Wednesday, April 27, 2011

My Secret Weapon: Profnet

I interview people all over the world for my articles.

People ask me, "How on earth do you find them?"

I'm going to tell you my little secret, one that may cause you to scoff, but it's absolutely a gold mine for source digging:

PROFNET.

This is a service I used when I was a newswoman at The Associated Press in Harrisburg, PA. Initially, it was a resource for us when we needed to quote an expert -- or a professor -- to analyze a breaking news story.

Today, it's a massive database, filled with all types of experts to quote, including leaders of major corporations, politicians, military members, small business people -- you name it, they've got it.

If you haven't used the service (which is free, by the way), this is what you do:

Go to https://profnet.prnewswire.com/ProfNetHome.aspx and fill out a membership application. From there, you can search the Profnet database for the expertise you need. Not only that, you can put out a direct query, stating your story, your deadline, your qualifications on who can be quoted ... and voila. Watch your Inbox fill with the most fascinating people!

I know I sound like an advertisement, and believe me when I say I am NOT being paid for this blog entry. I just wanted to share with you that this is a fantastic resource, and it'll make your life SOOOOOOOOOOOO easy.

--Heidi Rafferty

2 comments:

  1. Thank you, Heidi! I'm so glad we're able to help. I also want to point out that we now have an easier to use query form, which doesn't even require a login. Just go to budurl.com/profnetquery and fill out the form, and we'll take care of the rest. The process for getting responses is still the same -- you'll get them directly to your email inbox -- we just streamlined the process so you don't have to worry about pesky logins. ;-)

    Thanks again. It's been our pleasure to help.

    Maria Perez
    Director, News Operations
    ProfNet

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for clarifying that for everyone, Maria! I'm a longtime fan, as you know, and am so happy you guys are still around!

    --Heidi

    ReplyDelete