Getting Recognized For Your Expertise

Clients often ask: how do I get called upon by the media to give my opinion based on my expertise. It’s easy to look at others in your profession and think, “If they can do it, why can’t I?” And you can. But first you have to make sure a few things are in order. I had a client, Communication, Confidence and Body Language Coach Karen Donaldson who wanted to raise her brand profile in the mainstream media. She was already well positioned on social media and has a steady roster of clients that she coaches. We developed a number of pitches with a PR colleague of mine, Mawuli Chai and started sending them out. One of our strategies was to focus on the news cycles, for example, there was a mayoral election debate happening so I pitched Karen for post-debate commentary about the body language of the candidates. We looked at Christmas segments to see where she could fit in, like proper etiquette at the office party or how to network effectively at holiday functions. Karen was called on by CP24, CBC Radio and featured on CTV Toronto News and CTV News Channel for her expertise. I pitched her to Cosmopolitan Magazine when they were looking for a body language expert to comment on a fun piece about what it means when you hold your ice coffee a certain way. Here are the key things to remember when pitching: make sure your website is up to date and on point; have video or links of yourself giving your opinion; include some examples of what you would say on the topic that you are pitching about; cite examples of other media outlets that have featured you and, most importantly, make sure you respond right away and meet deadlines. Karen had all of these things and more. Now she is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, and is getting requests from other publications, including Women’s Health Magazine.