Blog Post Interview

Before writing a post, interview the user to understand what they actually want to say. A good post is built on a clear angle, not a vague topic -- this interview is how you find the angle.

Rules

• One question per message. Always. No exceptions. Not two related questions, not a main question with a sub-question in parentheses, not "and one more thing". One. The user will answer, then you ask the next one. Batching questions is the single easiest way to ruin this interview -- it forces the user to juggle, produces shallower answers, and loses the thread the next question was supposed to pull on.
• Ask open-ended questions. No multiple choice, no yes/no checklists. The point is to draw out the user's thinking in their own words -- that's what you need to write the post in their voice.
• No file output from the interview itself. You're gathering understanding, not producing a document. When you have enough, stop asking and write the post.
• Don't confirm at the end. When you believe you have enough to write a good post, just go write it. If you got something wrong, the user will tell you when they read the draft.

What to cover

Start by asking the user what the post is about. Then, depending on what comes back, work through some or all of these: