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by: Pamela White
I was asked to write an article on a short deadline. No problem, I
thought. Then I got the article specifications which included
quoting several experts in the article.
Instead of giving up, I got online and within 12 hours had more
experts than I needed and a finished article.
Breaking into a new writing niche is both exciting and stressful.
Old contacts may not be able to help you out when you switch from
parenting to nutrition, or from health to health foods. There are
several options you can try, depending on the time you have to write
your article.
- Ask your editor for contacts. Many times they can refer you to
someone they know is available for interviews.
- Check out listservs. Do searches on Yahoogroups, Topica, and
SmartGroups. Visit Google and use their "groups" search function.
Join groups that seem to have professional members. Read past
messages, post some questions, and see what happens.
- Email or call members of writer's groups you're associated with.
While some writer's keep their contacts under wraps, nearly all the
writer's I've worked with online and in person are happy to share
professional contacts.
- Visit Profnet to find experts to interview in all areas
imaginable. Profnet.com is an online venue that connects journalists
with sources. There is no fee to journalists, but the site is used
heavily by publicity firms and my experience has been that the PR
pros are more excited about their clients getting press than their
clients are. In other words, I've been left with a phone bill of
unreturned calls. Conversely, if you want to promote your business,
book or self, you can sign up (for a fee) to receive the
journalists' requests for information. There is also a speaker's
bureau online.
- Pull out your yellow pages and look up physicians, attorneys,
dietitians, hospital administrators, and accountants to call for
information and quotes.
- Read magazines. If you find a name and job title that fits what
you need, call the firm where your potential interviewee works. One
thing you know already: he is willing to be interviewed.
- Do a search at online bookstores for books that speak to your
article's topic. Authors need to get their names in print to sell
their books. Many have websites with contact information for members
of the press.
- Use public relations firms and departments. Call the public
relations department at a hospital to find a nutritionist,
cardiologist, administrator, emergency technician. The PR department
will know which staff members make good subjects for interviews and
may be able to suggest related topics to include in your article or
as a sidebar. The PR department at a culinary institute may be able
to connect you with a celebrity chef alumna.
- There are other places to look for help. Prweb.com sends out press
releases, and has them accessible on the website. IdeaMarketers.com
is only one place where writers can place articles for publishers to
read. Both of these sources allow writers to look for experts
through their press releases and articles.
It may take a while for any of these methods to work. You may get
calls and emails from experts that don't fit a particular article.
Save their contact information anyway, along with all experts you
interview and quote. Build your own database of experts for future
articles and each new assignment will find you better connected to
the experts you need to reach.
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Please keep resource box at end intact. You may publish freely in
ezines, newsletters, print publications that do not charge a fee for
the publication.
About The Author
Pamela White is editor of Food Writing, an online newsletter
for food writers and author of FabJob.com's Becoming a Food
Writing. Visit www.food-writing.com for the most recent
newsletter, how to subscribe for fr^e, and current writing
contests.
pwhite05@twcny.rr.com
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