A treat for you guys today: our own Dr. John Peragine gives us a primer in where to look for expert sources and what the experience has been like for him. Thanks, John!
Finding the Right Experts
As a writer, there are times when you will need to seek an expert to help you with a piece you are writing. If you have never done this, it may seem a little overwhelming, but in truth there are many resources out there that can help you. Many experts want to do interviews because it increases their exposure and their credibility, so don’t be shy about asking someone no matter how “important” they may seem to you.
When I was creating my books 101 Recipes for Making Wild Wines at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers and The Complete Guide to Making Your Own Wine at Home: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply, I decided to contact some winemakers to add some professional expertise to my book. I make my own wine but I wanted to include some really credible people in the book and needed to find winemakers to interview.
I use HARO (HELP A REPORTER OUT). If you don’t know about this site and have never used it, open up a new window and sign up right now. I posted a request for assistance from winemakers and immediately received replies from all over the world.
I went through my email and focused on the responses from wineries that I was really interested in and sent back replies. Many of the larger winemakers had publicists that I had to go through, but that was actually less intimidating. I threw them the pitch for my book and let them know what I would need from their client.
The results were outstanding. I was able to secure 1-2 hour interviews with some of the most influential winemakers on the planet. I wrote 20 questions ahead of time for each of the interviews so that I was prepared. During the interview, I allowed the winemakers to talk about their winery and their impressive credentials, but I always brought them back to the questions I needed for the book. I also made sure that they signed a release so that I could use the interviews and photos in my book.
It was tricky at times because these were business people who were primarily used to marketing their products. I was interested more in their winemaking process and what they had done to make their businesses so successful. I recorded each of these sessions with their permission so that I could have a conversation with them and really concentrate on what they were saying instead of being restricted by my own framework.
One of the best contacts and the highlight of my interviews was the opportunity I had to speak with John Langley, the creator of the television show Cops. He is an awesome guy. He owns and operates a small winery in Argentina called Urraca wines with his children. I could have talked to him all day. I was so nervous before speaking with him, which was complicated by the fact that I had to reschedule the interview with his publicist three times because of his production schedule. When we finally did connect it was like talking to an old friend.
The biggest perk of these connections was that the publicists all sent me cases of wine and champagne so that I could sample their wines. This was a writer’s dream!
Check out my wine books; 101 Recipes for Making Wild Wines at Home: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers and The Complete Guide to Making Your Own Wine at Home: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply (Atlantic Publishing). They can be purchased through my website.
So writers, how do you find sources? Anyone else have a great experience with HARO? Do you use unique ways of finding sources?
8 responses to “Finding the Right Experts”
Thank you for this post. It really helps to think that even those who are already expert in their own field still seek the opinions of others.
I totally agree CFD. I think it adds credibility to what we are saying.
I've got HARO on my list, but haven't yet used them.
I often contact museums and/or universities with specialists in whatever field I'm researching. They tend to understand what I'm looking for, and they love to talk about their specialties. They're also great at pointing me towards other types of research I might not have found on my own.
I've had mixed results from HARO. One time they sent my request through and I got some great responses. Another time, they rejected my request. I read their guidelines but couldn't understand why they rejected one request and not the other – different articles for the same website.
So I e-mailed to ask what the problem was. After all, they'll let bloggers send requests, so shouldn't a site that has thousands of readers throughout the US and Canada qualify, like it did a few months before? They said they don't allow people writing for subscription sites to submit requests. They'd done it before, and I didn't see anything in their guidelines about subscription sites. Go figure.
I've also used PR Newswire, but that tends to draw a lot of unrelated pitches. exactly how can an author of a book about sales be an expert for my article on how to help your dog recuperate from major surgery?
That's why 90% of the time I tend to go through publicists. A publicist at a large company or a university can pinpoint the best experts they have for my particular article.
Now I need to go prepare for the arrival of my new refrigerator!
So where do you go Devon to find publicists? Do you cold call?
I use PRN Media. I find more than enough help there. Yes, like Paula says you do have to weed through it sometimes, but I have a weird specialty that not everyone's dying to talk about. That helps! LOL
I use association experts, too. Sometimes they have exactly the expert or statistic I need.
Thank you so much Lori for allowing me to guest blog. It was a pleasure.
Thank you, John! It was great having your expertise here.