Participating on radio can be one of your most profitable marketing strategies. It's virtually free and, done properly, extremely effective. The checklist we provide here is designed to give you a thorough overview of strategies. It will not only help you set up interviews but handle them adroitly. Getting exposure on radio and TV is only half the battle. If you don't use that opportunity properly, it's a lost cause. With these techniques, however, there's no reason you can't sell books all over the country.

Remember the call letters of the special station, WPEI-AM.. If you bear these in mind, you'll always be a success. What is WPEI-AM? With Preparation and Enthusiasm, I Am Magnificent! There's no reason you can't be a media dynamo and sell thousands of dollars worth of books. The opportunity awaits.

Pre-Interview Tactics

Re-read your book. Months, sometimes years, will have passed since you wrote the book. While few reviewers will read your baby cover to cover, some will. It's most embarrassing if they ask you a question from the book that stumps you.

Write a mission statement. This is a 20- to 30-word statement, covering the core thrust of your book. It will help you get—and stay—focused as you think through the interview process.

Request an advertising media kit. This is typically used by the station to sell ads. It will help you pinpoint the demographics and target audience of radio stations. This allows you to slant your comments more specifically to the appropriate listening audience.

Think of ways to help people relate. If you must use statistics, equate them to something listeners and viewers can get a handle on. Rather than saying X number of Americans suffer from a certain disease, break it down to one in X Americans suffer from . . . Get the idea?

Use controversy whenever possible. There's no question that controversy sells books. Of course it also leaves you more vulnerable. You must be able to express yourself effectively and know your facts. It takes a cool and confident person to handle antagonistic people during a call-in show.

Develop a list of possible hooks. What will work on one show will flop on another. If you offer several approaches, you're more likely to intrigue a producer with one of them. While the main thrust of a book might be about parenting, there could be angles for grandparents, step-parents, and foster-parents. These might parallel a news issue. And what about completely parentless children who live on the streets? Perhaps you could even turn this into a story about abortion—showing the plight of unwanted children.

Contact the right person. Always get the name of the appropriate producer and the correct spelling so you can direct correspondence to the right individual. After a couple of weeks, follow-up with a phone call. Speak only to the producer or guest booker. There's no point in trying to woo an assistant or even the host. These people don't typically decide who will appear. Once reaching the proper party, you'll only have a minute or two for your pitch. Be polite, persistent, and prepared. Consider using email as a contact and/or follow-up mechanism.

Offer to help set up a program. Many shows depend on a panel of complementary or opposing guests. As the expert, you know the field better than the producer does. By volunteering to take over responsibility for setting up a program, you put yourself in a power position. An extraordinary program can often be developed around dissimilar viewpoints or with related experts.

Prepare for the hard questions. This way you'll never be caught off guard. If you have a controversial book, be sure you know the other side of the issue. And if you're asked a question you find yourself stumbling over, write it down after the interview so you can practice how to handle it better the next time.

Think in term of "sound bites." These are short, pithy, provocative statements covering the three or four main points you want to address during the interview. Politicians, CEO's, and others adept at media interface often talk in sound bites. Thus, they're very quotable. Once you have these three or four sound bites as a skeleton, you can then flesh them out no matter what length interview you have. If you only have a few minutes, you won't get much beyond the three points. Yet if you're going to be on for half an hour on a radio show, you can embellish each point with stories or examples to enrich the message.

Practice aloud. Use a tape recorder and listen to how you sound. Critique the way you're coming across. Note not only voice inflection but also pacing and organization.

Give away a freebie. This might take the form of a quiz, a checklist, or a "tips" flier. Always ask listeners to send you a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Of course, you will also include ordering information for the book when you receive freebie requests.

Have a toll-free number. Today's it's very inexpensive to offer toll-free ordering. This increases your sales tremendously. The other component, however, is to accept Visa and Mastercard. A toll-free number with no response vehicle is like a swimming pool without water.

Prepare 3x5 "leave behind" cards. This is how you help folks contact you after the fact. The cards should contain the book title, author, price, plus publisher name, address, toll-free number, and web site URL. Give one to the telephone operator (or mail one) before the interview. One goes to the host or hostess and one to the producer. That way people can readily track you down after the interview segment.

Arrive early. If you do encounter road construction or an accident and you've allowed plenty of time, you won't be sabotaged by these unexpected inconveniences.

Don't book too many shows in one day. You lose track of what you've said if you package six interviews or more in one session. It's extremely unnerving to wonder whether you've covered a point in this interview—or two interviews back. In Phoenix I appeared on seven shows in one day. The last one was a nightmare. My memory became mangled. I couldn't remember if I was making a fresh point—or repeating something I'd had already discussed on this program!

Conducting the Interview

Use the name of the host or hostess occasionally. We all like to hear our own names, and it behooves you to make a good impression with this person.

Develop a stalling phrase. This will be a big help if you're asked a question you aren't immediately ready to answer. Something like "that's a very good question" gives you a few seconds to organize your thoughts. So does repeating the question.

