How to Pitch Your Book to Broadcast Media

Doing media for your book—whether it’s published or not!—is one of the most important things you can do to establish yourself as an author.

After all, without media, no one would know about all the expertise you have to share. Media connects you with the people whom you can have the biggest impact on.

Media for authors can include blog posts, videos on your social media accounts, webinars, interviews on TV, radio, and podcasts, articles in magazines or websites … it really varies! The types of media you seek out will vary depending on who you are as an author. And it’s crucial to know your audience and go where they are consuming media.

For almost everyone, broadcast media (i.e., TV) is one of the most visible and sought-after forms of media.

I’m an author myself—I’ve published two books, Listful Living and Listful Thinking—and one of the things that motivates me is the knowledge that my work can have a positive impact on other people’s lives. And as a former TV producer for nearly 20 years, I know that producers and journalists have the same motivation.

The media wants to find authors and experts whose work will make a difference in the lives of people watching, listening, or reading.

Writer’s Digest

For you, for the media, and for your audience, it’s so important for you to share your work with the people who need to hear what you have to say. But how?

I’ve developed an approach to securing broadcast media appearances that I used myself when I first became an author almost a decade ago.

Here are my strategies for creating content, pitching media, and building relationships with producers in broadcast media.

1. First, be your own producer.

I want you to think about how you’ve positioned yourself publicly as an expert—on your own, without any pitching involved.

Listful Thinking | Paula Rizzo

For instance, back in 2011, I started a blog, ListProducer.com, that focused on list-making and productivity tips. At the time I was still working as a senior health producer and my blog was just a side project. Once I was consistently producing content, I started to pitch media as an expert. This was way before I published my first book, Listful Thinking. That way I could point to my blog while pitching and say, “Hey, look at all this content I’ve created about list-making and productivity.” It backed up my expertise. Plus it was helpful when I was looking for an agent and publisher.

I wasn’t saving all the good stuff for the media, which authors often do. They hoard their best content thinking that maybe one day someone will ask them to talk about it on TV or the radio. Nope! You need to get it out there now.

Are you producing your own content? If not, that’s your first move. You need to create content about your areas of expertise so that producers get a sense of what you know and what you could share with their audience.

If you’re just getting started with making your own content, I have lots of resources on creating video and developing an editorial calendar. If you’re not sure what kind of media to create, look around and see what authors who have similar areas of expertise are doing.

If many people in your field are successfully engaging their audience on a certain platform, that might be where your people are too. But also remember that you might want to give a different type of media a try so that you can be one of the first voices in that format. That can give you a leg up. Plus, be true to yourself. I always tell my media-training clients that if they procrastinate writing blog posts and would rather do a podcast or a livestream show, they should do that instead.

2. Tell the media who you are.

You are an expert! (Yes! You are! Novelists included too. After all, you know the discipline of writing, how to develop characters and so much more. You can share all this knowledge.)

So people should already know about who you are and what you’re doing, right? In a perfect world that’s how it would work. But the media doesn’t often just find the expert they need. That expert seeks out the media. They tell producers and journalists who they are, what they know, and why it matters. That’s what gets the ball rolling. (My free guide for authors who want to be ready for any interview is available here!)

It’s important to tell the media that you’re here, you’re available, and you want to do media. You need to be strategic in how you approach the media and how you frame your message. And that’s where the elements of a perfect media pitch work their magic …

3. Follow the formula.

These are the three elements of the perfect pitch: The hook, the twist, and the takeaway.

The hook needs to answer the question: Why now?

In other words, why is this story idea interesting and relevant right now? For instance, I appeared on PIX11 in New York City in December to talk about productivity gifts. The timing with the holidays made this pitch relevant.

The twist needs to answer the question: How is this different?

When I was a producer, I always appreciated a pitch that wasn’t the same narrative over and over.

For example, author and stress expert Heidi Hanna pitched me about stress and how it can actually be good for you. That was something I had never heard before and I knew it would grab my audience’s attention too. I booked her because of her counterintuitive way of thinking about the topic. I also ended up interviewing her for both of my books.

Also, that one pitch started a years-long friendship and more projects together. I actually became a LinkedIn Learning instructor, teaching about lists because Heidi introduced me to the team there. I’ll always be grateful. You never know where a pitch will take you or who you might connect with.

The takeaway needs to answer the question: What does the audience leave with?

What action do you want the audience to take after they watch your segment? Your viewers or listeners should leave with clear action steps—and you need to provide those.

Your takeaway should convince the producer that what you have to say will have an actionable impact on their audience. Remember, what you’re talking about could literally change someone’s life. I have a video here to walk you through this concept.

[Read more from Paula Rizzo at Writer’s Digest: 5 Ways to Get and Keep Media Attention After Your Book Launch.]

4. Follow up on your media pitch.

This is almost more important than the pitch itself. Remember that producers, editors, and other media professionals get thousands of emails every single day. Everyone is vying for attention, and sometimes emails are missed.

Following up is basically re-pitching as they may not have seen your first message. You can reply right back to your first email. But do not write, “What did you think of the below?” (Insider Tip: That will annoy producers because it forces them to do more work!)

When I was a producer, I always appreciated the people who sent me an email with a quick re-pitch.

Remember, you want to make the producer’s life easier. They’re not going to scroll to find your original message. You’re competing with thousands of emails! So be short and to the point. And then you can write that there are more details below. But actually do the pitching!

And if you don’t get a response, don’t get too down on yourself. It just might not be the right time. It’s great to be in a producer’s inbox because you never know when they might need someone just like you.

If your pitch is especially timely, you can always write about the topic yourself or make a video to share with your followers. You never know if someone in the media will stumble over it in the future. That’s happened to me time and time again! Media begets media, even when it’s your own.

And if your pitch is accepted, congratulations! That means it’s time to prep. (I have an entire course called Media-Ready Author to get authors ready for their media spotlight.)

I have lots of resources, including 10 questions every author needs to answer to get you ready. Want to be a go-to media expert? I’ve got you covered here with my media checklist.

Remember, the world is waiting to hear what you have to say—so make this the year you get out there and share your knowledge. 

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