I interviewed over 60 famous and fabulous people for The One Minute Commute. They ranged from individual contributors to best selling authors and luminaries in their fields. I’m not famous, I didn’t have a big-time publisher, and I didn’t know a single one of my interview subjects ahead of time, but my success rate for getting interviews was about 95 percent.
I’m going to show you what you can do to greatly improve your chances of landing an interview. There is a big incentive for someone to give you an interview. You’re offering them more publicity, a chance to be the expert, and some help for their career, and all they have to give you is an hour of their time. However, being interviewed is scary. They don’t know who you are, what you’ll write, or if they’ll look good in the end. They also don’t know if you’re just wasting their time.
Addressing those concerns and getting the interview of your dreams all comes down to who, how, and what.
Who to interview
The urge to interview household names is almost overwhelming. Selling your book, blog, or article would be so much easier if you interviewed Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, or even Britney Spears. The problem is that I didn’t really want to interview them. My book has a specific purpose —help people telecommute— and neither Bill, Warren, nor Britney are experts in that area.
Interview someone just for their fame factor and they’re going to realize it. Focus instead on the people who are experts in your field of interest. When I wanted to write about presenting remotely I talked to a presentation expert.
I’ve also had much better luck with people who are well known instead of famous. The simple fact is that I don’t have a lot to offer Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. One more piece of coverage isn’r really significant to them, but a small business owner on the rise could get a big boost from an interview.
Identifying the right people takes time, but putting in the research is well worth it. Figure out who you want to talk to, make a list, and then figure out how to contact them.
How to contact them
You can contact me via phone, email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, AIM, snail mail, or a blog comment and I’m a Luddite compared to many modern professionals. Your interview target probably has a cell phone, a blackberry, and a hundred other methods to reach them. Choosing the right one is a large part of your success.
Some people tell you the best way to contact them. Respect their wishes. It’s just polite. Otherwise the choice of how to contact them is up to you.
Telephone beats email and email beats everything else
I’ve had more success faster over the phone than anywhere else. Many companies list contact numbers on their websites, call them. The rate of SPAM phone calls is far lower than SPAM email. If you can’t call them then email works best, just make sure you don’t look like SPAM. I’ll talk a little more about that later.
I haven’t had much luck contacting people through Twitter or Facebook. Many services won’t let you send someone a message until you are already connected and most people don’t want to connect until they know you.
Never try to contact someone publicly. Don’t tweet that you want to interview Bill Gates or write a blog post about how Warren Buffet is too much of a chicken to talk with you. It won’t get you anywhere and makes you look confrontational and difficult to work with.
Gatekeepers help you
When you call the leader of a company you’ll probably get their assistant or another gatekeeper. Their job is to weed out the people who shouldn’t get to talk with their boss. Ironically, this process helps you get to your target.
Filtering is always good for you. Your target is more likely to talk with you and trust you after their gatekeeper says you’re OK. All you have to do is get past the filter.
Gatekeepers usually have one concern, if I let this person in will I get in trouble? Convince them their boss won’t be mad and you’re done. Start by making it very clear that you aren’t selling anything or trying to get their boss to commit to anything. Then show them that you can help their boss and won’t be difficult to work with.
What to say
Now that you know how to contact your target you have to figure out what to say. Let’s start with some general guidelines:
State your purpose clearly up front. I normally make the subject of an email “I would like to interview you for my new book.” Give them more details later, but don’t bury your lead.
Be amazingly polite. You’re interrupting the target’s work day to ask them to talk with you so be courteous about it.
Give them an easy way out. Some people won’t be available to interview with you or just won’t want to. Give your target an easy way to say no and they’re more likely to say yes.
Don’t look like SPAM. If you’re sending email do everything you can to not look like SPAM. Don’t include more than one URL and avoid words and phrases that commonly show up in unsolicited advertisements.
Be clear, not smart. Make it as easy as possible for someone to understand what you want to say. Trying to look smart just gets in the way.
Avoid even a hint of confrontation. Every target will turn you down if it looks like you’ll be a pain in the butt. They read this from little signs like your choice of words. You don’t want to talk to the target, you want to speak with them.
Give them a sample of what you’ve done. Always include a link to something you have written. Even if it is just a blog samples show the target that you’re for real.
Include your credentials. Every request for an interview should include phrases like I’ve written for… and I’m published by…
Talk about other people. I’m also talking to… for this project works really well too. It shows that someone else was willing to talk with you.
Don’t send out form letters. They look obvious and make the target think you don’t really care.
That’s the basics, but there are a few more advanced moves that have really helped me get connected with someone.
Give to get
Start your new relationship with a gift. If the target is a blogger then read the blog and leave a few comments. Skip I liked this post and engage with them instead. Find something they’ve written that speaks to you and respond.
Get smart
You want to interview the target because they have an area of expertise. Get smart about that area. If they make a product try it. If they’ve written a book read it. Show them that you understand what they do well enough to talk about it with them.
Build connections
If you don’t have anything in common with the target then make something. Get involved in their projects and meet the people who are important to them. Finding other people who know your name helps the target feel confident with you.
Get recommendations
I always end every interview by asking who else I should speak with. Most of the time your target knows experts in that subject and will recommend you.
Interviewing people for a book is a lot like interviewing them for a blog, asking them for a job, or making a sale. You build their trust and then offer them some valuable. What are your tips for getting to yes and making connections? Have you landed a big interview? How did you do it?