Ask my expert -- please
Here’s the general idea of an “Expert” column. You invite readers to submit questions on a given topic or in a specified subject area, and promise that you will get the foremost authority on that subject, who may or may not be a member of your organization, to answer the question. For best results – and I’m sure your marketing director will agree – provide the answer directly to the individual reader within 48 hours, or quicker if it’s a timely matter. In return for promptly answering the reader’s question, you reserve the right to publish the question and answer in a future issue of the newsletter.

If you don’t have an in-house expert to answer the question, make every effort to contact the most qualified expert in the world to get an answer. If the answer is controversial or a matter of opinion, get two different expert viewpoints.

• Title. There are many variations on “Ask the Expert,” such as “Expert’s Corner,” “Dear Dr. Cardio,” “Our Readers Ask,” or simply “Q&A.”
• Head. Insert a compelling headline just as you would over a feature article.
• Question. Lead right in with the Q. No need to “set it up” with an introduction. Try to keep it brief and use bold typeface. Give the reader’s name, title, organization, city, and state at the end of the Q.
• Answer. There are two ways to begin the A. If your expert is always the same individual, delve right into the answer, following the letter A (colon). On the other hand, if the experts vary, introduce the answer with something like, “Professor James B. James responds” in italics (colon), then give the answer in Roman type.
• Bio. Following the answer, give a brief bio of the expert, with just enough information to persuade the reader that he or she is highly qualified to answer the question.
• Photo. You can use a photo of the expert, but keep it small. A large photo might overwhelm the importance of the reader’s contribution.
• Invitation. Invite readers to send their questions to “Ask the Expert,” and promise them a prompt answer in return for the right to publish it. Make it easy for them to submit questions – provide a toll-free phone number, e-mail address, fax number, mailing address, etc. If your newsletter is electronic, provide an e-mail hyperlink or online form.
• Disclaimer. Make sure you don't leave yourself open to negligence or malpractice claims. Your disclaimer should state that the answers provided in your "Ask the Expert" column are for general information purposes only, and may not be relevant to particular cases. "Parties should consult their own professional [specify legal, financial, medical, etc.] advisers on individual matters." Finally, make it clear that answering a reader's question does not make that reader a client of the expert or the expert's firm. To be safe, consult your attorney before publishing your disclaimer.

Don't hold your breath
I guarantee that readers will not flood your office with questions for Mr./Ms. Expert. You’ll be very lucky to receive an unsolicited, publishable question from a reader per issue.

As the deadline approaches and you have no Q for your expert, hit the telephone. Better yet, don’t wait until the deadline looms, call a reader today. Just be sure you’re ready to spend some time getting the answer before you make your call.

Obtain a copy of your circulation list. If it doesn’t have phone numbers, look them up. Start at the top or pick a reader at random and dial the number. You might find that the best people to call are those who were recently added to the subscriber list; you can start off by welcoming them as new subscribers. Here’s a sample script for calling subscribers:

Hi, I’m Dave Freedman, editor of Acme A/R Alert, the monthly newsletter. I see you’re on our subscriber list. Do you recall receiving the newsletter? Are you aware that we feature a monthly column called “Ask the Expert?” You can ask any question about accounts receivable, and we’ll get you an answer, within 48 hours, from one of the world’s foremost experts on that subject. All we ask is that you give us permission to publish your question and the answer in a future issue of Acme A/R Alert. Doesn’t that sound like a good deal? In fact, if you want to ask a question right now, I’ll write it down and get you an answer in a couple of days.

You’ll be surprised, first of all, at how many readers say they remember receiving the newsletter but do not recall seeing the “Ask the Expert” column, especially if it appears near the back of the publication.

You’ll be surprised also by how many readers will indeed ask a good question during your conversation. In my experience, at least 50 percent of them will ask a publishable question on the spot.

Before you say thank you and hang up, get all the information you’ll need to send the answer (by fax or e-mail), as well as info for the “Ask the Expert” column – full name (correct spelling), title, organization, etc.

While you’re on the phone, it can’t hurt to chat it up a bit. Ask questions about the reader’s organization, practice area, and anything else that will help your marketing staff qualify the prospect (if he or she isn’t already a customer, client, member, etc.). Try to get feedback that will help you make the newsletter more useful for the audience. Without being pushy or aggressive, point out that the publisher of the newsletter is Acme Accounting Systems, the biggest/best/only/highest-rated consulting firm in the city/county/state/region/country. Don’t hesitate to call us when you need advice (but next time it won’t be free).

Obviously, you will not reach every subscriber, and not all those you reach will give you the time of day. But I’ve found that for every five calls you make, a couple of readers will chat – especially if your newsletter is actually good. Once in a while you’ll get a reader who will talk to you all afternoon if you let them.

When you receive an expert’s answer to a reader’s question, send it to the reader with a reminder that you reserve the right to publish the Q and the A, along with the reader’s name et al in the newsletter.

Permission to share
Discuss with your marketing director or executive whether it’s a good idea to ask readers’ permission to share with your salespeople their contact information and other data that you gleaned during your phone conversation. If readers say no, then you must respect their privacy. If you don’t ask, they can’t say no.

Be available
Once you invite readers to submit questions, you and/or your staff must be available to take them. If readers leave their questions on your voice mail, return those calls within 24 hours, or make sure someone else does. If you haven’t yet got an expert to answer the question, at least call the reader to acknowledge the submission and promise the get an answer.