By Marc Charles

“In my personal experience, the few really good interviewers have either breadth of knowledge or depth of insight.”
- Leonard Bernstein

Did you know that you could get paid for asking questions? It’s true! And in the process you’ll meet interesting people, make powerful contacts in various industries, and, most important, be doing “work” that is fun and easy.

In fact, I made more than R30,000 in my first three months with this niche business. I simply interviewed executives and “tech gurus” in the beginning days of the dot-com hysteria. All of the interviews were conducted by phone or e-mail. I then sold the interviews to business publications, news-driven websites, general-interest magazines, e-zines, and specialty publishers for R1,000 to R2,000 each.

Though the dot-com bubble has long since burst, I’ve found that this is still a very viable business opportunity. CEOs, hotshot entrepreneurs, and celebrities love getting the attention and publicity to help them stand out from their peers. Most of the executives I’ve interviewed became giddy when “their stories” appeared in the mainstream news or in top business publications.

So where do you find potential interviewees?

Search the newswires for press releases, especially those announcing major company changes or other newsworthy events. It’s easy to do on sites like Google News and news24.com. Jot down CEO names and company Web addresses, and go to their websites to find specific contact information. Then send each CEO a friendly but professional e-mail. Introduce yourself as a freelance columnist and request an interview.

Keep your request simple and to the point. (Two or three sentences, total. These people are busy.) Often you will be referred to the company’s corporate communications or PR department. They’ll give you guidelines for the interviews and help set up the interview time. If they ask you where the interview will be published, tell them you have an extensive contact list of top editors and publishers who may be interested once the interview is completed. (If you don’t have a contact list, start one today.)

Yes, it’s as simple as that. I’ve only been turned down six times since I started doing this. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish if you just try, isn’t it?

The best interviews are more like conversations that flow freely and comfortably. But you do have to do some prep work to make them appropriate for publication.

The first thing to do is develop an outline for each interview. Check out interviews on sites like Entrepreneur.com or Inc.com and study the questions the interviewers asked as the interviews progressed. What sorts of questions led the interviewees to reveal the best information? What questions did they not like?

The next step is to do a little “pre-call” research. This will help you understand the person you’re interviewing, what they do, and their competition. If you don’t prepare for an interview in this way, it will not go well. Trust me.

You also need to come up with a unique angle - a big idea that will interest readers and convince publishers to buy your interview. One of the best ways to do this is to tie the interview to hot current events or news. There are hundreds of ways to do this, but I like to use Google News.

Let’s say you’ve secured an interview with the CEO of a top software company. Their software enables users to make telephone calls over the Internet without any special hardware. If you search Google News under the Technology section, you’ll find that Mobile VoIP is a hot new technology. So I would tie the interview to Mobile VoIP.

If the executive prefers to do the interview via e-mail instead of over the phone, just send him a copy of your questions. But make sure you ask him to be as specific as possible with his answers. And never ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. That doesn’t make for a very compelling interview.

Of course, no matter how good the interview turns out, it does you no good if you don’t have anywhere to publish it… and get paid. That’s where your contact list comes in.

I built my initial contact list of managing editors, writers, and publishers by searching Google and other top engines.

Most publishers will request “exclusive rights” to an interview. That means you can’t turn around and sell it to another publication. That’s okay. In fact, as I gained more experience I charged extra for exclusive rights.

Eventually, I built up a good reputation - and publishers and editors started sending me assignments for interviews they desperately wanted (but were unable to obtain). I conducted those special-assignment interviews for R3,000 each.

It’s a blast obtaining “impossible” interviews with executives, hotshot entrepreneurs, and celebrities. I approached this business like a game, and you should too!

[Ed. Note: Marc Charles is an expert at discovering low-effort business opportunities with high profit potential.]