Are there any guarantees?

Rolli has no editorial influence on journalists, therefore we do not guarantee bookings.

However, we are confident of the value that Rolli provides to qualified subject matter experts (SMEs), organizations, and journalists. For that reason, Rolli offers a full money-back satisfaction guarantee on yearly memberships. Why a year? Because news works on a cycle, and experts may need to wait for their expertise to have increased news relevance to receive media requests.

What does Rolli do with my information?

You are a valuable member of our community, not as a set of data points to be monetized. We only use the information you provide to fulfill our stated purpose of connecting our community of experts, organizations, and content producers.

We do not sell or otherwise make your information available to anyone outside the Rolli platform.

Rolli takes your privacy very seriously and we're proud of our commitment to guarding your information. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy and don't hesitate to contact us at contact@rolliapp.com with any questions.

Who is considered an "Expert"?

Experts on Rolli must have either advanced degrees or at least 7-10 years of experience working in a particular subject. Many Rolli experts are licensed, like doctors, real estate professionals, and lawyers; others are authors, thought-leaders, or involved in groundbreaking research.

Experts on Rolli are vetted to standards backed by the Poynter Institute for Journalism.

How is Rolli different from other tools, like HARO?

Rolli is nothing like any other tool because unlike most tools created to sell journalists’ data and emails, Rolli is the first platform solely built for journalists. Rolli’s mission is to provide journalists with cutting edge news gathering tools to make their work more efficient, without selling their data or charging booking fees.

Unlike HARO, Rolli works for any journalist on any deadline, and we vet all of our experts.

Rolli is journalist owned and operated, most other tools out there (including HARO) are owned by PR.

What are the benefits of a Rolli membership?

Media, content producers, and journalists benefit on Rolli by gaining access to a series of tools that empower them to do their jobs faster and more efficiently. These tools include a NewsDesk feature which aggregates the top news from leading publications and uses AI to recommend vetted subject matter experts available for comment. In addition, journalists get access to a database of thousands of vetted experts and a preloaded News Planning Calendar so they can stay ahead of the news cycle.

Experts benefit by getting a chance to showcase their expertise to hundreds of journalsits and producers across platforms, at an affordable price. Additionally, subject matter experts can share their events with the media by adding them to the News Planning Calendar, keep track and get analytics on their media mentions, and book one-on-one interview coaching sessions.

Organizations have the ability to showcase their though-leadership to hundreds of producers and journalists, at an affordable price. Additionally, Organizations can share their events with the media by adding them to the News Planning Calendar, keep track and get analytics on their media mentions, and book one-on-one or group interview coaching sessions. Organizations also have the ability to manage and promote their experts, plus stay in the loop of their media bookings.

Who can join Rolli?

Rolli is a platform created for (and by) journalists. You may be eligible to join Rolli if you meet the criteria described in any one of these categories:

~~Content Producers:~~ You are a journalist, news producer, digital editor, reporter, guest booker, documentary filmmaker, or perform a similar role participating in the creation of media content.

~~Experts:~~ You are a recognized subject matter expert in your field and are available for media interviews.

~~Organizations:~~ Your organization has a group of experts or thought-leaders who are available to the media. You may be a Communications Director, Media Relations professional or perform a similar role managing your organization's media relations.

Does Rolli work in my location/country?

Generally speaking, yes, Rolli is designed as a global platform and is not limited to a specific country or region. In fact, one of the benefits of Rolli is that content producers gain access to a wider, more diverse range of voices. And experts can be booked by producers from all over the globe if they choose.

However, Rolli is based in the United States of America and therefore cannot engage in business with any person in a country that would violate current U.S. sanctions, or with any person that is on the Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List as maintained by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (please see Office of Foreign Assets Control - Sanctions Programs and Information for more information).

We do not maintain a list of currently sanctioned countries in this FAQ as the list changes periodically, but if you have questions about your specific country, please don't hesitate to contact us at contact@rolliapp.com.

How do I sign up?

Signing up for Rolli is easy, just follow this link to create an account.

