Julie Broad from Book Launchers shares 11 tips for authors doing TV interviews on Zoom to promote nonfiction books. Position your camera at eye level, use good lighting, wear solid colors, prepare short sound bites, and practice before going live.
2020 changed the way we do media interviews. The good news is there are going to be a lot less 5am calls to be in the green room and a lot more opportunities to be business on the top and Spanx or sweats on the bottom while promoting your book from your home. But if you're not prepared to make the most of your three minutes of fame, it's not going to help you or your book sales. So if you're planning to do TV media interviews to promote your book, then this video is for you. Hey there, I'm Julie the book broad from Book Launchers, where your professional self publishing services team helping you write, publish and promote a nonfiction book that will help you have a huge impact on your readers and done right will help you grow your brand, build your business and make you money. The best part? You yes, you keep all rights and royalties. So how do you look great, sound great and present your book in the best way possible to make the most of a short, fast TV appearance. Tip number one look at your computer camera when you do the interview. Avoid looking up or away. You can look down at notes if you have them, that's totally fine, but don't look at the screen to watch yourself or look at the interviewer. Try to avoid looking anywhere but the camera for the most part. You want to build and maintain trust in the fastest, most effective way possible, and that comes with making eye contact with that camera lens. Train yourself to look at the camera. Most interviews are short, so it will be over before you know it, but even if it's a longer interview, focus on that camera. Tip 2 Use your laptop, not your smartphone. Almost as a follow up, point to the one above, but if you use your smartphone, the screen will be the wrong size for the TV viewer. It's better to use a laptop camera. Most newer laptops have great cameras. My only caveat is if you have one of those cameras that has the lens below the screen, you can don't use that. The angle on that camera is terrible. I don't know what was going through the computer engineer's head when they put the camera below the screen. I've seen nose hairs I will never unsee and you do not want that going on television or anywhere in recorded history. Also, just a bonus tip, Clean the camera lens before your interview. You'd be surprised at what kind of dust has accumulated on your computer camera lens. Tip 3 Building on this, Raise up your laptop. When you're using your laptop, elevate it up so the camera is at eye level with your face. I have a laptop stand which is ergonomically better anyway, but if you don't, then stack your laptop on some books so it's up higher. Tip 4 Prepare some sound bites and this is so important. I'm going to do another video just on this subject, so make sure you've subscribed to the channel if you want to catch that I A sound bite is the verbal equivalent of a newspaper quote. It's short, like 15 seconds max and it's really a kick butt tip. Or a kick butt. It's really a kick butt tip, a quote you like to say, or some other snippet that summarizes your main points. Here's a couple of examples. Your book may be about you, but it's not for you. You have to write it for the reader or There are two really hard parts of becoming an author. Writing the darn book and then selling it. The good news is that if you do a good job of writing it with marketing in mind, you have a better chance of succeeding with the selling part. Start making a list of 5 to 15 second answers you can give that pack a punch. Tip 5 Lighting make sure you have lighting in front of you. When you see me doing my Tuesday live streams, I'm facing a window and that's actually problematic at times. My normal non Covid times office is way back from an outside window so it doesn't get impacted by the outdoor lighting fluctuations. Most importantly, invest in some lighting. Those ring lights are really affordable and they work really great. Tip 6 backgrounds fancy zoom backgrounds aren't a great idea for your TV media interview. They can be really distracting and they also can cause Internet delays. Just have a clean background. If you can sit in front of a shelf, displaying your book is a great option. Have something else in the background is okay, but you want to keep the focus on. You definitely don't have open closets or beds in the background if you can avoid it. Tip 7 sound at a minimum, use a headset. Those Apple headsets actually are pretty good, so that's a good starting point. Whatever you do, do not use the audio on your computer. Even the AirPods are fine. Just make sure there's no background noise and the echo is minimized so you have the best possible sound. Tip 8 Wear solid colors if you can. You don't have to get fully suited up, but focus on that professional look that fits your brand. Ultimately it is nice to have color and not a bunch of patterns when you're on camera. Patterns often do weird things so just keep it simple and solid for the most part. Tip 9 have water on hand in case you get dry mouth, but take a drink when the interviewer is asking you a question, not while they wait for your answer. I usually take a big swig before we go live and again it's over in three or four minutes. Tip 10 when you're asked where people can connect with you, give them one place, ideally your author website. Keep it simple. Make it possible for them to remember where to go. A lot of people listen all the social media, just one website, you could do it. All right. Tip 11 I don't have enough fingers. Test and practice at least once before your live appearance. Have a friend interview you and point out things that were distracting or could be improved. Make sure it's not your first time answering questions in a short punchy response. And definitely make sure it's not the first time you've done something live on Zoom. So what are your best TV media interview tips? Let's chat about it in the comments below. And right before you do, please smash that thumbs up button. Go and try it. It feels so good. And when you comment the day a video is released, you'll be entered to win some sweet noboringbookswag like ta da this hashtag no boring books mug and this oh so soft journal. We have new videos every Tuesday and Friday. Make sure you catch every one by subscribing to the channel and turning those notifications on. Well, you're a lot of fun. Do you want to keep hanging out? Okay, this video right here is the latest and greatest from the channel. And this one right here is all about the biggest surprises you'll enjoy when you write a book. Both are pretty much guaranteed to be useful to you and maybe even a little fun. So click on over. I'll put the coffee on and I'll see you there.
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