How to Get Your Product on TV in 2013

By on December 15, 2012 in 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business, Branding & Marketing, Guest Articles

guestpost 300x48 How to Get Your Product on TV in 2013Each time after I appear on television or speak to group– inventors, small business owners and PR professionals hunt me down and ask if I can put their product in my next TV segment. I honestly appreciate hearing from people who have innovative new products. Over the years, that’s how I’ve found some of the best gadgets for my segments.

But those same people need to understand that not every product pitched can make it into every segment. And there are things you can do to make your pitch more powerful for me or really to anyone who does TV/Radio/Print/Internet.

First, get to know who you’re pitching. Watch their segments, read their articles—see if your product truly fits what they are about.

For a television gadget segment, I’m looking for products that are fun to demonstrate and are easy for viewers to instantly understand. I only get about 15-30 seconds to showcase a product. If the pitch you send me takes three paragraphs to explain what the product does, then it’s probably a product I have to pass on. When I email TV show producers about my segment, I only get one line per product to WOW them.

If they are not WOW-ed, the product is dropped.

Even print reporters want the pitch short and sweet. All of us get dozens of pitches each day. We can’t spend a long time going through wordy complicated copy. If we want or need more information, trust me, we will ask for it.

When pitching your product, include a low res photo, your contact information and just a few sentences about the product. Is it the “world’s first ever” or the “smallest” or maybe the “least expensive” whatever? Give me something that makes this product “news worthy.” What’s the “Wow” feature? What problem does it solve? Why would viewers care about it?

Also make the subject line interesting. Something like “Double Your Closet Space For Under $20” will catch my eye. Don’t waste the subject line with “Hi” or “You really need to see this.” And I would suggest that you include the product’s price and where consumers can purchase the product.

And since my medium is television/video, I gravitate towards products that are very visual and fun to demonstrate. Products that move or let the hosts interact with them usually go right to the front of the line. If your product has an easy to demonstrate feature–let me know that–send a photo that shows it being demonstrated or an even better idea would be to send a link to a SHORT (under 1 minute) YouTube clip so I can see your product in action.

All of my television segments, articles, and blogs have a theme. One week it could be bathroom gadgets, the next week it might be garden gadgets. Usually the producers pick the theme. The themes change and finding the right products for each theme is part of the challenge. There is no way I can remember every product that is pitched to me. It’s just impossible. Years ago I used to create paper folders and email folders, but lots of great products slipped through the cracks.

To solve that problem, I post my current gadget theme on 4 venues.

If you follow me on one or more of the above venues—you’ll know what I’m looking for at any given time.

If your invention/product FITS that theme—let me know—contact me through my website www.stevegreenberg.tv

But please be realistic. If the theme is car gadgets, don’t send me your toilet bowl light.

I’m well aware that my segment is only as good as the products in the segment. If I have fun, interesting products then my segment will be fun and interesting. If my segment is entertaining and informative, then I’m invited back to that show.

So please help me help you to help me.

Steve Greenberg Gadget Nation 300x225 How to Get Your Product on TV in 2013Steve Greenberg is the author of Gadget Nation and co-host of Food Network’s Invention Hunters.  He contributes to the Miami Herald and can be seen routinely doing gadget segments on NBC’s Today Show, The Dr Oz Show and various other TV shows.

day15 How to Get Your Product on TV in 2013This article is from the SmallBizLady special blog series: 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business in 2013. #Boost2013

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How to Choose Your Small Business Target Audience and Find Them Online

By on December 14, 2012 in 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business, Branding & Marketing, Guest Articles

guestpost 300x48 How to Choose Your Small Business Target Audience and Find Them OnlineNo matter what kind of business you run, narrowing your focus to an ideal target audience can have a huge impact on your bottom line. When you are clear about who you want to reach, it makes it easier for your audience to connect with you.

For example, let’s say you’re an over-worked mom and you want to hire a life coach to help you get some perspective on your hectic life. At an event, you meet two coaches: one who introduces herself as “a life coach for everyone,” and one who says she is “a life coach for working moms who are struggling with work-life balance.” Who do you think you’d be more likely to hire?

