I recently posted a blog about public speaking, one thing I did not mention in that post was that local media have a lot of air time to fill and are always in need of quality guests. Right now with the sub-prime mortgage ‘crisis' a big topic on the news shows there are a lot of opportunities for realtors to appear on local television and radio programs and provide a little perspective to the average homeowner. There are a lot of opportunities out there but some of the most obvious are:

Call-In Shows

Of course the first thing we think of when we think of being on the radio is being a guest on a call-in show. While there is something kind of glamorous about being the featured guest on a radio or television show, call-in shows can be very difficult to manage if the callers are not well screened. Before I would go on any show and deal with the public from such a vulnerable position I would want to be certain that the production team was not the type to allow stunts or ambushes for attention. I would want to review tapes of at least three or four shows to be certain that the atmosphere they attempt to project is professional and information driven. It is also important to remember that although you may have prepped yourself to discuss four or five main topics someone is going to throw something at you that you didn't prepare for so don't let it throw you. It is also important to remember that you are there to build your reputation as an expert in your field, so don't let callers drag you into discussions of anything off topic, you may have an opinion on the presidential race, but this isn't the place to express it.

Public Service Announcements

There are any number of subjects that the average radio or television station would be glad to have you make a PSA for. This could be anything from restoring credit or inspection tips for the prospective home buyer. Especially with the public perception of a mortgage crisis there is a need for information on the different types of financing available and the pros and cons of each.

Expert Commentator 

You might not think that there would be much of a market for a realtor to act as a commentator, but there are countless bills that go through the state and national legislatures that affect the price of homes as well as the ability of banks to finance them and news programs need experts to explain them. There is an argument to be made that the average citizen has no clue what the raising or lowering of the interest rate means to them in real money terms when they apply for a mortgage so it can be a very attractive to have a local expert to clarify matters. There are no ‘one size fits all' financial solutions for the home buyer, but there are a number of options that are bad for almost everybody and your expert opinion about this can be very attractive content, especially for the local television market that is trying to position itself as a member of the community.

You might think that getting booked on a radio or television show is difficult, but with just a little effort you can usually make contact with the talent coordinator and make your pitch. It is usually a good idea to send a brief press release and specify the topics that you are available to comment on and/or discuss in a public forum before making personal contact, but following up with a phone call in a few days is not a bad idea. Depending upon the prominence of the show they may want to do a pre-interview to make sure you can deliver, but after you have several credits to your name they probably will not want to do more than run down a list of your talking points so that they can prep their host.