Whether or not you have formal credentials, if you have years of experience
in your line of work, you may be able to cash in on these four innovative
ways of delivering your expertise. For each option below, I've provided
two links for learning more.
1. Expert Witness
A number of authors whom I know have served as legal consultants or paid
witnesses in lawsuits involving the industry about which they'd published a
well-regarded book. While those I know were approached without having put
any feelers out for this type of work, you can increase the odds of
becoming an expert witness by listing yourself in the directories that
attorneys consult.
Besides answering questions on the witness stand, you might be requested to
make a pre-trial deposition. While this sounds glamorous and pays very
well, you must have a personality that can withstand the kind of harsh
questioning and clever trip-ups that you see in courtroom dramas in the
movies and on TV.
Expert Witness Network http://www.witness.net/
Experts.com http://www.experts.com
2. Pay Per Question
A few Web sites are serving as intermediaries between experts and
individuals with questions for experts. Either the site sets a fee per
question or experts offer bids on a specific question at hand. Problems
with this business model include the difficulty of payer and payee judging
appropriate pricing for an isolated question. Also, in my experience a
question that might seem simple may require an in-depth consulting session
to give a professionally competent reply.
Internet researcher Mel White launched a pay-per-question service, 5 Minute
Mentor (http://www.melwhite.com/5mm.htm), with a very simple cost structure
and pay system: five dollars for a five-to-ten-minute reply, roughly 2-4
paragraphs. You e-mail her your question, she e-mails you when she has an
answer ready, you pay and then she sends you the answer.
Google Answers http://answers.google.com
Keen.com http://www.keen.com
3. Talking Head
Wanna be a pundit? Most experts who appear on TV do so gratis. But some,
designated as "consultant" in their on-screen credit line, get paid to be
accessible for interviews in their area of expertise. Luck plays a part
when a scandal, accident, controversy or crime erupts and you happen to
know more about the background to the events than most people on the
planet. Who could have predicted that specialists in the impeachment of
Andrew Johnson or in Florida election law would have their fifteen minutes
in the media spotlight?
Getting your foot in the door for such opportunities has to do with making
yourself accessible and responding immediately to a call from the media.
You should also live close to a major metropolitan area, be quick with
pithy and provocative comments and be willing to set aside other plans when
the network needs you.
I, Pundit
http://www.rewired.com/99/0201.html
Punditry for Dummies
http://www.jewishworldreview.com ony/snow071299.asp
4. Script Consultant
Hollywood films, TV dramas and feature-length documentaries often include a
behind-the-scenes role for content experts who advise on the likelihood of
plot lines, the authenticity of props and procedures and factual background
in everything from medicine to corporate takeover strategy to furniture.
Lots of people would undertake such an assignment for the glamour and ego
gratification alone, but you'll be compensated nicely for your
contribution.
As with becoming a talking head, cooperativeness, accessibility and
flexibility matter just as much for succeeding in this sort of gig as does
your knowledge. Your work might amount to a concentrated, one-time advisory
gig or a long-term contribution to an ongoing series.
Carole Lieberman, M.D., Psychiatrist and Script Consultant
http://www.drcarole.com/
Peter Schwartz, Futurist and script consultant
http://www.gbn.org/public/gbnstory/network/staff/exschwartz.htm
About the Author
Marcia Yudkin is the author of 11 nonfiction books and
the special report, "50 Ways to Turn Content into Money," from which this
article is excerpted. For more ideas on capitalizing on your expertise,
see http://www.yudkin.com/downloads.htm