Rolli will ask you for some basic information about yourself, you will choose a Rolli ID, verify your email address, and accept our Terms of Service. The sign-up process takes about 5 minutes.

To ensure the integrity of the platform and our community, your new account will be reviewed and approved by the Rolli team. The review process takes an average of 1 or 2 business days, and you will receive an email notification once your account is approved.

Please note that there is a low annual fee for Rolli Expert and Organization Memberships and a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. Please see our experts, producers, or organizations pricing list for more information.

What information do I need to provide to sign up?

To sign up for Rolli, just follow this link.

When signing up for an account, you will need to provide:

Your name
Your email address
Your city, state/province, zip/postal code, and country
Your preferred Time Zone

The amount of information that you choose to share with others is up to you, for details please see the next two questions in our FAQ ("What does Rolli do with my information?" and "Can other Rolli members see my information?").

~~Experts & Organizations:~~ Once your account is created, you may choose to share additional information about yourself, your career, and media highlights to show content producers a full picture of your expertise.

Can other Rolli members see my information?

Very little information is *required* from you by the Rolli platform, so you can choose the information that is entered and shared in your profile.

Although your email address is required to sign up for an account, you can choose to hide your email from other Rolli members if you prefer.

Other sharing throughout the platform is governed by your specific account type:

~~Experts:~~ You can choose the type of information you wish to include in your profile (email address, phone number, social media links, qualifications, media bio, career highlights, etc.). Other experts cannot view or access your information in any way. However, the information you have chosen to share is made available to Rolli's vetted content producers when they are searching & evaluating you for a potential booking.

~~Content Producers:~~ Nobody can see your profile or any information that you provide in it unless you specifically decide to share it. Your contact information is not searchable or accessible to anyone unless you intentionally reveal it (for example, by emailing an expert to discuss a booking opportunity).

~~Organizations:~~ You control which of your experts you want to promote through Rolli, and you can help edit and manage the profiles for anyone in your organization. Your experts' information and basic information about your organization (for example, your organization's name, web site, and a brief description) are available to Rolli's vetted content producers when they are searching & evaluating you for a potential booking.

How are members approved for an account?

To ensure the integrity and effectiveness of the Rolli community, all new accounts will be reviewed for accuracy and approved by the Rolli team.

If you are invited to join Rolli as a member of a pre-vetted organization then your account is automatically approved-- since Rolli has already vetted the organization, and, in turn, the organization has vetted you.

For all other accounts, the account review process takes an average of 1 or 2 business days (although it may take up to 5 business days depending on the current volume).

You can help speed up the approval process by using your "official" or "work" email when you sign up for your account.

As part of the review process, the Rolli team may reach out to you by email to request additional verification information. We will not keep this additional documentation any longer than it takes to validate your account, after which any documentation (be it physical or electronic) will be completely destroyed or deleted.

You will receive an email notification once your account is approved, at which time you will gain full access to the Rolli platform.

Is Rolli membership expensive?

While "expensive" is a relative term, we feel that Rolli's flat annual fee pricing model is affordable for any professional. Your modest annual fee helps us cover platform costs and enables us to invest in continuous feature enhancements.

Experts and Organizations pay a low annual fee to access the platform, while Producers can access Rolli for free (pending account approval).

It really is that simple! There are no tricks, complicated licensing negotiations, or hidden fees.

For more details, please check out our experts, producers, or organizations pricing list or email us at billing@rolliapp.com if you have additional questions.

How does billing work?

Rolli will send you an invoice at the time of your account approval. All memberships are a simple, one year subscription with no extra or hidden fees. Starting with your second year, you will receive an emailed invoice on the anniversary of your account membership.

In all cases the terms of the invoice are “Net 30”, meaning that you have 30 days from the day of the invoice to make your payment and keep your account in good standing. We use a trusted, PCI compliant billing partner, Stripe, to process your payment. Rolli does not store your credit card or billing information.

