The SME Interview Process for B2B SaaS Content

Subject matter expert interviews are the single highest-leverage activity in B2B SaaS content production. A well-run 60-minute interview turns into 2,000 words of ranking content in about 8 hours of writer time. A poorly-run interview turns into 12 hours of writer time and a thin first draft that needs rewriting. The difference is process.

01 / Why SME interviews matter so much for B2B SaaS

B2B SaaS buyers are sophisticated. They detect content written by people who have not done the work in the first paragraph: vague generalities, missing numbers, generic examples, absence of opinions where opinions matter.

SMEs provide what writers cannot: real-world experience, specific numbers from real engagements, contrarian positions earned by having seen things go wrong, and the language buyers actually use because the SME has been on the calls.

02 / Who counts as an SME

For B2B SaaS content, an SME is someone who has personally executed the work being written about, recently (within 18 months), at a scale relevant to your buyer.

Not an SME: a generalist marketing director who has read about the topic. The CEO who has heard about it from their team. A consultant who has not run the work themselves in years.

Yes an SME: an in-house specialist who has run the discipline at multiple companies. A senior consultant who runs engagements weekly. A founder of a tool in the category. A customer who has done the thing the article describes.

03 / The 60-minute interview structure

Minutes 0-5: Context and framing. Brief the SME on audience, search intent, and argument.

Minutes 5-15: The setup question. "Walk me through the last time you did this."

Minutes 15-35: The thesis questions. Three to five questions targeting the article's core argument. "What do most teams get wrong about [topic]?" beats "Tell me about [topic]."

Minutes 35-50: The proof questions. "Walk me through a specific case." "What were the numbers?"

Minutes 50-58: The contrarian questions. "Where do you disagree with the conventional wisdom?" "What is overrated?"

Minutes 58-60: The wrap. Confirm willingness to review the draft and be quoted by name.

A good interview produces 8-12 specific examples, 4-8 numerical data points, 2-4 contrarian positions, and several quotable phrases. Enough material for a 2,000-word piece without padding.

04 / The transcript-to-article workflow

Step 1: Get the transcript automatically. Otter, Fathom, Fireflies, or Zoom.

Step 2: Tag the transcript by usefulness. Highlight examples, quotable phrases, numerical data, and contrarian positions.

Step 3: Build the outline from highlights. The brief written before the interview (see content briefs) sets boundaries; the highlights fill them.

Step 4: Write with quotation discipline. Direct SME quotes appear 3 to 6 times in a 2,000-word piece.

Step 5: Send back to the SME for accuracy review. 15-minute review. Non-negotiable.

For where this plugs into AI-assisted production, see AI content workflows that don't kill E-E-A-T. The SME interview is the human-only step AI cannot substitute.

05 / What kills SME interviews

Asking the SME to write. Breaks the workflow.

Asking abstract questions. Produces generic answers.

Skipping the recording. Memory does not preserve specific phrasing or numbers.

Not vetting first. Wastes 60 minutes of two people's time.

Skipping the SME accuracy review. Articles go out with errors that take 15 minutes to catch.

06 / FAQ

How long should an SME interview be? 60 minutes. Less than 45 is too thin; more than 90 and energy flags.

Should we record SME interviews? Always, with explicit consent.

Should the writer or the SME write the article? The writer writes. The SME provides expertise.

How do we get SMEs to actually agree to interviews? Make it short. 60 minutes, calendar link, send questions in advance, offer the byline.

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Part of the B2B SaaS content strategy playbook. Full framework: B2B SaaS content strategy playbook.