot. And I'm like, I'm gonna need the other half and now you're gonna need to express send it, which is an additional cost. Like I totally get it. It's like, so everything's like so crazy, right?
And it's expensive, but they just made more work for everybody, including themselves, by not, um, doing what was on the requested list. Um, and you can, oh, by the way, I always encourage asking questions, like ask questions if you like, don't understand why something is written on there. Um, sometimes there's a digital story after the, you know, that's tied to the segment.
Sometimes there isn't. And actually that's not something that's under my control and I make that very clear also. Uh, and then I request tracking information, which regardless of whether you've shipped it, regardless of whether it has arrived, I still need the tracking information. Like the buildings that these products are going to are massive.
And there's more than just that [00:54:00] show at these buildings. And sometimes even though the product has arrived, it gets lost in the building. So there's very, it's, it's very obvious reasons why. And this is, um, This is something that I wanted to talk about, like the backend, there's two specific things I wanted to talk about on the backend.
When I send you the, the golden, the golden ask, that's like, I'm so excited to pull your product for this national television show. It's like, it's a beautiful moment for me. It's a beautiful moment for you. And I'm as excited for you as if it were my first segment. I'm, I'm not exaggerating. Like I get it. I get it.
And um, the first thing, some I I, I, in your response to me, the first sentence and the second sentence and the third sentence should not say, I have five other products that would be so amazing for this segment. Oh my gosh. So I understand that there is so much excitement and you think, oh, the door has opened and now I need to [00:55:00] shove more products in this.
So when I'm coming to you with an ask. My run list is closed. Every other slot has been filled. And most likely I have actually looked at all those other products that you have in your lineup. And this is the one that has been selected. So, and this happens not just from independent owners, I don't mean it's actually publicists who have other clients, and they're like, I have three more great products for this segment.
And I'm like, that was actually not the right answer. I, I would love to say, you know, I want to share the hope and the joy and all those things at that first moment. And like the thank you needs to come first, right? Yeah. Thank you so much. Like, this is, or whatever, whatever your emotions are, like, please put those down first.
I, I, I, it, it's a very strange feeling that happens to me when I get that email that's like, I have five other great products. I have four other vendors. I have three more products you need to look at. And then they. They go to pitch and it's, it's not a slap in the face. That's not what I mean, but it's like a tap on the fingers to me.
Yeah. And I'm just like, what just happened? [00:56:00] Like, because you're one out of six, that's really one outta 50 that was selected for this segment, and it's hard for me to create that space for you. And I hope that we can appreciate this moment and like, as a joyful win for both of us. Right? Yeah. Don't agree enough.
So that's the one. Yeah, that's the one, that's the one thing. Um, and then the gratitude was, goes for miles and miles. I can't, I can't even tell you because these editorial segments, I'm not getting paid by anybody. The show's not paying me. Products aren't, products cannot pay me to be on. That's actually illegal by the way.
And it's an FTC regulation that if you paying me to be on, then that's sponsored my responsibility as a journalist to disclose that relationship to an audience. Um, So that was one big thing, and I can't remember what the other thing was now, but I, I had, I had another question. Yeah. So, so let's say they get on, right.
I'm assuming a lot of times they're not actually in the studio with you, like you are just describing it to, so do they write out like a whole, like, narrative about the [00:57:00] product and what you should say, or you get on the phone and ask them and then you craft your own presentation about it? So everybody's different, right?
Um, some people might ask you for what are called talking points. Can you please send me some talking points about the product would be, which would be, you know, the description you, the full description you have on your website, any backstory about yourself and creating your company. Um, anything that would make this, you know, meaningful you for, for you.
In addition to reiterating the price point, the direct web link to product, um, and any high res photos that we might use for a blog story or that Today show might use for today.com or whatever show it is that they might actually post on their own digital web story. Um, and so that part is, is good to have at the ready.
I tend to already have all that information because I've already pitched you to my producers. I, um, I'm very, very thorough in my reporting, but every reporter is different. Some are request talking points, some won't. Um, what's very important for you to know is that I'm actually not hired by you [00:58:00] to read a script on air when I go on sharing your product.
And I know that you want me to say certain things, and I know that there are certain things that are very, very important that you want me to push out, but you have to trust that the most important part of your story will absolutely rise to the top. Um, because I, you know, I, I do a lot of research and in the moment I actually prepare probably 200%, and I use what, 8% live on air.
So if, um, you know, when I'm talking, I actually am unscripted. I'm well versed and well practiced. But I am unscripted and depending on what the host is asking me, that's how I will respond. Um, so you have to kind of trust that. And, and I do have publicists of like, okay, well here's your script. And I'm like, it, it doesn't really work that way.
Um, but every, you know, every brand has an agenda and I understand the pressure that publicists can be under as well. So I accept the talking points, but then from there I have to craft it [00:59:00] as, as my, out of my own words because it really is, my editorial means that it's my opinion and my opinion, these are the best products within this given category to recommend to you.
So it has to be my words. And then just enjoy like the influx of attention and credibility. I mean that's like they've already made it. So I think a lot of people tend to worry about problems when they really should just be celebrating the fact that they've like made it on national tv. It's incredible.
