5 Tips for Better Blog Interviews from tara gentile on Vimeo.
Interviews make for great blog fodder, provided your interviews are great.
But because interviews are an easy way to get other people to create content for your site, it’s easy to be lazy. Instead of taking the time to get creative & craft an interview that serves your readers as well as your subject, you can fall back on the “usual questions.”
The usual questions are boring.
Having Twittered about crafting creative blog interviews, Dyana Valentine – who helps self-starters self-finish – volunteered to share her criteria for a great blog interview in a short video with me. I had a blast talking to Dyana who has a glowing, larger than life personality in addition to being fiercely intelligent.
The video is only 5 minutes long so I encourage you to watch but here is the Cliffs Notes version:
- Creative blog interviews offer something fun.
- Creative blog interviews discover something new.
- Creative blog interviews take advantage of a live component: audio, video, or chat.
- Creative blog interviews have context, answer a larger question.
- Creative blog interviews are brief.
How can you incorporate a creative interview into your blog content?
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Great tips, Tara and Dyana – thank you! Loved the skype/google chat tip, too.
FUN! The new site is gorgeous and the new direction is inspiring, T. Thank you, Brenda–be sure to link up some of your new video when it’s juicy and ready to share. I really appreciate the invite to play with you all on this. So, what are YOUR tips to creative and juicy blog interviews?
Thanks for the advice! There are many new ideas I’d like to implement into my blog, Yinzpiration.com, which is comprised of interviews with young Pittsburghers.
I’m going to stress brevity with my interviewees (they write the answers to the questions so I will need to encourage less-wordy answers) and I’d like to try some video interviews. Also, what service did you use to create your video interview?
I would add that creative blog interviews feature great photographs!
Oh yes! I’d like to know what they used for vid interviewing too! Forgot to ask.
oh no. I listened to this and realized I’ve been doing everything you say NOT to do. How embarrassing! BUT, good to know, so that I can change direction a little.
This comes at the perfect time! Thanks for these tips. I’m starting up a new “interview” column on one of my blogs and I will definitely keep these in mind. Also I’m happy to hear that some of the things I’m including in my column are in the right direction!
Also y’all two are so cute and cheery at the end that I’m pretty sure I don’t even need coffee this morning.
great tips! i did an interview on my blog once and someone left a comment saying it felt like a gchat – which, it wasn’t, but was a total compliment, since then, i’ve thought about how cool a sort of instant message interview would be! happy to hear others are excited about that as well because it is a really cool idea!
This is compelling – thanks for sharing and giving me a little kick in the butt.
E
I’d love to learn how to make a split screen video!
What is the technology?
Ever think of doing a screencast?
I really love the idea of doing video interviews!! I’ll definitely consider adding this as a feature to my blog! Thanks so much for the compelling advice
!!
Hey Tara! Thanks for this great post. Love to watch you two bubbly girls doing this interview. We are also considering skype interviews, but how on earth did you make that awesome splitscreen presentation?
Would be great if you’d share this, too
Thanks so much!
Thank YOU! Since everyone wanted to know, I compiled a “Tools of the Trade” post and you can find the answer there!
http://www.taragentile.com/tools-of-the-trade/
I am so glad to read this! I just put an interview on my blog today, without the benefit of this great post. Next time, I’ll know better!
I TOTALLY agree with Tara’s point- live interview via instant messaging? AWESOME.
I am always interviewing new music and fashion artist. Not only is this tactic time consuming, it also keeps the dialogue engaging. Instant messaging is the new media tape recorder.
I will definitely dabble with the live Skype interviews as well. This sounds like mucho fun. Just need to overcome my camera shyness (hence why I am a writer). Well it’s time to evolve right? Picture that, writers becoming online public figures- YIKES!
Great tips! Answering a larger question is an important point, because a successful interview is the type that has a thesis and an overall message.
I’ve just released an e-book about how to create high quality interviews for your blog that will attract traffic, derived from my experience on my site BeyondThePedway.com interviewing over 150 people in almost 2 years.
You can find the e-book here if you’re interested: http://www.beyondthepedway.com/increase-blog-traffic
Here are my 7 Success Mantras STRAIGHT from a TOP-SHOT H.R. to CRACK any Interview:
http://www.faadooengineers.com/content/302-a-can-do-attitude-works-7-success-matras-to-crack-any-interview
One thing you didn’t mention but you do which I love, is a transcript/summary [Cliff Notes] of the video/audio in text for those visual people who prefer to read rather than listen or don’t have time to watch a video.
Great tips … thanks so much.
Great idea’s! thanks
Loved the Video, Going to book mark this page!
Very interesting topic , thanks for putting up. “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.” by Lisa Grossman.