NEVER Pay to be “On The News”!

Today I got this random call from God-knows-who claiming to be a PR agent looking for “people in my industry”. Here is Google Voice’s translation of the message:

Steve. Hello. Just give me this is Riley (815) 633-3375 and I’m calling it’s fox news and ABC News are looking to do an interview and I need someone in your industry and I did happen to come across your name and number, see if you’d be interested in being in on Fox News at ABC, but we don’t work for the of the stations. But we are, P R firm and we charge $900. If you choose to do the story in at a it doesn’t hear that you don’t pay. Please call me today (815) 633-3375.

The translation is terrible, but the point is that this was a random cold call from someone who clearly didn’t even know who I was offering to get me on TV news. And if you ever, ever get a call like this you should NOT do it. Let’s talk about why…

The Voice Mail

Spammy PR Agency Call

Reasons this is a Bad, Bad Idea

• If you’re really worthy of being on the news as an expert, you don’t need to pay someone to make it happen! Just call your local station affiliates and get in contact with the news editor. Let them know your qualifications and volunteer to be an expert when they need one on your topic.
• A 1-2 minute appearance on a local news affiliate won’t do anything to improve your image or reputation! Trust me. I have been on the news as an expert, and its fun to do and they are nice people, but it delivers exactly ZERO in the way of exposure, web site traffic, twitter followers, etc.
• Its highly unethical. News stations should be vetting their experts. If they find out you’re paying to be on TV they won’t have it. They might occasionally PAY an expert to be on TV, but it doesn’t work the other way around.
• If you want to spend $900, invest in a Mac Mini, a nice webcam, and a little microphone, and start a podcast instead! You’ll get way more bang for the buck.