Become a Media Magnet: The Recipe

Baby Got Booked The Podcast

We typically book three types of guests on the show. We book producers or editors in the media who have a media platform and are looking for content and experts. We book people who have used the media to launch their brand or grow their business. The third type of person I like to bring on the show is somebody who helps us elevate our game and become a better story (because if you’re living a really great story that’s an excellent first step towards getting attention for it). My guest today, Zane Caplansky, fulfills all three of these requirements because he is a celebrity chef, he owns multiple businesses (all in the food industry), he’s an absolute media magnet extraordinaire and he has his own podcast. If you’re at all in the food industry or want to be in the food industry this is the guy whose show you want to get on.

The Globe and Mail article: There was a huge article in the Globe and Mail (Canada’s biggest English language newspaper). The headline was Caplansky’s Deli goes national with restaurants ‘built for Instagram’. Caplansky’s had re-branded their logo and he offered the Globe and Mail an exclusive on the new logo.

Exclusivity: Zane’s offer of exclusivity was attractive enough for the editor to say yes and assign a writer. This only works if you already have an established relationship with a particular editor. Exclusivity is a very sexy thing to the media.

Editing: Once it’s out of your mouth what they report is out of your control. It’s up to the journalist to decide what to print and how it’s going to go. It’s all in the editing. Editors and producers decide what story they want to tell. All you can do is put on your best performance and then leave it up to them to either be sympathetic and favorable or make you look like a jack ass.

Sound bytes: The best thing you can do to prepare for a situation like this is to have certain key sound bytes prepared. They’re not going to want to cut out the sexy bits. Make the bits you want to have come across the sexiest.

Know your audience, know your editor: You do this by consuming the product. You read the paper, you see the kind of stories they are telling and look for trends. What type of story do they keep telling? Then ask yourself how this applies to your business.

Franchising: Zane resisted the idea of franchising for years. His thinking was that running a restaurant is hard so running two would be twice as hard. Then he got an offer from an organization to open two franchise locations in the Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said yes without really thinking through all the possible ways and reasons why it might not work. They became very successful in the most challenging environment possible and that convinced Zane they could grow. Think about how you stand out from the crowd. What do people gripe about? Zane went to the two most common gripes (overpriced, low quality food) and fixed them.

Podcast: Zane was invited to be on a radio show. Afterwards the producer called him and asked him to be on a discussion panel the following Thursday. He did and was invited back the next time and the next. Finally the producer told him to just keep coming until they told him to stop. That was two years ago and he’s still on the panel every Thursday. The other members of the panel were seasoned veterans of radio and he studied them to learn from them. One day he stuck his head in the program manager’s office and said “If I was going to pitch you on a food radio show what would I have to tell you?” and the manager said “That’s a good idea, let’s do it.” His podcast started six weeks later and is called “Let’s Eat with Zane Caplansky.”

Getting on Zane’s show: Being invited on the show has a lot to do with personality and topicality. Just sending an email saying “I’d love to come on your show” isn’t going to get very far. He wants to know why. Tell him something that’s going to be compelling for him to want to put you on the show. Make it easy for him to say yes.

• You can reach Zane on Twitter @Caplansky, on Facebook under Zane Caplansky or Facebook.com/caplansky and Instagram @Caplansky
• Zane’s Globe and Mail article can be found at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/caplanskys-deli-goes-national-with-revamped-restaurants-built-for-instagram/article29497520/
• I love hearing from you. I’m @lifewithgeeta on Twitter. If you want a peek into my personal life follow me on Instagram where my handle is Baby Got Booked. You can reach out to me via email or via my website contact form at geetanadkarni.com

• Write headlines no journalist can resist, with the 58-headline template pack. [http://www.babygotbooked.com/headlines]