Yes, yes. Yeah. So exciting. Is there anything else you wanna say about whether it's product owners or maybe non-product owners? What about like auth? I know you don't do authors, but what about like founder stories, people without a product? Like is there a way that they can get on and do you have any tips about that?
Oh, definitely increasingly, you know, watch, uh, programs and see what type of category of programming you fall into. And that's very important. You know, you gotta watch a couple episodes before you pitch yourself for a given show. Um, but you know, there's like, there's always founder stories. They're like, she made that she did it, you know, like different, and it's not just female.
It could be women, it could be they, them, um, and, you know, pitch yourself for those particular segments [01:00:00] as like a founder story as like, you know, a beginning or maybe it's like a production type of story or what have you. So there's lots of entrepreneurial highlights and, um, different shows and it's just a, please, please just make sure you watch the tenor of the show so that you can have your pitch match the voice of what they're, what they're already looking for.
But yeah, there's increasingly seems like more opportunities than ever to be able to share your story and your journey, um, on the airwaves or digitally. Oh, I love that so much. I could talk to you for hours and you could do a whole like masterclass. Before we go, are there any other tips on connecting follow up or something that you're noticing that's working really well for founders to get into your inbox?
Yes. Uh, I think that you talk a lot about the development of the relationship with journalists and writers and, you know, we're people too. And like I said, I turn back to the people that I have developed relationships with. Um, even as brief as they might be, any, any way that you connect when you get, and these are the people I turn back to time and time again, and there's a [01:01:00] reason for that.
Um, when you get to know my beats, which I'm sorry, I'm a general reporter, so there's many beats that I cover. Yeah. But you, you get to know my beats. You get to kind of know the content. You kind of get to know the feel of what I look for in the same regard. Like, I follow you when you develop a new product and I follow you when you get your first storefront.
Or I follow, actually I'll be featuring next week, uh, a store that I wandered into like. Just kind like after the major crisis of the pandemic, my family went to Hawaii. I saw this really beautiful store. I'm like, oh my gosh, these bags are totally amazing. Little did I know that they had just opened, um, not that long ago, and that they're two female owned.
It's a female owned business. They're both Native Hawaiian, and now they're gonna be on the Today Show next week. Oh. So it's like, you know, um, You never know, like where, where the connection is gonna happen. Whether it's me walking into a store or me sampling a really, like a new food [01:02:00] item at a friend's house, or I, you know, I have to live, I have to live an inspired creative life.
I'm just kidding. Because of the very high level of creativity that's demanded from my job. I'm always looking at new things, always looking for new voices, always looking to highlight interesting and fun stories. And when, by the way, when you get to write, get to know my beat, what I cover, my tenor, my tone, um, my passion, I then again, like follow you when you open the storefront, when you have a new product, when you have something new to share.
When you do a CoLab with another, maybe a bigger brand that's gonna like, yeah. And that, that is helpful for me to like propel your, your voice onto a screen. So, um, it, it's kind of like a mutual, like you kind of end up following each other and that, and that's true also for. Official publicists who might be listening.
Like, I follow you when you go from one firm to another, to when you open your own firm, um, to when you start a podcast. And so, um, there, as much as I am a storyteller, I like [01:03:00] to also create stories with people too. And that's part of the journey. It's all about seeing life through an abundant point of view.
Because when you look like Brene Brown says, when you look for ways you don't belong, you'll always find it. But if you shift your perspective and create opportunities and see everything as opportunities, it's just gonna start coming to you. Right? I mean, you know this. Mm-hmm. Because it's all about how you see things.
So thank you so much for giving us so much. I think I'm gonna make this a two part episode because we just covered so much that this is gonna be one that people will have to come back to. And thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and uh, for just being like so knowledgeable and being in this industry for so long with all the changes.
How can people find you and follow you and hear about what you're working on? That's very nice of you to ask actually. Thank you. I, um, am available across all socials at Amy E. Goodman. It's my website. It, it's basically everything and I do respond to dms, so, um, definitely you can reach out. I'm not a journalist, by the way, who's super active on Twitter.
I might be one of the only ones who's [01:04:00] not. But Instagram for sure, um, is probably the best way to DM me. And I also wanna thank you so much for shedding your love and light on, um, under voiced communities. Uh, it's so beautiful the work that you do and as you know from trying to nail me down for this interview, I'm so sorry, Gloria.
Um, I'm extremely selective about where I'm able to share my passion and my time. Uh, 'cause I always wanna give 150%. I'm sorry, let's round up to 200000%. And, um, but in listening to your work in reporting a little bit about you and hearing your story story from um, DC straight into PR hood, and there is so many things that I just really, really resonated with me.
And I'm so grateful for what you do for our mutual communities and other communities, Latinx, um, and, uh, other Bipo communities. And, [01:05:00] uh, I know that I also do, you know, transgender communities and they, them, um, in increasing the space for people to be able to tell their stories. They better mimic the real world in which we are living in.
So thank you for all the work that you do. Thank you so much for being here.