Paula Rizzo, Lights Camera Expert, List Producer – InnovaBuzz 161
Paula Rizzo, Lights Camera Expert, List Producer
In this episode, I’m really excited to have on the InnovaBuzz podcast as my guest, Paula Rizzo, an Emmy-award winning television producer, best-selling author and a media trainer and strategist. She’s also co-founder, with Terri Trespicio, of Lights Camera Expert – an online course geared towards helping entrepreneurs, authors and experts get media attention.
Paula has a very long and impressive CV, also being the founder of the productivity site ListProducer.com and author of ListFul Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed, as well as regularly contributing to MindBodyGreen.com, Entrepreneur.com and Thrive Global, providing productivity tips and advice. One of her focus areas is helping experts, authors, and entrepreneurs position themselves for media – including radio and TV as well as podcasts and blogs, which is the focus of our discussion today.
In our discussion, Paula talked to me about
- a Framework for pitching to media
- Getting comfortable doing video – it’s about focusing on providing service to your audience
- Listmaking – from time management to video and interviews to packing for a move
Terri Trespicio on episode 152 suggested we interview Paula.
Listen to the podcast to find out more.
Listen to the Podcast
Understand who your audience is. Understand who is that media outlet serving and how can you best serve them. That is what your pitch needs to be highlighting. @ListProducer Paula Rizzo on #InnovaBuzz podcast Click To TweetShow Notes from this episode with Paula Rizzo of Lights Camera Expert and List Producer
Key points and take-aways from this episode include:
- Understand who your audience is. Understand who is that media outlet serving and how can you best serve them. That is what your pitch needs to be highlighting.
- Having an interesting story and being really focused on what you can talk about will get you through the door every single time.
- Everybody wants to make money. Everybody wants to have new clients, sell books or whatever it is but the media doesn’t care about that. They don’t want to be a commercial for you. They want to know what their audience is going to get from you by paying nothing – what can you give away for free?
- Your headline/subject line should have something that is going to catch attention but should not be too over the top. It has to be truthful but also clever.
- The three important elements a producer is looking for in a pitch:
- The Hook – the timeliness of the pitch. Why now?
- The Twist – how is what you are saying different than what everyone else had said before?
- The Takeaway – what can the viewer take away from it? What do they get out of it
- Always produce videos that you would want to watch. Always have your audience in mind. Give a little credibility about yourself and then give some tips that they can take away.
- The purpose of a video is to give away what you know for free.
- Being in front of a camera takes some practice. It is a mindset thing. You are being of service to the people who are watching and you need to lead with service. Start the video by smiling before you even say anything. It enables you to be friendly from the beginning and it keeps your energy up.
- Projecting your voice makes you sound more energized and engaged.
- Broadcast journalism is a lot different than print journalism.
- Write like you speak so that you are using conversational words that people will understand.
- Video and audio are very intimate. You lead people with your personality.
- Identify the words that you use so often as fillers, and any time you feel compelled to say those words, rub yourself and just pause. You don’t have to fill all the space in the entire conversation. You just need to take a break.
The Buzz – Our Innovation Round
Here are Paula’s answers to the questions of our Innovation round. Listen to the interview to get the full scoop.
- #1 thing to be more innovative – Make a list. Brainstorm with lists.
- Best thing for new ideas – Give myself space. Have focus time. If you are always in the doing state, you are never in the innovating state.
- Favourite tool for innovation – Listmaking – handwritten lists and apps. Todoist, Asana, Evernote, Wunderlist, Clear.
- Keep project / client on track – Spreadsheets. Airtable.
- Differentiate – Being of service. Really being able to think through how you can help people.
To Be a Leader
Really seek out the best experts. Instead of doing everything yourself and trying to figure everything out, see who has done it already. See who has been at the top of their game in whatever area it is that you are looking at and learn from them. Invest in yourself to be able to get mentors, coaches or people who can really get you to the next level faster.
Reach Out
You can reach out and thank Paula through her website and on Twitter.
Suggested Guest
Paula suggested I interview Joya Dass, a TV Anchor and President/Co-Founder of Ladydrinks. So Joya, keep an eye on your inbox for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz podcast, courtesy of Paula Rizzo.
Links
- Website – Paula Rizzo
- Lights Camera Expert
- List Producer
- Twitter – @ListProducer
Grab this freebie! Checklist to Become A Go-to Media Expert.
Book
Cool things about Paula
- She graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Broadcast Journalism from Hofstra University.
- She served as senior health producer for Fox News Channel in New York City for over a decade.
- Her book Listful Thinking has been translated into 12 languages and has been featured on many media outlets including Fox News, Fox Business, Prevention, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, Brides and made it on Oprah.com’s list of “Self Help Books That Actually Help.”