Using Expert Interviews to Develop New Content
One of the best ways to develop new content in your niche is to work with experts, and allow them to 'create' your content for you. Of course, this comes in the form of conducting interviews with those who can talk intelligently about your chosen subject. By interviewing an expert, you can get information on current practices that may not be available in research conducted online or from library materials.
If the thought of using interviews to create content resonated with you, finishing this article may have already taken a back seat to contacting experts in your network to start scheduling interviews. However, it will be worth your time to see an outline of an interview-to-content process, so that you can tweak it to fit your niche, budget and time constraints. That said, the rest of this post will outline a proven process for you to consider.
You will first want to determine what the most relevant conversations are within your subject or niche. It is likely that you are already receiving news alerts, or searching the news on a regular basis so that you can remain 'in the know'. But there are two other sources that will help you in determining what people are talking, searching, writing and thinking about. The first is Google's search tool called Google Insights for Search. This will give you a good idea of what subjects are rising in popularity over a certain time period.
The other tool is a meta-forum search site. Examples include OMGILI.Com, BoardTracker.Com and BoardReader.Com. These websites scan public forums for your search terms to determine what kinds of conversations people are having online about your chosen subject. Using Google Insights and forum searches can give you a good idea of what you will want your expert contact to talk about. If you can find an expert willing to give you advice on the hot topics in your niche, you will be able to quickly develop authority.
Once you have determined what subject you want to cover, or what question you want to answer, you will then want to go and find an expert to talk about it. Going to Google with your drilled-down subject is definitely an option, but there is a more precise way of finding someone, who can help you create good content. You will want to work through PR/reporter based resources to find people who actually want to be interviewed.
You can find people who want to be interviewed through websites like HelpAReporterOut.Com and ReporterConnection.Com. These sites allow you to send a query out to their database of registered experts in various fields to find out if they are willing to be interviewed. Because many are authors, who want more exposure, they are often willing to talk to you without charging you.
This is why making sure that you secure a topic prior to going out to Google for a general expert in your field works best. You will be able to generate a list of questions based on the things that searchers are looking for, which should guarantee that your write-up will be of interest to those who find it. Because this process is repeatable, you should never run out of options for new and interesting content generated by experts in your niche.
