How to Find SMEs to Quote in Your Next Blog Post
If you want your blog post to stand out, it’s gotta be good.
And, when I say “good”, I don’t just mean well-written. I mean it needs to deliver value, inspire emotion in the reader, or give them an actionable takeaway.
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) give legs to your piece - especially if you’re not what would be considered an expert on the topic.
You see, having an expert voice chime in builds trust and credibility around your brand and product. It can back up your claims and make your pieces more engaging and interesting (not to mention the added bonus of getting a potential shout-out from said expert).
But where do you find these elusive experts and how do you get them to share their thoughts?
There are two types of SME quote:
Primary SME quotes
Secondary SME quotes
Much like in academia, primary SME quotes refer to quotes that you’ve obtained yourself, whereas secondary SME quotes are phrases you’ve found in other sources or publications.
For example, a quote pulled from an interview you held with an AI-developer would be considered a primary SME quote, while a quote plucked from a news article would be considered secondary.
I’ve broken down the methods to find SME quotes into these two categories.
3 Ways to Find Primary SME Quotes for Your Pieces
1. Interview Experts
This method will give you the best results, but it’s also the hardest to do. Getting SMEs to commit half an hour of their time to helping you out isn’t an easy task, but it’s do-able!
Interviews create space for an open dialogue where the SME’s answer forms the next question. It’s an organic way to tease out quotes and, best of all, you can guide the conversation in the way you want it to go.
The process looks something like this:
Step One: How to Find SMEs
If you can’t think of any SMEs off the top of your head, it’s time to get searching. There are several ways you can find SMEs that might be a good fit:
1. Search Social Media
Simply type “[your topic] expert” into Twitter or LinkedIn to find potential good-fit SMEs.
2. Browse Speaker Lists
Know a popular conference or event in your industry? Check out the speaker list for the past couple of years. Usually, industry-leading conferences will hire the best SMEs to hit the stage.
Find conferences by searching “best [industry] conferences” in Google. There are plenty of Top 10 lists you can trawl through, and the majority of conference sites have a dedicated Speakers page like this one from Ecom World.
3. Check Out Podcast Guests
Similarly to looking up conference speakers, take a look at the guests on your favourite industry podcasts. Usually, these are experts on a specific subject and, because they’ve been on a podcast, they’re more likely to share a quote with you than someone who keeps to themselves.
EcomCrew regularly has guests on the podcast.
Step Two: Reach Out to SMEs
Once you’ve found a handful of SMEs you’d like to reach out to, it’s time to…. Well, reach out to them. The easiest way to do this is via email, but if you already have a connection with them on another platform (like Twitter or LinkedIn), feel free to use that avenue instead.
Your email should be straight to the point and let them know exactly what you’re doing and what your expectations are from them.
If they’re not up for a chat or an interview, you can always ask them a question over email that they can answer in their own time.
Step Three: Host the Interview
When interviewing an SME, be aware that they are giving up some of their valuable time to talk to you. In short: get to the point and get to it quickly!
Have a list of 4-7 questions lined up to ask them (you can even send these over to them beforehand so they’re prepped for the call), and remember to record the call so you can come back to it and cherry pick the best quotes.
2. Tools Made for Generating Quotes
Finding SMEs to quote is a common struggle for writers, bloggers, and content marketers. In fact, it’s so common that several apps and tools have been created with the sole aim of getting quotes for writers.
HARO
Help a Reporter Out was one of the first quote-generating tools available.
Journalists and writers are encouraged to share a bit about the piece they’re writing which is then forwarded to a network of brands and companies that have signed up. They’re able to respond with a quote on the topic in the hopes of getting a brand mention or a link (so it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved).
Help a B2B Writer
Much like HARO, Help a B2B Writer does exactly as it says on the tin - helps B2B writers get quotes from brands. Creator Elise Dopson understood the frustration of hunting down relevant quotes, so set up the site to help other writers (and brands!) out.
Alternatively, you can do what Nikhil does and create your own list of sources you can regularly tap into.
3. Social Media Call Outs
This is one of my favourite ways to get primary SME quotes for a piece. When I have a topic in mind, I send out a Tweet asking my network to share their thoughts and opinions. If there are any particularly interesting answers, I’ll dig a bit deeper and push for a longer quote.
You can do this on any social platform of your choice, although it works best if you already have a network of relevant people following you.
Don’t Forget to Let SMEs Know When Your Post is Live!
If you’ve conducted primary research to get quotes for a piece, don’t forget to keep SMEs in the loop! They’ll want to know when the piece is live and, if you’re lucky, they might even share it with their network for an extra visibility boost - you’ve got nothing to lose.
3 Ways to Find Secondary SME Quotes for Your Pieces
If you don’t have enough time before your deadline to set up interviews and wait for people to respond, let me introduce you to some secondary methods you can use for finding SME quotes that are already out there.
1. Find Articles from Experts
Experts become experts because they know their topic well and, more often than not, they talk about it a lot. This means they usually have a blog or have written articles on said topic that you can pull quotes from.
Search their blog for a relevant sentence to include in your piece and link back to the original article, or type “articles by [expert name]” into Google to find off-site articles they’ve written.
When you use this method, you might come across articles that have actually interviewed the SME expert you want a quote from. Don’t pull too much from these, but sprinkle a few sentences here and there, linking back to the original interview.
2. Listen to Podcasts
As well as using podcasts to find SMEs, you can also glean nuggets of advice from relevant SMEs too. I prefer to read through the transcripts of podcasts to find potential quotes rather than sit through hours of episodes in the hopes of finding just one bit of gold.
Search for podcasts on your topic and don’t forget to link back to the original podcast and the person who you’re quoting.
3. Search Social Media
This method is a little more time-intensive, but it can be a great way to find social posts from experts to embed in your pieces (which also adds a visual element).
Simply search Twitter or LinkedIn for a key phrase relating to your topic and either toggle to only include results from people you follow, or widen your net and include Tweets or content from everyone.
If I was writing a piece on lead generation, I might include some of these tactics from Chantelle by embedding her Tweet in the post.
Happy Quote Hunting
Adding quotes to your blog posts makes your pieces more engaging, backs up your advice, and increases the credibility of your brand. On top of this, it can also increase visibility on your posts if the SMEs you quote share the piece with their wider network.
If you haven’t tried these methods already, give them a go and see how you get on.
