An interview with Leesa Barnes, author of “Podcasting for Profit”

December 4, 2007

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Speaker, blogger, podcaster and rabid Battlestar Galactica fan, Leesa Barnes is one of those people who can draw you in with her speaking ability and with the publication of “Podcasting for Profit” she draws you in with her writing style.

Like me, Leesa became interested in podcasting as a forum to share her passion. Unlike me, she began making money with her podcast from Day One! This is just a guess, but I’ll bet there are many more podcasters out there who are more like me…podcasting for fun, not necessarily profit…than there are like Leesa. Well, with the publication of “Podcasting for Profit” she hopes to change that, but before you get all excited and think that your podcast can become a money maker right out of the box, listen to what Leesa has to tell you about her own experience. In Part I of the interview, we discuss:

The REAL Leesa Barnes
Why she started podcasting in the first place
When and why she decided to write a book about podcasting for profit
What’s so important about self-assessment as you prepare to podcast with the idea of making a profit
Why plan first?

Due to technical difficulties (ya gotta love it…technical problems on a tech focused show!), Leesa and I were prematurely kicked out of the Blog Talk Radio online recording studio before we finished the interview. Since I don’t think you should miss a word of what she has to share, we’ll be starting Part II right where we left off. Also, since we schedule an entire hour this time instead of 30 minutes, we may even have a Part III!

Part II:

Fortunately, Kim Beasley, the Blog Queen, was available for the second part of Leesa’s interview. Unfortunately, Leesa was not! We found out after we recorded Parts II and III that she had a family emergency and we will be keeping Leesa and her family in our prayers as they struggle with such the unexpected situation.

We did, however, continue with a pseudo-interview by discussing some of the highlights you’ll find in Leesa’s book, Podcasting for Profit. In Part II, we covered several topics:

Leesa’s identification of podcasters she has personally met into 2 camps: moneyists (those who see podcasting as an avenue for creating or enhancing revenue for their business) and hobbyists (those who podcast for fun without a thought of ever profiting from their efforts). Kim and I wonder if it’s possible to pitch our tents in both camps. What do you think?
How long should a podcast be? What if it’s audio only? What if it’s a video podcast (vBlog)?
How should you choose your podcast topic?
The flexibility of podcasting

In Part III, we asked the question, “Why should business be interested in podcasting?” and explored the answers to that question that you’ll find in “Podcasting for Profit.” Other topics we discussed from Leesa’s book included:

How podcasting can help you build relationships with your business clients and associates
The 7 Steps to Podcasting to Profit that Leesa outlines in her book

Kim also filled us in on her return to Corporate America and a new joint venture she’s embarked on with Tim Conner of the Conner Resource Group (you can hear an interview Kim did with Tim on her website, Minding My Business at www.mindingmybusiness.org).

We missed having Leesa on the show with us and hope we did her book justice. If you’re a podcaster or aspiring podcaster and whether you consider yourself a moneyist or a hobbyist, you can benefit from the information in “Podcasting for Profit.” To find out more about it, FIRST listen to this podcast, then rush over to www.leesabarnes.com and order your copy today!

Intro and Exit music provided by IODA Promonet, this week featuring:

Fablefactory
“Chicken Man” (mp3)
from “Freak Out Hard On You”
(Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records)