Lights, camera, action! Do you dream of promoting your business on Oprah or the Today show, but don't know where to start? Here's the inside scoop on harnessing the power of TV—so get ready for your close-up

Entrepreneur, Sept, 2004 by Eileen Figure Sandlin

According to Harrow, a well-crafted pitch should summarize your idea or story angle in a few sentences and should suggest two or three different variations on the same theme in case one of them has already been done or doesn't quite meet a producer's needs. She also recommends phrasing the topic dramatically and with a negative slant, as in "How your children's lunches can harm them" (instead of "Healthy eating for kids"). Such a provocative approach is likely to elicit more interest when it crosses a producer's desk.

Other items you should include with your pitch are a list of key messages that outline the specifics you plan to cover and a short bio--no more than a paragraph or two--that outlines your experience and expertise related to the topic you're pitching.

While it's perfectly acceptable to send pitches via snail mail, you may find that an e-mailed pitch will get a faster response. "We don't have lunch; we don't get away from our desks," says von Alvensleben of herself and her producer colleagues at CNNfn. "So e-mail is definitely the preferred way to reach us."

Finally, make sure your pitch letter includes a phone number where you are instantly accessible. "Things happen so fast on national TV that, if you aren't ready and available, they'll move on to the next person," Harrow says.

For this reason, entrepreneurs like Elizabeth Falkner, 38, of Citizen Cake, a San Francisco patisserie/ bakery with $2 million in annual sales, put media inquiries above all other daily business--even cookies that are ready to come out of the oven. "I don't let anyone else talk to the media when they call," Falkner says. "lf you get a call from a producer or a reporter, it's because they're on deadline and they need an answer or a sound bite from you now. It helps to do some preplanning about what you'll say if they call in response to a pitch so you can react quickly and efficiently."

That's not the only reason preparation pays off. Producers often screen prospective on-air experts by phone. "Someone with a lot of energy and personality just screams to me on the phone," says Avelino Pombo of Edelman Productions, which produces Landscape Smart for HGTV. "If I invite a landscaper to come in with a portfolio after a phone interview, there's a 90 percent chance I'll use that person on the show."

3. LEARN THE MEDIA ROPES

While a great pitch and the right expertise can definitely make a producer sit up and notice you, the reality is that your chances of sitting next to the undisputed queen of daytime TV or any of the other big-time TV hosts--"in the good chairs," as Harrow puts it--are fairly low. After all, everyone wants to be on the national shows, but few are called. However, you can improve your odds of being one of those few by putting together a body of broadcast work on local TV first.

"You wouldn't consider trying to get booked on Broadway before you starred in a dozen or more hometown plays, would you?" Harrow asks rhetorically. "So get plenty of 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."