Laura’s Blog

As a blogger of 18 years and podcaster of 2+ years, I’ve learned that serving my audience rarely results in awards, accolades, or even acknowledgment.

I do a happy dance every time a reader or listener tells me how my podcast or blog is helping them make forward progress in their writing-related career.

This past week, I celebrated on behalf of Emma Fulenwider (who was my guest on The Professional Writer podcast for episode 33, “3 Power-Ups to Include in Your Bio”).

Emma listened to episode 83, “Get Visibility Through Other People’s Platforms, with Lisa Simone Richards” and immediately took action on what she learned.

The result? A live, 4-minute segment on a TV show!

Emma gave me permission to share the results she experienced when she applied Lisa’s tips.

Emma writes:

[The day after I listened to the episode] a friend of mine sent me the email address for a local TV reporter told me to pitch my book release party to her as a potential story for the morning show.

It was a completely cold pitch and I was really nervous. I followed the formula for making an email pitch that Lisa shared with us during the episode:

• I emphasized why their viewers would be interested in my story.
• I included links to my guest appearance on your podcast and my TED talk so she could see that I have experience as a public speaker and get a sense of my “vibe.”
• And I included links to my book listing on Amazon and the Eventbrite page for the book release party.

Then, when I didn’t hear back, I followed up four days later and she immediately got back to me and said, “Let’s make this happen.”

What I didn’t know at the time was that the reporter had been trying to do a story about the café (where my book launch party was hosted), so she was excited about giving them some press. AND one of the anchors on the show had been working on a book for years and their loyal viewers knew it, so my story tied into their recurring banter with him about his book.

The other advice I got from the friend who connected me with the reporter was that when you’re pitching to a TV show, you have to tell them how we can make the segment as visual as possible.

In my email [pitch], I listed the props and visuals we could use to emphasize my story.

We shot it at the café where the book release party was going to be, which is a beautiful spot with all outdoor seating, plus I had two copies of my book that I was releasing, a photo book I made with my grandma about her story, and cookies I had ordered with the cover printed on them.

Click to watch the live 4:22 segment of Emma talking about her book release party on GoodDay Sacramento (a local CBS affiliate):
A local author turned memoir coach is on a mission to help people save their stories. She believes that everyone has a story and every story deserves to be saved. Her new book is being released today, Julissa is in West Sacramento getting a sneak peek!