Keep conversation generic. Don't mention a specific time of day, dates, holidays, comments about the weather, or make any statements that would otherwise date your interview. Many taped programs are run in subsequent time slots. If you've said "good morning," however, talked about some current issue in the news, or mentioned a holiday, this precludes using that interview for future airing.

Avoid jargon. Your listening or viewing audience will not understand insider terminology or acronyms. Be sure you're talking so everyone can comprehend your message.

Keep the interview fresh, upbeat, and stimulating. If you're not passionate about your book, how do you expect other people to be?

Project and perform. If you're doing a radio "phoner" from your home or office, get a longer telephone cord. Standing or walking while actually delivering your message will give you a more powerful, resonating presence. Movement also helps release tension.

Mention the title of your book several times. Referring to "my book" doesn't help people if they've recently tuned in and don't know what your book is. How can they go to a book store and order "my book"? There are ways to insert your title without being obnoxious. Here are the things we say: "At the end of our Complete Guide to Self-Publishing we include a Publishing Timetable. It gives fail-safe step-by-step guidance on what to do when . . ." Or "What readers tell us they like most about The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing is . . ." Or "The eight strategies we talk about in The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing cover . . ."

Link your topic to current events. While this isn't always possible, many times a book can be given fresh life by connecting it with a newsworthy item. Watch for ways to make your subject more timely by piggybacking on what's presently hot.

Avoid "yes" and "no" answers. Even if you're given a closed-end question that requires a yes or no, embellish it by taking the topic a step further. Such comments as, "The reason for this is . . ." allows you to carry the interview forward.

Being Sensational on Radio

Do wonders from your home or office. Radio phoners are very popular today. This is a process where a radio station from anywhere in the country calls you long distance at a pre-arranged time. The interview is conducted by telephone. It is a super way to save travel expenses and still get your message to the far corners of America. But, don't use an instrument with a "call waiting" feature. This is very disruptive in an interview.

Throat lubricant tip. For radio interviews you do from home, keep a glass of slightly warm water laced with lemon juice handy. If your throat begins to tighten, this is a great lubricant.

Begin with a bang. If you're listening to a radio show and someone new comes on who sounds lethargic or boring, you flip the dial. Right? Don't cause that yourself. Be animated and excited about your topic! If possible, it's a good idea to experience the show before you appear on it. Notice the time length of the interviews, the format, what the host or hostess is like. Is he cordial or adversarial toward guests? Does She seem well prepared, or is it up to the guest to carry the interview? Knowing these things in advance will help you to be more effective.

Rehearse, then converse. Once you know where you're going and you've prepared yourself, relax! Have a friendly conversation with the host or hostess. Think in terms of a coffee-table chat as opposed to a formal presentation. There's nothing worse than parroting a scripted message.

Have pertinent information written down. In the excitement of an interview, you can go blank at the most embarrassing times. If you always have your toll-free number and your web site address written down, you'll have a back-up system if you don't immediately remember specific information. (Inside the wrist works well—smile, smile.)

Restate your main points in longer interviews. If you are going to be on a half hour or more, people will be tuning in all the time. Many will not have heard the title of the book or your main points, so recast what you have to say in a slightly different way throughout a long radio interview.

For call-in shows, set up a friend. Prime him or her with a provocative question. It's awkward if the lines are thrown open for questions—and there is response. It usually only takes a couple of calls to get the ball rolling. Be sure to give your friends the correct number for call-ins. It's often different from the station's regular business line.

Overall Strategies

Concentrate your efforts. Use the 80/20 rule. Once you've become proficient at handling local radio interviews, it's time to concentrate on the top markets. The top ten in order of importance are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Dallas/Fort Worth, Washington DC, and Houston. Remember it isn't just the wattage of a radio station that counts. Location, especially in one of the top markets, can be indicative of a huge audience.

Prospect for nationally syndicated shows. Some shows are syndicated to as many as 500 markets. When you appear on one of these, you get enormous national exposure.

Use sound checks to your advantage. Before an interview, you'll typically be asked to do a sound check. Take this opportunity to say something other than "testing, testing, testing." Repeat your name and book title instead. This not only gives the engineer the needed audio levels, it also refreshes the interviewer's memory.

Before doing a radio interview, request a duplicate of the tape. Never do this afterward because it is more complicated for them. If you're appearing in person for your interview, take a new cassette tape to replace the one you're requesting.

Study these tapes! You can learn a great deal by listening to or watching your past interviews. Note what you did well—and where you could improve.

Send a thank-you note. It's amazing how few people do this, yet it's common courtesy. It's a good idea to thank both the producer and the host. If you did well on the air and were gracious in your response afterward, guess who's name is going to pop into their mind when they're looking for a future guest or a last-minute replacement?

© Copyright 2005 Marilyn Ross

Marilyn and Tom Ross are the coauthors of 13 books including the best-selling Complete Guide to Self-Publishing and the award-winning Jump Start Your Book Sales. Through phone consultations and ongoing coaching/mentoring, Marilyn empowers authors and self-publishers to realize their dreams. She can be reached at 719-395-8659 or Marilyn@MarilynRoss.com.

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