Media interviews: seven ways to become an expert source

The growing number of news websites, talk radio and 24 hour news, coupled with an increasingly complex world mean that the appetite for “experts” who can explain issues in simple terms is ever increasing.

Once you get on the radar of news organisations, they will call you back again and again for media interviews – if you do a good job.

Here are seven ways to become that go-to expert in your field.

Be found online: if journalists don’t already have a favourite expert in a topic, they’ll google. Popping up on the first page with the right credentials is a crucial first step.
Build relationships with key journalists in your field whenever you have a chance. That might mean approaching them for a chat at conferences, it might mean following them on social media and commenting on their posts, giving interesting perspectives which “take the story on”.
Journalists are always looking for ideas for stories, so if you’re conducting research into an interesting topic, offer exclusive access.
Write/blog about your topic – this will both increase your visibility online and showcase your expertise.
If there are relevant stories in the press, offer your viewpoint, opinion or perspective – as long as it adds something new to the picture. You need to do this as quickly as possible, by tweeting about it or contacting journalists who are covering the story direct. If your views are published, this adds to your credibility.
Be available. Journalists are often working to tight deadlines, so need to line up interviewees at short notice. They’ll have a list of potential experts, so be assured, if you can’t do an interview, someone else will.
And finally, when you are asked to do an interview, make sure you give interesting, informative interviews, where you share your opinion, showcase your knowledge simply and directly and do this in a down-to-earth, engaging way which will relate to the audience.