You’ve seen it happen a thousand times. A founder stands in front of Savannah Guthrie or Hoda Kotb, hands shaking slightly, holding a spatula or a new skincare bottle. They talk for exactly three minutes. By the time the segment hits the commercial break, their website has crashed. That is the Today Show boost. It’s not just a spike in traffic. It’s a total redirection of a company's trajectory that happens in the span of a single morning cup of coffee.
People think TV is dead. They’re wrong.
While TikTok trends flare up and die in forty-eight hours, a feature on a legacy program like NBC’s Today carries a specific kind of "mom-approved" authority that Silicon Valley hasn’t figured out how to replicate yet. Honestly, the sheer scale of it is terrifying if you aren’t prepared. I’ve talked to founders who spent six months building up inventory only to sell out in forty seconds.
The Mechanics of the Morning Surge
What is the Today Show boost at its core? It’s the sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of concurrent users hitting a single URL. Unlike a Facebook ad that trickles in leads over a month, this is a firehose.
The "Steals & Deals" segment with Jill Martin is the most famous example of this phenomenon. It’s basically a high-speed retail gauntlet. Brands offer a massive discount—usually 50% or more—in exchange for the massive exposure. NBC doesn’t take a cut of the sales (usually), but the logistical requirements they slap on brands are intense. You have to prove you have the stock. You have to prove you can ship it. If you fail, you don't just lose money; you ruin your reputation on national television.
It’s about trust.
When a viewer sees a product on their screen at 8:30 AM, there is a subconscious vetting process. "If NBC put them on, they must be real." This eliminates the "is this a scam?" barrier that plagues most Instagram marketing. It’s why the conversion rates for a Today Show boost are often double or triple what you’d see from a standard influencer campaign.
Why Your Website Will Probably Crash
Most Shopify stores are built to handle a few hundred people at once.
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During a major boost, you might see 50,000 people click "Add to Cart" at the exact same moment. I’ve seen servers melt. Literally. It’s not just about the frontend; it’s the payment gateway, the inventory management system, and the automated email triggers all screaming for mercy at once.
Successful brands prepare by using dedicated "war rooms." They have developers on standby to scale server capacity and customer service reps ready to handle the "Where is my order?" emails that start arriving five minutes after the segment airs. If you aren't using a high-level CDN or a platform like Shopify Plus, you're basically bringing a knife to a gunfight.
The Psychology of the "As Seen On TV" Badge
The initial sales spike is great, sure. But the real Today Show boost is what happens in the six months after the segment airs.
Once you’ve been on Today, you get to put that NBC logo on your website. That "As Seen On" banner is digital gold. It changes the conversation with retail buyers at Target or Walmart. It makes venture capitalists lean in a little closer.
There’s a story about a small blanket company that saw a 1,000% increase in revenue after a quick mention. They didn’t just make money that day; they used the clip to secure a distribution deal that doubled their company's size by the following year. It’s leverage. You are no longer a "startup." You are a "nationally recognized brand."
It’s Not All Sunshine and Revenue
Let's be real for a second. The Today Show boost can actually kill a business if they aren't careful.
I know a guy who got his artisanal snack brand on a morning segment. He sold 20,000 units in three hours. He only had 5,000 in the warehouse. He spent the next four months dealing with chargebacks, angry emails, and a damaged relationship with his co-packer. He ended up losing more money in refunds and "apology discounts" than he made in the initial surge.
The "boost" is a magnifier. If your operations are solid, it magnifies your success. If your shipping process is a mess, it magnifies your failure to a massive audience.
How to Actually Get Noticed by Producers
Producers don't care about your "disruptive technology." They care about stories and visuals.
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If you want the Today Show boost, you have to stop thinking like a marketer and start thinking like a TV segment producer. They have three minutes to fill. They need something that looks good on camera and appeals to a broad demographic—mostly women aged 25 to 54.
- The "Vibe" Check: Is your product colorful? Does it do something cool on camera?
- The Founder's Journey: Did you quit a high-powered job to make vegan dog treats? That’s a segment.
- The Solution: Does it solve a problem that Savannah Guthrie’s audience actually has? (Think: sleep, kids, cooking, or saving money).
Sending a cold press release is usually a waste of time. Most of these segments are curated months in advance through established PR agencies or direct relationships. But every once in a while, a viral story on TikTok or a clever pitch catches a producer's eye.
The Cost of Entry
There’s a misconception that you pay NBC for the Today Show boost.
Usually, you don't pay for the airtime directly—that would be an infomercial. However, you pay in other ways. You might have to hire an expensive PR firm (think $5k to $15k a month) just to get the intro. You have to provide the deep discounts for Steals & Deals. You have to pay for the increased shipping labor. It’s an investment.
Survival Steps for the Morning After
Once the cameras turn off, the real work starts. The Today Show boost creates a massive "tail" of interest.
Capture the Data: Most people who visit your site won't buy. You need a rock-solid email capture pop-up. If you get 100,000 visitors and only 5,000 buy, you still have 95,000 leads that you can nurture for months. If you don't have a lead magnet ready, you're throwing away 90% of the value.
Update Your Creative: Immediately swap your Facebook and Instagram ad creative to include clips from the show (with permission/licensing) or at least the NBC logo. Use the momentum while the "halo effect" is still fresh in people's minds.
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Customer Support Overload: You need a "Today Show FAQ" page live the second the segment airs. Address shipping times, the specific discount code, and return policies. People buy on impulse during these segments, and impulse buyers are notoriously high-maintenance.
The Verdict on the Today Show Boost
Is it still worth the hype in 2026?
Absolutely. In a world of fragmented media, there are very few "watering holes" left where millions of people look at the same thing at the same time. The Today Show boost is one of the last remaining ways to achieve instant national scale. It’s stressful, it’s expensive, and it might break your website, but for the right brand, it’s the fastest way to go from a garage operation to a household name.
Just make sure your servers can handle the heat before you send that pitch.
Actionable Next Steps for Brands
- Audit Your Infrastructure: Run a load test on your website. Use tools like k6 or Loader.io to see if your checkout process collapses under 10,000 concurrent users.
- Refine the "Visual Hook": If you can't explain why your product is "cool" in five seconds without talking, it isn't ready for morning TV. Practice a visual demo that works with the sound off.
- Build a "Buffer" Inventory: Never go on a national segment with less than 3x your expected sales volume in physical stock. The "out of stock" button is the enemy of the boost.
- Secure the Rights: If you get on, immediately talk to the network's licensing department. You want that clip for your website, but you have to play by their rules to keep it there legally.