As you may have realised, I’ve done a few interviews on Teenius now, the most recent of which was the previous post where I interviewed Michael Dunlop from IncomeDiary and RetireAt21. This interview got a pretty good response, and one of the comments asked me to write a post about what makes a good interview, so that’s what I’ve done in this post.
Why do an interview?
Before I start, I think it’s important to address why hosting an interview on your website is so good. Well, firstly, it gives your readers a different perspective, which is also a good think. Secondly, people love interviews, so they’re more likely to read it, leave a comment and submit it to social bookmarking sites, which is a great source of traffic. Thirdly, they’re fun to do!
So those are the benefits for you, but you should also think about the person you’re interviewing. They get some great exposure for themselves and their websites, and it also makes you feel pretty motivated if you’re asked for an interview. In my post ‘Getting recognised in the blogosphere’, I talked about being kind to others, and this is the perfect opportunity to do something kind for someone else.
The Three Steps
#1 – Picking the right person to interview
The most important part of any interview is the person answering the question, so it’s critical that you pick the right person. I recommend that for your first interview you interview a reasonably well known blogger, but don’t go asking people like problogger. Be warned not to pick a blogger too small though, as you’re unlikely to register any real interest.
Once you’ve interviewed a few medium sized bloggers, you should then have built the authority needed to then go and start asking the bigger and better known bloggers.
#2 – Ask the right questions
As everyone always seems to be saying, content is king. Because of this, I would say that the questions you ask will determine whether the interview will be a bit hit or a massive failure. I would suggest that you put some serious thought into the questions before you even consider asking the person to answer them.
When writing the questions, you should really try and get to the bottom of the person you’re interviewing. Personally, the first question or two of my interviews will ask about the person and their background so that my readers can get an idea of who they’re listening to. I feel that this is important so that the reader can really get into the interview and feel more involved in the person’s life.
You should also consider what your readers would want to find out from the person you’re interviewing. One of my recent posts was called ‘Knowing what your readers want’, and in this case I think it’s so important to make sure you ask the interviewee questions that your readers are interested in. For instance, when I interviewed Michael Dunlop I tried to find out what elements he suggested for a successful blogger, and if a few people read that and it changes them, the interview is a success.
#3 – Advertise!
The interviews you post on your blog should be some of the most successful posts you write if you do it correctly, but to achieve this you need to advertise. One of the great thing about interviewing people is that they’re just as keen as you are to get the word out about the post, so try and involve them in the advertising process so that they can help. That way, you’ll have two people working on promoting the post rather than just you, and that’s always a positive.
Interviewing, eh?!
Have you ever interviewed anyone on your blog or website? How did it go? Who did you interview?
Hopefully this article has helped and inspired a few bloggers into realising how good interviews can be, and also the process behind them. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
Great post.. Was thinking to interview someone, but I don’t think my niche is good for that..
still, these points were really usefull.
Thanks !
Enk.’s last blog post..Bing Your Website
I’m going to have do disagree with you on that one… every niche has scope to interview someone. You just need to think what your niche is, and then look for influential/successful people within it.
Yeah I found that.. when I was done writing the first comment..
haha agree you !
Enk.’s last blog post..Bing Your Website
Very interesting article – The 2nd step is a pretty obvious one, but still a good reminder to everyone.
Liked the read, keep up the great work mate
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Marco’s last blog post..20 breathtaking realistic CG portraits by CGSociety
Thanks, and I’m glad you enjoyed the article
Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, I was asked to do an article about what makes a good interview, so I tried to explain it as simply as I could and make the tips very easy to follow.
My first and only interview on Domain Marvelous was with the CEO of Telnic (official registrar of .tel names). That was a very exciting time for me to have someone of such status speak on by blog. The interview post manged to register huge traffic figures for my blog, as well as help my readers learn a whole lot more about the .tel domain TLD. In addition, the post also sent a few traffic numbers towards Telnic’s way. A win-win situation for all stakeholders. I am now liaising with a another very reputable figure in the domaining world for my next interview post. Hopefully, the interview is approved!
Good post, Simon
Richael | Domain Marvelous’s last blog post..Can .sex (or the new gTLDs) finally dethrone .com?
Yeah, I remember reading that. I guess that just goes to show that interviews can help your blog become more successful, especially if you interview someone with lots of authority
Yes Simon…Maybe someone can come up with a project such as “Interview Blog” (I wonder if there are already blogs like this), whereby all posts are interviews of well known people and influential online marketers. I can be quite successful.
I remember reading a book , eMiilionaires, where the author, Stanley Tang compiled all his interviews in a single e book. I remember it being a huge success…so definitely a similar interview blog will also prove a hit.
Richael | Domain Marvelous’s last blog post..Can .sex (or the new gTLDs) finally dethrone .com?
Take a look at my previous post, ‘Interview With Michael Dunlop’. He runs a blog called IncomeDiary that interviews a lot of professional bloggers and internet entrepreneurs.
Hey Simon!
