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A reporter from our local CBS affliliate came to The Zen Merchant to tape a news segment and interview us about our success story with “The Secret”.

John and I have had great personal success after having viewed “The Secret”. We enjoyed it so much that we were compelled to share the message with the world by being authorized dealers and selling “the Secret” DVD, audio CD, and book.

Exciting news came when we learned that Oprah Winfrey was going to dedicate an entire show to “The Secret” which would feature the producer, Rhonda Byrnes and several of the teachers featured in the DVD — Dr. Michael Beckwith, Lisa Nichols, Jack Canfield, and James Arthur Ray. As one may imagine, being on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and receiving the Oprah stamp-of-approval is priceless. Oprah has the Midas touch.

Being local dealers of “The Secret”, we thought of how we could include ourselves in the hoopla. Contacting the local media for television coverage has been one of my biggest phobias–rather like the fear of public speaking. I was fearful that my pitches to the news desks would be rejected, further reinforcing my insecurities.

I overcame my anxiety because the benefits of possibly being featured on the local newscast as a tie-in with Oprah was too big of an opportunity to forgo. Timing is everything and this would be the one time I could prove that I held on to unreasonable self-doubt about being capable of successfully acheiving media coverage for my business.

Desire to take advantage of a timely opportunity was the fuel to get me going. The concrete education, expertise, and techniques on how to contact the media came through my mentorship with Jon Schallert, founder of the Destination Success Bootcamp. The information that I received from attending his bootcamp and subsequently as a Gold Member of his Success Network provided me with the structure to create a scripted plan for my approach.

Forget all embarrassment one may have in approaching the media for a story. The key is to be prepared so that one is not wasting anyone’s time. I was willing to look silly or feel ridiculous by practicing in front of the mirror as to what I would say when I made my cold-call to the news station.

I called the newsroom and gave them my very brief, but to the point inquiry about a possible Oprah tie-in. The assignment editor did not know what I was referring to, but requested that I send an e-mail with more details. This was when I had to act quickly to send an informative, yet succinct e-mail pitch.

Remember, one is essentially asking for a favor, but it must be mutually beneficial. Think of why anyone would be interested in interviewing you for any media coverage. This is also the hardest part of the equation that one must decipher.

With regards to our own segment. In my e-mail to the station I had also included the names of several of the teachers featured in “The Secret” that live in San Diego County. It seems that first account -”human interest” was the angle that was decided so John and I were the sole focus of the interview.

After the story was taped,we awaited to see the first minute of our “15 minutes of fame” air later on in the day. Much to our surprise, John and I were used not only as a lead-in news story, but there were teaser commercials for our story during the Oprah show broadcast, and another immediately lead in teaser to the news.

February is one of three television ratings sweeps months, when ratings are on all channels are tabulated for viewship. Our new segment was used as a teaser to keep the Oprah viewer tuned to the same channel as the news.

All in all, the feedback from the story has been overwhelmingly positive. Several things came into place for a successful outcome —- opportunity, timing, preparation, clear communication, flexibility, and sincere passion for what one wants to convey.

This experience has been successful not just from a professional stand-point, but from a very personal one as well. I have deep appreciation for my husband and partner, John. His intelligence, determination, open-mindedness, and honesty have reinforced by admiration for him and reinforces the strong bond that we have. His support has been invaluable for my growth and roles as wife, mother, and as a member of the creative class. I look at the news segment were we are featured and I have an appreciation for what we have, for how far we have come, and how far we will go in the future.

The news segment may be viewed by clicking here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrupfOiCmgg