If you’re a true talk show fan – late night, daytime, it doesn’t matter – one of your ultimate goals is to see your favorite show live and in person. And already you know that getting tickets to your favorite show is incredibly affordable (they’re free!). So how do you make sure you actually get your mittens on some of those tickets?

To start, make sure you avoid these costly mistakes:

• Mistake 1: Paying for your tickets

Technically, we covered this in the first paragraph, but it’s worth calling out. Tickets to your favorite talk show are free. They always are and, likely, always will be. So if you’ve shelled out any cold hard cash for tickets to The Talk, one of two things has happened:

1. You paid good money for tickets someone else paid nothing for and you could have acquired for the same price, or
2. You bought bogus tickets and there’s no way you’re sitting in The Talk studio audience.

And even if you bought real tickets, there’s no guarantee you’re getting in the door anyway (there never is – all part of the fine print).

Avoid this mistake by getting your own tickets. About Talk Shows can even guide you through the process.

• Mistake 2: Planning your trip before getting tickets  

Most talk shows are taped in either New York or Los Angeles, which, for most of us, means planning a vacation to see Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel. If you plan your trip to Manhattan first and try to get tickets second – well, you might be in a for a bit of a surprise.

Chances are incredibly high that you won’t get tickets to Late Night or The Tonight Show for the time you’ll be there. And now you’re stuck with plane tickets – and we all know what a pain it is to switch those.

You see, talk show tickets are free – but part of the cost is that the tickets are in high demand. So it isn’t strange to get tickets for a show that’s a year or two away. Or spending a year or two just trying to get tickets in the first place.

Avoid this mistake by switching it up. Get your talk show tickets first and your plane tickets second.

• Mistake 3: Showing up at the studio right before the show tapes

This isn’t Broadway. It’s not even the movies. This is a first-come, first-seated talk show. And it’s working production that demands a precise start time. So if you think showing up 10 minutes before taping is plenty of time to get comfortable, you’re more likely to get comfortable back in the hotel room watch your show in TV.

Talk show tickets do not offer guaranteed entry. More than anything, they simply guarantee you the opportunity to see the show. Get there right before the show starts and you probably won’t get in. Show up five minutes late and you definitely won’t get in.

Avoid this mistake by reading all the fine print that comes with your free ticket. Determine your arrival time based on the wishes of the production; they’ll tell you when they want you to be there. Then come maybe 10 minutes earlier than that. Maybe even a half hour.

• Mistake 4: Leaving your ID at home

Here’s another common mistake. Most folks get there tickets and head to the show. They’ll get in, after all. They’ve got a ticket.

Not necessarily.

Again, this isn’t the movies or a show. A ticket to a talk show almost always requires photo identification with a birth date. Forget the ID and you won’t get in – no exceptions.

Avoid this mistake by making sure you bring your driver’s license or some other form of identification with your picture and birth date. Better still, read the fine print to know exactly what you should have with you when you arrive.

• Mistake 5: Forgetting to be spontaneous and have fun

All of those tips above make it sound like seeing a talk show is just a giant pain in the rear – even if the tickets are free. But seeing a show is great fun. Beyond basking in the glow of your favorite host and show, you get the chance to go behind-the-scenes to see how the show is put together. Not many people get that chance.

Avoid this mistake by being spontaneous. Going to New York but don’t have tickets? Try to go stand-by. Those are same day tickets you can try to get that might land you a seat in the audience.