Rolli offers a Better Booking Guarantee for the lifetime of your subscription. Our guarantee states that we are so confident that Rolli will enhance the quality of your media relations, that if you do not see noticeable traction from our platform, our experienced team will work with you to optimize your presence until you do.

Please contact us by email at billing@rolliapp.com if you have additional questions about billing, have a question about your invoice, or need to work out alternative payment arrangements.

How can I request a new Rolli feature?

Rolli was built from the ground up to serve our community of experts, organizations, and content producers. Our product roadmap is influenced directly by feedback from our community members, so if you have an enhancement in mind then we'd love to hear about it!

To send us an idea or ask a question about our future plans, you can email us your thoughts at contact@rolliapp.com. We can even arrange a quick web conference or phone call if your concept is too difficult to explain in an email.

Can I invite my colleagues to join?

The short answer is: "Yes, please!" We want to keep growing the Rolli community with world-class experts, organizations, and content producers, and referrals are a great way to build a strong community.

You can obviously send colleagues a link to https://rolliapp.com. And once you are logged into the platform, you can access a "Share Rolli" button at the top of the page that makes it easy to share through various social media channels as well.

Thank you for helping us spread the word!

Why start Rolli?

With over 25% of newsroom jobs lost since 2008, according to the Pew Research Center, shrinking revenues & budgets have forced newsrooms to become more efficient. Meanwhile, a growing number of freelance and independent journalists are losing the newsroom resources they once relied on.

Lastly, PR and the media are increasingly out-of-sync, with 93% of journalists reporting that the vast majority of pitches they receive are “irrelevant,” according to Meltwater.

Rolli’s founder, Nick Toso experienced many of these challenges himself as a CNN en Español Washington DC Bureau Chief and Senior Producer. Toso, a latino immigrant with a problem-solving spirit, subsequently earned his MBA and gathered feedback from countless journalists across markets and formats to build a solution, Rolli.

What Can I do on the Rolli platform?

Journalists can search Rolli’s database of vetted subject matter experts for diverse voices and perspectives, and browse our NewsDesk which aggregates trending stories and get coverage ideas through our News Planning Calendar.

Experts and Organizations contribute to the Rolli newsroom by creating expert profiles and sharing their press events in our News Planning Calendar.

What we don’t do: sell or share journalist contact information.

What is Newsroom as a Service™?

Rolli has replicated the tools and resources of a large, well-staffed newsroom, and built them into an easy to use newsgathering platform: Rolli's Newsroom as a Service™. Among the tools, a robust and searchable database of vetted subject matter experts, a preloaded News Planning Calendar, and an AI fueld NewsDesk which aggregates top news stories for easy browsing and recommends relevant experts based on credentials.

How does Rolli vet experts?

Rolli’s seven step vetting process follows best practices and guidelines set out by Journalism institutions. Vetting and approval is based on merit, and merit alone. Verification cannot be bought, sold, or transferred.

Verify email address and location to account name, check backlinks and any information that comes up upon searching the internet.
Verify that name and title on the application, match that on these sites: - University or Organization site (must be .edu, .org or other accredited institution in good standing) - Twitter - LinkedIn - Resume or CV (if available)
Verify that information listed on University/Org site, matches that listed on LinkedIn and/or Twitter
If a licensed profession, (medicine, law, real estate, etc) confirm license and good standing with state board
Verify previously published content where person was quoted (news articles and the like) for consistency, expertise, confirming name/title
For authors, confirm title and author of the book on an independent book publisher/seller site
If one or more of these steps can't be completed, request supplemental information as needed. An interview may be necessary in certain cases.

What is Rolli's mission?

Rolli’s mission is to empower people:

To empower journalists and newsrooms with the cutting edge tools they need to create deep and meaningful content, in a fast-paced and ever-changing media landscape.

To empower subject matter experts, thought-leaders, and organizations by democratizing a traditionally cost-prohibitive PR industry and leveling a playing field that has always favored deep pockets over deep expertise. This democratization leads to more media opportunities for diverse voices and perspectives, improving equitable representation in the media.

Frequently Asked Questions