How To Write An Interview Blog Post? [Template Included]

How about driving a ton of traffic to your blog. Expand your network and rub shoulders with the influencers in your niche. The shortest and fastest way is by publishing an interview blog post.

I know what you are thinking! It is intimidating to approach the influencers for an interview. How do I reach out to them and ask for an interview? What should be the criteria for choosing the interviewees?

Don’t worry you will get the answers to all your questions. We will provide you with an interview blog post template in this post. Use the template to create amazing interview blog posts for your blog.

Read: How To Start A Blog?

Here are the topics that we cover in this post:

Interview blog posts are the easiest way to create unlimited content. The trick is to ask the right questions. Before we talk about how to conduct a blog interview. Let’s first discuss what an interview blog post is?

An interview blog post is a post that interviews an influencer. Unlike regular video and audio-based interviews. The writer publishes the interview in text format on his blog.

It is the best way for a beginner to dip their feet in conducting an interview. As it is not conducted face-to-face. You have to compile the question and send it over to the influencer.

Format the replies your receive back in the form of a blog post. Add images and hit the publish button. It is the fastest way to create content as the interviewee provides most of the content.

There are a ton of benefits to creating an interview blog post. We have listed a few of them here for you.

• Insights from the leaders in your industry
• More traffic to your blog
• Boosts Blog’s Authority
• Diversifies your content mix
• Easy to create than video or audio-based interview
• Interviews are timeless, evergreen content
• Network with influential people in your niche.
• Increases your credibility within your audience

Here are the steps to find influencers for your interview blog post:

• A simple Google search will help you find influencers in your niche. Enter “Your Niche” + “blog” in the Google search box. Use the MozBar browser extension to check the authority of the blog.

• Google the topics related to your blog. It will uncover potential influencers in that specific topic. Use blogger outreach tools like BuzzStream. They provide you with an influencer database along with the stats.
• Brainstorm the influencer in your niche. Make a list of all your potential candidates. Jotting down their names without applying any sort of filter.
• Expand your search using social media. The popular platforms are Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can search for interviewees using your niche keyword, hashtags and usernames.
• The influencers active on social media are your best bet. They are more likely to share your interview blog post featuring them.
• If you find topics in your niche that intimidate you. Find out somebody in your niche who is doing a good job of it and interview them. This will make the interview post a great learning experience for you.
• You can ask your audience who they want you to interview on your blog. Blast an email to your list or run a survey on your blog.
• Ask for suggestions from close connections. Your friends, family and colleagues. Get as many potential candidates on your list.
• Create a spreadsheet containing the influencer’s name and other vital stats. The stats include social media followers, email subscribers, YouTube subscribers, and Estimated site traffic.
• Sort out the list, with the most popular being at the top. Start contacting them in this order. What should be your approach to asking them for an interview?

Approaching an influencer for a blog interview can be quite intimidating. You don’t know how to contact them or what to say. Without you embarrassing yourself or the influencer.

It’s the hardest step and the only reason people avoid creating a blog interview. Don’t worry, I am here to help you out

The steps to follow while asking for a blog interview are :

Step 1 – Follow the influencer on social media. Get in touch using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Make interesting and useful comments on their posts. Share their content and mention them on your blog.

The idea is to make a connection before asking for an interview. Without this, your interviewee will have no idea who you are. Why are you asking for an interview?

Step 2 – Send a short email to the influencer. The email should cover the following points:

• Introduce yourself to the influencer. Start with your name and what you do. Provide them with a link to your blog.
• Mention how you know them. How do you find their content inspiring and useful? And why you are contacting them.
• Provide more information about the interview. The format of the interview. The number of questions you will ask and the topic.
• Let them choose the format to answer your interview questions. E.g, you can ask them to record the replies or send them in a text format.

Once you get a green signal. Fold your sleeves and start researching your subject. Dig out their professional history. Find out more about their background. This information will help you in coming up with the interview questions

Let’s figure out how to interview our subject.

The success of an interview blog post depends on the quality of the questions. Figure out the question you would like to ask your interviewee.

To come up with quality questions, research your subject. Believe me! It will help you uncover some of the best and most interesting questions.

Find out their interests and hobbies. What your audience can gain from the interview.

Take notes while researching the interviewee. These notes will help you come up with interview questions. Check out the influencers’ latest blog posts, podcasts or Youtube videos.

