Many businesses have a wealth of knowledge sitting just below the surface—technical expertise, market insights, and practical experience that could position the brand as a leader in its space. But without a clear process to capture and shape that insight, it never makes it beyond internal conversations.

If you’re a marketing manager trying to build or sustain a thought leadership program, one of the most common challenges is extracting usable insight from internal experts, without derailing your content plans or losing control of your messaging.

Here’s how to create a process that works, so your internal contributors can provide value—and you can stay on track.

Why structured extraction matters

It’s rarely practical (or advisable) to ask internal experts to write content themselves. Even those who enjoy writing often don’t have the time, or may struggle to shape their ideas into a piece that fits your audience, tone, and broader content goals.

Instead, your role as a marketing manager is to guide the process and structure the input. That means identifying the right topic, framing it for the expert, and gathering and shaping their insights in a way that aligns with your content strategy or a particular campaign.

This kind of structured insight extraction makes it easier to:

• Keep content aligned with strategies, plans and business goals.
• Reduce delays and revisions.
• Maintain a consistent tone and the right messaging.
• Ensure contributors feel supported, not overwhelmed.

Set expectations early

It’s important to be clear with your internal contributors from the outset. Their role is to provide expertise, not to shape the entire article or drive campaign direction. Which is not to say they should be excluded from the planning process. Provided early, their perspectives can help you determine the best possible approach.

Do let them know:

• What the proposed topic is and how it fits into the broader strategy.
• Who the audience is, and what the piece aims to achieve.
• What their contribution will entail.
• How their insights will be used, and what happens after they contribute.

Most experts are more than happy to share what they know when they understand how it fits into something purposeful—and when they’re comfortable that it’s not going to take up hours of their time.

Managing internal stakeholders

Not all subject matter experts are equally responsive. Some will jump in with both feet. Others might need a little more support (or encouragement). It’s also important to recognise that people often have a strong preference for verbal or written communication – whether it’s because they’re more comfortable with one than the other, or their schedules make one mode easier than the other.

Offer a flexible approach to the way their insights will be gathered:

• A short, scheduled interview.
• A written Q&A or questionnaire (with follow up clarification question if necessary).
• A voice note or casual conversation you can record and shape later.

This approach indicates that you value their time and facilitates collaboration.

Managing internal contributors also means protecting your timeline. If someone isn’t available or keeps rescheduling, have back-up contributors or evergreen topics ready to keep things moving.

Make the most of your interviews

Whether you’re speaking directly with the expert or an external writer will be conducting the interview, here are a few ways an interviewer can get stronger input:

• Thorough preparation. Know the angle and what kind of insight you’re looking for. Read any relevant background information ahead of the interview.
• Ask open questions. Go beyond facts and ask for opinion, perspective, or examples.
• Dig into context. What does this mean for the industry, the customer, or the future?
• Watch for jargon. Clarify anything that won’t land well with your audience.

Recording interviews (with permission) and transcribing them is often helpful—especially if you’ll be conducting an interview and briefing a writer to develop the content.

Work with a professional writer

Professional writers can take raw insights and turn them into polished, brand-aligned content without draining your internal resources. They can work from your brief to create something that’s clear, structured, and aligned with your goals. It also gives you the option of conducting interviews internally and providing the writer with transcripts, or arranging for the writer to conduct interviews.

It’s also worth considering that topic experts often respond better to being interviewed by professional writers, than by colleagues. If there’s a power imbalance, an internal interviewer is at a disadvantage when it comes to keeping the interview on track, clarifying comments, and reframing questions when initial answers lack the details needed.

If you’re publishing regularly, using the same writer across multiple articles also helps maintain consistency in tone and structure—even when you’re working with different internal contributors.

Include your expert in the review process, without losing control

Once a draft is complete, make sure your contributor is involved in reviewing it. They’re the topic expert, and it’s essential that the content accurately reflects their insights.

But it’s just as important to keep the review process structured. Let them know up-front that you welcome their feedback on technical accuracy, nuance, and clarity, but that the article’s tone, structure, and alignment with broader goals are being managed by the marketing team.

Experts might offer broader opinions on style or direction—some of it helpful, some of it based on personal preference. Stay open to good suggestions, but don’t feel obligated to shift the content off-course.

To keep the review process on track:

• Ask them to focus on subject matter accuracy.
• Explain that the article has been shaped to meet specific content or campaign objectives.
• Be clear about how feedback should be submitted—for example, by using comments on the document.

Discourage stakeholders from rewriting the draft. Rewriting not only creates version control issues, but it can also shift the article away from its intended purpose. It also creates an awkward situation if some of their changes aren’t suitable and can’t be incorporated!

Stakeholders sometimes incorrectly assume that they’re being asked to make changes and ‘corrections’ rather than provide feedback and suggestions – giving them clear directions on how to respond is the obvious way to prevent this occurring.

Use a briefing template to streamline the process

To reduce friction and keep everything on track, create a simple briefing template for each article. Include:

• A working title or topic
• Target audience
• Campaign goal or content purpose
• Key points or messaging you expect to include
• Contributor name and role
• Interview format and availability

Extracting internal expertise doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. With a structured approach, clear communication, and the right support, you can turn internal knowledge into powerful, publish-ready content—without losing control of the messaging or campaign direction.

Looking for professional writers to create your expert-led thought leadership content?  The Article Writers Australia team would love to help. Book in a call to discuss your requirements and arrange a quote.