SourceBottle is all about giving 'experts' opportunities to showcase their knowledge and expertise (AND goods and services!) through powerful publicity.
We give you free access to relevant media opportunities AND a chance to respond and get your name in lights.
It's a simple concept, but with competition for the limelight increasing, we wanted to share with your our 'CORA' hack to help you quickly craft the perfect response to a call out (and be the source used in the story).
As respected journalist and author Valerie Khoo puts it: "The key to success with services such as SourceBottle... is ensuring that you provide the information the journalists ask for."
Seems straightforward, yes? It is, particularly if you include these four key ingredients in your response, which form the acronym: 'CORA':
They are:
Show you have the CREDENTIALS they're looking for. (To demonstrate you are qualified to respond.)
State your STRONG OPINION. (Fence-sitting talent will ALWAYS come across as second best to experts with opinions.)
Whenever possible, explain your directly RELEVANT EXPERIENCE.
Provide contact details that the journalist can use IMMEDIATELY. (Mobile is best.)
But let's put it into practice so you know what I mean.
So, if a journalist posts the following call out:
Let's focus on the question they're asking:
"Is competitive sport good for kids, or does it foster bad behaviour in kids and their parents?"
A response like the following is likely to be a waste of time (for you AND the journalist):
"I'm a parenting expert and can provide comment on this."
Sure, it's better than not responding at all. But unless there are only a handful of responses submitted for this post, you're unlikely to have much luck. Sorry!
Instead, why not try a little something like this:
"I'm a psychologist specialising in child behaviour based in Sydney.
I have strong views on how sport positively impacts kids' psychological and social well-being based on my five years' experience working in schools in New South Wales.
If you would like specific comment on how sports helps kids channel their frustrations and regulate self control, I can also expand on that.
I'm happy to talk any time this week. My direct number is..."
You can see this is not a lengthy response, but what it clearly showcases is why YOU are the best expert for comment.
Breaking it down into a formula, let's look at it again and identify each element of the response (and why it works).
"I'm a psychologist specialising in child behaviour based in Sydney." [Demonstrates your CREDENTIALS and QUALIFIES you to respond.]
"I have strong views..." [Good talent HAS AN OPINION!]
"... on how sport positively impacts kids' psychological and social well-being based on my five years' experience working in schools in New South Wales." [Demonstrates your DIRECTLY RELEVANT EXPERIENCE.]
"If you would like specific comment on how sports helps kids channel their frustrations and regulate self control, I can also expand on that." [Demonstrates the DEPTH of your relevant experience.]
"I'm happy to talk any time this week. My direct number is..." [Highlights your AVAILABILITY for a quick response.]
So when crafting your next response, make sure you use the CORA formula AND:
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