Expert Interviews – How To Get Top Experts to Talk With You

I often get asked for interviews by small business owners who want to put together a series of expert interviews and give the recordings away as a list builder. Offering an MP3 audio series of experts can be a compelling opt-in gift and help establish yourself as someone who knows the top people in your industry.

Well-known experts tend to be busy. You are asking them for their time and knowledge for free, so that you can give it away – and that’s a big ask. While the expert might get some extra visibility from your interview, often, if you are fairly new to business, your list is so small that the visibility is negligible.

So how do you tempt top experts to give you expert interviews?

• Put together a list of who you would REALLY like to interview, from top to bottom.
• Start with the top and work down, expecting a yes, not a no. 90% of attracting top people is your own mindset.
• Before you make the calls to ask, put together a “one sheet” with succinct, pertinent information about who you are, the audience this expert interview will be for, and how you intend to publicize the interview.
• Ask how you can help build publicity for any special launch (book, program, or event) that the expert might have coming up in the near future.
• Be flexible as to interview times and be willing to pre-record.
• Send a thank you gift after you’ve recorded the interview.
• Make sure you let the expert know when the interview is live and how to find it. Send her a courtesy copy of the MP3 to use however she wishes.
• Don’t make the mistake of asking the expert to publicize your expert interviews for you – they want to reach out to their prospects and customers for their own business, not for yours.

Script for the ask:

I want to interview you for my exclusive members (don’t mention the number but don’t lie if they ask). Many have been members for x years, and they are a highly targeted group. You would benefit from their knowing you because:

1.

2.

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I propose a 30 minute interview on (topic) which i know you are expert in, and the members will be very enthusiastic to hear you. We can record the interview at your convenience between this date and this date, and of course, I’ll make the MP3 available to you to use any way you wish. This MP3 will be in the permanent library of my site, all new members will have access to it. I’ll promote you on my site, you can take the last 5 minutes to make an offer (if that is appropriate for them).

Make it super-easy for the expert to say yes. Don’t ask for a full hour of their time (your listeners like shorter audios). After you have called the expert and gotten their yes, follow up with an email to reiterate everything. 

Follow these steps and you’ll find it much easier to get expert interviews. Want to know more about asking guests and affiliate marketing?  You can watch my video about it by clicking here.

Are you planning to record an expert interview series for your business? Follow the above steps and I’d be happy to speak with you about being a guest.