Getting on the small screen takes some time and energy! Before even thinking about pitching a reporter or producer, it's key to have the complete segment idea lined up and ready for bat. The story should be timely, on trend, or featuring someone noteworthy such as a celebrity or a well-known local personality. Note:Unless you have Gwyneth Paltrow to back your product, it's going to take some creativity and thought on the backend to book a TV spot!

Here are some important tips to keep in mind when planning your TV segment:

Target Audience . Every story has a target audience unless it's breaking news that goes directly to the newsroom, so it's important to know whom your story is intended for. If it's a stay-at-home mom for instance, you'll likely have the best success with a local morning or afternoon news show. If it's breaking news - either more serious company news or an event/press conference that occurred that day - the story will likely find success during the evening newscast(s).

Visualize.Television is all about visuals. Picture your ideal segment…what does it look like? Is it a seated interview or a standing demonstration segment? What props will be used? These are key factors to keep in mind when planning your story idea. Remember it's your job to show the producer how the segment will come to life. If you do this successfully, you'll also have helped the producer with their job of finding and creating interesting, appealing news stories for their viewers, thus forming a trusting relationship with the producer for next time!

Where does it fit?Watch the show you are pitching. I can't stress the importance of this tip! Producers will be more receptive to your pitch if you actually seem to know something about what they produce. For instance, do they have guests on their show? If not, don't pitch an in-studio interview, but instead see if they'd be interested in having one of their anchors or reporters cover the story. If you think a particular anchor would be interested in your story as you know they have young kids or have had a personal experience with breast cancer, for instance, mention that connection. Know the programs and know where your story fits in.

Timing.An instant news hook is to plan your segment around a timely holiday or event when the news station is going to be looking for ideas anyway. For instance, perhaps it's a segment on "New Green Spring Cleaning Tips" for the first day of spring or Earth Day. Or if it's a story on "New tailgating foods for 2010," pitch it at the beginning of football season or before Superbowl weekend.

Round-ups.One tactic that can work really well to get your product or service featured it a round-up segment. Simply asking a TV producer to talk about your product on camera isn't going to do it, but a segment on "Hot new baby products for the fit mom" or "Buy local: top local holiday gift ideas" may be the trick. So for example, say you represent a clothing line. Perhaps work with a local fashion consultant or boutique owner on a segment on "5 fab new spring trends" where they talk about your product (and a few other people's as well) for a segment that is sure to appeal to the station's audience.

An example of this is a TV segment I did yesterday morning in fact. It was a round-up on "Celebrity Baby Products" (just in time for the Oscars!), and featured five top products that celebrity kids are wearing or using. A segment on just one of these isn't a story, but put them all together and bam - now that's interesting news!

Good luck with your TV planning! Just remember to ask yourself or a friend who fits the target, "Does this sound like an interesting segment people would want to hear about?" to determine if you are on the right track!