Podcast Protocol: How To Interview Someone For A Real Estate Podcast
The popularity of podcasts has grown significantly in the last couple of years. More and more real estate agents, investors and property managers are getting into podcasting as a new way to reach and educate their audience.
What used to be a niche industry has now become one of the worlds favorite forms of entertainment.
Now, there are more than 73 million podcast listeners in the US alone. With so many people listening, more and more new podcasts are cropping up every day to meet the demand.
If youre a podcaster, this means that your competition is tougher than ever. Thats why you need to up your game and put out high-quality interviews that your listeners will love.
In this post, well tell you everything you need to know. Read on to find out how to interview someone for a podcast.
Is It A Conversation Youd Eavesdrop Into
End of the day, a good podcast interview is one that you will want to sneak into and listen to even when you are not invited to listen. In short, the questions are such that the answers are worth listening to. They either teach, inspire or help you get unstuck.
Hope you found these questions and the techniques helpful. Go ahead and give them a try. If you are more interested in the art of podcasting and interviewing, sign up for Free Your Voice, my free 4-week podcasting course.
Act Now
Leave a comment and share one thing you learnt from this article. What is one question you came up with, if you have? If you think you have a question I must consider for another post on this series, leave that question in the comments below.
Lil personal note: I share more tips, strategies, training, and more with our ever-growing community. If youd like to *not* miss out, do signup to my newsletter wherever you see email signup on this website. I hope youll join us. Be well.
Listen To Other Podcasts
Final tip, listen to other interview podcasts you love with a more critical ear. What kinds of questions are they asking? How are they interacting with the guests? Find interview styles you like and incorporate them into your interviews. If youre looking for inspiration, listen to Fresh Air with Terry Gross, who is considered among the very best.
Interviewing people is a skill that can be developed. The more you practice, the better youll get, and the more youll enjoy the time with your guest.
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When Youre Starting Out
When you start out, you wonât have a past list of interviewees, but you could do a couple of quick podcast shows so that prospective interviewees can go and hear what youâre all about, and how you handle yourself.
Itâs always a good idea to do an introduction podcast show explaining what your podcast is about, your bio, people you intend to interview, and how to subscribe to your podcast.
Should I Send The Podcast Interview Questions In Advance
I’d argue that, almost always, it’s a good idea to send the questions to your interviewee in advance. It can help to settle nerves, and often produces better answers.
This is particularly important if you plan to include a few of the super questions’ below, which can sometimes catch people off guard.
It’s easy to think: Well, I’d quite like an unrehearsed answer, but, as you’d imagine, unrehearsed tends to be a bit hit and miss. It depends a lot on how quick and agile the interviewee is feeling that particular day. You’ll find, though, that a lot of experienced interviewees.
If you do include a few of the same super’ or topic related questions each time, then you can even automate this to make your life easy. You can see here how I use Book like a Boss to send preparation and reminder emails that do just that.
Recommended Reading: How To Ask For A Job Interview
Dont Steal The Spotlight
There are few things as frustrating as a host that wont stop talking about themselves. Stealing the spotlight from your guest is the easiest way to scare off both your listeners and your potential guests.
Feel free to add in any relevant experiences or opinions of yours, yet dont forget that your guest is the star of todays interview, so make them feel like one.
Core Interview Questions Around The Topic
- Tell me About Your Topic?
- Why is it so important?
- What are the common myths?
The classic introduction to the topic and the conversation on the whole. You can start by asking for their elevator pitch, which they probably have down to a tee. Or, you can go the extra mile in preparation, and make sure you get something really unique. We’ve written on how to prepare for an interview here.
The common myths part is also good because people like to debunk any false negativity around things they’re passionate about. Give them that opportunity and they’ll feel good and start to enjoy themselves.
So, you’re a Vegan Baking Specialist isn’t it really hard to bake without eggs?
Not at all! There are a number of alternatives you can use, from mashed banana to flax seeds. And not only do they bind the mix really well, but I often find that
Engage them. Push their buttons.
Another way of doing so is by asking a seemingly-negative question Why Do People Fail?
What’s the most common reason for people failing or giving up? Why do writers put their pens down and walk away?
