Deb mentioned that some hosts had been asking her about being featured. I would like to clarify the process to request featured shows so we are all on the same page.
As all our esteemed hosts know, BlogTalkRadio is a growing community, a network of hosts and listeners, interacting on a wide variety of topics each day. These shows, these interactive conversations, are all valuable to our community as a whole.
Since we are all putting in such hard work to make our shows the best they can be, I wanted to give you my insider tips, straight from the Features Editor, to help promote your content:
1. Do your part. When submitting a Features Request, it helps to show the PR team what you have already done to promote your show. Have you embedded players on your blog, and sent out bulletins and reminders? What is your guest doing to promote? This shows us that you are as invested in getting the word out as you want us to be.
2. Time is on your side. Give as much notice as possible about your special guest. You wouldn’t promote a lecture, a performance, or a television show only the night before, so why leave your BlogTalkRadio promotion to the last minute? With less than 48 hours notice, there is limited ability to feature. You have been warned. The PR team sometimes receives requests for a show a month ahead of time. Everything is documented and you won’t be forgotten. If you receive a Confirmation email with your request number, there is no need to re-submit the information.
3. Say Cheese. Send us pictures. Even if its a logo from your guest’s site, or a headshot of you, or a picture of your dog. Its helpful to have that visual information at our fingertips, and will reduce the chances we will accidentally promote the wrong Michael Jackson.
4. Confirm. Make sure your guest is going to show up. We understand that things happen that are outside your control, but once we’ve done the promotion and put in the effort, we hope you have put in the effort to deliver the show you promised us and your listeners.
5. Relax. Although the homepage is the most visible way we promote, remember we have many more ways of getting the word out, some of which are not so obvious. Our PR Team does outreach to blogs, sends bulletins on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, blasts out show information via Twitter, and works with our PR Agency to spread the word about our great hosts. Please remember we are working hard for you, and that it benefits us both to get the word out about your shows. We are on your side.
6. Make it easy on us. Remember to submit your information directly from our site using our automated Features Request form. You can find it when you are logged in, under MyAccount>Promote. You can request a few different methods of featuring using this form. The PR team is available by email at hostpr@blogtalkradio.com for questions, but it is very difficult to keep track of any Features information that is sent via email. Our developers created an easy-to-use form for us, so please use it!
That’s just a brief taste of how to best request to be featured. Featured spots are limited and we receive many more requests than we can accommodate, but the PR team always does the best they can to promote your content.
We look forward to receiving your requests!
Posted by Philip Recchia
Posted by Hilary Leewong
Posted by Philip Recchia
