Shama: Hey guys welcome to Shama.TV! Interesting episode today, I’ve got Damian Skinner with me here. He is my agent for all things television and he’s got a lot of things cooking for us right now for Shama.TV so you’ll hear about thing soon enough. I invited Damian here today to share his 3 television tips. This guy was in LA for a long time and he’s very experienced. Now Damian, give us the 3 tips about what the audience needs to know if they’re thinking about just getting on TV or taking their brand on TV. I know this is something that is part of what you specialize in, so give us the scoop!
Damian: Well it really just depends of a couple of things. One is, what is your brand, and does it have the ability to be absorbed into a larger niche? So some good examples are American Idol all the way down to lock and safe companies, so any time that you’re trying to promote something, you want to be absorbed into a larger brand. So, for example, the “Lock and Safe” experts should appear on television as “Safety” experts, to appeal to a larger audience. This is also true in the movie world. The genres of war movies, superhero movies, etc all go under the genre of “action movies.” So basically, you just want to step up into the overarching branch. This will make you more relevant to more people. The second tip is to really get a deep understand that all of entertainment is nothing more than business. We think of it as artistic expression, but I’ve been a director, I’ve been a producer, and I’ve learned that it’s really a business at the end of the day.
Shama: So Hollywood is just a business?
Damian: Not only is it just a business, but it’s the number one money-making business that is not government subsidized.
Shama: Yes, I see.
Damian: So there are many ways to get on television, but one of the best ways is to become a “segment expert.” As soon as you can establish yourself as a trusted resource, newscasters and producers are going to come to you for information over and over. In fact, this is exactly what Shama is experiencing right now.
Shama: Yes, in fact just this week I had four reporters from four different channels contact me about social media and Twitter.
Damian: And the more that you do that, the more these people are going to trust you and go to you for information.
Shama: Now let me ask you a tough question. There are a lot of people who have great personalities, but they don’t have TV personalities, so is there a place for these people in the TV world?
Damian: It is really case-specific, and it depends on the kind of television you’re talking about. If you’re talking about news, personality is not nearly as important as the delivery of information and whether or not you can be comfortable in front of the cameras.
Shama: So basically to deliver news you just have to be smart and be able to clearly convey information.
Damian: Yes.
Shama: So where can someone reach you if they’d like to contact you for more information?
Damian: DamianSkinner.com and on Twitter as “DamiansTweet.”
Shama: So if you guys enjoyed this and you’d like me to bring Damian back, just leave it on the comments! See you soon!
Great tips. will have to remember that
Very useful – thanks Shama and Damian! It’s good to know that it’s not necessary to become a “tv personality”. Would be great to hear more on this topic.
Meaty content! Damian, how would you recommend positioning yourself to become that source for local news segments? Shama, how did you position yourself for the same?
Stephen Wade
I agree completely. The few times I appeared on TV, personality was furthest from everyone’s mind. TV outlets are looking for expertise, stories, and perspectives or insights not being presented. But it must be considered interesting by a large segment of their audience.
In my cases, the appearances were also in conjunction with images or scenes which, while compelling to see, needed dialog to explain or narrate.
Perhaps Damian can expand on the “how-to’s” during your appearance. Being too relaxed and animated can pose a threat to the finished production. Extreme volume changes in your voice, or moving around too much while talking is hard to shoot and doesn’t present well. A more mellow and reflective mood, even if the material is funny, makes for a more successful outcome.
Peter
Shama,
How did you know this was exactly what I was looking for? I came to your site because I remembered that you often promote to shama.tv to get ideas about how you are producing your show and here you are speaking to what I was exploring.
Damian made some great points that I will consider in my developmental process. I would love to consult with someone about the broader branding for the show/higher level to ensure I am thinking in the right direction.
Thanks for the info. Shama and congrats!
Carol
I’d be curious to learn more about how to leverage TV appearances into something more, especially if you’re already doing the occasional TV segments.
Gosh, what an incredible interview here, Shama. You’re definitely the “Online marketing Shaman”! I learned a lot of useful things from the video clip. Thanks again!