By Sandra Beckwith:
An author I was coaching by phone this week mentioned that she was frustrated. She responds to queries from journalists looking for her particular expertise, but never hears back from the reporters — not even a “Thanks, but no thanks,” e-mail. “Is it always like this?” she asked.
I noted that responding to these queries is an art form. It’s not enough to be an appropriate resource for a story or segment — you have to demonstrate your expertise in a pithy response that makes the journalist think, “She’s exactly the person I’m looking for.” Your answer has to show you understand what the reporter needs but you have to do it in a way that makes a tired, dull-witted, or overworked reporter see this quickly and easily, without doing any more work than is absolutely necessary.
The reality is that the typical query posted on a service like ProfNet generates more than enough responses from qualified sources.
So how can you make certain you respond in a way that gives you a fair shot at being quoted? I’m going to use the responses to my recent ProfNet query to help me illustrate what works and what doesn’t. Out of respect for the publication I’m writing for, I’m not going to share my query, but I will say that in my request, I stated what the article is about, the industry I’m writing for, and that I was looking for experts to comment on that topic in that industry.
Here’s how people actually responded, and how I reacted to each response. I hope this helps you understand the level of detail many of us do — and don’t — need to help us select the best sources for our articles.
SOURCE 1: “I know some people that will be able to help you with this story. You can give me a ring to discuss this further.”
ME: Tell me more. Who are these people? What are their credentials? I don’t have time to fish for information on the telephone when I’ve got several more responses from people who look like good sources.
SOURCE 2: Writes a hasty response full of typos, missing words and marketing jargon on behalf of her client, someone who doesn’t appear to have specific industry experience. Doesn’t tell me who her client is, but says, “Let me know if I can connect you.” Signs only her first name. No last name. No company name. No phone number.
ME: Eye roll.
SOURCE 3: “I have a great client that I am not certain is a perfect fit. We represent XXXX — they provide XXX customer service. (XXX’s URL) (Descriptive info here that would reveal too much about the company and I don’t want to embarrass anybody…) They have a great story that I would love to share with you if it is a fit.
ME: I like her honest approach, but if you’re not certain it’s a perfect fit, then it most likely isn’t. Try to respond only to those where you are positive you can make a valuable contribution. This is the kind of response I’ll send a “thanks, but no thanks” e-mail to because while she was off-target, she was at least articulate and honest.
SOURCE 4: “I must speak with you about your article. I have a lot to say on this. (Includes URL)”
ME: I’m not comfortable with the intensity of this response.
SOURCE 5: “We represent a company that’s does XXX that has been interviewed before and would be happy to work with you for the article. The company is called XXX (URL here). If you are interested please let me know.”
ME: At least we’ve got the right industry. That’s a good start. But why is this company qualified to address the problem posed in my query? Show me that they can give me good information in an interview. I don’t have time to interview somebody who knows the industry, but has nothing to say about my topic.
SOURCE 6: “Check out this article I authored for http://www.biznik.com, which offers (title somewhat related to my query topic). You can find it at this link: [URL] If this serves the article you are writing for your magazine, please feel free to use it for that purpose.
ME: I’m not sure what to do with this. Do you want me to read an article you wrote that might contain information that might be appropriate for the article I’m writing, and quote you from your article in my article? Or are you using this to show me you’d be a good resource? If you really wanted to be quoted in my article, you’d summarize your thinking in your response.
SOURCE 7: “I received your query request. Attached is an article I wrote about XXX and it applies to all industries. I thought it might help you with your needs — even though it isn’t specific to XXX.”
ME: She attached a Word file. See response to Source 6.
SOURCE 8: “We have an expert here, XXX, who blogs and speaks about how to XX, XXX and XXXX effectively in the XXX industry, starting with market research and insight. (More text here that shows she understands what I’m looking for, followed by her client’s advice:)
(1) Find out where the opportunities are that align with your products/services
(2) Focus attention on winning the right ones.
(3) Do your homework to position yourself correctly
Here’s XX helping a small XX company via Fortune Small Business (link to an article showing her client in action). Let me know if you want to set something up. We can also look for client who’s in your industry to speak to this.”
ME: Bingo! Great response — especially when compared to the others.
Here’s my formula for responding to queries that works for me as a journalist looking for sources, but also generates interviews for me as a responder to queries when I’m publicizing my books.
The following format certainly isn’t the only way to respond to queries, but it’s one that helps me decide if a responder is an appropriate source for my needs. It’s also one that I use when responding to queries as an author — one that often generates interviews about my book topics, so I know it has value. It’s not the only way to respond, of course, but it can be a good starting point for you.
· Copy and paste the query title into your e-mail subject line. That’s especially helpful for the journalist with more than one query.
· Start with your credentials. What makes you qualified to contribute to this article or segment?
· Take one or two sentences to offer your perspective. Maybe it’s your opinion, something counter-intuitive or information that validates the article premise.
· If I’m looking for an expert, offer advice in three or four bullet points. This will help me see your perspective and determine if you’ll be telling me something I haven’t gotten from anyone else yet. Note that while I don’t quote from these bullet points, many other writers do, so be aware that what you write might appear later in print. I personally prefer to do telephone interviews, but I realize that many just pull comments from the responses of experts without a direct conversation or even acknowledgement that the information will be used.
· If I’m looking for an anecdote to illustrate a point rather than an expert, and you represent that anecdote, offer it in just a few sentences.
· If you’re an expert, provide a link to an online bio or copy and paste it into the response. If you have a Web site, include the URL.
· Include contact information I can use to schedule an interview.
Try not to ramble and avoid attachments. If you think in terms of what you’d want to know about an expert source for that article, I’m sure you’ll respond appropriately.
Former award-winning publicist Sandra Beckwith (www.sandrabeckwith.com) is a writer and speaker who uses workshops (www.buildbookbuzz.com) and other tools to teach authors, nonprofit organizations and small businesses how to generate publicity. She has written two publicity books (”Publicity for Nonprofits: Generating Media Exposure that Leads to Awareness, Growth, and Contributions” and “Streetwise Complete Publicity Plans: How to Create Publicity that Will Spark Media Exposure and Excitement”), and a workbook for authors, “Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms & Templates.”