Switched on freelancers know that publicity is good for business. Positive press coverage in newspapers, trade magazines and professional journals can raise awareness of your freelance business, create leads and even fill order books.

One way to reach a larger audience with public relations activity is to get television news or feature coverage for your freelance business. Local TV news shows are always hungry for strong, visual stories with a local angle and also welcome expert interviewees who can comment on business news stories. Becoming an expert interviewee on television will enhance your credentials and publicize your freelance business.

Create a Visual News Story for TV

FreelanceSwitch already offers solid advice on identifying genuinely newsworthy stories to power your public relations campaigns. For television coverage you’ll need to go a step further and think of the story in visual terms.

Television tells stories with pictures, so coming up with a visual story idea tailored for broadcasters will dramatically increase your chances of coverage. For example, if you’re a freelance programmer who has developed a fun mobile application, you’ll need to demonstrate the app and show how people might use it in the real world.

Consider what the cameraman will see and film if he comes to your office or launch event. Line-up the people who tested the app or satisfied customers prepared to talk on camera.

How to Sell In Your Story

Once you’ve identified a news story, “sell in” the story to the TV station. Most TV news shows have a dedicated correspondent or news reporter who specializes in business and industry stories. Email the reporter directly or contact the forward planning desk if the TV station doesn’t have a specialist on staff.

Above all other considerations, TV news and feature shows want to run stories that connect with the target audience. Pitching a story as important to you and your business is unlikely to thrill the reporter, particularly if he thinks you’re just plugging your business. Instead, explain why the story matters to the TV station’s audience.

Allow Time for Filming and Interviews

If the TV news show wants to cover your story, set aside several hours for interviews and filming. Although TV crews work to tight deadlines, producing a TV package takes time so ensure you interviewees are ready and waiting, even if it means sitting around for several hours. Flexibility and patience is important because TV reporters and cameramen can be demanding about when and where they film.

TV Interview Tips

As the story source and spokesperson for your freelance business, you must be prepared to give the TV reporter an interview yourself. Prepare for the interview. Even if you’re an expert on the subject it doesn’t do any harm to research the background to the story in a little more detail and memorize a handful of interesting facts or statistics.

• Identify and memorize the three main messages that you want to put across in the TV interview. Work the key messages into your answers to the reporter’s questions.
• Answer the reporter’s questions directly, honestly and concisely. Try to keep each answer below 10-seconds so that the reporter can extract and use it as a “sound bite” in news bulletins. If you don’t provide a brief answer, she will use another interviewee instead.
• The reporter wants you to be interesting, so provide engaging answers that draw on your personal experience. Use short examples that illustrate the points that you want to make.
• Avoid “management speak” and technical jargon because this will bore the reporter and alienate your audience. Use down-to-earth language that a non-expert will clearly understand. Imagine you’re talking to someone who’s coming to the subject for the first time.
• Don’t directly plug your freelance business in any of the answers. The reporter will cut this and may not use you again. The PR value of the interview is speaking as an expert on television and most stations will use your business name in the caption that appears while you’re on screen.
• The TV reporter will want you to look the part, so dress for the interview in the same clothes you’d normally wear for work. Never look directly at the camera during a TV interview, because this breaks the “fourth wall” and can seem odd to TV viewers. Instead, look the reporter directly in the eye throughout the interview.

TV news is a fast-moving business and the show will drop softer stories from the running order if a major news story breaks. Don’t be disheartened if your story fails to make it on air the first time you try to get TV coverage.

As long as you pitch relevant and interesting news stories, the TV company will be happy for you to try again. In the world of television news and features, persistence usually pays off.

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by magraphics.