Professional Organizers Are Meant For TV Segments

Paula Rizzo

Paula Rizzo

Paula Rizzo is an Emmy-award winning television producer, best-selling author and a media trainer and strategist. As a former senior health producer for Fox News Channel for more than a decade she produced segments with a range of top experts, including JJ Virgin, Jillian Michaels, and Deepak Chopra. A media veteran for nearly 20 years, she also worked in local news in New York City as a producer for WCBS, WPIX and WLNY. She coaches experts and executives to perform better on camera and produce their own videos.

She's the founder of ListProducer.com and author of Listful Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed and Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed You. She’s also creator of Lights Camera Expert, LLC - an online course geared towards helping entrepreneurs, authors and experts get media attention. She’s also the creator of Become A Video Star - a virtual workshop that empowers experts to create their own compelling videos.

Paula is a contributor to MindBodyGreen.com, Entrepreneur.com and Thrive Global. She’s spoken at HOW Design Live, MA Conference for Women, New York Women in Communications, National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), and many others. Go to PaulaRizzo.com for more.

This page may contain links to Amazon.com or other sites from which I may receive commission on purchases you make after clicking on such links. Read my full Disclosure Policy

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!

Janet


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

Professional Organizers Are Meant For TV Segments

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11 Comments

  1. Avatar Rashelle on June 12, 2019 at 11:40 am

    A great post with some wonderful media-friendly tips! You are quite welcome Janet. I’m glad you and Paula could connect.

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on June 12, 2019 at 12:22 pm

      We get so much spam these days that it was great to receive something that was both useful and unexpected! Thanks again.

  2. Avatar Seana Turner on June 12, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    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:)

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on June 13, 2019 at 12:31 pm

      For sure! I was on TV at least 3 times as an organizer, but never since.

  3. Avatar Jane Veldhoven on June 12, 2019 at 9:00 pm

    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.

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on June 13, 2019 at 12:36 pm

      That’s very exciting, Jane! Congratulations, and thank you for sharing.

  4. Linda Samuels Linda Samuels on June 17, 2019 at 9:20 am

    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.

  5. Avatar Sabrina Quairoli on June 17, 2019 at 12:58 pm

    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.

  6. Avatar Janet Schiesl on June 18, 2019 at 8:29 am

    TV is a great opportunity to educate the public. Thanks.

  7. Deb Lee Deb Lee on June 21, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    “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. =)

    • Avatar Janet Barclay on June 22, 2019 at 12:42 pm

      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.

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