How and Why To Write an Interview Article
Sharing other people’s stories feels good and improves your writing skills
For businesses creating content to promote their products and services, writing articles only about your business can start feeling boring, egocentric, and even pushy. Combat those icky feelings with an interview article! Sharing the story of a local business just feels good. They appreciate the spotlight. Your readers will gain insights from a new perspective. And, usually, hearing other business owners’ stories is pretty inspiring!
Learn the reasons why an interview is a great idea for content articles and how to best plan for and conduct an interview with a fellow or fella business owner.
Why Write Interview Articles for Your Website
It’s fun. First, it is interesting and exciting to get to know other business owners on a deeper level! You’ll probably learn some things you didn’t know and maybe even gain a tip or two that are beneficial to your business adventure.
Stronger Partnerships. Besides being enjoyable, highlighting other businesses shows goodwill and builds a stronger partnership. The next time a customer asks that business for a recommendation in your service area, who do you think they’ll think of first? And, when they share the article with their email list or on social media, you gain a bit of access to their followers.
Stories Sell. People love personal stories, especially success stories. Guy Raz has a whole podcast series, How I Built This, interviewing business owners. Many other podcasts also feature business owners. The stories that often remain untold are the ones of the small, local business owners, new and established. What inspired them, where have they struggled, and what do they love best about their business and your community? You can be the one to bring these stories out!
So, now that you are excited to write your first interview article, what’s next?
Ideas for Choosing Interviewees
Selecting the right person to interview is critical to a great story. Here are some ideas.
- Business owners have great stories to tell and tips to share. The type of business owner best to reach out to will depend on your client base. Are you a travel writer? You could interview a hotel owner, fishing guide, or tour company owner for additional insights into a location. Do you work with small businesses? Find owners in similar areas who have experienced success or have a unique business model.
- Clients or customers who have experienced success or had a positive experience. There is no better way to promote your business than to put a customer in the shoes of someone who has experienced what you have to offer.
- Referral partners. Do you refer customers to other companies that complement your offers? Share additional resources by interviewing these service providers.
How to Prepare for the Interview
- Offer options for the interview: It can be by phone call, video call, or in-person. I like to start by emailing questions first and then following up with questions or for additional details. Seek a balance between what is convenient for you and how they prefer to communicate.
- Do some research first. For example, look at your interviewee’s website and social media pages to understand of their offerings and background story. Don’t ask questions that can be answered by reading the website! Instead, demonstrate that you did your homework and use that information to ask more in-depth meaningful questions. You can also discover some interesting angles to the story with your prep work.
- Prepare a list of questions and put them in the order you will ask them. Use a logical progression building from basic, straightforward questions to ones that may be more contemplative, thought-provoking, and personal. Do this by asking for personal opinions, tips, or open-ended questions like “Tell me about a time….”. Short questions are best, and avoid asking multiple questions at a time.
- Tell the source you are taking notes or recording the conversation. If you sense a reluctance to record the interview, take notes instead. You can do it!
Interview Tips
Start on time and end on time. If you promised a 30-minute interview, watch the clock and end on time. Ask for another date if you don’t feel you have enough for your article. Explain how you will follow up if you have clarifying questions.
Interview as if you are having a conversation. Relax. Be informal. A helpful way to start is by asking questions about the person, especially if your source has never interviewed for a story. They may be nervous. Questions about the person don’t have wrong answers and tend to relax your source. And sometimes, these tidbits are great introductions to an interesting part of the story. Ask things like:
- Where are you from?
- Where did you go to school?
- How did you land in this area?
- Tell me about your family, your children, and your grandkids.
Let your prepared questions guide the interview, but don’t be afraid to take a new direction based on an unexpected answer. Follow the flow and have fun.
Demonstrate you are listening by reviewing their key points or connecting the dots. “You mentioned, ….. can you tell me more about that?” If they share something vulnerable, acknowledge their emotions before moving on. “That sounds like it was hard for you.”
Most sources like to see their story in print and their statements in quotes. Plus, quotes make your article come alive with emotion. Be sure to quote the person exactly as they stated. Exceptions include fixing incorrect grammar or simple word replacements for readability.
Listen for out-of-the-ordinary or unexpected comments. If someone answers with a laugh, note that, too! It will probably make a good quote! A good story always has a surprise that no one is expecting.
Be honest if you don’t know something. You are asking questions to learn, so don’t pretend you know something when you don’t. “Could you clarify something for me?” “I’m not familiar with that term. Can you explain it to me?”
Engage, but don’t overshare. Remember that a good interview is like a conversation, so it is okay to relate to stories or mention a few commonalities. Continually bringing it back to you or sharing a detailed story could derail the interview. Save that for a future coffee or drink meet-up!
Close the interview by asking if there is anything else the source wants to tell you or wants you to know. Sometimes the best quotes come from the closing comments. Tell your source where and when they can expect to see the story published. And, of course, thank them for the fantastic interview!
Ready to Write? Tips for Writing the Article
- Start writing with the end in mind. What is the key message you want your readers to take away? Focus your story here.
- Pick two or three main points you want the audience to learn. More than that can be overwhelming.
- Include everything in your first draft. Based on word count or how long you want the article to be, you can scale back the story by removing things beyond the key messages or where you provided too much detail.
- Edit. Use a spell checker or two on your finished article. Run it through a grammar check too. It’s always a good idea to have someone else read it for feedback and to check for errors.
- Watch your tense. Stick with past or present tense, but don’t mix. Go with He said or He says.
- Keep it simple. If there is a term you don’t understand, likely the general audience won’t understand it either. So, replace it or explain it.
- Fact-check your story. Be prepared to fact-check information from your sources. People will relay a story in the way that it occurred for them, sometimes remembering something stated as a fact that might not be a fact.
- Add in those quotes. Remember that quotes should be the exact wording, so only use the best ones. Limit each quote to a line or two and use them to capture an emotion or make a point stronger.
- And most of all, have fun and be positive. It’s rewarding to be the one to tell someone else’s story.
Want to Include Photos?
For sure! Photos are a great way to make your story come alive. Photos can entice your reader to break up the text so it is easier to read! Of course, a professional photographer is almost always the best choice, but cost and timing may suggest you take the photos. Here are a few tips for taking pictures from the photo editors of Cat-Tales Magazine at St. James Plantation.
- Make sure your subject is in focus.
- Use the Rule of Thirds and place your main subject slightly off-center.
- Keep the horizon straight.
- De-clutter the background. Make sure you don’t have poles, signs, or plants coming from people’s heads.
- Watch for shadows on people’s faces. Move people to a shady spot. If it’s sunny, people should face the sun. Ask people to take off hats and remove sunglasses.
- If there’s a group, line them up with shorter folks in front but don’t align faces at the same level. Separate those with the same color of clothes and put the brightest colors near the center.
- Take several pictures. People blink and move! And the camera shakes!
Ready to schedule your first interview? I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Originally published in growthcapacityservices.net
Gail Sawchuk is a writer, business owner, and freelancer who seeks out beauty and self-improvement. Her goal is to support owners and other writers in creating flourishing businesses and lives.
