Thanks for agreeing to be a guest on The Community Lounge podcast. 

These notes help you to prepare for our interview.

Technology

• We will record the interview using Riverside.fm
• You do not need to install any software. It will all happen via your web browser. 
• We will send you a link to the Riverside session in advance of our scheduled time. You do not need to download any special software, or register. Everything is done using your browser.
• Riverside says their service works best with Chrome, so if possible please use that. You will need to grant your browser access to your camera and microphone.
• We will only record audio, but our experience is that live video is helpful to create more natural conversation.
• It really helps if you can use headphones and a microphone rather than the speaker and microphone on your computer or phone. Even a basic headset microphone will improve quality and reduce background noise. No matter how compelling the discussion is, if the audio quality is not good, people will stop listening. 

Give your story the best chance of being heard by using a good microphone. 

Preparation

• We will share with you a Google Doc for some script notes where we will list some discussion topics, questions and notes. Please add your own reminders and notes in line. It helps to remind both of us of important stuff and helps to keep the interview on track and on time.
• Please add any links and contact details you would like to appear in the show notes to the Doc.
• We aim for the interview to run for about 30 minutes. We will chat for 5-10 minutes before starting to record to check technology and run through the discussion topics together.
• Please let us know if there are any specific topics you do NOT want to discuss.
• Please find a quiet room for the interview with no background noise.
• Switch off notifications and things that might make a noise on your device(s).
• Make sure you have had a comfort break and have a drink to hand.
• Relax! The goal is just to have an interesting conversation about community management. We find it is useful to think of the conversation as if two people were hanging out in a pub, or chatting between sessions at an industry conference.

“I’m nervous about this!”

That’s okay. And normal.

It’s perfectly normal to be nervous before going on a podcast. I’ve been on 100+ podcasts, as either guest or host, and I still get nervous before each recording.

We’re on the same team – you as the guest and me as the host – and we’ll work together to make it a smooth, pleasant experience.

My job is to ask you questions to lead you into telling your own interesting story. I’ll ask the right questions to make clear to everyone listening that you are good at what you do.

Typically guests are nervous at the beginning, and then get so comfortable by the end, they are surprised when I say that it’s time to wrap up the interview!

And if you say something then wish it unsaid, simply tell me and we’ll edit it out.

After we record

• We edit the recording to remove any mistakes and polish things up a bit.
• The episode gets scheduled for to be published.

Publishing

• The episode is published to the various podcast distribution services (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc) and a page appears on the Feature Upvote website.
• We will email you to tell you the episode is live. This is a good chance to review the show notes, and make sure no typos or errors crept in.
• We’ll post about the new episode on our social media accounts.
• Please promote the episode to your own audience via social media, newsletter, or whatever other means you prefer.