How to Get on the Ellen DeGeneres Show

The story of how we got on the Ellen DeGeneres Show is one we can tell and retell. It’s special to us because in a way it was the turning point for our business and our lives, and you can hopefully learn a few things too from it.

So, since you’ve probably never heard the story straight from the horse's mouth, here goes:

Part 1: Now This

When the call from the Ellen Show came, we were in the office, and Janice answered the call with her hand over her mouth, her eyes as wide as saucers. I thought that maybe a customer was yelling at her.

Let’s rewind: Back in 2016 we were working on the business part-time and just doing our best to raise funds and awareness for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. At that time, we only had just one part-time employee, Janice, who helped us with customer care and other administrative work. By this point, we hadn’t received any major media recognition.

As soon as she hung up, I knew immediately it was something different. Barely able to contain herself, she told me it was a producer from the Ellen Show. They wanted to talk to us about getting on the show!

Wow! The Ellen Show? Get out of here! – we thought.

The producer said they had seen our story on Now This, and it had caught their attention.

We were floored!

Let’s pause. There’s something important to learn here.

Leading up to that point, we had done all sorts of “small” shows, interviews, and stories. Our main goal was to create as much awareness for our cause as possible. We weren’t trying to be smart about it and drive sales or build market share. We weren’t strategically positioning ourselves so that shows like the Ellen Show would notice us.

Nope.

We just wanted people to know what we were doing and why we were doing it.

Most of the stories we had done up to this point didn’t have national reach, but they still mattered.

Think about it, if we had told the producers of Now This that we were busy and didn’t have time, the producers of the Ellen Show would never have seen the story, and we would never have made it to the show.

By making ourselves available to tell our story to whoever was willing to listen, we got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that completely transformed our business and our lives.

So, what’s the lesson? Put yourself out there and tell your story. Tell it to as many people as you can. You never know who is listening.

Part 2: Interviewing for the Ellen Show

Over a series of calls with the producers of the Ellen Show, we understood a bit more about what they were looking for. Initially, we were hoping they would give us some talking points or ideas about how to respond on the show.

They gave us nothing. Nada.

Now, this may sound crazy, but it made sense. The Ellen Show is insanely popular because it tells real, authentic stories. All the reactions and emotions you see are real, and they wanted the same from us. They wanted the public to see the real people behind the story.

While this mortified me, as the more organized one, Bryan, on the other hand, took to this approach like a duck to water. He jumped at the opportunity to be as authentic, enthusiastic and as energized as possible.

His exact words were, “We need to be our own biggest cheerleaders and be as authentic, energized and raw as possible.”

So, what else did we learn? If you have something you believe in, you need to be your own biggest fan and tell your story with authenticity, enthusiasm, energy, and passion. Push for it from the depths of your heart. When you show enthusiasm, energy, and excitement for your mission, others will be naturally drawn to it.

That’s what the producers at the Ellen Show were trying to tell us by not giving us talking points. They were telling us, “Be the real, raw and authentic you, but also, be your own biggest fan.”

Think about it, they’ve produced hundreds of shows over the years so they should know a bit about what resonates with the public and what doesn’t.

Part 3: Meeting Ellen

Here’s something you probably didn’t know – anyone who gets on the Ellen Show meets her for the first time on live TV!

Think of all the raw emotions people feel when they meet her for the first time. Considering her natural and genuine demeanor, it’s no wonder emotions run high on the show. When we finally got on the show, we were blown away!

When you meet someone, who has had such a significant impact on the lives of so many and you realize that everything you see on live TV is not choreographed, but raw and authentic, it’s amazing!

This part of the story is pretty much in the public domain, so we won’t go into the details of what happened on the show. Instead, what we want to share from the show is why we were picked in the first place, and it’s something we realized as soon as we met Ellen.

She tells incredible stories about people doing good.

From this perspective, what my brother and I were doing fit perfectly with the stories told on the show. If you are genuinely trying to do good with your mission, it will automatically attract others who care about what you are doing.

When we set out to start Two Blind Brothers, we wanted to do good. That’s it.

By staying true to this mission, today we’ve received calls from celebrities, big shows and major publications who want to support us and help us advance our mission.

So, focus on doing good and the people who care about your mission or cause – who by the way, are the people who really matter – will come to you.

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If you thought this was a post about hacking your way onto the Ellen Show, I apologize.

To us, why we got on the show is way more important and more telling than how we got there.

The reasons we think we got on the show are:

1. We were willing to do the work to get our story out there and be our own biggest fans. 

2. We chose to be authentic and genuine and tell our story from the heart. 

3. We focused on doing good.

So, what’s your mission and is it doing good for others? Are you ready to tell it boldly, genuinely and enthusiastically? If so, don’t wait to get on the Ellen Show to start – start now and start making a difference!