the Justin Brady Show

Troy Dunn has been interviewed on all the major TV networks, created three prime-time top-rated shows, and has been interviewed by Barbara Walters, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil. I asked him to share his media methods and insight, and he told me if you follow a few simple strategies, you can get media coverage on demand.

Dunn explains the power of a targeted story, how to craft it, why press releases are completely useless, why PR folks suck, and how to get top media coverage even if you’re not an expert or superstar.

 


 

High-level media training

Dunn shared a lot on the podcast, but there are a lot of strategies and training exercises he wasn’t able to share due to time limitations. This is why he has allowed my audience to be first in line for his next mastermind course. In his retreat-style course, you’ll meet other communicators, entrepreneurs and business folks, and get personal coaching from Troy.

Check out the info page for his most recent event, and fill in this form to be put on the notification list.

    He will reach out when more info is available.

     

    Media Mistakes and Success Strategies

    Troy Dunn’s media process took nearly 30 years to perfect. He started down this road not because he wanted to be on TV, but because he wanted free press for his first startup, which ended up being acquired by Paul Allen and Ancestry.com. He started by recording all prime time TV shows, and fast-forwarding to the credits page, copying the names of producers. He then dialed information to get their phone numbers and started dialing.

     

    Press releases are useless

    Over time, Dunn learned how to “crack the code” of media exposure. He says he got to the point he could pull down media coverage at will. He recalled walking through these TV studios seeing thousands of PR pitches come through the company fax machines. The trash was right next to the fax machine, and people would just dump them in by the stack. (Sometimes ambitious interns would sift through them.)

     

    Your story is interesting… once

    Many comms and marketing folks don’t consider what happens if they actually get their story on national media. In their mind, one major story opens up other opportunities on other stations and publications, but that’s not true. No one wants to cover the same story. “Your story is interesting once,” explains Dunn.

    Instead, Dunn’s process focuses on what he calls Harvest, Pace, and Place. Creating a constant stream of media exposure relies on creating a constant stream of quality content that appeals to the audiences of your targeted media opportunity.

    Having an understanding of a media entity’s audience is where most marketing, PR, and comms people fail. If they came up with a new cure for a disease, that might objectively be amazing, but if a particular audience isn’t interested, neither will the producers, writers, hosts, or anchors.

     

    Anticipating media opportunities

    “A spontaneous comment is a prepared comment at an unprepared time,” Dunn explains. If you or your company really are the experts, it shouldn’t be much trouble for you to anticipate possible story angles that might come up in the future. The key is to be prepared, and respond in 5 minutes when news breaks.

    A cybersecurity company can be certain a Fortune 500 will be hacked. A health food company can be certain people will want to lose weight. A resort can be certain spring break will come up every year, and a medical professional can be sure someone will injure themself during the 4th of July.

     

     

    Thank you for contacting me!