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.
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 |
