How do therapists become an expert media source?
Ever wondered how “experts'' become quoted in newspapers, magazines or other online articles? You don’t have to be a celebrity or have sold a million copies of a book to be sourced by the media for your expert input.
Journalists and podcasters seek expert opinions everyday on various topics from parenting, mental health, to climate change. When journalists cover big topics they do extensive research and in order to deliver a credible, research-backed article they often include quotes from experts whom they’ve sought an opinion from regarding these topics.
For therapists, psychologists and other health professionals, there’s just so much scope here to not only provide education and awareness on important topics but to position yourself as the ‘go to’ person in the field, promote your services and create new opportunities.
People scrutinise the information they consume and with this in mind, media outlets aim to back up claims by sourcing experts. Expert voices are good for both science and for the public’s understanding of science.
How does media exposure benefit you as a professional (and business owner)?
As an expert, you can reach a broader audience and provide education and awareness on the topics you’re passionate about, build authority in the area of your expertise and grow your online audience by sharing the audience of other publications.
It can lead to business growth via more leads, referrals, and sales on offers you may have such as workshops, CPD events and books, and it creates more opportunities for consultation, and speaking engagements.
The online media world can be a mind-boggle but it’s not impossible to break into. While you can of course, track down journalists who have experience writing on your subject area, this isn’t recommended when you’re just getting started. It will look like you’re self-promoting and typically journalists and feature writers aren’t waiting for someone to come along and do a profile on them- they tend to have plenty of ideas of their own!
How to become an expert media source
So if you’re not meant to track down journalists, how do they find you? The key to becoming an expert source is visibility, establishing authority and networking. As a psychologist and a writer, I’ve been on both sides of the fence- both the source and the writer. I share my tips on becoming an expert source, below:
Visibility
Becoming visible online to a broad audience is quite simple these days. It just means turning up on social media and delivering quality content. You don’t have to be across all platforms but choosing one or two that you feel comfortable with is necessary. The first place journalists go to search for experts is Google and social media. So, start with a website and social media profiles. In my experience, LinkedIn has been the most effective platform to gain visibility and has landed me various freelance, podcasting and consultation opportunities.
Establish authority
Creating content that demonstrates your knowledge, experience and skills helps you build authority and credibility. This may be weekly blog posts or social media posts or creating a podcast. If you’re not ready to commit to consistent content creation you can ask someone in your network to let you publish a guest post on their website. Or, reach out to podcasts who interview experts in your field.
The key to creating authority is by providing value through your content. Promoting yourself and your services is not enough, offer valuable and relevant content to your followers and focus on how you can educate and inspire people about your area of expertise.
Networking
Connect with other like-minded professionals, within and outside of your industry. Connect with journalists but also connect with other leaders in your field, as well as other professionals who do similar work to you.
This also helps improve your visibility. But remember networking isn’t a one-sided relationship, it’s not about how many followers you have but the quality of the connections. Promote and share what other people are doing without the expectation that they will return the favor.
Again, LinkedIn is a great platform for networking with other professionals and I’ve had journalists reach out to me because they’ve read some of the content I’ve created and shared on this platform.
You can also join niche Facebook groups related to your area of expertise. Journalists often peruse facebook groups to find subjects for their articles. Remember- don’t just self-promote in those groups or you’ll likely get kicked out! Add value, comment on posts and be an active participant in the community.
Assertive outreach
While the steps above provide organic growth and authority-building, there are other options that put you directly in front of journalists. I would start with the steps above before you try this because most journalists will still want to see that you have an online presence or some media experience.
Rather than emailing random journalists with your pitch, you can join platforms that link journalists to experts for their stories. Some of these require paid subscriptions but if you're an expert on a topic frequently commented on in the media then it may be worth it.
I haven’t used either of these options but they come up a lot in my freelance writers network. The two most commonly used platforms are Sourcebottle and Help a Reporter Out (HARO).
Sourcebottle- Create an expert profile and sign up for callout notifications related to your subject expertise. It provides experts with opportunities, exposure and free publicity on various media outlets from radio, TV, newspapers and magazines. https://www.sourcebottle.com/
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is another similar platform. You can sign up to receive three emails per day with call out requests with a limited time to respond if you meet the requirements. https://www.helpareporter.com/
Wrap up
There are amply media opportunities for therapists and health professionals to reach a broader audience and we can do this by becoming more visible online, establishing authority in our field and smart networking.
Most journalists have their preferred experts so if you become one of those, you will likely have recurring opportunities to share your expertise in the media.
Want to know what happens when you become a source? I’ll cover tips on being a media source in a future blog post. Sign up to the mailing list here.
If you’d like support with content creation and establishing yourself as an expert in the field, explore my range of coaching and mentoring packages.