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About the Interview Format

Lesson 7 from: Podcasting for Crafters and Makers

Tara Swiger

About the Interview Format

Lesson 7 from: Podcasting for Crafters and Makers

Tara Swiger

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Lesson Info

7. About the Interview Format

Lesson Info

About the Interview Format

So in interview show, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about what it is, and we'll listen to a sample, and then we'll talk about pros and cons. So an interview show is you talking to another person, usually an expert, and usually a different person each week. So you invite different experts on, and you chat with them about what they're an expert in, or what your audience is gonna be interested in. Now, where I see a lot of people get this wrong, is they talk to people they're interested in talking to, but not in people who are gonna serve their audience. So we're gonna talk about your ideal audience, and how you make a show for them. What I really want you to think through, is this person gonna be of interest to the people I'm serving, who are the people who are your buyers. So here is an example from a podcast I love, called Elise Gets Crafty. In this, this is her image to give you an idea of the different logos you can make, this is a craft desk with her name. In it, she's gonna be ta...

lking to John and Sherry from Young House Love, they have a podcast, and what I want you to listen for, why I picked this clip, is because it's not your typical super, highly, well what's your opinion, my opinion is this, like very, very edited. It's casual, it's conversational, they're both just talking, and then she didn't edit out all of their ums and whatevers. So it's not overly produced. So let's listen to the clip. I would love to talk about the podcast, and you guys actually did a special episode where you shared a bit more behind the scenes of how it came about. But you wanna give us a Cliffnotes, I guess. Sure. Of why you decided to start a podcast? Well, we both started listening to podcasts as fans of podcasts, actually in that time we were taking off, it was sort of a hobby we both picked up. And so it was always this idea in the back of our brains. Okay, so that was just her talking, asking a question, it wasn't a super formal question, and then he just bounced off that. And if you listen to that whole episode, they go back and forth just commenting on what the other person said. So, a lot of interview shows, they go into it with some planned questions, but then the best shows turn into a conversation. And this really works, because your audience wants to know what your conversations with your friends are like, so if you can bring on people that your audience is also interested in, maybe someone else who does what you you do, or someone who's coming from a different perspective, and then just talk like you would if you just got coffee together, it's gonna be super interesting to your listener, because they feel like they're seeing behind the scenes. If you make it really formal, and really like ask the same questions every time, it's not gonna be that interesting. I used to listen to a couple shows like that, where they would ask the same maybe ten questions of everybody, and it just got, there was no energy, there was no back and forth, it wasn't as much fun to listen to, you didn't feel like you were hearing anything speacial. So there's some pros and cons to the interview show. One of the big pros that I like, is you don't have to come up with new content each week. You're actually relying on the person you're interviewing to come with their content, which is awesome. You don't have to be clever, you can just ask them questions and let them talk. It's also gonna help you make connections and build relationships within your industry. So if you are just breaking into a new industry, or you want to build relationships with people who are gatekeepers of something, maybe you want to have a booth at a specific trade show, so you wanna talk to a lot of other people who have vended at that trade show, or make the decisions about that trade show, you can invite them on your interview show, get to know them, and build relationships in that way. It's a great way of connecting with people you wanna connect with by offering value to them. So by having them on your show, you're putting them in front of an audience, you're introducing them to new people, they will feel super flattered, and it's a way of just building connections and just real relationships based on you giving them value. Now the other things about this is that you're gonna reach your guest's audience. So when you have somebody on your show, they're very likely gonna share it with their audience. So a lot of people pick an interview show because it's a fast way to grow a bigger audience, but there are some cons to it. So one is scheduling. You have to work with the other person's schedule. I hate scheduling anything. It's very annoying, going back and forth, so I've actually included a little piece of software that I use called Calendly, it's linked up in the resource guide, that you can use for scheduling. So what it lets you do is you put your open times, and then they click a button to pick within your open times. And it syncs with your Google calendar, your Apple calendar, so it knows you're already busy doing something else. But even if you have that, people still go back and forth with you, and it can just take forever. If you love to do that kind of thing, it might be for you. I'm not a fan. Also, the con is if you're an introvert, and the whole reason you want to do a podcast is so you can be alone in your studio, you're gonna be on the phone talking to people. And if you're going to batch your interviews so you're not always scrambling to get them done, you might have days where you're on the phone all day. And if talking to people wears you out, it's gonna wear you out. So the other thing is that there's just a lot of interview shows already. Because this is a fast way to build your audience, guests that are highly in demand, like New York Times bestselling authors, or rock stars in their industry, whatever the industry is, there's always these people who are like rock stars in it. They get interview requests all the time, and it's not gonna be special. You're actually not gonna be adding value, or building that relationship with them if you're just another person who asked them for an interview. And because there's so many interview shows, it doesn't make you stand out in the same way. There's some industries where there are no interview shows at all, or just very few. So there are just a lot of different pockets, where if you talk to the rock stars, they're not being highlighted on any other podcasts. One way you can see this, if this is true of your industry or not, is to do a search. So go to iTunes and search for the names of people who are the rock stars you'd like to hear an interview with. So in the essential oil world, you could look at the people who have huge audiences, who have hit their huge goals, and then you can search to see is anybody interviewing them? Now they might not be because they might be recluses who never give interviews, or they just might not meet anybody doing it. So that's one way to see. Now if you wanna talk to Brené Brown, or any New York Times best selling author, and you search iTunes for that person's name, you're gonna see they've been on a hundred podcasts, they're likely to say no to your new podcast. Don't be frustrated when that happens, that's one of the downsides of an interview show.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Podcasting for Business Workbook

Bonus Materials

Podcasting Resource Guide

Ratings and Reviews

Tess
 

I design embroidery patterns and I love podcasts but I wasn't sure what I would talk about in my own podcast without being able to show pictures. After watching this course I already have 20+ ideas for podcast topics, plus I now know how to get a podcast up and running, step-by-step, AND how it fits with my business goals. Tara Swiger is an excellent teacher and coach. I filled page after page with notes!

Rhonda M.
 

Excellent, practical information.

Dawn Craig
 

Student Work

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