How To Find Contributors and Experts for Your Brand Content

If you’ve ever seen an article, blog or piece of content that utilises expert voices to strengthen and add to it then you’ll already understand the importance of having an expert comment in there.

It adds authority, relevance and useful insights into your content, helps build connections and can help to increase the reach of your content. It also keeps it interesting and can add other perspectives that you may not have considered from your own experience.

You can also sometimes get really interesting soundbytes that can become a key takeaway or a headline to help you get publicity and reach.

What’s In It For Them?

If you’re feeling confused about exactly why someone would want to help you out like this, let’s break it down. By positioning themselves as an expert and voice of authority in their relevant field here’s how they benefit:

• Publicity and coverage
• Backlinks to their website (great for SEO)
• Share their opinion or raise awareness
• Further opportunities
• A fee (sometimes)

In a nutshell, it’s all about value exchange. You’re adding all of the above in terms of value and in turn, you get an expert opinion that strengthens your content.

Where Can You Find Contributors and Experts?

You’ve been tasked with finding an expert for your brand or you think having a voice of your authority in your content would really lift it. Don’t overthink it, connecting with the right people doesn’t have to be hard work – you just need to do some prep, be organised and reach out.

Here are a few handy ways to find those all-important contributors to add to your brand:

PR Agencies

If you have a specific topic that you want an expert to comment on, then look for a PR agency that represents that industry or area. For example, if you want someone to comment on an aesthetics story, reach out to a specialist aesthetics PR agency.

PR’s are super friendly and usually turn around these requests pretty quickly. Part of their job is to get mentions, links and relevant news coverage for their clients so having them feature in an article can benefit them, their client and the brand they represent.

Just make sure that you credit the individual, never misquote them and include that all-important backlink to their site when your article goes live. I used this approach when I wrote this piece for Refinery29.

Hit Twitter (aka X)

Twitter/X is great for finding sources, stories and leads. It’s also great for finding experts to contribute to your story in exchange for links. Just send out a tweet outlining what you need and what you’re offering (link/publication/payment). Use the hashtags #journorequest and #prrequest so that PR representatives, individuals and brands can see your tweets and connect with you.

Previously when I’ve done this, and included my email in there, my inbox fills up with experts. I tend to find you get a mix of people who aren’t quite right (but want the coverage) but each time I’ve done it I’ve managed to find the exact source I wanted with no prior connection.

When I needed to find a mental health professional with specific expertise, I found the perfect fit after reaching out on Twitter. Her PR representative got in touch with me and acted as the contact point.

Approach Them Directly

It’s never been easier to connect and reach out to people online. If you have someone in mind who would be the perfect fit for your piece, reach out to them and ask. The worst they can do is say no (or ask for a fee if you don’t have the budget for this), that’s life.

One caution I have on this is if your request is time-sensitive and you have a short deadline. Be respectful of people’s own deadlines and be clear and upfront about what you want. If you don’t hear back from them, then move on – no-one likes to be pestered.

Whether you slide into their DM’s, drop them an email or get in touch over the phone, make sure you credit them in your article.

Utilise Your Existing Network

They say we’re connected to everyone by six degrees of separation. I don’t know about that, but I do know that there’s always someone who knows the right person within your network. Sometimes it comes from the most unexpected places.

Whether you ask in a post on LinkedIn (connect with me on LinkedIn here), approach someone you know through work, hit some up through a shared networking group or follow up with a friend, you will be amazed at some of the connections that people have once you start asking around.

Make sure you nurture those relationships and throw in a little thank you to the person that put you in touch. If you have one of those friends who knows everyone, make sure they don’t feel like you’re taking advantage with your constant requests.

Use a Service Like Qwoted

Qwoted is a network connecting media with brands, experts and small businesses. You can browse experts, post up a request or – if you’re an expert – match up with people who are looking for your expertise.

I used it to find some dental contributors for a few pieces I was writing for a client recently, and it worked incredibly well. You sometimes need to do a bit of sifting, and you might get some experts that aren’t totally the right fit, but 9/10 you’ll find who you’re looking for.

How To Work With Contributors and Experts

Once you’ve connected with the right expert, there are a few things to do to keep it all smooth sailing when it comes to the relationshio:

• Communicate deadlines, expectations and specific requests clearly
• Don’t over edit in a way that totally changes what they were trying to say
• Respect their opinion and expertise
• If they want to see a draft before it’s live, let them (and plan in time for this)
• If you offered something in exchange…make sure it happens in a timely way
• Credit any images or quotes used
• Spell check any names and check any links, website addresses or emaill addresses are accurate – double check and treble check this, especially if it’s a print piece
• Once the piece goes live or to pring send over a copy/link
• Tag them in any content that you post that features their contribution

Working with an expert contributor can really help your content to reach new audiences and have that all-important impact. It can also make it way more engaging and interesting for the reader which should be the end goal.

Need a writer to help you create your brand content, source experts and find contributors? Get in touch.