This week’s Superstar Blogging post is from our Community Manager, Chris. He has handled dozens of interviews for our forums and for the Superstar Blogging community. He shares his interview tips and suggestions to help you step up your game and boost your brand via interviews.
During my time working for Matt, I’ve interviewed dozens and dozens of bloggers, writers, travelers, and content creators. Some of them have been brand new to the world of blogging, with only a few published posts and a handful of followers. Others have been well-established creators who make a full-time income from their blog. During this time, I’ve not only learned a lot about blogging, traveling, and building a successful business but I’ve also learned a ton about interviews — and how to use them to your advantage.
There are lots of blogs and websites out there that regularly feature interviews with bloggers, including our own community forums and the Superstar Blogging blog. I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers missing opportunities in these interviews, so I wanted to share some important tips every blogger should be aware of when they are taking part in any sort of interview, whether it’s written, part of a podcast, or in person.
1. Be Mindful of the Instructions
Every interviewer will have a preferred way for you to send them your answers. Some will want Word docs, others will want the answers in an email with attached photos. Make sure you understand the interview instructions before you begin. If you don’t, just ask for clarification. If you’re asked to answer the questions in a Word document but you send them in an email, you’ve already failed to adhere to their requests. If they ask you to include links to your content and you don’t, you’ve failed to listen to their instructions — causing them more work and hassle in the process. If they ask for 2,000 words and you send 3,000, again, you’ve failed to listen.
Before you can TALK about your blog, you need to LISTEN to the instructions. Failing to stick to the instructions illustrates that you are not detail-oriented and exudes an air of unprofessionalism. This is going to add more work for the interviewer, more back and forth, and a diminished chance your interview will actually get published. If it becomes too much work, the interviewer might say “Forget it” and move on to work with someone else. Being interviewed on someone’s website is a favor to YOU, not them. Make sure you adhere to their requests. It will make their life easier and help to pave the way for future collaborations down the road.
2. Always Remember That You are Promoting Your Brand
An interview is an avenue for promoting your blog. Yes, it’s also a way to work with another creator and grow your audience but at its core, an interview is an advertisement for you and your website. Your answers will reflect the quality of your writing, thinking, and character. Consider them the first impression for new readers and potential subscribers and a snapshot of your content, so be sure that your answers reflect you and your blog properly. Don’t just race through the interview and get it off your to-do list as fast as possible. Spend time on it so it can be the best possible advertisement for your blog that it can be.
3. Be Engaging!
Interviews are a chance for you to woo readers with your personality, stories, and style. To do this, you need to be engaging. Craft your answers like you would a blog post. Write them, edit them, and edit them again. Try to walk the line between being informative and inspirational. Be entertaining, but be sure to provide as much value as you can. Share relevant links and tips so that whoever reads your interview will have an actionable takeaway.
The more value and entertainment you can add, the more likely it will be that you pick up some followers. You don’t need to pretend to be someone else or try to be overly witty, but rather just make sure you put your best self out there for the world to see.
4. Provide Links
Whether you’re taking part in a written interview, podcast, or interview in person, you’ll want to make sure you can include links back to your website. Even if it’s only a few links in a bio, it helps. Not only will this boost traffic to your site but it will boost your domain authority (DA). Interviews can be great for SEO and your interviewers will expect you to include links.
Some interviewers will stipulate a limit on how many links you’re allowed to include so make sure you understand that when you begin. If there is no limit, include links where appropriate — but don’t go overboard. A 2,000-word interview can reasonably have 5-6 links, but 20 would be overkill. Make sure your links are on the keywords you want, as well. Every bit of SEO juice will help!
5. Have a Goal
What is the purpose of the interview? Is it to build your DA and generate traffic? Is it to get your foot in the door for guest posts? Is it just a way to hone your writing? Before you jump into an interview, have a clear goal in mind. Are you going to share links to drive traffic to your site or to direct readers to your social media? Are you going to focus on a specific topic or just talk about whatever? Is there a product launch or a new post you should emphasize? Be targeted with your approach in order to maximize your results.
6. Be Yourself!
The most important thing is to be yourself. Don’t change your character or writing style to suit the platform. Sure, you can temper your style so it better fits the audience, but you want to accurately represent your brand. At the end of the day, YOU are the backbone of your brand, so stay true to yourself!
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These tips may seem straightforward, but you’d be surprised how often they are overlooked. Always make sure you spend time on your interviews to make sure you maximize your results. The devil is in the detail, after all! By keeping these points in mind, you’ll be able to create epic and memorable interviews that drive traffic to your website and help you establish your brand.