Guest Post: Thoughts from a Television Producer

Today's guest post comes from one of my co-workers, Amanda Soderberg, who is another great marketing representative at Tate Publishing. She also writes her own blog, Back on the Wagon. She's spot-on with this one. I also recommend checking out my previous post on working with the media. - Terry



Recently, one of our authors contacted a Christian show producer about featuring his devotional on their nationally syndicated show. If I were to tell you the show, 99.9% of you all would know what is is.

Even though we advised a different approach (and offered to facilitate that approach), he was determined to land an interview on the show purely about his devotional.

Here's the blunt response from the producer. I've taken out the incriminating details to protect privacy:

From Producer to Author

Thanks for your response. But we will not booking you for a live interview to discuss your devotional on our show. Our producers want a guest to share his or her personal story of a life transformed by Jesus.

With the TV remote, we have 5 seconds at most as folks click thru the hundreds of channels they can watch, to grab someone’s attention and keep them tuned to our show.

Our producers’ research shows that we build and keep our audience when the audience can relate to a personal story that shows how Jesus changed a life/solved a problem, etc. Talking about your devotional will not accomplish this.

My Thoughts

While this was from a producer of a Christian show, the principle is the same. The way people become guests on tv shows is not because of the product they are marketing, but rather because of something personal that will resonate with the shows' target audiences--something that will catch their attention and sustain it. The product marketing is an addition to the true reason the show producers want you on the show.


Question: Name five things that catch your attention when you are flipping through channels. What platform are they (movies, talk shows, reality shows, commercial, public service message, etc.)? What about you, your life, or your experiences can you relate to those snippets that caught your attention?