Establishing a niche focus helps you better connect with the needs of your audience. And when you cast the net too wide, you actually risk losing business because you lack focus. Here are some additional examples:

  • Financial advisor who specializes in working with divorced women
  • Website designer for retail stores
  • Music teacher for ages 7 to 12
  • Contractor specializing in bathroom remodels

See how this works? This doesn’t mean that you can’t serve people outside of your niche, but it does give your business a clear focus so you can then develop all of your marketing collateral, products, and services to meet the specific needs of your target audience.

To determine your niche focus, start by evaluating your past clients. Are there any commonalities that they share? Also consider if there are specific groups of people that you want to work with. Most importantly, pick a market that is narrow enough to be a niche, but not so narrow that the opportunity is limited.

Once you identify a niche, here are some ways to reach them online.

  • Online Groups – Find one or more groups that reach your target audience via LinkedIn, Facebook, or Ning.com where you can become an active participant and get known in the community.
  • Start a Group – Instead of joining an online group, you could start your own.
  • Website – Once you are clear about your niche, make sure your website reflects who it is you want to reach and how your products and services benefit their specific needs and challenges.
  • Blog – The content from your blog should also directly appeal to members of your target audience.
  • Social Media – Once again, all of your content shared via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the other social networks should speak directly to the needs and challenges of your target audience.
  • OPBs – Other people’s blog’s are another way to reach your audience. Inquire about contributing guest blog posts to sites where your community spends their time. You can also comment on blog posts and build recognition by participating frequently.
  • Podcasts and Teleseminars – Record your own teleseminars and podcasts or be a guest on other people’s programs. You can locate opportunities with some Google searches. Also, don’t overlook internet radio programs via http://blogtalkradio.com, http://wsradio.com, and http://alltalkradio.net.
  • Videos – Record videos of two to five minutes each that cover topics of interest to your target audience, and then build your own YouTube channel and share via social media. Videos can generate a lot of traffic so be consistent with this strategy and produce new content often. 

Stephanie Chandler 200x300 How to Choose Your Small Business Target Audience and Find Them Online

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books including Own Your Niche: Hype-Free Internet Marketing Tactics to Establish Authority in Your Field and Promote Your Service-Based Business. She is also CEO of http://AuthorityPublishing.com, specializing in custom book publishing and social media marketing services, and BusinessInfoGuide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, and Wired magazine, and she is a blogger for Forbes.

day14 How to Choose Your Small Business Target Audience and Find Them Online

This article is from the SmallBizLady special blog series: 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business in 2013. #Boost2013

 

Week One Posts of 31 Ways to BOOST Your Small Business in 2013

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How to Find the Resources to Support Your Small Business

By on December 13, 2012 in Cash Flow & Finance, Q & A Interview, SmallBizChat

SMALL BIZ CHAT LOGO 20121 300x123 How to Find the Resources to Support Your Small Business

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wednesday on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with Dr. Emad Rahim @CTUBusiness. Emad is an award winning author, educator and entrepreneur. He was named a 2012 Laureate Visiting Scholar and Beyster Institute Scholar, and was the recipient of the 2011 Certified Manager of the Year Award by ICPM of James Madison University and the Entrepreneurship Education Excellence Award by Oklahoma State University. He co-founded three successful businesses and served as a Professor-in-Residence for several business incubators with support from the Kauffman Foundation and Syracuse University. He is currently the University Dean for the College of Business & Management at Colorado Technical University. 

SmallBizLady:  How important is entrepreneurship education to a start-up business?

Emad Rahim:  Education is critical to the success of a startup. The entrepreneur can save a lot of time and money by following best practices and using proven resources for developing and operating a new startup. Understanding some basic principles and concepts of business management will go a long way to securing and growing a successful venture.

SmallBizLady:  How critical is mentorship to a successful small business?

Emad Rahim:  There is a lot of research supporting the direct relationship between start-up success and the mentors that support the founders. It is important that a new entrepreneur identify a person that they respect to be their mentor. The mentor will not only help guide them through the process, but also be a resource linker for solutions to problems that they will encounter. I also highly recommend developing an advisory board made up of people with a strong background in business law, accounting, finance and strategy to also support the new venture. Surrounding yourself with supportive SMEs is a great way to keep you motivated during times of instability.

SmallBizLady:  What are the biggest growth industries for start-ups other than technology businesses?

