Uh-oh. You have to use an interview in your content. It might be for a blog post, a case study, or a video, but you’ve got to interview someone and you’re not sure how to go about it. How do you find a willing subject, for example? And do you stay in touch with them after the interview itself? What’s expected of you?

I’ve written about the basics of conducting an interview, but today’s topic is less about the interview itself, and more about the etiquette surrounding an interview, because it can be tricky. If you’ve never interviewed someone, you might have some questions about how you’re expected to interact with interview subjects before and after the interview.

Even if you have interviewed someone you might have questions, because what’s expected of a journalist or an academic writer isn’t necessarily expected of a business writing content for its site. The rules are just a little different when you’re interviewing someone for marketing purposes. So how do you handle an interview?

Here are nine tips that will help you get, conduct, and publish your interviews smoothly and professionally, even if you’ve never interviewed anyone for your business’s content before.

1. Be up front about why you need the interview.
2. Be gentle and persistent in scheduling an interview.
3. Send a few questions in advance.
4. Explain who you are and what you’re writing
5. Let them in on your process.
6. Follow up!
7. Remember that your interview is subject to approval
8. Always share the live interview with your subject
9. Be prepared for feedback.

1. Be up front about why you need the interview

There’s no two ways about it — it’s easier to find sources as a journalist. But if you’re a content marketer in need of an outside interview, you’re looking to use someone’s words in what is essentially a company’s advertising.

People who are unaffiliated with the company may balk at that, and for the most part, you will be unable to use resources like HARO (Help A Reporter Out) to find sources. (There are some exceptions to this if your content marketing takes the form of a publication.) However if you need them for your content, you can and should still ask outside sources for interviews. Just be up front and honest about why you need to talk to them. Sometimes being interviewed for marketing purposes will put a source off, but sometimes they will agree.

2. Be gentle and persistent in scheduling an interview

A person who is giving you an interview is doing you and your company a favor by taking time out of their day to talk to you. They may forget about it. This can be annoying, but don’t get offended, and don’t expect them to call you. Make sure you get their contact information, send a calendar invite, follow up with them the day before the call to remind them, and make the actual call. If you can, schedule more time than you need for the call because sometimes, interview subjects don’t pick up the phone. If this is what happens to you, just call and keep trying. Politely.

3. Send a few questions in advance

I like to use this method to both remind interview subjects that we’re going to be meeting and to focus their attention. Usually I keep an email with interview questions to about three questions and I explain that these are starter questions — the interview itself may deviate from them, but these questions are  the focus of the interview.

4. Explain who you are and what you’re writing

You might have emailed previously and confirmed. You may have sent questions the night before. It doesn’t matter. Always explain who you are, and what the aim of your interview is, to your prospects. Explain it in the introductory email or message. Explain it again during the first few moments of your interview. Busy people sometimes say yes to an interview and forget what it’s about. So make sure you explain, quickly and concisely, what you’re hoping to get from the interview and how it will be used.

5. Let them in on your process

If you’re recording the interview (and you should), let your subject know right at the beginning of the call! (In some states this is legally required.) At the end of the interview, quickly explain the next steps: when you think it will go live, for example, or if you’ll need to contact them for follow-up questions. I usually ask if I can email them with follow-ups even if I don’t think I’ll need to do so; you never know when you might need help.

6. Follow up!

There are lots of reasons you might want to follow up with an interview subject; one of their quotes from the actual interview might be unclear, you might have more questions, or the way you plan to use the interview might have changed. Or, if you’re editing the interview and substantially change a quote, you should definitely send the subject an email and ask them to approve the quote. (You’re using their words, so you don’t want to burn them.) Never be shy about following up and don’t feel like you’re bothering them. You’re not. In my experience, most interview subjects are happy to be asked about their quotes. It gives them some control over the interview. Which reminds me…

7. Remember that your interview is subject to approval 

People from marketing backgrounds don’t need this bullet point, but you content marketers from the journalism world do. I know, because I did. So, my fellow reporters-turned-content-writers, this is for you: you’re not doing any gotcha interviews for your company. Marketing is just that: marketing. Someone has to sign off on your drafts. I am not saying you have to be okay with all your edits. Sometimes a marketing colleague will attempt to change a direct quote, and then you should do two things. First, explain why you can’t just change a direct quote without talking to the interviewee. Then, go back to the source with the edits and get approval.

8. Always share the live interview with your subject

As soon as you become aware that an interview has gone live, shoot an email or a message with the link to the subject. I know you’re busy, but it doesn’t have to be much. Just a few lines: “The interview we did is live! Here’s the link.” or something similar. Usually this pays dividends because the subject will share the link on their social media.

9. Be prepared for feedback.

Most people respond well to their published interview, but what if the interviewee has complaints? In that case you should be prepared to either graciously make corrections (Maybe there’s a typo. It happens), refer big changes to an editor or manager for review if you don’t have that authority, or review the requested changes yourself. Maybe the interviewee’s complaints are valid. In that case, just make changes with an apology. Or maybe the interviewee’s complaints are not. In that case — if a subject is claiming they said things they definitely didn’t say — you have a recording of the call or emails of their approved quotes. Offer to share that documentation with them. If they continue to give you trouble, you might offer to take down the content you quoted them in. Usually people who have agreed to an interview don’t want that. If they still give you trouble, well. Take down the content. (This is all very rare in content marketing, but it’s best to be prepared, just in case.)

A quick word on killed interviews.

What if you do the interview and it’s never used?

This is tricky. Sometimes you do an interview and it just never goes live. Sometimes the content isn’t right for your marketing needs. Sometimes marketing plans change direction. If you’re just the writer, it’s often not your call — the interview is stuck in a manager’s content limbo, and there’s nothing you can do to liberate it. In that case, it’s best to let the subjects know when and if you find out.

Tell the subject that your content has taken a different direction and you’re holding onto it just in case you need it in the future.

Need more help?

Rather not do your own interviews? I’m a freelance content writer and, as I mentioned, a journalist. I’ve done a lot of interviews and I enjoy them.

 Get in touch today and let’s talk about your content needs.