Uh well, obviously, it’s a very competitive market. I think a lot of the time they give up because they’re not getting their work reviewed by the right people. They might have been doing it for two years, but have no real idea of how far they’ve come, or even if they’ve improved at all!
Let Alitu Take Care of Your Podcast Editing
Slightly less antagonistic is this conciliatory cutey
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Respond To Your Guest
Most people hear rather than actually listen, more focused on giving a reply that suits themselves instead of the person they are speaking with. This is the number one thing to avoid when interviewing someone for a podcast. Rather than sticking to your pre-planned question list, you should respond to your guests answers, like a natural conversation. Any unnatural attempts to steer a reply a certain way will come across as awkward when you are listening back to the audio.
Interview Your Podcast Guests Remotely
How to record guests remotely is one of the most common questions new podcasters and audio producers ask. You will rarely have the budget or the time to report a story or episode exactly the way you want. There is little chance of flying around to interview all your sources, to ensure consistent, high-quality sound. Fortunately, technology has provided us with several approaches to remote recording. You can still record high-quality audio without being there with your guest.
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What Can You Bring To The Table
Make your pitch ideas relevant to what the podcast is about, without repeating what other guests have already said. What knowledge can you specifically bring? What do you have special insight on that other people might not have? Your goal is to show you have something to add to the conversation.
Feel free to think a bit outside the box. As long as you can bring a relevant angle, you can pitch to podcasts that might not be obviously connected to your expertise. For example, say you want to talk about fashion. You could pitch to a TV and film podcast, suggesting an episode about the styles of all the characters in your favourite show.
Be In A Good Location: Podcast Guest Tip #3
This is the final basic pre-flight check. WHERE you record.
Rule #1, for the love of all the microphone gods, do not record in a public place. Background noise is the worst, and YES, that coffee grinder in the background at Starbucks is ruining your interview.
Even quieter sounds, like passing cars, or clinking plates, come across much louder in a recording that it does to your ears.
Next, choose the softest room you can. A glass-walled, tile-floored office is about as bad as it gets for reverb and echo. Look for carpets, sofas and curtains. Any room with a bit of cosiness. This is why people genuinely record inside their wardrobe, or under a duvet.
In an ideal world, youll have a regular spot, which is always set up, and which is treated in at least a basic way. For example, your home office, with some sound tiles stuck up on either side of your desk.
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Best Podcast Interview Questions Submitted
To make this list usable, I suggest you write them down and reflect how this might be usable in your show. Next, write down the possible paths it could lead you to, with your kind of guests.
Remember, not all of these are suitable for every kind of show. Please make sure you only pick the ones that your listeners will want to ask your guests.
To make it a little easier on your eyes, let me split the list into two parts.
Podcast Interview Questions Part 1
Titanium Blonde Podcast.
Podcast Interview Questions Part 2
Ideas For Your Episode
Again, the key here is to be specific. Give two or three bullet points of talking points that you could go into depth for. Think about what you are uniquely positioned to give information on, and think about what their audience would want to hear. Give the episode title, or even a few example questions that you could answer on the podcast, e.g:
I believe there is a gap in the conversation where we dont consider representation of disabled people. I have a few ideas of what I could talk about on your podcast to help fix this. I could make an episode on any of these, or any other ideas you have that your audience would find interesting.
- How to Make Hiring More Inclusive for Disabled People
- How Disability and Racism Intersects
- How to Adapt Your Workplace to be Disability Friendly
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Listen To The Podcast Episodes
Whether the podcast is brand new to you or you have listened to it before I suggest taking a notepad and carefully listening to at least three episodes. Note down the format, and break it into smaller pieces. Pay attention to details like the length of each episode. These tips for podcast guests may demand a bit of your time, but they will let you deliver concise and useful answers at the time of your interview.
Take a note of the kind of questions and answers on the show- are they explanatory or opinion seeking. Is there any segment or questions that are repeated for every guest? You will understand what kind of answers you need to prepare.
Focusing On What They Can Do For You
Youre trying to be persuasive here. So youve got to show that you can offer something that their audience will find useful and interesting. Going on about how you would benefit from being on their podcast isnt going to convince them that youre worth their time. Instead, focus on how they can benefit from you.
