Email interviews?

There are some really good past threads on this subject that gives pros and cons of email interviews. Most agree, like you mentioned, about losing the subtleties & therefore the opportunity of new direction that may come up from comments/body language in a face to face interview.

Personally, I prefer the convenience of email interviews and have had good luck with them. I try to limit my questions to 10 or 12 questions and always end it with a request for any other comments they have or would like to address.

I try to avoid wording questions in a way that encourages yes and no answers. If it is a definite yes or no response I need, I ask them to please expound.

I have to develop questions for an email interview that's going on the examiner site. As long as the person is up for it, it shouldn't be a problem.

cress8 said:

I know you lose subtleties you would pick up in person, but if it's a "just the facts, ma'am" subject, it seems to work.

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I think this sentence says it all. I've done email interviews, but I've also done pieces where I don't think the end product would have been as effective without inperson contact. The big example that comes to mind was a piece on miniature donkeys. I drove out to the farm to interview the owners, and when we went out to the field the donkeys surrounded me and rubbed up to me like puppies for attention. That ended up being worked into the piece, and I don't think it would have been as good without that flavor and personal experience. But some pieces are straighforwrd and don't really require that.

One positive is that it is virtually impossible to misquote....

cress8 said:

Hi inkkognito--I think you mentioned on another thread that you have a psych. background, too. I think I get a little exhausted from interviewing people in my day job, so it's nice to have a simple black-and-white exchange sometimes! Neat donkey story, though. Who would have thought?

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Yep, I'm a psych person too. Speaking of which, you might want to look at www.liveperson.com if you're looking to supplement your income. I signed up on a whim a few years back and did so well there that I do more online counseling than in-person (it's done via text chat). Things have slowed down lately due to the economy, but if you want an income supplement that leaves you time to write too it's a good thing to do. I leave myself available online when I am working on articles, and people can ring me up.

I've used email interviews to get enough info for my queries. And recently I had a piece on an artist that was mostly photos - I just needed to know a few facts about his education and what tools he used.

You can always follow up with a phone call later.

rljude said:

One positive is that it is virtually impossible to misquote....

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I would suggest using email to double-check facts even if you're doing the bulk of the interview by phone or in-person. A website I wrote for required that I send an email to my sources to confirm any facts relating to the article, and now I do this for most of my articles so that I have a paper trail. It has saved me from a few embarassing mistakes!

When I send an email interview, I also include some detailed instructions letting them know they will be quoted, but that I may edit their responses for length, spelling, and basic grammar. I also encourage them to add anything I may have missed, just to cover whatever bases I may not be aware of. I generally limit the questions to 10-12, including one for basic contact information and history and one for the generic "anything else you'd like to add" type of closing. When you can get them to respond, it generally doesn't work too bad, but you'd better have a flexible deadline with some sources.

I love e-mail interviews. Here's a tip....make sure to ask them to provide their name and title as they would like them to appear. I've had many people just sign their first name.

Unless it's just a question or two, I tend to avoid email interviews. One reason is the responses aren't as natural as in conversation. But a bigger reason for me is timing. Email exchange can drag on longer than if you have a phone or personal interview set up - you need to wait for the person to have the time to sit and answer your questions. Plus its easy for your email to fall through the cracks, which can be a problem when you're up against a deadline. Personally, I have better results contacting them through email then setting up an actual appointment to talk.