Listen to “MIH017:How To Interview Guests For Your Podcast” on Spreaker.

In my last post, I talked about the mistakes I’ve made in interviewing guests- and I had a few mishaps along the way.  Read about them and see how you can avoid them. Meanwhile, you might be wondering about some of the steps I’ve used to find interviewees and get them on my podcast. So in this post, I’ll share with you how to interview your guests- step by step.

Approach them gracefully.

Gracefulness is pleasant, and who doesn’t like to be pleasantly approached?  It’s not about hunting anyone down, it’s about finding out if you have similar audiences and if being on your show would enhance their business project.

Introduce yourself, tell them what you offer your audience, and ask if they would like to participate in an x-minute interview. And be sure to let them know the kind of interview you’ll be setting up.  Personally, that means a lot to me as a mompreneur if I know in advance if I’ll be expected to interview via webcam or on the phone.  (Kids running through the house screaming during a video call is not cool.)  Help your interviewee figure out these things in advance.

Know your schedule and know it well.

Ask for their time and immediately schedule it.  In order to do that, though, you’ll need to know your own schedule.  Go ahead and plot out your times of availability for an interview and try to leave it as open as you can.  Remain flexible.  Remember you may not be in the same time zone or even in the same country.  If you want to land a great interview, you have to be willing to work with your guest’s schedule.

Prepare thorough and thoughtful interview questions to send.

Don’t surprise-attack your guest with questions they weren’t prepared for.  To avoid this, go ahead and plan out a set of interview questions to send them.  This means you’ll need to research your guest thoroughly and get to know them through their own website.  Outline questions that are meaningful and bring the best out of your guest.  Be sure to send the questions way in advance of the interview so that if they have any concerns or edits that need to be made you can do that ahead of the scheduled recording.

Be on time, ready, and available for your interview.

It pays to be on time.  I think there’s no greater pet peeve of our guests than to be no-shows to our own scheduled interviews.  Due to schedule mix-ups, this has, unfortunately, happened to me before.  Not only is it embarrassing, but drains on your interviewee’s time and schedule as well as you have to work to re-schedule the interview all over again.

Make them feel at ease before, during, and after the interview.

Start with some small talk (un-recorded) and ask if they have any questions before the interview begins.  A short conversation before you launch straight into the interview always eases tensions and causes our guests to feel more relaxed.

Thank them for their time and for what to expect next.

After the interview is over, let them know what to expect next.  When will the interview be posted?  Let them know when they should expect to hear from you again.  Be sure to let them know a bit in advance before the interview will be posted so they’ll work it into their social media marketing schedule.

Finally, promote, promote, promote.

You always want to make sure you set up lots of promotional social media posts.  Pin it, tweet it, announce it on Facebook, and especially get the word out in your Google Plus circles.

Did this information help you?  I sure hope so.  If you’ve interviewed guests for your podcast or blog, please share a favorite interview in the comments below!