By Rhonda Campbell
Conduct regular interviews with creative business leaders at your blog, business website, online television station or newsletter and watch your reading and/or listening audience grow. Why? People trust the advice of creative business leaders who aren’t affiliated with your company or brand.
You Can Gain Consumer Trust by Interviewing Creative Business Leaders
Perhaps people feel like the person being interviewed is providing honest information because they have nothing to gain from doing otherwise. Who knows for sure?
After putting in more than 7 years interviewing industry leaders, what I do know is that good interviews take preparation. They also require a hunger to probe, a desire to learn and at least an ounce of respect for the creative business leader being interviewed.
Here’s some of what I’ve learned over the years (and I’ve interviewed a lot of folks):
- Research and preparation go a long way. Create interview questions a few days before the actual interview.
- Tell creative business leaders why you want to interview them (e.g. to teach other entrepreneurs how to manage a start-up)
- Forget sending creative business leaders questions in advance, helps to keep interviews fresh.
- Be yourself
- Think of readers and listeners during the interview. Focus on asking questions that help other business owners grow their businesses.
- Provide a little background information on creative business leaders at the start of interviews (print, audio and video). Don’t assume everyone knows the person.
- Stay focused. Don’t worry about a knock at the door, a fan spinning in the background, etc.
- Eliminate distractions before the interview (piggybacks on the previous tip)
- Spread the word to colleagues and family (if you work from home like I do) that you’re doing an interview at least 2 to 3 minutes before the interview starts.
- Use a landline phone to conduct live telephone interviews. Not sure why, but they come across the wire (and Internet) more clearly than cell phones do.
- Ask creative business leaders to dial into telephone and television interviews several minutes before the start of the show.
- Prep creative business leaders on what to expect during the show (e.g. if other leaders will join the call, if you’ll open the interview up for Q&A)
- Send a remember to creative business leaders about the interview 2 to 3 days before the actual interview (you’d be surprised the things folks forget)
- Have fun!
Check Out the Ways Interviewing Creative Business Leaders Benefits You
Okay. All right. I said I was going to give you 7 tips. I went over. But I always like to give you more than you expect. That said, one last thing . . .
If you’re scratching your head and wondering how interviews with creative business leaders will benefit your company, try this:
- Post one entertaining and informational interview with an industry leader at your blog. Measure how many new visitors you get to your website. No joke. An influential industry leader can bring thousands of new visitors to your blog or website.
- Create a motivational e-book that includes tidbits and advice from creative business leader interviews (make sure you get the leaders’ approval to be included in the e-book)
- Follow print interviews up with radio or video interviews. Post them on YouTube, being sure to mention your company website at the beginning and end of the interviews.
- Add highlights from creative business leader interviews to your company newsletters
Okay, friend. You can get even more out of creative business leader interviews if you keep in touch with business leaders you interview. Send them a “thank you” email immediately following interviews. When holidays roll around, send them a holiday greeting. After all, these influencers can become a part of your business network.
If you learned something from this article, Tweet it and send it to your Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Plus followers.
More about Portia and Long Walk Up is available at – www.chistell.com
