What can you offer that they value?
Excellent question. What sort of things do you think experts (professors, generally) might value that a less-expert person like myself might be able to offer?
I have had the experience that when I actually do get to meet with and talk to experts one-on-one, then we usually do strike up a relationship of sorts, and they are then more than happy to help me in all sorts of ways. But the very same people were hard to get anything out of before we met in person.
Offer them publicity. If you're a journalist in the middle of preparing a piece on their field of study (while carefully making sure to get the facts right, unlike many science reporters), some of them will jump to the chance of having their replies quoted.
Previous open thread
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