After you complete your research. Start brainstorming interview questions. Come up with as many questions as you can. Do not filter anything at this stage. Create a huge list of questions.

In the next step, strike out the irrelevant question. Remove or rephrase the repetitive, uninteresting and too personal questions. Narrow down your list to 10 to 15 questions.

Focus on questions that benefit your readers. Benefit-driven questions make your interview persuasive.

Sample Interview Blog Post Questions:

• How do you provide value to your target audience? [Benefit-driven question]
• What are the top questions your target audience asks? [Value-driven Question]
• What does a typical day of your life look like? [Emotional Bonding]
• The best-kept secret tips on [niche]? [Curiosity-driven Question]
• Some of the problems/pitfalls you faced? What kept you going? [Benefit-driven / Emotional Connection]
• Where do you see [niche] in the next 3 to 5 years [Trends and Predictions]
• What is your opinion on [news, event, trend, article, blog post]? [Opinion]
• Would you like to recommend [books, websites, coaching programs]? Why? [Recommendation]

Arrange your question into an interview question template. Send these questions to the influencer. Provide extra information. E.g your target audience, their age group and their expectations from the interview.

Start writing the blog post after receiving back the questions with responses. It will form the body of your interview blog post.

The major part of the blog post is already written for you. Add the following:

• A Great Headline – The headline should compel the readers to click through and read your blog post. If you are interviewing a popular figure. Include their name in the headline. Check out our post on how to create a catchy blog post title.
• Compelling Blog Post Introduction – Hook your readers with a great introduction. Start with a controversial statement or benefit of reading the blog post. For more guidance read the post on how to write a blog post introduction
• Blog Post Conclusion – End the post with key takeaways from the blog interview. Prompt your users to take action with a CTA (Call To Action). If you want to come up with a great conclusion check out the post on how to write a good blog post conclusion.
• Images and Formatting – Spice up your interview post with images. Good images grab the reader’s attention and keep them on your post. Formatting improves the readability of your post.

After you finish writing and publishing your post. Send the interview blog post link to the influencer. Tag him in your social media posts. Tagging them makes it easy for them to share your article on their social media page.

Read: How To Start Blog Writing For Beginners?

Break the interview into questions and answers. Group-related questions under a common section header. Give a short introduction to the person you are interviewing. Link to their business or profile

End the interview blog post template with a few key takeaways.
Do not worry about SEO. Name and business name are the natural keywords. Come up with at least 10-15 questions. More questions will turn off the interviewee.

Title or Headline

Headline Formulas for An Interview blog post:

• An Interview with [Name] of [Business Name]
• How [Name] [Goal] using [Method]
• How [Name] [Improvement in %] by [Method]

Spend time optimizing your blog post title. A powerful and interesting title compels the reader to click and read your blog post.

Subtitle

Include a subtitle along with the name and business name of the interviewee. It acts as a teaser for the readers and improves SEO. Use your keywords along with their name and business name. You can add 2-3 sentences if you need to explain the topic.

Powerful Introduction

Start with a powerful introduction to hook the readers. Give background info and social proof by linking to their profile or business.

Explain in brief the benefits of reading the interview. Don’t give away all the information.

Interview Questions and Answers

This is the main body of the blog post. Here you will ask the question and provide the answers

1. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
2. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
3. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
4. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
5. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
6. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
7. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
8. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
9. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response
10. Question [Bold]
Answer: Guest Response

Conclusion

You should end the blog post with a final statement. The final verdict depends upon the type of blog post-interview. Prompt them to action with a CTA (Call To Action). You can ask them to comment, share or buy a product.

Read: How To Create a Blog Post Outline?

Interviewing influencers on your blog can do wonders for your site traffic. You will get a ton of new readers for your blog. Moreover, it gives variety to your blog content mix.

Pick up the influencer in your blog niche. Create a list of the influencers along with their web stats. Stats like subscribers, traffic, views etc. Sort the list in descending order of the stats. The highest stat influencers at the top.

Start contacting the influencer from the top of the list. Send them a short email asking for an interview. Once you get the green signal, research your interviewee. Frame an interesting question and send it over to them.

Write the interview blog post upon receipt of answers to your questions. Publish and send the link to your interview and tag them in your social media posts.

Don’t forget to send a link to your interview blog post to me

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