How To Conduct a Rockstar Podcast Interview From A to Z
The Fundamental Interview Checklist to Make Your Episodes Successful
The Fundamental Interview Checklist to Make Your Episodes Successful
☑ Prepare and use your interview template
☑ Mention past guests during the introduction
☑ Read your sponsorship message live
☑ Give credit during guest introductions
☑ Engage with your guest post-interview
☑ Actively follow-up
How To Conduct a Rockstar Podcast Interview From A to Z
Want to make your podcast interviews hit the mark every time? What steps should you follow from start to finish?
In the video above, John, Jeremy, and Jazmin walk you through the process — from prepping for the interview to wrapping it up. If you’re a Rise25 member, don’t forget to log into your dashboard and pull up your Customized Master Interview Template to follow along.
They also cover the importance of a good pre-interview and explain why you should give shout-outs and mention past guests. And lastly, they provide great question suggestions and share tips on how to end an interview smoothly.
Other resources related to this topic:
How to conduct an amazing interview not just from the content perspective, but in order to build a lasting relationship:
1. Initial instructions on creating the Google document for each interview
Log in to your Rise25 account to access your membership dashboard. From there, you will find your Customized Master Interview Template.
Make sure to make a copy of this template so you can make individual notes for each guest or every interview.
2. How to rock an interview and research guests
We always tell our clients that a good podcast episode is light in advice but heavy with examples. Help your guests tell great stories by researching them before the interview.
Check the about page of their website or visit their LinkedIn page to familiarize yourself with their background, their company, and what they currently do. If you want to dig deeper, check to see if they have any content on YouTube that you would like to discuss during the interview.
3. How to do a pre-interview with the guest to form the best relationship and create the best content
A pre-interview session is integral to the success of a podcast interview. Tell your guest that you will plan the episode before recording and follow the step-by-step guide under the “Pre-Interview” section in your Customized Master Interview Template.
This entire session should take you no longer than 5 minutes. In summary, you will:
- Ask your guest what time they need to be done.
- Ask your guest what they want to talk about during the interview. This can include anything from case studies to the work they do for their company. Take note of everything they say.
- Explain the format of the interview.
- Read to them the guest introduction you wrote and make sure you pronounce their name correctly.
- Ask if there are any important partners or champions they want to shout-out or mention in the episode.
- Important: Most people forget to hit the ‘Record’ button. Make sure to test your mic and ask the guest to do the same.
4. How to do a live read of your podcast introduction on the podcast and follow up with past guests
Once you’ve hit the record button and tested your mics, read your intro.
Next, be sure to mention past guests you’ve interviewed on your show. People tend to skip this part, but it’s important to recognize previous guests.
Doing so points your listeners to more great content, establishes credibility that you’ve had other great guests on, makes guests feel they are with the right company, and allows you to reach out to past guests.
5. How to read your sponsorship message and the components you need to include
We highly recommend that you use your own business as the sponsor of your podcast to maximize your earning power.
A great sponsorship message must include:
- What your company does or what you do
- Address the guest and involve them in the sponsorship message (could be a case study)
- A call to action
You can also give away a sponsorship message to your champions or best referral partners. Ask them for a short bio before you record an episode and let them know they were mentioned. Make sure to read their company bio after yours. It’s meant to be an additional sponsorship message, not a replacement for yours.
6. The introduction of your guest and the shout-out section
Before reading your guest’s intro, give a shoutout to whoever introduced you, your common friends, or any individual or company you want to mention in this episode.
Next, read your guest’s bio. Always ask them for a 3-4 sentence bio before your meeting date and confirm this with them in the pre-interview session as mentioned earlier.
7. Sample interview questions (Business-Related and Personal)
Remember, you already did the pre-interview session and have at least 5 good bullet points to get the conversation rolling. If you’ve done the pre-interview properly, you have a rockstar plan and flow ready to go.
If you need additional ideas, here are more suggestions:
8. Your final question section and wrap-up
The final question creates great content and resources for your audience.
It can also create warm introductions. If your guest mentions a colleague they look up to, a mentor they’re thankful for, or a favorite tool, you can reach out to these people and share the episode with them. If they respond, you can get the conversation rolling and ask if they would be open to coming on your show.
This final question is a good transition to conclude the interview.
After the interview is done and you’ve ended the recording, go to the How To Handle the Post-interview Collaboration Conversation guide and follow it step-by-step. In summary, you will:
- Offer introductions
- Ask the guest for introductions
- Offer a free assessment/nugget of wisdom
- Reach out to all resources mentioned in the episode
- Send a thank you email to the guest
- Give the guest something of value
