The Power of the Interview

Copyright (c) 2007 A Marketing Connection

Interviewing an expert and sharing their ideas with others
is not a new concept. Experts have been doing radio and
television interviews for decades. They use these platforms
to create awareness for their company and what they stand
for, as well as to educate listeners and ultimately sell
products.

The same techniques are used today using a different medium
- teleseminars. Just like the radio, teleseminars can be
something as simple as a recorded phone call between two
people that may or may not allow listeners to ask questions.

Let’s take a look at this technique from two standpoints.
How can getting yourself interviewed grow your business
and, from a company standpoint, how can interviewing others
grow your business?

Let’s start with how getting yourself interviewed can grow
your business. It may sound pretty self-explanatory. You
are “the expert” talking about a subject you are familiar
with, being asked questions. In doing so you are exposed to
a new group of prospects. There are few, if any, expenses
to being interviewed over the phone. In fact, you can do it
in your pajama’s sitting on your coach at home. And if the
call is recorded you can reuse the interview in other
aspects of your business. You can have the audio put on a
CD and use as hand-outs at events. You can post it for free
(or sell it) on your web site. Many people include
interviews they’ve done as bonuses in products they sell.

How can interviewing others grow your business? Let’s say
you are a hospital and have several doctors on staff you
would like to promote. A common marketing technique is for
the doctor to give free seminars, to discuss the pros and
cons of the procedures and services they offer. To the
public these live seminars may appear to be a community
service or an opportunity for them to learn about something
they have been considering.

Imagine doing the same thing, but over the phone. People
who don’t want to come in person maybe because of the bad
weather or the distance required for travel, or maybe
getting out of the house is difficult because of a
handicap, learning over the phone is a great alternative.
Many hospitals also post these live interviews on their web
site for people to listen to whenever they want after the
fact.

But remember, there is a large portion of the community
that does not use the internet or have ipods, so don’t make
the internet their only option to get the information. Most
people are comfortable using the telephone and that is
where the product should start.

So to recap, interviewing experts over the phone involves
no cost, people can listen in the comfort of their own home
so they are more likely to attend, and you can reuse the
material on your web site and make it available to the
general public.

Trying out different techniques to reach different
audiences is something we should all be doing. Teleseminars
have worked great for me. They can work great for you too.

—————————————————-
Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed, Kelly
Robbins is an award winning copywriter and marketing
coach/consultant. She also publishes The Healthcare
Marketing Connection
(http://www.healthcaremarketingconnection.com), a free
e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to
receive her free report, “5 critical things you must know
when writing for the healthcare industry” -
info@KellyRobbinsLLC.com or 303-460-0285.