Sound good, but not sure where to start? No sweat. If you want to book a big name interview, here are eight things you\u2019ll want to get down pat to do just that.<\/p>\n
Pro tips on landing \u2014 and following through \u2014 on interviews with celebs and experts<\/h2>\n
![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/work_on_elevator_pitch.png\")
<\/p>\n
1) Get your elevator pitch down.<\/h3>\n
Whether you\u2019re emailing a publicist, browsing social results on Google<\/a>, or pitching a rep over the phone (yes, actually using a phone to talk<\/em> can be a good thing), you\u2019re going to want to get your elevator pitch down. I\u2019ve crafted probably a thousand of these pitches over my career and can tell you that a quick-and-dirty 30-second plea concisely explaining who<\/em> you\u2019re requesting an interview with, what<\/em> your angle is, and where<\/em> this content will appear\u2026 may be the most important part of this interview-landing equation. Better make it compelling and typo free. That last part \u2013 the \u2018where\u2019 part \u2013 is especially important because I can almost assure you the first question out of a rep\u2019s mouth will be: \u00a0Where\u2019s this interview going to live and what are the traffic numbers for that site (or publication)?<\/em><\/p>\n Have these figures handy, and if you don\u2019t think your outlet (or traffic) are impressive enough to get a \u2018yes,\u2019 go to plan B. That is, make a sincere and authentic plea \u2013 not demands \u2013 and remember to be polite, respectful and charming (if that\u2019s a skill in your bag of tricks). Do this and you never know what the answer will be \u2013 because, at the end of the day, you\u2019re giving the interview subject free publicity. So, if your request is easy to accomplish, you might just get a phoner or email interview out of them.<\/p>\n You won\u2019t know unless you ask.<\/strong><\/p>\n Agents. Managers. Publicists. These are what are known as the talent\u2019s \u201cpeople\u201d\u2026 and they\u2019re the people you\u2019ll be sending your pitch to. They serve as the first line of defense to screen out the riff-raff and ultimately, have access to the talent and the power to greenlight your request. They are your new best friends. Make them like you. Hire a hypnotist, do whatever it takes. Better yet, if you happen to know somebody who knows them or the person you\u2019re targeting, work the angles! Name drop as if your life depended on it. Having a connection to the person you\u2019re requesting an interview from will almost always up your chances of success. Having someone do a favor for a friend is a great way in \u2013 and could fast track your request. This is how I got to interview ‘The Biggest Loser’\u2019s Jillian Michaels and ‘Dating Naked’ star Chris Aldrich. Two friends of mine were producers on these shows and were able to pave necessary in-roads.<\/p>\n Do the same.<\/p>\n As for non-traditional approaches, you hear stories (i.e., bribery in the form of Scotch, unannounced pop-ins, stalking, etc.). I\u2019m always a fan of creativity when it comes to standing out, but remember, not going through the \u201cproper channels\u201d can work wonders, or backfire. Use your best discretion for what will work best. The idea is to stand out so they remember you and have a hard time saying \u201cno\u201d to your airtight pitch\u2026 not to get a restraining order filed against you.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve sent your pitch, but the request is now just seemingly wafting away in the great internet abyss of unreplied-to flotsam.<\/p>\n The good news is…that’s not a ‘no.’<\/p>\n Important people and their reps are incredibly busy, so don\u2019t be deterred if you didn\u2019t get a response. The more impressive the celeb or expert, the more they and their people have to attend to on a daily basis. If they don\u2019t respond to your first email, don\u2019t take it personally. Conduct a polite follow up. Pick up the phone and make a call referencing the email sent previously. Be patient. Give it a few days. If you\u2019re on a tight deadline, you\u2019ll want to include that in your original note with a reply-by date. This will serve as a ticking clock for them to give an answer. And if you don\u2019t get an answer by that<\/em> date, well then, you have your answer.<\/p>\n Truth be told, your best bet to land a celebrity of note is to get them when they\u2019re in a promotion window. That is, they have a new movie opening; a new show; a charitable cause to promote; or a new book coming out. If so, it\u2019s in the tastemaker\u2019s best interests to do interviews to get the word out. In fact, they may even be a contractually obligated to do so by a movie studio or publishing company. Recognize who\u2019s doing this\u2026 and pounce.