Since launching the site I realize the stuff I do might seem a bit out of reach to some. Over the last bit I have improved as a write and I am getting better at sharing content that people want to read. One thing that I started doing over the course of the site was to send interviews to people in gaming I respected. I was really nervous giving the first couple, but after that it got easier.
If you have been considering sending out a gaming related interview, I recommend you do so and as such want to help the process for you. I have a few thoughts that might things a bit easier so you can publish your first interview.
whom to talk to?
First off you might have an idea of someone or some company you want to interview. Understand that not all companies and people in gaming will grant your request for an interview. Some people are pretty big in gaming and some companies won't make the time for you because you don't work for PC Gamer or Kotaku. Try not to let it get you down, you can still get in touch with people making awesome stuff.
organize your list
Whenever I play an awesome game or see some information about a cool game on Kickstarter I make a note to myself of someone to contact. I keep a list of people and companies to email and then pick one off the stack. I don't put interviews on the list I am not REALLY excited about and I recommend you don't either, just do stuff about things you dig. In fact, I don't write about anything on the site I am not really excited about either.
reaching out
After I realize what interview I want to do next I make the initial contact. This can get tricky depending on whom you want to talk to. If its a game company they have a website and usually a contact form or a press email. If its a person, that can get harder. Occasionally the company or person simply has a facebook page so I message them on that. A few times some of the companies I have tried to contact have no contact information at all so I submitted a help ticket :D A bit of persistence can pay off and in the case of the help ticket, it turned out into a VERY awesome interview. Its ok to be creative in reaching out, but be respectful and don't break any laws :D
keep poking a few times
Sometimes you get a response right away and sometimes you don't. If I don't get a response within a week I poke them again. After about three attempts I stop all attempts. I am persistent but people are busy or might not be interested in responding at all. No harm, I just take the interview off my list.
after you get your yes, how do you do the interview?
Awesome, they agreed! I would recommend keeping your first interviews simple. Tell them you will write up the questions and send them over and they can respond. This is the simplest way to do your first interview and I seriously recommend it. It might seem rad to do a Skype interview but unless your interview is going to be audio only or some kind of video interview, transcribing all that text to written form could be very cumbersome. That said, there is nothing stopping you from doing that but I would start out doing something simple to start.
Coming up with interview questions is the real work of the process but if you are intimately familiar with the subject, its not too hard. If you read over the interviews (hit the interview tab above) you can get a sense for how Travis and I set up our questions. We both have our own style and if you want to take some of the questions we ask and re-phrase them a bit, feel free.
shipping the interview
After you send over the questions it can take a few days to hear back. Sometimes it can take weeks and sometimes you don't hear back at all. I follow the 3 email rule after an interview in that if after 3 attempts to contact them over 3 weeks if I don't hear back I let it go. Sad, but it happens as people are super busy and things fall off their radar.
After I get the interview back I format it for the site and post it under "interviews" and to do that all you need to do is add "Interviews" to your game list. Each person can format their interview differently, but its nice to have names of whom is saying what so people can follow along easily. After I post it to the site I share it on Twitter, Facebook and relevant sub-reddits if they apply.
no magic, just persistence
There is no real magic to it, just the doing and a bit of persistence. The coolest part is the amount of people I have been able to talk to doing awesome stuff I love. I consider doing interviews to be one of the coolest things i've done on the site and look forward to doing many more. If you have any questions hit up the comment thread or contact me direct. If you want to have me help you with anything about a interview with someone in gaming, hit me up id love to help you out!
Look forwarding to seeing your first awesome interview on the site!
If you have been considering sending out a gaming related interview, I recommend you do so and as such want to help the process for you. I have a few thoughts that might things a bit easier so you can publish your first interview.
whom to talk to?
First off you might have an idea of someone or some company you want to interview. Understand that not all companies and people in gaming will grant your request for an interview. Some people are pretty big in gaming and some companies won't make the time for you because you don't work for PC Gamer or Kotaku. Try not to let it get you down, you can still get in touch with people making awesome stuff.
organize your list
Whenever I play an awesome game or see some information about a cool game on Kickstarter I make a note to myself of someone to contact. I keep a list of people and companies to email and then pick one off the stack. I don't put interviews on the list I am not REALLY excited about and I recommend you don't either, just do stuff about things you dig. In fact, I don't write about anything on the site I am not really excited about either.
reaching out
After I realize what interview I want to do next I make the initial contact. This can get tricky depending on whom you want to talk to. If its a game company they have a website and usually a contact form or a press email. If its a person, that can get harder. Occasionally the company or person simply has a facebook page so I message them on that. A few times some of the companies I have tried to contact have no contact information at all so I submitted a help ticket :D A bit of persistence can pay off and in the case of the help ticket, it turned out into a VERY awesome interview. Its ok to be creative in reaching out, but be respectful and don't break any laws :D
keep poking a few times
Sometimes you get a response right away and sometimes you don't. If I don't get a response within a week I poke them again. After about three attempts I stop all attempts. I am persistent but people are busy or might not be interested in responding at all. No harm, I just take the interview off my list.
after you get your yes, how do you do the interview?
Awesome, they agreed! I would recommend keeping your first interviews simple. Tell them you will write up the questions and send them over and they can respond. This is the simplest way to do your first interview and I seriously recommend it. It might seem rad to do a Skype interview but unless your interview is going to be audio only or some kind of video interview, transcribing all that text to written form could be very cumbersome. That said, there is nothing stopping you from doing that but I would start out doing something simple to start.
Coming up with interview questions is the real work of the process but if you are intimately familiar with the subject, its not too hard. If you read over the interviews (hit the interview tab above) you can get a sense for how Travis and I set up our questions. We both have our own style and if you want to take some of the questions we ask and re-phrase them a bit, feel free.
shipping the interview
After you send over the questions it can take a few days to hear back. Sometimes it can take weeks and sometimes you don't hear back at all. I follow the 3 email rule after an interview in that if after 3 attempts to contact them over 3 weeks if I don't hear back I let it go. Sad, but it happens as people are super busy and things fall off their radar.
After I get the interview back I format it for the site and post it under "interviews" and to do that all you need to do is add "Interviews" to your game list. Each person can format their interview differently, but its nice to have names of whom is saying what so people can follow along easily. After I post it to the site I share it on Twitter, Facebook and relevant sub-reddits if they apply.
no magic, just persistence
There is no real magic to it, just the doing and a bit of persistence. The coolest part is the amount of people I have been able to talk to doing awesome stuff I love. I consider doing interviews to be one of the coolest things i've done on the site and look forward to doing many more. If you have any questions hit up the comment thread or contact me direct. If you want to have me help you with anything about a interview with someone in gaming, hit me up id love to help you out!
Look forwarding to seeing your first awesome interview on the site!
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You've done more of these than I have, but one thing I would recommend is-- know what you want to ask before you ask for an interview. For example, I'd absolutely love to talk to Todd Howard, but I have no clue what I'd actually ask him in an interview that he hasn't already answered a thousand times.
jdodson: Bbbb buuut why are you SO Awesome? Might sound great in your head but... Yeah I agree Travis, start with an idea for sure! :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpHVOSYlOv0
The proper way to interview.
Adym, I knew what that was going to be before clicking on it. I was never a fan of Chris Farley really, but those interviews were incredible.
@Travis +1