Professional Organizers Are Meant For TV Segments
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Earlier this year, I received the following email from a Professional Organizers Blog Carnival Star Blogger:
Hi Janet,
It’s Rashelle Isip from TheOrderExpert.com. I hope all is well by you, and that your year is off to a wonderful start.
I know you are always looking to connect with interesting people and wanted to make a brief introduction. I’d like to introduce you to Paula Rizzo. Paula is the founder of ListProducer.com and author of Listful Living: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed. She’s also an accomplished television producer and co-creator of the course, Lights, Camera, Expert.
Paula and I started blogging around the same time and we’ve kept in touch over the years. We were chatting recently and I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to each other. I think her experience in television media would be of interest to my fellow organizers and productivity experts, especially when it comes to media training and opportunities.
Hope you two can connect soon!
Cheers,
Rashelle
Naturally I got in touch with Paula, and we had an interesting conversation. She clearly knows her stuff, so I asked her to share some of her insights with you today. Big thanks to Rashelle for making the introduction!
You know what never gets old? TV segments with professional organizers. You know why? Because it’s so visual.
You get to see the transformation right before your very eyes. Audiences, and TV producers, love that.
I’ve spent my career as a television producer and I know a good story when I see one. In fact, I have a checklist that fills you in on exactly how to become a go-to media expert here.
Professional organizers have a leg up on doing media, not just because what you do is visual but also because you’re well, organized! You can make a producer’s job easy.
Here are the key elements to remember when pitching TV media:
1. Pitch before you feel 100% ready:
All of us suffer from imposter syndrome at some point in our lives. It’s inevitable. But I will tell you what I tell my clients who are afraid to do video – if you don’t do it, think about all those people out there who can’t be helped! Who are you to keep these gifts to yourself? Get out there and share what you know.
2. Start local and learn:
If you’ve had “do a TV segment” on your to-do list for a while you need to get cracking. But here’s something that will put you at ease – you don’t start with the Today Show. Start local. Think your local TV stations, or radio stations even. Those producers are looking for great segments and experts. Help them do their jobs and get great content out there.
3. Be of service:
Remember when you pitch media it’s not all about you. It’s not about your business or what you have to sell. Be of service to the audience even if they never buy from you. What can you give for free right now that will change someone’s life?
4. Be counterintuitive:
No one wants to watch a TV segment or read an article with tips they’ve already heard. How do you do it differently? What’s something that takes a commonly known tip and turns it on it’s head? Pitch that!
5. Be your own producer:
You’re at an advantage because you have a TV studio at your fingertips – your smartphone. That means you can and should be sharing tips and ideas to the world. And guess what? That content can be turned into pitches for the media.
For more ways to connect with the media and become a go-to media expert click here for my checklist. You’ll be on your way to doing TV and all other kinds of media in no time.
Photo © IxMaster / Depositphotos
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A great post with some wonderful media-friendly tips! You are quite welcome Janet. I’m glad you and Paula could connect.
We get so much spam these days that it was great to receive something that was both useful and unexpected! Thanks again.
Wow – so great to read these tips for getting onto TV. Connecticut has been lucky to have a couple of our organizers on TV, which isn’t easy. I am down in the NYC media market, which is particularly difficult, but I couldn’t agree more than TV is custom made for organizing segments. Thanks for all of this input from Paula. I feel like I’ve crossed paths with Paula before, though I’m not sure where. Much appreciated:)
For sure! I was on TV at least 3 times as an organizer, but never since.
Speaking of organizers on TV, I thought I would share a tiny success story out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In March of 2019 a 5-part documentary series called The Big Downsize aired on VisionTV. We are thrilled to announce that we have been renewed for Season 2 and will be filming starting in August of 2019 for a Spring 2020 air date. I am thrilled to be working on the series again this year and hope that I can represent all of my professional organizing colleagues as I work with the clients on the show. Although, with reality TV, you never quite know how the story will unfold. More information at https://www.visiontv.ca/shows/the-big-downsize/ . Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch episodes online.
That’s very exciting, Jane! Congratulations, and thank you for sharing.
I like how you present the process in a viable way. Most people don’t go from zero to Oprah overnight. There’s a trajectory of baby steps, which you’ve wonderfully described. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to do many radio and podcast/video interviews and a few TV spots. Recently I did a TV segment, which should be airing soon. One thing I’ve noticed is that the more I do them, the more fun and relaxed I am in doing them. In most cases, I’ve been approached to do the pieces and haven’t sought pitched them. However, your ideas for pitching are terrific and something that I will consider.
These are great tips. I’m a fan of marketing yourself without looking like you are marketing yourself. It is intimidating for people who are introverts or people who are critical of themselves. I had lots of offers years ago when my kids were little and wondered if I did them at that time, where would I be now. Please learn from my mistake. Take the risk. If nothing happens, that’s OK, at least you tried.
TV is a great opportunity to educate the public. Thanks.
“Pitch before you feel 100% ready.” <– Love this. Timing is almost never perfect for anything. I usually remind myself (especially when my past perfectionist self rears her head) that tech companies often release their beta versions. Not perfect but pretty darn good. Then, they polish things up and release ver. 2.0. Besides, after the first interview, the fear (at least, most of it) goes away and you get better at it.
Thanks for sharing Paula's great tips! I've been following her on Twitter for a while and love her stuff. =)
Oh, I love it when I run into someone I follow in a different place than usual! And I love your comparison to beta versions of software. Sometimes we have to actually do something in order to figure out what’s wrong with our approach.