<\/p>\n In this day and age, having a fresh piece of content to promote is social currency more valuable than bitcoin \u2013 so they\u2019d be fools not to entertain your opportunity. Check out upcoming movies, new book release lists on publisher\u2019s websites and keep an eye out for who\u2019s more likely to be doing the interview circuit<\/a>. Read stories online, watch late-night TV, peek at your news feed. In other words, look who\u2019s talking, listen to what they\u2019re saying and use that information to craft your pitch to their rep. I mined this fertile terrain for years in hopes of landing big name interviews for outlets and it worked for me. From world-class survivalist Bear Grylls (who was launching a show on NBC) to Nick Offerman<\/a>, who I found out was going to be at the American Greetings booth at CES 2017. To get Offerman, I connected with the publicist before the event and arranged a slot after his press conference. Ultimately, Offerman gave me great content on the fly for Uproxx.<\/p>\n Recognize who\u2019s making themselves available for interviews \u2013 you may just get one.<\/p>\n The Nick Offerman thing reminds me: Sometimes getting a big interview is about being in the right place at the right time. Find out where celebs are going to be and find out how to get there. Getting a press credential to the event is the most logical step in this process. But it\u2019s not the only way. Approaching people in person, whether you\u2019re press or not, can also work. Even if the person you\u2019re trying to land doesn\u2019t have time to give you an interview on the spot, introduce yourself, your outlet and cause. They might verbally commit to doing an interview at a later point.<\/p>\n If that happens, follow-up with their rep the next day and reference said conversation. Tell the rep that you met the celeb at yesterday\u2019s event and they told you they\u2019d be game to do an interview in the future. It\u2019s way harder to back out of something the talent verbally committed to than to decline involvement in the first place. This approach is not a slam-dunk (the celeb may\u2019ve been drunk or reluctant to say \u2018no\u2019 to you) when they agreed to do it, but it will certainly give you an edge if a verbal commitment was made. Work it \u2013 it\u2019s way better than a cold call.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve landed a person of note for your content piece. Congratulations! You\u2019ve done the hardest part. Now, the easy part: Figuring out what to ask him or her.<\/p>\n Well, maybe not so easy.<\/p>\n It\u2019ll be tempting to convince yourself that simply sitting down for a conversation will be enough to elicit good answers. Don\u2019t fall into that trap. It\u2019s dangerous and runs the risk of leaving you without the answers you need, a.k.a. anything good. Not to mention, the more impressive the person is, the more limited their time will be. Ultimately, there\u2019s nothing worse than trying to shoehorn an off-topic sound bite into a piece. It\u2019s a wasted opportunity that could leave you with loads of interview regret.<\/p>\n Make sure you prepare questions well in advance and make them the kind that will get you revealing answers<\/a>. Specific questions work better than broad ones. If you get someone in a promotion cycle, they might be tempted to steer the entire conversation to whatever book or movie they want to plug. That’s okay for an answer or two, but be cautious of this. You have to steer them back to what you need, and if you don\u2019t do it expeditiously within the flow of conversation, you might be told the dreaded two words by a rep before you\u2019re ready to part ways: \u201cTime\u2019s up!\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of, letting talent go on and on about their dog\u2019s Instagram following is cute, but don\u2019t fall into this trap. You\u2019ll probably never use a Scruffy quote in your story about \u201cMasterful Branding\u201d and time is always short. One time I was interviewing a person I shall not name and he actually found a reason to call his sister during the interview, seemingly checking an item off his to-do list. That was awesome. The piece was not, in fact, about sibling relationships.