Why Free TV Publicity is Better Than Paid Advertising

Did you know that most small business owners still believe the best way to get potential customers attention means buying expensive television commercials, paying for print advertising, and investing in billboards – all while hoping these tactics will make the phone ring?

Perhaps as an entrepreneur you know about this costly form of marketing firsthand – just like Matthew Sapaula, a Financial Strategist who admitted to spending as much as $15,000 per month in advertising for his Chicago based consultant business.

Thankfully he discovered  there is a better  – FREE – way to get exposure; and it can also work for you.

How would you like to become a recognized guest expert by using TV publicity so that you can watch your advertising budget shrink while your profits skyrocket?

Almost every information product and seminar on the subject of getting free publicity in the media asserts that it could be worth millions of dollars.

Indeed, there is some truth to that.

How to Calculate the Value of TV Publicity

Here are two examples of what needs to happen to make that statement a complete fact.

Example #1: Length of your appearance – Let’s say the average cost of producing a quality 30-second national TV commercial is $350,000; and it costs and additional $100,000 to put it on the air.

That’s $450,000 -  an amount which most entrepreneurs and small businesses don’t have to spend on “hit or miss” advertising.

But if you are booked on a talk show or news program and interviewed in a segment lasting four and a half minutes (4 minutes and 30 seconds), that interview could be worth $4,050,000 (Four million and fifty thousand dollars) of free advertising!

Here’s how:

Some factors that influence how much the segment air time is worth are:

• Whether the show is broadcast nationally, locally or on cable
• The time and day the show comes on (i.e. 7am – prime time)
• The ratings (as reported by Nielsen or Arbitron) of the show
• The length of your segment
• Viewership for the show. (i.e. how many people watch the show)

Example #2: Number of appearances – If you make an appearance on a TV show that is broadcast on cable where the cost to produce and air a 30-second commercial is $100,000, and your interview segment lasts four and a half minutes (4 minutes and 30 seconds), the value of that television publicity is worth $900,000.

However, getting booked on that cable show two or more times increases the total value of your appearances.

$900,000  x 3 three repeat appearances = $2,700,000

Not only are you getting free advertising that is great for your business, you’re also getting the exposure which leads to more media coverage, celebrity status in your industry, more opportunities to get your message out, plus the ability to increase your income.

So yes, the claim is undoubtedly true – television publicity is worth millions – depending on certain factors.

How to Stop Paying for Advertising and Start Getting Paid to Promote Yourself

In 2009 Matthew stopped paying $180,000 a year for traditional advertising and instead started using free TV publicity strategies so that he could get more clients. His results were almost instant:

• Within 2 months he was booked for his first local TV news interview
• Within 4 months he was appearing on regional cable news programs regularly
• In just about 6 months he made his national television debut on the FOX network
• By early 2010  he’d made more than 50 TV appearances

Estimating each 4 minute and 30 second television interview to be worth up to $450,000 – that’s a whopping $202,500,000 (two hundred two million five hundred thousand dollars) worth of free advertising for his business.

Plus in addition to TV publicity being a highly effective form of free advertising, it also comes combined with the chance to give you what most people crave – stardom!

As a result of all of the free TV publicity exposure, Matthew got a call from the Executive Producer for MSN’s “The Invested Life” that airs on the MSN Money channel, and was asked to become a featured guest expert on the show. He admits that this would have never happened as a result of the standard “cookie-cutter” advertising he was using . Now instead of paying for advertising, he’s getting paid to promote his business on television.

The best part is, his financial services company attracts a steady stream of new clients to his business every month who want to work with, “that guy on TV.”

He’s turned this fame into real dollars and gets to help even more people than he ever thought possible.

Think about it, would you want to hire someone who has credibility, name recognition, and demonstrated expertise from previous television appearances or someone who you found out about from a billboard ad?

Now he enthusiastically encourages anyone who wants to advertise their business to go the TV publicity route. When you make TV publicity part of your marketing plan – like Matthew – your business will reap the rewards, especially when frequent and repeat appearances are made.

Next: Who Should Use TV Publicity?