How to get the most out of a Q&A for your blog
Q&As are still a go-to story format for print and digital media and they are ubiquitous because they’re effective. At their best, they are concise and to the point. And they’re perfect for websites because they intrinsically connote expertise. Here’s how to maximize them:
Save the bio for the introduction
Don’t waste space asking your subject for answers you could more easily include in a few lines. That goes for the quick-hit bio questions about education, work experience, and career highlights. Tell your audience up front why they should care what this person has to say.
Tell your audience what this person is going to teach them
This seems obvious but people often forget to include what the newspaper industry calls a nut graph. You can do this in less than a paragraph. All you usually need is a summary sentence. It goes like this: Adam Home Expert is an award-winning home inspector. He joins us to discuss the pitfalls of new construction, what every homeowner should be mindful of, and tips on how to make the best lowball offer!
Talk to your subject in advance about what you need
Depending on your relationship, you may not be able to tailor every answer after the interview is over. Still, you should always talk to your source about your publication or business, your audience(s) and what you hope to take away from the interview. This will make sure that the questions fall within the expert’s wheelhouse and that the answers are on point.
Edit for clarity and flow
People don’t talk the way they write. And sometimes, people aren’t effective writers either! It’s OK to edit for clarity. That usually means truncating responses and adding a preposition here or there (put those in brackets to indicate that the person didn’t actually say the word). It’s not OK to add our own words in place of someone else’s, and we wouldn’t recommend adding a clarifying sentence. If you have to explain an answer, perhaps you should skip that question.
Follow up
Follow-up questions don’t necessarily become clear to the interviewer until after the interview is over. That’s OK. It’s totally understandable to go back to your source and ask clarifying questions. Sometimes that can even lead to another Q&A altogether. Bonus!
Ask the occasional whimsical question
We aren’t all business all the time. Fun, irreverent questions let subjects show a little personality and that can achieve two things: A.It can make the source more likable and approachable and B. It can give greater insight into the topic at hand.
But keep it relevant
The same way you would search your industry for trending topics before writing a blog post, you should employ that same strategy to tailor questions within the Q&A. Always keep in mind: What issues are my readers exploring? Go where your audience is already congregating.
Don’t forget to include a thought-provoking headline
Done right, the headline is another vital piece of content. It offers value to the reader, not just SEO fodder for you. The New York Times magazine has a regular Q&A feature called Talk. They’re really good at the overall format so check out the page for some inspiration and ideas.