Many times, people wish to host TV or online talk shows in the line of education, politics, entertainment, events, celebrity hosting, and opinions.
But due to the myriad of sob stories they hear about the technical side of talk shows and how people also struggle to keep them running, they fret and never go through with their ideas.
I really don’t know what horror stories you’ve heard about hosting talk shows, but I’m here to tell you that they are not as challenging as people make them out to be.
In this guide, we’ll share some tips and tricks that will help you transform that talk show idea you've been dreaming about into a reality.
Take a moment to introspect
First things first, are you cut out to be a show host?
Yes, we get that you have this wonderful idea to engage viewers at home on Friday nights or that you intend to be the next big thing in the industry since President Obama wooed Michelle with a Valentine’s Day poem on the Ellen DeGeneres show. But do you have the charisma to be a host? Can you deliver those timely punchlines that wow viewers at home? Do you have what it takes to keep people engaged throughout your show?
Find and hire the best personnel
Now that you've convinced yourself you're cut out to be a host; the next thing is to gather a team of experts to work with.
Although some hosts – in their attempts to cut costs – try to play most of the roles involved in their show production, you're strongly advised against doing this.
Remember that all you have is an idea you want to convert into a show. You’re neither a TV producer nor an expert cameraman. So, unless you’re really low on budget (at which point we advise halting your show plans), find the best guys in the industry to hire.
We personally recommend hiring a professional Television producer like the highly reputable TV production company, barkingwell.com. With them at your beck and call, you’ll have an expert showrunner constructing your show, running your scripts, handling the technical sides of production, pacing the program, setting the camera, and lighting your guests.
What’s more? When coming to run your show, they’ll come with those high standard modern state-of-the-art equipment and cameras you only see in top Hollywood movies.
Develop your idea
Now that you have the best set of showrunners on ground, the next thing is to develop that idea you’ve got into an actual show. To do that, you’ll need to make a decision on the following points:
- Who your guests will be
- What the theme and tone of the show will be
- What’s the show format?
- Are you doing something traditional, or you're taking a new curve?
Once you fit these pieces together, you’re ready to go live.
Choose a platform
One of the perks of running a show in this day and age is that you’re spoilt for choice. But the choice you make will depend greatly on where you think your target audience likes to visit the most.
For starters, you have the options of platforms like YouTube, Facebook, TV, Instagram, Vimeo, personal website, Vine, Twitter, and so much more. Find out where your audience likes to visit the most and stamp your authority there.
Bear in mind, though, that you might need to spread your tentacles into other platforms as your show grows in popularity.
Find your viewers
Viewers, or audience if you like, are the heartbeats of all shows. Whether or not your show stands the test of time depends on how many of them you are able to reach. Once your show starts running, try to reach out to your target audiences either by going the old-fashioned way (TV, radio jingle, ads, and flyers) or going digital (social media).
We recommend combining both efforts, though!
Produce your shows in advance
One of the biggest mistakes most show hosts make is that they try to create shows one at a time. They create a few shows, and after a few weeks or months, they run out of steam or become too occupied with other obligations that they can no longer commit the same time and efforts to their shows.
To prevent yourself from suffering a similar fate, it's advisable to get a fair number of shows shot, edited, and ready to post before you start marketing your program. If your show features guests, you might want to consider hosting guests whose expert opinions will be appreciated on any day of the week.
This way, you can get yourself occupied with other tasks for weeks or months and still have something amazing to share with your audience.