<\/p>\n Make sure you have time to ask the questions you need to ask, but also leave time for followups. I had to learn that one early in my career. I use to arrive with a bullet-point list of questions and would work my way down it regardless of what was being said. Don\u2019t do that. There\u2019s something to be said for flow and ensuring the talent enjoys your talk. Do that and they\u2019ll be way more likely to give you good answers and maybe even more time for the interview. Interrupt them every five seconds to ask your next question and you could ultimately experience what I call \u201ctape shock.\u201d That\u2019s the moment you get home, listen to your audio and realize it\u2019s riddled with non-sequiturs and that your subject secretly hates you because you interrupted their flow almost every time they spoke to ask something completely non-related.<\/p>\n When it comes to interview preparation, I love the explanation former Esquire writer-at-large Scott Raab once gave. Raab is a king of the conversational interview style. He\u2019s really good at keeping things casual, but always weaves in substance along the way. He once had this to say about interview preparation during the introduction to his interview with the ubiquitous Nick Offerman and Chelsea Handler<\/a>:<\/p>\n My Q&A prep owes much to Bill Belichick: Each variable in my control must be controlled. I watch tape, take notes, study online menus in advance, take more notes. I show up early to test sound levels and, if necessary, grease the staff. The cost \u2014 time, mainly, and anxiety \u2014 is far less dire than screwing shit up. I learned this over many years, repeatedly. \u2014 <\/em>Scott Raab<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Preparation includes technical aspects, yes (i.e., making sure your cell phone is charged; your voice recorder has batteries; and that you have the talent\u2019s right phone number or Skype name). It also means you should become an expert on the person you\u2019re interviewing. Read everything about them \u2013 about their upbringing, current projects, former ones, pet projects, causes they support, etc. Do a deep dive that probes deeper than a colonoscopy. Get up into every nook and crevice of the web, digging for pieces on this person and reading former interviews to educate yourself. Once you do that, you\u2019ll be way better informed to write questions that matter \u2013 and not regurgitate what\u2019s already out there. Not only will the talent respect you for having done so, but chances are they\u2019ll give you better answers as a reward. \u00a0And at the end of the day, isn\u2019t that the point \u2013 getting great content?<\/p>\n I think so.<\/p>\n When I first tried to land the man responsible for our country\u2019s first moon landing (in part) for an interview, my first thought was\u2026 It\u2019s never going to happen<\/em>. After all, Buzz Aldrin was 84 (at the time), an American icon and probably had way better things to do than sit down with a camera crew for YP.com (YellowPages.com). But I went for it anyway without letting my doubts preclude me from trying. I picked up the phone, found a way to get his manager on it, and used my previously described approach to get him to carve out an hour for a coveted interview.<\/p>\n Turns out, Aldrin was promoting a YouTube video<\/a> he was putting together around the 45th<\/sup> anniversary of the moon landing and the timing was right. Like the Apollo 11 mission, I took bold steps, trusted the journey and ultimately, was fortunate to land a great man for a great interview. Buzz later posted my complementary article for the interview on his own website: Buzz Aldrin\u2019s Five Favorite Places to Space Out on Earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether you’re writing for a brand or an editorial pub, interviewing primary sources is crucial for boosting your cred. We’ll humble-brag for writer Gregg Rosenzweig as he shares how he successfully has landed interviews with stars, including Kobe Bryant, Steve Carell, George Lopez, Eva Longoria, Suze Orman, Magic Johnson… and even astronaut Buzz Aldrin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":34295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[178],"ppma_author":[204],"class_list":["post-42544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-n-a"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2) Work every angle possible.<\/h3>\n
3) Be persistent.<\/h3>\n
4) Timing is everything.<\/h3>\n
![\"Interview](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/nick_offerman_interview.png\" "\\"Interview")
<\/h3>\n
5) Be resourceful.<\/h3>\n
6) Ask the right questions.<\/h3>\n
![\"Be](\"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/master_time_management.png\")
<\/p>\n7) Be a master of time management.<\/h3>\n
8) \u00a0Finally, you can never be too prepared…<\/h3>\n
Landing the man behind the first moon landing: Buzz Aldrin<\/h2>\n