Business Blogs

I’ve suggested before that when you’re creating your About page and your first few introductory posts, you should interview yourself.  But that’s easier said than done, and personally I always find it easier to write about things other myself.  However, your blog is about you and building your brand, so creating a detailed profile is vital.

As a result of my blogging experience (seriously, there are thousands of posts and hundreds of thousands of words that I’ve written on the web), I’ve had lots of experience interview and writing profiles of individuals from all walks of life.  Therefore, I’ve compiled a list of questions that I use as prompts when I interview someone.

Of course, my actual questions change depending on the characteristics of the person I’m profiling, but here’s the basic template (this is geared towards business owners and/or people who are using their blogs to market something).   Feel free to take this as a survey, and answer it on your own blog (skip any questions you don’t like or add your own).

1. Who are you, what do you do, and where do you live (the basic data -this one is a softball question)?  How about family (married, single, kids, pets)?

2. What is your background (education, career, awards, achievements, etc.)? Basically, why should readers be listening to you and reading your blog?  This is an especially important question for authority bloggers - people who blog to promote their expertise on a particular topic - to answer.

3. How did you get to where you are today? Tell your readers about the journey.  What forces shaped you?  Have you always been involved in the industry that you’re part of today?  What interesting twists and turns has your life taken?

4. Where do you hope to be in the future?  You don’t necessarily need to post a five year plan or anything that detailed, but talk about your aspirations.  Where do you see yourself in the future?

5. What are you passionate about?  What inspires you and why?  If you’re in a creative field, what is your muse?  What gets you out of bed in the morning and what makes you happier than anything else?

6. What are some current trends in your industry/niche/topic area?  How do you feel about them personally and where do you think your field is headed?

7. What makes you unique in your field?  In general?  How do you stand out from the crowd? (Again, this falls into the category of why your readers should be reading your blog).

8. Who are your heroes? Who do you look up to? Why are they awesome?

9. On the opposite note, do you have any key advice for newcomers to your field? What do you wish you had known when you started?

10. Do you have any favorite quotes that always ring true with you?  What are they?

11. What is a typical day in your life like?

12. What are your hobbies and what do you do when you’re not working? What kind of music do you like, what are your favorite movies/games/sports?

13. What are some of your favorite places, in your current hometown and in the world? Why are they your favorites?

14.  Name a few interesting facts or unique talents you have.  Is there anything truly off-the-wall or have you done something that few other people have?  Do you have any weird but wonderful accomplishments under your belt?  Share some interesting anecdotes.

15.  If your readers could only remember one thing about you, what would it be?  Can you sum up your brand - your uniqueness - in a sentence or two?

And last but not least, the one question that I always ask at the end of an interview:

16. Is there anything you wish I would have asked you that I missed?