Need a quote from a subject matter expert? Then you're in luck. Thanks to the ingenuity of one Margaret Lawson, you have a suite of Australia's experts at your fingertips waiting for your call!
Expert Guide connects journalists, government, business and the community with thousands of academic and professional experts. The experts come from universities, research centres, museums, CRCs, industry/professional groups, associations, and many more organisations across Australia. Visitors to the site are encourage to use the free resource to enhance research, reporting, teaching and other activities by making contact with one of the many experts listed. Simply enter the topic you need an expert for, press 'Go' and presto - there's a comprehensive list of experts, complete with contact details. Genius!
We asked Margaret a few questions about expertguide.com.au...
How did you come up with the idea, and how long did it take to get the site live?
Like many people with a business idea, I procrastinated and dreamed about it for quite a while – about two years in my case. The idea first came to me when I worked as a communications officer for a university. I took calls every day from journalists who were ringing around looking for an expert. I realised that there were a lot of organisations who wanted to promote their experts to the media, but no central place where journalists could easily find them. Once I started work, it was about nine months from business planning to the go-live in 2004.
What is the business model?
Participating organisations (those whose experts appear on the site) pay an annual subscription of $295, $395 or $1295, depending on how many experts they list. That’s the core business. However, as often happens with a new idea, the model evolves slightly over time as new opportunities arise. After starting Expert Guide, I was presented with a lot of opportunities to do consulting work and media training, and that led to a new business in its own right, Cole Lawson Communications, which I started with Malcolm Cole, a former political journalist. Expert Guide has also grown, and now offers back-end data management for our clients who are managing very large expert databases.
What have been some unexpected uses of the site?
Expert Guide has been found by a lot of professionals outside the media – including lawyers, consultants, speaking agencies, and PR consultants looking for an expert to add credibility to a news release. I didn’t market to those sectors in the beginning, so I think a lot of that growth is due to search engine traffic. I’ve also been surprised to see a lot of overseas journalists using Expert Guide, which they generally find through the search engines. I got some feedback last year that a journalist from the Wall Street Journal had used the site. I felt like I’d made it!
Where do you see the site going in the future?
We’ll have more experts listed, more organisations involved, and more tools and services for visitors. I’m currently working on an offering for PR agencies that will allow their consultants to list multiple experts. That is something that’s being developed in response to feedback from clients. One of the things I love most about small business is the ability to be flexible, to adapt and evolve to meet the market’s needs. As a small organisation, I can be a lot more nimble than a lot of the corporates I’ve worked with. I’m almost always working on a project to enhance the site in some way.
Explorer or Firefox?
Still using Explorer myself, but Expert Guide caters for both.
Decaf or double strength?
Travel & chocolate are my weaknesses. And I’m a tea drinker.
Paris or Peru?
Both, please! Seriously, I’m a travel-aholic. I love Paris, but if I have to choose, my favourite holidays are probably more the “go anywhere, try anything” variety. My last trip, in January, was to South America; I hiked in Patagonia and sailed south from Argentina to Antarctica. I sea kayaked around some of the Antarctic islands and encountered a lot of penguins and icebergs. It was definitely one of the travel highlights of my life.
Gold fish or Great dane?
Definitely the Great Dane. I’m a dog person. My last pet was a rottweiler named Elly.
Tracking the media, monitoring the message
