This is a busy time of year for fundraisers, festivals and events. And, we get inundated with requests from all of them to appear on CTV Morning Live.

Not everything will make the cut. But here are some pro tips, which may help your story make it to air.

Keep this mind: We want to educate and entertain. So don’t think, “What can we say?” but rather, “What can we do?”

If you are planning a community event:
Do a mini-reenactment in studio. Hosting an adventure race? Set up some of the challenge, do drills. Are you holding a dance event? Bring on top talent to perform. Do you have a choir? Pitch a performance in studio. Are you magician in town for a show? Do some tricks!

If you are part of an animal rescue:
Bring animals into our studio. As much as we love helping our furry friends, you must also have an angle that separates you from the other rescues.
Opening a new shelter? Bring an animal that will benefit and have video or pictures of the space. Planning a fundraiser? Have some fun. We once hosted a peanut butter licking contest. No, really.
Are you a trainer or a baker? Show us your tips and tricks, bake treats or set up an agility course.

If you have an individual talent:
Let’s say you are challenging a Guinness World Record, let’s do a practice run in studio. We had a dog on the show going for the world record in balloon popping and had him do a practice run. Perhaps a student or school won a science award or is in a competition. Bring in your science experiment or robot.

If you are stylist or have a clothing business:
Pitch a specific fashion show segment and have models available to showcase the goods. Examples could be everything from the must-have item of the season and how to wear it, to summer dresses that flatter all shapes, how to dress for less, and grad trends.

If you are fitness expert:
Show us something interactive and fun. Demonstrate desk exercises to stay fit at the office or household items that can double as free weights. Yoga poses to help you sleep. Or, tips on perfecting your running form.

If you are a beauty expert, hair or make-up artist:
Grab attention with a topic that is relatable to the masses. The more people you appeal to the better. Show us foundation applications for hot summer days, new eyebrow shape trends and how to master them. Demonstrate how to make sweaty gym hair look cute or even tips to cut your own hair.

If you are a foodie/blogger:
Teach the viewers something useful and new that they can try at home. Let’s do some cooking. Share your secrets for perfecting BBQ grill marks. Cook with the latest trendy gadgets. Prepare the must-eat side dish for any gathering, make a desert on the BBQ or wow us with vegan dishes that you would never guess were vegan.

Those are just a few examples.

With some creativity and outside-the-box thinking, there is almost always a way to make a segment or story idea interactive and fun.

Even if you have the visual part down, you still have to convince us why it’s a good idea and why should people care.  Since segments move really quickly, you need to be able to do all this in three to four minutes. If you can’t tell your story that quickly, then it’s probably not a fit for CTV Morning Live.

Do let us know well in advance, four to eight weeks ahead of when you hope to have your story featured is ideal. Our show is often fully booked.

Some of our best segments come from viewer emails. You have nothing to lose by sending us your ideas, just make sure they are clear, concise, and creative.

We can’t wait to hear your pitches and share your stories with Calgary.