Countdown to Year Three: findaTVexpert in The Times

The first thing I did when I set up findaTVexpert.com in April 2008 was tell as many people as I could about it, which included issuing a press release targetted at journalists who wrote about start up businesses. The Daily Express was the first national to pick up my story - see blog below. Then I was featured in the careers section of The Times, which was fantastic. Read 'My Big Idea' profile piece here. Good publicity - and getting noticed - is crucial in business, which is why I do as much as I can to get it: press releases, twitter, blogs, recommendations, etc. So if you're reading this, help me spread the word! Because word of mouth is fantastic PR too!

Loud & Proud: findaTVexpert heads towards start of third year in business

On Monday, the 28th of April 2008, findaTVexpert started doing what it set out to do: help bridge the gap between the professionals and the programme makers. Give experts who want to be considered for TV & Media opportunities the chance to promote themselves to the industry and give members of the media on the hunt for new talent and ideas (or up against tight deadlines!) a fast and easy way of finding experts to comment on a subject or be part of a show. If you want to get noticed as an expert, you have to be loud and proud. And the same applies to a business. If you want to get noticed, you have to make some noise. So in April 2008 I did a PR blitz and the Daily Express was the first to pick up on my story. Read it here.

New Experts & Last Night's Election Debate

I've just sent out my udpate to the TV industry with details of new experts - from BBQ Masters to Money Hunters (did you know that most people are entitled to a £2000, tax free bereavement payment from the state?) - and a topical TV Pt of View. This week it's Liam Hamilton, Director of Business Development at DCD Media, on last night's election debate. Let the experts inspire you and read what Liam has to say here.

Could you be a TV expert? Here's the first question you have to answer.

The TV industry is always on the hunt for talent, ideas and the next big thing. So could you be a TV expert? Well here's the first question you have to answer: what is going to make TV producers, broadcasters and (ultimately) viewers sit up and take notice of you? And if you want to know what else you should be thinking about if you're interested in promoting yourself to the TV industry, come along to my 'Could you be a TV expert?' seminar and find out! Details in post below.

"Could you be a TV expert?" seminar

What do producers of factual TV programmes need to create a new, successful series? New & engaging experts!

Think of Location Location Location, SuperNanny, The Choir, Grow Your Own Drugs, The Apprentice, Grand Designs, How Clean is Your House, You are What You Eat and The House of Tiny Tearaways, to name but a few. They all needed new experts when they were devised – and so will many future shows.

Find the right experts and combine them with a great format and everyone’s a winner: the broadcaster, the viewer and the experts, of course. Because being a TV expert raises your profile, increases your income and gives you the chance to help and/or inspire a huge number of people. But how does the TV industry find new experts? And could you be one?

These are some of the questions that will be answered at the ‘Could you be a TV Expert?’ seminar on Thursday, 10 June from 5-6pm (Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE).

The seminar will be hosted by Claire Richmond, series producer of some of TV’s most popular shows - including BBC’s Changing Rooms, Ready Steady Cook & Don’t Get Done Get Dom - and founder of www.findaTVexpert.com, the online database of experts for members of the media on the hunt for new talent.

”Being a TV expert isn’t a privilege that’s bestowed on an elite few,” says Richmond. “It’s an opportunity that’s available to all experts. But a lot of experts don’t realize that their knowledge, their passion or the projects they’re working on could be exactly what the TV industry is looking for. And many don’t know how to approach the TV industry. These seminars will shed valuable light on that,” adds Richmond.

The “Could you be a TV expert?” seminar will give experts an insight into:

- The importance of experts on TV - and why the industry is always on the hunt for them
- What makes a good TV expert – and could you be one?
- The kind of experts the TV industry is currently looking for
- How the TV industry finds experts / How experts can promote themselves to the TV industry
- The programme making process

”The TV industry finds new experts in many ways,” says Richmond. “If you’re lucky you might be in the right place at the right time – it’s how Jamie Oliver got his break - but the more pro-active you are and the more structured your approach, the better. Joining findaTVexpert is one way of getting on the TV industry’s radar but there are others. And these seminars will help potential new TV experts understand the process.”

Tickets cost £25 and must be purchased in advance (places are limited). For more information or to book your place, call or email Claire Richmond directly:

claire@findatvexpert.com / 020 8742 2541.

Claire Young - The Apprentice

It's great to welcome Claire Young, of BBC1's The Apprentice fame, to the team of experts. When TV opens a door for you, you have to take advantage of it. And Claire most certainly has. She's using her fame, passion and business expertise to help back young Britain by working with the Prince's Trust, UK Youth, Business Link and several youth enterprise organisations.

Be Unashamedly Persistent

I read an article about Vanita Parti, founder of Blink eyebrow bars in the Times earlier this month - How I Made It - and loved her advice to would be entrepreneurs: "Be unashamedly persistent. That really got me through the first six months where I had the phone slammed down on me. I thought no, this is going to work and I'm going to convince you."

The same applies to the TV industry: whether you're trying to get into TV, get onto camera or get a programme commissioned. If you've done your research and you really believe you have what it takes - or you have a groundbreaking programme idea - you have to keep going. It might take time. You might get knocked back along the way. But you have to be unashamedly persistent.