Get Free Publicity on TV New Shows with this Technique   by Danek S. Kaus

in Marketing    (submitted 2010-11-30)

Appearing on local and national TV news broadcasts and magazine shows is a great way for you to get free publicity.

One way to greatly improve your chances of getting on these news and magazine shows is to provide some or all of the video footage they will need. You can do this with either a video news release (VNR) or B-roll. Or both.

A VNR contains the same information as a press release but is done as though it is an actual TV news story, complete with a voice over (narration).

Depending on your topic, it might contain some interviews as well as some supplementary shots. For example, if you were promoting a hotel, the Video News Release might contain some footage of the rooms, the exterior of the restaurant, interviews with the chef and manager, etc.

A B-roll is a series of random shots that support a news story. If you're a hospital administrator, your publicity team might shoot the exterior of the building, the new research lab, patient rooms, etc.

News broadcasts love to use VNRs and B-rolls because they save them time and money. They don't need to send a reporter and crew to a location for footage.

The journalists or news magazine hosts might use some or all of the footage in a story, though a reporter might substitute his own voice on the VNR. That shouldn't matter to you because your main purpose is to get free publicity, not promote yourself as a voice over talent.

It can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to as much as $20,000 or more, depending on the subject matter, to produce a news-worthy VNR. In the majority of situations, you can have a B-roll created for a few hundred dollars.

Contact some local TV production companies to learn more about the process. Some publicity firms also do VNRs and B-rolls, though they often contract this work out and add their cost to your bill. The big advantage of using a PR firm that has this type of experience is that they are more likely to know how to appeal to reporters and magazine show hosts to get free publicity than production companies that don't do a lot of this type of work.

About the Author

Danek S. Kaus is the author of "You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity." You can learn more insider secrets to get free publicity and find out about his publicity services at http://getfreepublicitynow.com