How to give your expert opinion to the media

It’s not only journalists who seek out expert soundbites to add depth to their work. As more businesses and individuals build their own successful blogs and newsletters, they, too, are seeking additional input—and these can sometimes reach bigger audiences than traditional media. 

Learning how to engage with any type of media owner and present your opinion clearly and impactfully is one of the best routes to building a name for yourself. 

Below, I’ve summarised how the process usually works and given tips on how to make the most of every media opportunity. 

How do I provide a quote to the media? 

Here’s how journalists or media owners usually ask for comments to include in their content.

Step One: The outreach 

Someone working for (or on behalf of) the media outlet will contact you and give you a basic outline of what they’re looking for. 

Don’t be surprised if the person contacting you is listed as a freelancer; many media outlets use freelancers. 

Step Two: Decide how to respond 

It’s over to you. You can either accept or decline their invitation to contribute. Either way, it’s good to tell them. To help you decide, ask yourself,

1. Is the media outlet a place I’d like to be associated with? What’s the outlet’s reputation, audience, and agenda? What vibe is it giving off? Is it somewhere you want to be associated with? 
2. Are you comfortable talking about the topic they’ve asked you about?

If you decline because the subject matter is outside your expertise, let the media person know what topics you would be better suited to discuss. 

If you accept, you will arrange a call or provide a written comment. The media person may follow up by asking you to clarify something you said or suggest a change to a written quote to better explain it.

Tip: Media people often work to tight, non-flexible deadlines. If you miss the deadline, your comment probably won’t be included.

Step Three: Wait for the publication date 

Be patient. It can often take 3-4 weeks to publish an article. 

Once published, the media person should send you a link to the article. 

If you were told you would be included in the article and you haven’t heard anything, do a quick Google search of your name and the media outlet to see if you can find the piece. Failing that (and having waited a few weeks), email the media person to ask them to share a link to the published piece. 

Step Four: Make the most of it 

Share the article on your social media profiles, and encourage the media person to tag you when they/the company share it. Sometimes, the media outlet will provide “assets” for you to use, such as an image with your quote on it. If they don’t, you can use tools like Canva to create your own. Images can make a bigger impact than text-only social media posts. 

You can also mention that you’ve been quoted in [name of publication] in your personal profiles, such as LinkedIn or on Antiquoted. 

Occasionally, no matter how good your quote is, an editorial decision is made to leave your comment out of the final piece. If this happens,

• Don’t be deterred. Keep in touch with the media person; hopefully, they will have other opportunities in the future. 
• You can still use your quote as a social media post. Share the published article and add your original quote as the body of your post, providing your opinion on the topic.

Media Lingo

Like other professions, a lot of jargon is used in place of normal words. So you know what the hell people are talking about, here’s a little guide. 

Pitching

This word can be used in several contexts, but it means presenting an idea, whether that’s a media person pitching you an article they want to write or you pitching a talk idea you’d love to present to an event organizer.

Sourcing

This usually means ‘finding people.’ It’s typically used when media people are trying to find the right person (or “source”) to interview or provide a comment.

Outreach

Sending a message. 

Quote

This is confusing because of its multiple meanings. Just this week, I messaged an expert asking for a quote, and it was taken to mean price estimation. This has happened a surprising number of times, especially when a media person contacts experts on platforms like LinkedIn, where the request and relationship aren’t clear. When it comes to media requests, a quote is your opinion or statement that will be attributed to you. 

8 Tips for providing great quotes

1. Make sure you understand the article’s context.
   Understanding the context of the publication or website, the article, and the media person’s angle is crucial. Since a media person rarely shares the full article with you, it’s important to ask what the context is and who else will feature. This will ensure you are well-informed and prepared to give a relevant comment.
2. Understand “the ask.”
   Where will it be published (print or digital)? Do they want to speak to you over the phone or want you to provide a quote in a written format? How many words should your quote be? When’s the deadline? Do you need to provide a photo of yourself? These are all good questions to ask up front so you understand what’s expected.
3. Stick to the brief.
   Is the media person asking for opinions/stories or facts? Generally, media people will be after one of the two: your opinion on a specific topic, e.g., is agile the best method for delivering software projects? Or they will be looking to you to explain a complex subject as the expert, e.g., can you share what the agile methodology is and how it works?
4. Concise quotes win.
   Make every word count. If it doesn’t add anything, remove it.
5. Share your stories or experiences.
   More often than not, a media person is asking you for a quote because they want to bring a topic to life with real-world examples. If so, consider what stories you could share to illustrate your point. Be mindful not to name-drop individuals or brands you don’t have permission to mention. You can always anonymize your story, e.g., “When I was working at an international e-commerce brand…”
6. Fact and spell check.
   And if possible, get someone else to read your quote and check they understand what you’ve written.
7. Share how you’d like to be referred to.
   For most people, mentioning your place of work isn’t a problem. However, some large companies ask that, as an employee, you run anything you say in an “official” capacity via the internal PR team. This can slow things down a lot. If this is the case for you, meet with your internal PR person and ask them how you can build your personal brand without getting into conflict with work. This is particularly important in professions where any quote you provide may be considered advice, e.g., legal or financial service businesses. Alternatively, you can ask the media person not to reference your company.
8. Don’t promote your own business.
   This isn’t the time or the place for a sales pitch, so only promote your business if asked. My advice is to share your knowledge, expertise, and stories, which will naturally build your brand and attract people to seek out your business. 

I hope this guide helps you provide your first quote to the media. If you haven’t already, make sure you have a contributor profile on Antiquoted so media people can invite you to provide quotes (as well as be a guest on podcasts or speak at events).

If you have any questions or you go on to provide your first quote via Antiquoted, I’d love to read it. Pop it over in an email to me at [email protected].