I wrote a guest post for Independent Fashion Bloggers on Friday – here it is in case you haven’t already read it.
I decided a few months ago to start interviewing artists, designers & other bloggers for my site. I have worked as a journalist for a while, so interviewing became something I do on autopilot. Recently, I have seen a lot of people wondering how to get interviews & how to approach people they want to interview. Here are some tips you can follow if you want to start doing interviews on your blog:
Conception
❤ Find good questions
A lot of interviews feature the same questions, and guess what? People get incredibly bored answering the same questions all the time. While you are writing your questions, take the time to wonder if you have ever seen them somewhere else. If you have, cross them out & start again. Don’t get carried away asking only silly questions though, as the content of the interview will suffer too.
❤ Frequency of posting
If you are going to publish interviews regularly, do it according to your usual publishing routine. If you post once a day or more, you can publish one interview a week. If you post less often, you might want to make sure your blog doesn’t become a collection of interviews, without much of your own input.
❤ Find an editorial direction
If you are going to post regular interviews, choose whether you want them to have similar or different questions, if you think you will end up compiling them, or use them to predict trends to come.
Finding & asking people
❤ Friends
If you have friends whose work you admire, ask them! They will be happy to help & get a bit of publicity for their stuff. Also, it means that when you start asking people you don’t know, you actually have something to show that will help convince them they just HAVE to answer your questions.
❤ People you really like
It will be easier to ask someone when you really know & like their work. You will come across as super enthusiastic and that works most of the time.
❤ Draft an email
Write a really good introduction email. You will be able to send the same to everyone you want to interview & it will be ready whenever you come across someone new. Remember you only have one chance to make a first impression, so be yourself and rock their socks!
❤ Be POLITE!
My last advice and possibly the most important is to be polite. I know it might seem stupid to list this here, but you would be surprised by how many messages I receive asking me for various things that are really rude & demanding. It generally puts me right off. So listen to your mamma, say “please”, “thank you” & pay some respect!
❤ Mention the interview
If someone is interested enough in your work to interview you, be nice & mention the interview in one of your posts. Just a mention is enough, you don’t need to go on about it or write a whole post. People who read your blog or like your work might be interested in what you have to say in a different context & the person who wrote the interview will be happy to see it mentioned.