Why Your Experts Avoid Marketing Interviews – And How to Fix It

Introduction

Subject-matter experts (SMEs)—lawyers, doctors, engineers, consultants, finance professionals, and other specialists—hold the deep insights that power truly authoritative marketing content. Yet in many organizations these experts are notably absent from the content-creation process. "Accessing subject-matter experts to create content" ranks among the top challenges in Content Marketing Institute's annual surveys. When experts won't engage, brands miss out on credible thought leadership and marketing quality suffers.

This report examines why experts resist content interviews and what that means for your brand's authority. More importantly, it explores how companies can turn this around—highlighting the need for solutions like Interview Droid that make expert participation fast, convenient, and seamless.

The Reluctant Expert: Why SMEs Dodge Marketing Interviews

Core Barrier	What It Looks Like in Practice
Time constraints & competing priorities	Billable hours, patient care, product deadlines—30-minute interviews feel impossible.
Inconvenience & rigid scheduling	Calendar ping-pong, meeting rooms, workflow disruption.
Lack of perceived value	Experts don't see why a blog post helps them or the business.
Misaligned incentives	Performance reviews rarely reward content participation.
Silos & communication gaps	Marketing and expert teams work in separate spheres with little overlap.
Process frustrations & uncertainty	Past misquotes or abandoned drafts make experts wary of repeat requests.

Bottom line: experts avoid interviews not because they lack insights but because the process feels like a time-draining distraction with no clear upside.

The Cost of Expert Silence

• Eroded credibility & trust – Content without SME insight feels shallow; audiences doubt expertise.
• Lower content quality & engagement – Generic, sales-heavy pieces under-perform; readers bounce.
• Missed thought-leadership opportunities – Without SME voices, brands are absent from industry conversations that shape buying criteria.
• Reduced brand equity over time – Poor or absent thought leadership pushes buyers toward competitors with stronger expert visibility.

Breaking the Cycle: Make Participation Effortless

Principle	Practical Application
Minimize time required	15–30 minute interview; marketing does all writing.
Offer flexible formats	Call, voice note, or AI-assisted session the expert triggers on demand.
Communicate clear value	Explain audience impact and personal-brand benefits up front.
Align incentives	Tie contributions to bonuses, promotions, or public recognition.
Streamline the process	"One-and-done" workflow: single session, quick review, publish.

Enter Interview Droid

Interview Droid's AI interviewing engine eliminates scheduling ping-pong, automates question flow, transcribes in real time, and outputs ready-to-use briefs. Experts spend minutes sharing knowledge; marketing teams receive draft-ready content.

The Business Case for Expert-Driven Content

• Greater credibility → stronger buyer trust – 64 % of buyers say thought leadership is a more trustworthy gauge of a company's capabilities than marketing collateral.
• Market differentiation – 60 % of buyers rely on thought leadership to evaluate unknown vendors.
• Higher content ROI – One SME interview can fuel multiple blogs, videos, or white papers—improving both volume and quality.
• Stronger customer relationships – 55 % of decision-makers increased business with a supplier because of high-quality thought leadership.
• Empowered internal culture – Recognized experts become brand ambassadors, attracting talent and fostering collaboration.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Expert insights are the lifeblood of credible content and authentic thought leadership. Yet SMEs avoid traditional interviews because the process feels like a drain with no direct benefit. Brands that don't solve this impasse churn out middling content and struggle for audience trust.

Action Plan

1. Audit your process – Where are you unintentionally blocking SME participation?
2. Pilot a streamlined workflow – Shorter sessions, flexible formats, clear value, aligned incentives.
3. Leverage technology – Test Interview Droid to automate interviewing and drafting.
4. Measure & celebrate – Track impact, publish results, and publicly recognize expert contributors.

Your experts are your unfair advantage. Make it effortless for them to share their brilliance—and watch your marketing flywheel accelerate.

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Sources

1. Content Marketing Institute, B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks (2024).
2. Knapp, D., "12 Ways to Get SMEs Involved" (CMSWire, 2024).
3. MediaOne, "Working With Reluctant SMEs" (2025).
4. Field, M., "The Unwilling SME" (LinkedIn, 2014).
5. Edelman × LinkedIn, Thought Leadership Impact Study (2021).
6. Demand Gen Report, B2B Content Preferences (2022).