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Ask The Interviewer A Question Or Two: Podcast Guest Tip #12
Let’s finish up with how you treat an interview. By which I mean, don’t treat it like an interview. Instead, remember it’s a conversation! So, keep your replies brief, and ask some questions of your own.
Questions make you more interesting, more dynamic, and they make your content better because you can take much more guidance from the host of the show.
For example, instead of diving right through 15 minutes of how to record and edit a podcast, I could ask: Do you think your listeners would be interested in a few tips on how to make podcast editing quicker?
Imagine the difference when she responds: Do you know what, our listeners are mostly small businesses, so I think they’d be outsourcing that. Do you have any tips on working with a podcast producer instead?
You then get to give the listener the content they’re really interested in, instead of just assuming.
The final benefit here is that you show you’re a human! You’re actually engaging with the host of the show, this person that the listener has grown to like over time. And what happens then? They like YOU more too!
Start Up Tips And Techniques
Just remember there is no âright or wrongâ, itâs your podcast show, and you can run it any way you like. Although, there are some commonly held beliefs amongst many podcasters you should seriously consider. They include:
- Get transcriptions of your interviews, whether you publish it on your blog or website immediately or keep them for publishing later.
- Keep interviews 30 to 60 minutes if possible.
- Get your interviewee to âsign-offâ on the show before you publish it.
- Send out your proposed âquestionsâ before the show, some podcasters do, and many donât.
- Always ask the interviewees what they would like to draw attention to in the interview. This way youâll be sure to cover it .
If you think the Skype connection will not be good, ask the other person being interviewed if they would be willing to also record the show, then have them save it as a media file, and send it to your âDropboxâ for you to download and edit into your interview recording. This will ensure a good recording overall.
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Choosing Great Podcast Guests
Great podcast guests can speak to a specific question or topic your audience is interested in and have their own niche audiences that they can promote your podcast to. The ideal guest hits both of these and is excited about the opportunity to promote your interview/conversation.
This does not mean that the best guest is the one with the biggest profile. High-profile guests have high opportunity cost, take months to book , and often are too busy or too saturated to promote your podcast widely. Its better for you to get these people to feature you down the road rather than focus on landing them now.
Instead, you want to start with guests with high believability and small, but devoted, niche audiences, and grow from there. As you feature these guests and they promote your interviews to their own audiences, you can use the increased listenership to pitch higher profile guests.
How To Invite Someone To An Interview On Your Podcast
7 min read
May 19, 2020
One of the best ways to create valuable content for your listeners is to invite influential and insightful guests on to your show. The right influencer can impress your podcast community, give your podcast a powerful boost, and make you some money. But podcasts guests wont volunteer on their own, which is why its important to know how to invite someone to an interview.
Fortunately, its easy to get in touch with anyone these days. Getting their attention and convincing them to join you on an episode is a bit harder, however.
Whether your potential guest is someone from your existing network, someone you just met , a friend-of-a-friend, or a cold target, youll have to email them a pitch.
Also Check: How To Succeed In A Phone Interview
Write A Compelling Pitch
After your subject line, the next step to invite someone to an interview is to write a smart pitch.
Some influential people get dozens of pitches to appear on podcasts every day. Your pitch has to be unique and exciting if you expect to get their attention. This is especially true for big-name personalities who can add a lot of value to your podcast.
Whatever you do, dont send the same generalized pitch to every potential guest. Theyll will notice and theyll feel like they arent worth your time.
Heres an example of a boring, uninteresting pitch:
Heres one thats more warm and personal, even though its a cold pitch.
We know you want to send out a lot of pitches in order to get a few bites , but its critical that you customize each message to your target. It seems like a lot of work, but fewer, well-written emails are more effective than a lot of template emails.
If you use a template for your pitch, make sure to customize it thoroughly for each potential guest.
Keep your pitch brief. You might be tempted to pack as much information in your email as possible to make your case, but thats rarely helpful. Keep your message to these facts:
- Who you are
- Why youre contacting them
- What you can offer
