Why You Should Interview People On Your Blog

Posted on in Blogging


If your small business has a blog, if you’re a blogger, if you have a life outside of the internet (with, like, friends and parties and food and cute ballet flats), there’s a 99% chance that at some point, you’ve racked your brain for blog post topics.

Those are all terribly clever ideas, friend.  You know what else works?  Interviewing people.
I do it every week on Yes and Yes - the True Story series and Real Life Style Icons are some of my most popular posts!

Here are four reasons why you should interview people on your blog

1. Interviews are ‘easy’ content

Of course, you need to research your interviewee and write clever, engaging questions, format the post, and scheduled the social media, but the meat of the post?  It’s insight from your interview subject!  You ask the questions, they provide the content.

2. Interviews give you access to people who might otherwise be ‘unavailable’

If you ask a Big Deal Blogger to guest post for you, they’ll probably turn you down.  But if you ask them for an interview?  Well, we’re all ego-driven.  It’s significantly more likely that they’ll give you an interview.  Of course, if you’re approaching someone who’s reaaaaaalllly huge, spend a few months interacting with them on Twitter and Facebook before you pitch them.

If the person you’d like to interview just launched a new product, couch your interview request in those terms. They’re a lot more likely to accept if they know they can talk about their new book/clothing line/podcast.

3. Interviews are a great networking tool

Interviewing someone is a great way to begin a supportive, mutually beneficial friendship.  When we’ve done a 45-minute Skype interview and I’ve seen your sweet face, I’m a million times more likely to tweet links to your blog posts and contribute to that book you’re writing.

4. Interviews expose your work to new people

In a perfect world, your interviewees will send traffic to your blog - tweeting links to the interview, posting it on their Facebook page, and even linking to it on their blog.  You can make this a million times easier by @mentioning them on social media, so they can just retweet it.

Do you do interviews for you blog?  Who do you interview? How do you find interview subjects?

6 Comments

Nesha- Betty Red Design

You’re very right, interviewing people is an amazing content idea! You get to know so many amazing, like-minded people when you interview them. Even if they don’t become a ‘connection’, just gaining inspiration and creative fuel from that person and their interview is enough to make it worth it.

I run a design studio and we’re relaunching this month, exciting!! I would love to interview you when we relaunch. We work solely with women entrepreneurs, many of whom would seriously love the Solution Sessions you offer. I’ll drop you an email when I’m back from my Mediterranean vacation. (Because reading my favorite blogs on the beach rather than staring at half naked, tanned’n’foreign men is how I roll.)

Nesha

Ricki

I’m a food blogger, but in the past year I’ve started doing interviews of other food bloggers and cookbook authors. I think my readers like the more intimate look at some of their favorite cookbook authors, and I always find it fun to learn more about the subjects. It’s a great way for other food bloggers/authors to get exposure for their latest products, too. And yes, a great way to put up a relatively “easy” post!

Brad

Thanks for the article. I don’t write a blog currently but I love reading interviews of people who have succeeded in one way or another. You always hear the common words of wisdom “to be the best you need to learn from the best.” How do you recommend contacting the person you interview or want to interview?

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