How to Get an Interview with a Celebrity
2. Get in touch with the record label, fashion line, or company that this celebrity works for. More than likely, the celebrity has a publicist or an agent that will have a public email address or phone number to contact. Contact that agency, record company, or publicist requesting an interview.
3. Watch what sites that this celebrity frequents. With the popularity of MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, sometimes the celebrity may only be a tweet away. Be careful of counterfeit sites that claim to be the celebrity when they are not. With sites like MySpace or Twitter, there will be an official stamp letting you know whether this celebrity account is the real thing. However, you can also check the celebrity's website to see which MySpace, Twitter, or Facebook account they link. Or, look at celebrity interviews. Some celebrities constantly promote their accounts (ex. @iamdiddy on Twitter).
4. Be professional in your approach. Just because you're on a more casual site like Twitter or LinkedIn doesn't mean that you should send a message to the celebrity saying, "Hey, let's do an interview." 140 characters or a full message, still treat the proposal for an interview the same way you would of the agent. Be cordial and diplomatic in your approach.
5. Explain to the celebrity why your media network (magazine, book, newspaper, television show, Web site) would be an ideal location for the interview. If a celebrity comes out with a Black hair care product, but your website caters to tech junkies, it's probably not going to work out.
6. Leave your email address and phone number at every possible location and make it available on your website and/or your company's website. Celebrities aren't always comfortable giving out their contact information for an interview, but if they can check to make sure your company is legitimate, they may take the interview request seriously.
7. Network at company events that publicists, entrepreneurs, and record labels frequent. Just by being at the right place at the right time, it helps the interviews come that much easier and quicker. Keep business cards available to exchange so the representatives will remember where they know you from.
Published by Shamontiel
Shamontiel is the author of Round Trip and Change for a Twenty, and in mid-October became the Chicago Tribune s Digital News Editor. She works on National Travel, Health and occasionally Breaking News, and w... View profile
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9 Comments
Post a Comment...her product (a book). I'm guessing she got my info from another publicist I've worked with in the past. Sometimes it's just your writing reputation that'll get spread to other people/celebs and they come to you. Make sure you have good content though because if you direct them to your site where you have interviews or other complete content, they'll probably want to see if the interview is worth it FIRST. That's why I always tell people be careful WHAT you write because if you dog that celebrity out and then want an interview later, you're shooting yourself in the hand. If you don't like the celeb though, hey, no love lost.
Leeann, you can reply to a celebrity and ask for an interview but chances are you and 20 other people have done that within the hour. I've tried that a few years back and I got a blanket Twitter e-mail saying "Contact __________ for interview requests." Some celebrities leave their publicist's contact information in the bio. Check that first. I'd strongly suggest finding out the publicist or record label for the celeb you want to interview first and explain why your interview is so important. Send a query letter and explain how much traffic you get, etc. Just sending a tweet won't cut it, at least not usually. Your reputation also helps. I remember asking for an interview on Twitter, got a reply to contact a publicist, did that and the publicist never responded. A year later and now I work for a major publication. That same celeb whose publicist never responded to my query contacted me herself WITHOUT the publicist, wanted my e-mail address and sent a query letter asking me to review..
Question, how do I go about requesting an interview on twitter? Or even on Facebook I don’t want to sound insincere or anything?
Some celebrity interviews I've completed on here are with Donell Jones, Barry Floyd and Damon Wayans. You're free to check out other interviews by clicking here: http://www.shamontiel.com/other-publications.html. For confidential reasons, I won't go into who is harder to interview because there are some interviews that work out later down the line. There are also celebrities who are easy to work with, but their publicity team is NOT. Or the publicists are great and the artists are a pain in the ass. It truly is on an individual basis and sometimes the reporter/writer can ruin it for herself.
Nikol, I'm not about to give anybody cliche advice like "Don't give up." There are some interviews that simply aren't worth the trouble. I've gone above and beyond to interview some celebs. Some were very easy to work with while other interviews never happened. This entry was just giving you the facts. If you do this stuff, you should be able to land the interview. Gaining a portfolio makes a person more credible though, but it doesn't matter who you write for. I've interviewed a few celebs on here. If you can write well and follow the steps above and have a following, it shouldn't matter. There are some celebrity publicists who insist on getting cover stories or want to tell the writer where they want to see the articles and interviews in, but you're the writer, not them so you have the final say on whether it's worth it or not.
Nikol, all of this advice can cater to someone just starting out. What gave you the impression it didn't? I'm asking so I know where I need to correct this entry because regardless of whether you're an established journalist, from an established publication or a novice writer, the same rules still apply.
For those who want to read the actual interview with Ludacris, here's the link: http://www.chicagodefender.com/article-2791-ludacrismas-was-very-merry-on-west-side.html
Sheryl, I really wonder would it have been that difficult before the Internet. People were more likely to be personable and meet each other in person, no? Now everybody hides behind a computer. What was the interview for Tyra for? Where's it published?
I once had to contact Tyra Banks' management team. It was much easier than I thought it would be, now that we have the Internet.