Great point, but I think some success bloggers will don’t answer your email that you sent to them for an interview because your blog is not famous ^_^ This is a problem for beginners
Toan Nguyen Minh’s last blog post..Interview With Nishadha Lakpriya Silva
Yeah, exactly. I think a big part of connecting with other bloggers is actually what you can do for each other. In an interview, they’re giving you a post (that will probably be pretty successful), and you’re giving them exposure. If you can’t give them that much exposure, they’re unlikely to do the interview.
Also, I expect that the biggest bloggers get hundreds of interview requests, so if they accepted all of them, they’d never have any time to blog
I never interview people before. Actually It’s really nice to read post about interview as I always enjoy when you interviewed someone =)
I’m glad you enjoy the interviews. I try and do a decent amount, so make sure you stick around as I’ll definately be doing more in the future!
Regarding never interviewing people, you should definately try it! I bet it will be one of the most popular posts on your blog!
You’ve had some pretty interesting interviews. I particularly enjoyed the one you had with Michael Dunlop. Great tips here. I want to interview a blogger some day. I’ll probably try to interview you
Caden Grant’s last blog post..A Step-By-Step Guide To Starting A Profitable Blog
Interviews are great
I do them mainly when I want to change the topic of my blog.
I have interviewed Michael Dunlop recently. The interview did quite well.
Farrhad A | The Marketing Park’s last blog post..How to Create the Perfect Sales Page
i guess doing an interview is an important part of blogging…though i haven’t been interviewed by any blogger of have interviewed anyone yet on my blog, im keeping this one on list of goal to do for my blog this year.
tweeted this one:D
elmot’s last blog post..Who is the Emerging Influential Blogger? Poof!
Yeah, as well as being great for traffic and your readers, it also helps you get better known in the blogosphere, especially if the other person helps advertise it too!
I definately recommend that you find someone to interview on your blog!
Thanks for making this article so soon !
Really nice and hope will make use of this .. cheers !
S.Pradeep Kumar’s last blog post..How To Copyright Your Literary And Creative Work ?
No problem… thanks for the suggestion!
If you ever need any other questions answering, just leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll do my best
Another benefit to interviewing people is that the interviewee also tends to promote the article; which brings twice the traffic to your site. At the very least, Michael mentioned his interview here on Twitter.
This is another good one, Simon!
Nick Tart’s last blog post..40 Chinese Proverbs for Entrepreneurship
Yeah.. its great if the interviewee himself is a well known one in his niche. A sure traffic source !
Enk.’s last blog post..6 Reasons why You should NOT Blog with a Partner
Yeah, I mentioned that in the third step
Actually, traffic wise, the Gaya Kessler interview was the most popular one. This was because Gaya retweeted me, and then one of his followers (who had thousands of followers) retweeted him. Then, loads of different people retweeted the popular person.
Purely because of that alone, that interview had triple the traffic of the post before it!
Great information, and it really inspire me to go to look for someone to interview, thanks clickkt.com, I found your blog…. your in my list of blog I will be reading often !
I’m glad you enjoyed my interview over at Clickkt enough to stick around! I look forward to your future comments
Yeah, you should definately try to find someone to interview, even if it’s just a small blogger
Honestly I love to read others experience in things. Interviews give me such opportunity. And That’s why I love reading Income Diary. Great post Simon
Harish | Blogging Kid’s last blog post..A Recap of Some My Best Posts On This Blog
Yeah, I think that’s one of the reasons that people like reading interviews so much. As well as that, it’s great to have inspirational figures, and interviews often present those to you.
Great post. I have wanted to interview some people for a while but have been procrastinating. This is a helpful post for me.
Jake | Web Journey’s last blog post..Get 100+ Comments on Every Post
To be honest, I find interviews are actually less effort than a normal post, mainly because the interviewee does all the writing for you
I find the hardest bit is actually finding someone willing to do an interview who is well known.
Hello Simon!
Very good article, and speaking of interviews I just read an interview of YOU and thought you did a great job! Your blog is really doing well and I am happy for you!
ps. Thank you so much for mentioning ThinkForMoney in your interview!
Keith’s last blog post..Change the Channel!
Thanks for the kind words, Keith. No problem, it’s a great blog you have!
Good post man. This post is really inspiring. I don’t know you, but definitely I will wait for your new post.
Good job man
dhannanjay’s last blog post..Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron 253mph+, 0-62mph 2.5 secs
Well, a post will be up very shortly. Thanks for stopping by!
Great post. The post will definately help me start interviewing wahms for my blog. Many thanks
Hey! Waiting for more like these dude
Farrhad A | The Marketing Park’s last blog post..How to Build the Ultimate Email Marketing List
I never had the thought of interviewing some one. It is good to keep this idea in mind
Stock Traders Blog’s last blog post..My Mind Switched Side But so Did the Market
I found teenius.com very informative. The article is professionally written and I feel like the author knows the subject very well. teenius.com keep it that way.