How To Find People To Interview

Finding people to interview for your podcast is very easy. Everyone is looking for publicity and media savvy people know that podcasts are a great way to connect with potential customers. You will probably find yourself with more people who want to be interviewed than time to interview all of them. Here are some tips on how to find guests:

Your Inspiration
Who gave you the inspiration to start your podcast or website? Ask them to be your guest and share their story with your listeners. What inspired you may inspire others, too.

Google News
This is a great source for finding news stories of all kinds. Do a keyword search that is relevant to the topic of your podcast or website. Contact the people that were interviewed in the news story; they may agree to be interviewed by you, as well.

Local and National News Stories
Again, pay attention to the clips you see on your local news as well as news shows such as Good Morning America and news channels such as CNN. If you see something that relates to the topics you cover on your podcast or website, make a note of the subject matter and name(s) of the interviewee(s). Contact them and ask if they would like to be a guest on your podcast.

Magazines
Pick up a magazine that has the same type of content as your podcast or website. Your readers and listeners are more than likely going to be interested in the same type of stories that are featured in the magazine. This a great way to get ideas for upcoming features (as well as the names of possible guests).

Ask Your Listeners
People love to talk about themselves; ask your listeners to share their stories. You can tell your listeners that you want to feature a story about a certain subject and ask anyone who has a story about that topic to email you. You can then call the people who submitted stories and choose a few to interview for your show.

How To Conduct Professional Interviews

The number of websites that are featuring podcasts is growing rapidly. They are a great way to connect with your visitors and provide them with information they are looking for or teach them about your product. If you are looking into offering podcasts, the subject of interviewing someone can seem like a daunting task. Here are some tips to make it easier:

Send Your Questions Ahead of Time
In order to make the most of your podcast, send the questions you are going to ask to your interviewee ahead of time. They will be able to prepare answers; and your podcast will sound much smoother.

Test Your Equipment
Don’t let your first interview be the first time you actually plug your microphone in. Set everything up and practice a few times before you conduct your first interview.

Be Early
If you are going to meet your interviewee(s) on a conference line, make sure you show up several minutes in advance. You will want to greet everyone as they come onto the conference line. If you are going to call someone for a one-on-one interview, be ready to call them at the appointed time. No one wants to sit around and wait to be interviewed.

Know Your Game Plan
Your interviewee is a busy person. Before you start the interview, have a game plan in mind of how long the interview will take. Let them know what you expect, and watch the time while you are talking to them.

Preliminary Chat
Greet your interviewee and chat for a moment before you start the “nitty gritty” questions. This will give you a chance to get comfortable speaking to each other and will make the interview banter sound friendly and comfortable.

Ask Questions in Order
Ask your interviewee the questions in the same order that you had sent to them before the interview. If you start jumping around and asking them questions out of order, your interviewee can get flustered and your podcast will not sound as professional.

Let The Interviewee Listen First
It is a polite gesture to allow your interviewee to listen to your interview before you publish it. On a side note, you do not have to take their editing suggestions.

WAHM Talk Radio Interview With Kelly McCaussey Is Live!

Kelly interviewed me last week about Presenting Your Products — and it’s live right now. I’m beyond excited!

You can listen to the interview at WAHM Talk Radio right now.
Kelly and I talked about how Presenting Your Products started, the problems it solves and I gave her a couple of tips that are included in the product.

PYP will feature audio interviews with three WAHM experts in product photography, labeling and shipping, transcripts from those interviews, study guides and video tutorials.

We are also holding a free teleseminar at 8 p.m. Central Time, Thursday, January 25. Not only will you get to hear questions from WAHMs and their answers, but you’ll also receive a special offer that will only be given to those who attend the teleseminar.

If you miss the teleseminar, you won’t be eligible for the prize — but you’ll still get to listen to the great information, as we’ll include a recording of the event in Presenting Your Products.