Emad Rahim:  Surprisingly, it’s social ventures or “ecopreneurist” types of startups. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Daniel Epstein, founder of the Unreasonable Institute, where he shared with me the growing demand for social ventures from around the world. Ecopreneurists look to produce startups to help clean our environment, deal with social problems, solutions for issues relating to health and education, and creating green and sustainable products and methodologies. Where some are nonprofits, Mr. Epstein shared with me examples for for-profit ventures with social missions that have a strong possibility of revolutionizing certain industries.  

SmallBizLady:  What are the funding options these days to start a small business?

Emad Rahim:  There are a lot more options today than there were a few years ago. Accelerators, crowd funding, community benefits agreements, employee stock ownership options (ESOP), social entrepreneurship grants and startup-labs are several new options. This goes beyond bootstrapping, bank loans and VC or angel investment support that entrepreneurs typically pursue.

SmallBizLady:  What is a start-up accelerator?

Emad Rahim:  The purpose of these accelerators is to help companies with the strongest potential of success get funding in exchange for equity. Accelerators are often privately-funded and focus more of their attention to tech start-ups. There is often an application process to get accepted into an accelerator program.

SmallBizLady:  What is crowd funding?

Emad Rahim:  Crowd funding, also known as social funding, is a pretty new phenomenon in the entrepreneurship space. Startups were typically funded by way of bootstrapping, investors (VC or angel) and bank loans. Now entrepreneurs are using their social networks to raise capital for their business, community projects, social events or to develop a new product. Investments could be little as five dollars or large as a thousand dollars. Think of it as campaigning for investors and donors to a start-up versus a political seat.

SmallBizLady:  What is a business incubator?

Emad Rahim:  Incubators provide small business owners opportunities to participate in training, workshops and programs to support their startup needs, while also giving them affordable access to technology, mentorship and coaching. If you are in need of an office space to meet with clients and get work done outside of your home, then a business incubator could be an affordable option. Incubators are often publicly funded and provide grants and seed money programs to support business owners.

SmallBizLady:  Are business incubators the answer to small business success?

Emad Rahim:  No they are not. A recent study conducted by Syracuse University and the Kauffman Foundation shows small business failures have increased after incubating. But, there were certain services and programs that were lacking in these incubators. The success increases with incubators that are associated with universities and local businesses, providing affordable workshops, trainings, mentorship, coaching and other services for its clients.

SmallBizLady:  What is a co-working space?

Emad Rahim:  Co-working spaces also known as co-working communities provide entrepreneurs and small business owners a collaborative open environment to work in. The concept is similar to a business incubator, except there are no actual office spaces or cubicles for individual business and tenets are encouraged to collaborate and support one another.

SmallBizLady:  Does the business plan really matter?

Emad Rahim:  Yes and no. It is rare that an investor will read a 20 page business plan. Your ability to present a compelling story and sell the value of the business idea is more important. Think of shark tank or kick-start, it’s the story and passion and confidence behind the story that matters the most. The business plan is really for the business owner to think through the business model and how they will run the business. It allows you to see potential risk and opportunities, while also noticing the gaps in the startup.

SmallBizLady:  How can cities support business owners?

Emad Rahim:  There is a lot of paperwork to start a business and operate one. The business owner often finds themselves visiting multiple places to complete the required paperwork. Cities that provide training programs to business owners and develop an efficient process system for completing paperwork will help to sustain current businesses and develop new businesses. There is a clear connection between cities that have seen an increase in entrepreneurship activities based on their ability to reduce roadblocks and red-tape for new startups.

SmallBizLady:  If someone wants to start a small business, but can’t afford the training or education, where should they go?

Emad Rahim:  There are a lot of free programs available. SCORE and the SBA provide free services and mentorship. You can also look at www.succeedasyourownboss.com, Melinda Emerson’s resource website for small businesses. Your city may have affordable programs and grants to support entrepreneurs through incubators, chambers and universities. There are also a lot of open-source programs online through the Kauffman Foundation, Saylor Foundation and Start-Up America.

SM Ninja cover2 trans 238x300 How to Find the Resources to Support Your Small BusinessAre you ready to learn how to be a Social Media Ninja? 
@SmallBizLady’s new ebook is LIVE! 
Order now: http://bit.ly/sm-ninja

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. Here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is America’s #1 small business expert. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing to fulfill her mission to end small business failure. She writes a weekly column on social media for The New York Times. Forbes Magazine named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter. She hosts #SmallBizChat Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works.  Her latest ebook, How To Become a Social Media Ninja; 101 Ways to Dominate Your Competition Online was released in 2012.

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