- Excerpt
The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah:
Ten Steps to Becoming a Guest
on the World's Top Talk Show
by Susan Harrow
INTRODUCTION
Susan Harrow is a media coach and marketing strategist who has had several
clients on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is the author of Sell Yourself
Without Selling Your Soul: A Woman's Guide to Promoting Herself, Her
Business, Her Product, or Her Cause with Integrity and Spirit, which
was released in paperback this year by HarperCollins/Quill. She is also
the author of the new book, The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked
on Oprah: Ten Steps to Becoming a Guest on the World's Top Talk Show, on
which this article is based.
The article summarizes not only
Harrow's top tips but also those of an amazing cast of contributors
to the book, including such "publicists to
the stars" as Arielle Ford, Leslie Rossman, Donna Gould, and Annie Jennings,
who have all had clients on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
More information about The
Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah --
and author Susan Harrow -- follows the article. Here's hoping to see you
on Oprah!
Top 10 Tips for Getting Booked on Oprah
by Susan Harrow
Tip #1
Tape and watch the show.
Dozens of authors, speakers, entertainers,
and business leaders call me every year. The first words out of their
mouths are: "I want to be
on Oprah." When I ask them if they watch the show 90% say, "No." Part
of preparing for success is becoming familiar with the content, format,
rhythm and pace of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Your first step is to record two to four weeks of Oprah programs. Then
sit down in a comfy spot and watch them all at once. This will give you
a good sense of what's hot on Oprah and what she'll be focusing on over
the next few months (it does change and go in cycles). Notice which producers
(listed on the credits at the end) are responsible for each particular
type of segment. Send a producer information only after you are sure of
who you'd like to approach and why.
Tip #2
Explore Oprah's website.
Oprah's web site, http://www.oprah.com,
has as much information as you will ever need to get on the show. There,
you can review her entire wish list of subjects. She even makes it easy
for you with a link called, "Be on the show." With the touch of a key
you can send an email that will reach her producers instantly.
Make your topic relevant in a short paragraph to receive a quick response.
Let the producers know that you'd be glad to hop a red-eye at a moment's
notice to be a part of their show and you increase your chances of being
invited.
Tip #3
Get to know Oprah's preferences.
Do you know what Oprah's favorite book is? Do you know where she was
born? Do you know what her favorite outfit is? If you do a little research
on Oprah, the woman, you stand a much better chance of getting on Oprah,
the show. Like anyone, Oprah has certain hot buttons; pressing the right
ones (overcoming childhood hardships) and avoiding the wrong ones (satan
or psychics) can make or break your pitch. You can find lots of biographical
information at her web site and, if you're diligent searching the Internet,
you should be able to find several interviews that may yield the tidbit
you need to get her immediate attention. But you don't have to spend
hours researching Oprah online; Susan Harrow has already done this part
of the job for you. You'll find the results of years of research within
the pages of The Ultimate Guide to Getting Booked on Oprah.
Tip #4
Pitch a hot topic.
Never pitch your book, your business, or even yourself. Always pitch
a story idea -- something that's newsworthy now: a pressing national
issue, a controversial subject, a problem for which you have the solution,
a common myth debunked. Propose a topic that is relevant to Oprah's audience
(controversy, relationships, personal triumph, make-overs) then prove
you are the expert on that topic by telling only the information that
is relevant to the idea you're pitching.
For acting coach Cynthia Brian, author of Be the Star You Are!, we
created a pitch about how she helps teenagers work out their problems by
role playing with them on camera. We proposed a make-over show with before
and after footage for parents with difficult teens. Although the show idea
isn't directly related to her book this is an area of Brian's expertise
-- and Oprah has been doing a lot of shows around parent/teenage relationships.
Think about the areas in your personal or professional life where you're
an expert and connect that to a provocative theme.
Tip #5
Put together a winning press kit.
Start with a pitch or angle page with two or three different ideas,
and a paragraph bio highlighting your expertise as it pertains to your
pitches. Be as brief as possible. You must be able to sell your idea
in one page. Remember Oprah's producers get hundreds of packages every
day. If you're the author of a book that relates to the subject of the
pitch, include a copy of the book. If possible include a two-four minute
video of you on other talk shows or doing a presentation to a group.
This will help show the producers that you're a viable guest.
Tip #6
Create six dynamic sound bites.
Mark Twain defined a sound bite
as "a minimum of sound to a maximum
of sense." Sound bites or talking points are the essential messages you
want to convey. Talk out loud the most important ideas, concepts, and
points you want to make as they relate to the idea you are pitching.
Ask yourself, "What do I want my audience to remember?" Carla Winter,
the niece of Sol Wurtzel who ran Fox Film (Twentieth Century Fox) with
founder William Fox described the success of the studio this way: "For
Fox Film it was an excellent director, a good story and a box office star." In
her book, The Myth of the Perfect Mother, Jane Swigart said, "Being
a mother is like asking half the population to do brain surgery without
sending them to medical school."
These memory nuggets consist of anecdotes, facts, statistics, stories,
or something unlikely, unusual, controversial, shocking, funny, humorous,
romantic, poignant, emotionally moving, or dramatic.
Tip #7
Make sure you're blurbable.
The average sound bite on TV is ten seconds. It takes some intensive
practice to make meaning in such a short time. Practice with a timer
until you can speak your message in ten to twenty seconds.
Tip #8
Get booked on local shows first.
Even before you consider approaching Oprah with your idea get practice
on your local news and talk shows. This will give you a chance to fine-tune
your sound bites so you won't be shocked by the speed of national TV.
Once you're on the Oprah show as a guest you'll have between one and
seven minutes to communicate your entire message -- all in 10-second
to 20-second increments. Once you have a good feel for the rhythm of
talk TV you'll feel more relaxed and ready.
Tip #9
Build Your Credentials -- And Practice Your Public Speaking -- by Teaching.
Oprah is looking for experts who have experience and credentials similar
to the show's topic. Teaching a class enables you to quantify your knowledge
and experience in a concrete way. Oprah has a responsibility to the audience
to book only bona fide experts. Teaching credits help make your expertise
legitimate. Being the author of a book brings instant credibility --
especially if it comes from a major publishing house. Teaching what you
know is excellent practice for TV appearances. You get a chance to see
how your material works with an audience and find out what resonates
deeply with them. You sharpen your main points so that you're ready for
Oprah.
Tip #10
Wow the producers with brevity.
What do you do when you pick up the phone and an Oprah producer is on
the other end? Remember, the moment you open your mouth you are auditioning.
Keep your list of talking points by the phone when you call a producer
(or a producer calls you) so you'll be succinct. You will already have
rehearsed them so that they sound natural and inviting. Make sure all
your points are targeted exactly to the angle you're proposing.
Copyright (c) 2004 by Susan Harrow. All rights reserved. Please feel
free to duplicate or distribute this file as long as the contents have
not been changed and this copyright notice is intact. Thank you.
