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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.
******
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.
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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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