The Interview: Being Allowed to Have a Seat at the Table

My husband used to say that when Larry King interviewed guests, he would rhyme off the questions, not waiting for the responses.  However, blogger Wendy Thomas says that:  "Some of my best interviews have happened not because of asking but because of listening." (https://nhwn.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/tips-for-writing-a-feature-or-inteview-article/).

Wendy Thomas compares an interview to "being allowed to have a seat at the table".  Pull up a chair and listen. Yes, it's important to have a list of questions ready and waiting.  It's important to research your subject and to be aware of what's already been written on the topic.  But remember to be flexible. Sometimes the best material comes from an unasked question.

Freelance writing expert Allena Tapia recommends that you let the interviewee's words, ideas and actions set the agenda.  Zero in on ideas that are mentioned twice or with great passion.  Wait for what she calls the "bottom line" quote from the interviewee and highlight it.  Use the bottom line quote as the centre of your article, making your other facts, quotes and information lead back to that quote.  For Allena's full article, visit
http://freelancewrite.about.com/od/mechanicsofwriting/ht/WriteInterview.htm.

Allena suggests finding three to five broad subjects within the interview.  Then re-read your original assignment from your editor.  did he or she ask for a certain slant on the subject's childhood?  Does the interview promote a certain service?  Is there something remarkable about the interviewee's story? Compare your research to the editor's original wishes.

Refine your original broad subjects and use them as subheadings for your article.  Pull your best quotes and examples from your interview, and put them under the appropriate subheadings.
Introduce your subject, the history of the topic and your research.  Mention why each idea is important.

Focus now on the introduction which should reflect the article and frame the interviewee.  I like to include a central quote in my introduction as a foretaste of what is to come.  Turn now to your conclusion which should refer back to the introduction, making the article come full circle.  You may also refer to the subject's future plans here.

With your first draft complete, double check your spelling of names.  Double check your dates.  Reread your quotes.  Go on to a second draft (and third if necessary), editing what you have written.  Finally, submit your article to the editor.

Note:  Here is my feature interview article "Joel & Hayley Hensen:  Bringing Christ to the Congo" which appeared in the Feb. 10, 2014 edition of the Christian Courier at http://www.christiancourier.ca/images/uploads/past-issues/14Feb10.pdf.

http://thewritepractice.com/resources/interviewing/

Ten Tips to Writing Irresistibly Clickable Blog Headlines

"In a world full of noise, how do you get people to actually read what you write?" (Jeff Goins)

According to blogger Jeff Goins, the headline is the most neglected part of a blog post (http://goinswriter.com/catchy-headlines/).  The headline introduces the post and should therefore grab the reader's interest, make the reader want to read more.  According to copyblogger, while 8 out of 10 people read the headline, only 2 out of 10 people read the body of the post (http://www.copyblogger.com/magnetic-headlines/).

Here are ten tips to writing irresistibly clickable headlines that will grab the interest of your readers:

1.  Include a number in your headline.  

As Jeff Goins points out, if you stand in line at the grocery store, notice how many magazines have numbers in their headlines.  See https://blog.bufferapp.com/headline-strategies-psychology.

2.  Include interesting adjectives in your headline.

Use adjectives like effortless, painstaking, free, incredible, absolute, strange to pique the interest of your readers.  Visit http://www.blogussion.com/favorites/45-better-blog-headlines/ for examples.

3.  Answer the questions what, why, when or how.

Give your readers an idea of what the blog post or article is about.  Again, make them want to read more.

4.  Make an audacious promise.

Promise to unlock an ancient mystery like the makers of the Cadbury commercial did (How do they get the caramel in the caramilk bar?).  Get your readers to try something they've never tried before. As Jeff Goins says, "dare the reader to read your article".

5.  Use keywords for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Read my post about the importance of keywords at http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/02/keyword-search-is-key-to-blogging.html.  Other bloggers seem to agree that using keywords in blog headlines is a good idea.  However, don't overuse them, making your title awkward.  Ideally, according to Brain Clark of Copyblogger, if your headline is 10 words in length, use two keywords.

6.  Avoid symbols like &, @, # or < >.

These symbols are difficult for web browsers to translate which confuses readers.

7.  Let the passion in.

If your blog headline conveys passion, chances are that your post will too.  

8.  Keep the headline an ideal length.

According to Kevan Lee, the ideal length for a headline is six words https://blog.bufferapp.com/optimal-length-social-media.  However, according to Outbrain, the ideal length should be more than eight words, ideally 12 to 18 words.

9.  Be specific, not generic.  

10.  Here is Jeff Goin's formula for the perfect blog headline:

# or trigger word + adjective + keyword + promise

"How to Bath an Elephant" vs. "18 Unbelievable Ways You can Bath an Elephant Indoors"

"Sell your House in a Day" vs. "How You Can Effortlessly Sell Your Home in Less Than 24 Hours"

http://socialproofinteractive.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/clickable-headlines.jpg

The Survey Says...

"Feedback is one of the most important things your readers can give you." 

(http://www.blogtyrant.com/blog-survey/)

Are you thinking about making major changes to your blog?  Try conducting a blog survey first to see if your readers will appreciate the changes.  Blogger Kiersten Frase, who writes a vegetarian blog called "Oh My Veggies" (http://ohmyveggies.com/) considered adding a menu planning service to her blog.  She decided to conduct a reader survey first only to discover that most of her readers weren't interested in such a service.

According to Kiersten, here are some other reasons to conduct a blog reader survey:

-find out why your blog has experience a drop in traffic
-plan a redesign
-conduct an annual health check; are you on the right track?

Several sites offer blog survey services including Google, Wuffo (http://www.wufoo.com/guides/create-a-poll-with-instant-public-results/)  or SurveyMonkey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/).

When creating your blog survey questions, avoid leading questions like "Do I write too many history posts?"  Instead, say something like:

     I post five history posts per month.  Is that:

     a.  too many?

     b.  too few?

     c.  just right?

You can include multiple choice questions or open text or a mixture of both.  SurveyMonkey will help you with the wording of your questions if you visit http://help.surveymonkey.com/articles/en_US/kb/Writing-Survey-Questions-Tips-for-effective-and-relevant-questions.

Here are some of the questions that blogger Kiersten wanted answers for when she held her reader survey:

1.  Who are my readers?

2.  How did they find my blog?

3.  What did they like about it?

4.  What new features would they like to see?

5.  How long have they been reading my blog?

6.  How often do they visit my blog?

7.  How do they find out about new posts?

8.  How frequently would they like me to post?

Kiersten embedded her survey in her blog post.  She publicized the survey on Facebook and Twitter.  If you have a newsletter or other website, don't forget to advertise there as well.  Kiersten received 550 responses to her survey, including many from readers who had never commented on her blog before.  She warned bloggers not to offer a prize for completing their survey.  A fellow blogger made this mistake and spent a lot of time sifting through answers from readers who had never read her blog before, who just completed the survey for the prize.  

Kiersten included her survey results in a blog post.  SurveyMonkey created charts and graphs based on the survey's results.  Kiersten also had a blog designer create an infographic for her (see http://ohmyveggies.com/oh-veggies-reader-survey-results/).  Kiersten is publishing a vegetarian cookbook later this year.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/08/20/run-a-reader-survey-on-your-blog/