Learn From Leo Laporte, An Outstanding Niche Publisher



Leo Laporte is a traditional broadcaster who has jumped with both feet into the digital world.

Leo has created a niche online business which produces podcasts, live web broadcasts and accompanying websites. He targets geeks with his shows titled This Week in Tech (TWIT).

This year his business will turnover $1.5m with costs of $350k. All of his content is free. He makes his money from advertising, charging a CPM of $70, compared with most broad content web publishers who get a CPM of around $12. His turnover is doubling year-on-year, whilst his costs are remaining roughly the same.

Leo claims he does not try to predict the future, but he is a master of spotting trends and riding the waves. If you want to know where money is going online and how to get a piece of the action, you should invest half an hour listening to this excellent presentation. Leo talks about how he runs a small, highly targeted media company, which serves a highly engaged audience.

To whet your appetite, here are some of the things he says.

  • Podcasting is dead
  • Broad traditional media has no future. Their monopoly has gone
  • The future of content is ease of access
  • Twitter is the nervous system of digital . . . but what is its future?
  • Great content will always rise to the surface