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There\u2019s no denying that the business of speaking isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n
You may have the most inspiring story in the world. You may be able to work wonders when you\u2019re on a stage.<\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re not getting booked to show your story, your talents don\u2019t get you anywhere. Nobody gets to hear what you have to say and you struggle to generate an income from your speaking.<\/p>\n
This is a particular problem for new speakers. You hope to become an influencer in your field but you haven\u2019t found a platform yet. This means you don\u2019t have proof of your speaking abilities, which means event bookers look elsewhere.<\/p>\n
They may prefer using established speakers over taking a risk on someone who\u2019s new to the industry. That\u2019s assuming that the bookers have heard of you at all.<\/p>\n
Getting proactive will help you. As a new influencer, you need to put in some legwork to show people that you can deliver.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what this article aims to help you with. If you follow these four tips, you improve your chances of getting booked as a paid speaker.<\/p>\n
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Even as a new speaker, it can feel a little disheartening to have to speak for free. You have a great story to show people and you know that it has value. Speaking for free can feel like you\u2019re giving your story away without seeing any sort of benefit.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s these free engagements that can play a large part in helping you to find paid bookings.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because they provide you with the opportunity to create materials that you can send out to bookers.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t see free speaking as an insult to your abilities. See it as an opportunity to capture footage of yourself on stage. Bring a camera to the event and have someone film you as you speak.<\/p>\n
You can leverage this footage to build a following on social media. That\u2019s what renowned online marketing influencer Jeff Bullas does. Inc. has named him as one of the world\u2019s top 20 digital marketing experts. And he points to LinkedIn as a great social platform where you can leverage your materials.<\/p>\n
In an article on his blog, he says:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have one, it\u2019s a great idea to share your speaking reel. This can go right under your summary <on LinkedIn>, so people immediately see you in action. If you don\u2019t have a produced reel, consider embedding two or three full-length videos in this section to entice event organizers to contact you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n This also gives you something to point to if an event booker questions your abilities.<\/p>\n You can also gather testimonials from people who see you at free events. Speak to members of your audience and ask if they\u2019d be willing to comment on what they gained from watching you. Ask them if you can film the testimonial, which gives you something else to leverage on social media.<\/p>\n The aim of all of this is to show that you\u2019re somebody who has an impact on an audience. That\u2019s what bookers want from their speakers. Use a video of yourself speaking to show what you do. Then, use testimonials from your audience to show the impact that you have.<\/p>\n \n Bookers don\u2019t want to hire someone who claims to be able to talk about anything. That just means you\u2019re not an expert. You can\u2019t offer anything of value because you\u2019re not dedicated to a niche or industry.<\/p>\n They want to see that you have a purpose and that you understand your audience.<\/p>\n Your story needs a clear message and you need a defined reason for showing that story to the audience. Anybody can get on stage and tell a story. It takes a special influencer to tie their story into an overarching message to show the audience why they should care.<\/p>\n Susan Tardanico is a speaker and the author of Beating the Imposter Syndrome<\/em>. She points to purpose as being extremely important.<\/p>\n In an article for Forbes, she says: \u201cBefore you start working on your script or presentation, get clear on its purpose. What are you trying to accomplish? What impact do you want to have on your audience? Are you looking to inform? Inspire? Persuade?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Speaker and personal branding expert Gary V mirrors that sentiment. He says:<\/p>\n \u201cMy biggest secret is to talk about what you know you’re good at \u2013 talk about stuff you know. I don’t talk about things I don’t know.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Once you know your purpose, you can identify your audience.<\/p>\n This makes it much easier to talk to bookers. You can see \u201cThis is what I speak about and this is who my message appeals to.\u201d From there, you can highlight your credentials and continue building your authority as an expert in your niche.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what a booker\u2019s looking for. They want to know that you can deliver value. With a defined purpose in place, you can show exactly how you do that.<\/p>\n \n One of the biggest misconceptions that speakers have is that they need to wait for the call. You put all of your materials out there and sit back. Bookers will find you and come calling with offers.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not how it works, especially when you\u2019re at the beginning of your career. Nobody knows who you are yet so they\u2019re not actively searching for you.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where our advice to be more proactive comes in. Instead of sitting back and waiting, start researching. Get online and find out about as many speaking opportunities as you can. Record the contact information of every booker and get in touch.<\/p>\n Ask them if you can speak.<\/p>\n Sam Jarman is a software developer and speaker. He points to this simple tactic as being one of the best ways to get more speaking engagements.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat you might not realise that a lot of organisers of internal conferences, meetups, external conferences and more actually want speakers. One of the biggest fears for these people is that no one wants to speak at their conference, and then no one attends.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He then adds:<\/p>\n \u201cSo reach out, say \u2018I have an idea for a talk, since I\u2019ve done xyz recently\u2019\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n Sometimes, a booker doesn\u2019t know exactly where to look to find great speakers. And even if they\u2019ve filled up the speaking slots for an event, they always want to find more talent.<\/p>\n Just ask to get booked for the event. Even if you don\u2019t get booked for the event in question, you put yourself on the booker\u2019s radar. They may think of you the next time a similar opportunity arises.<\/p>\n \n Of course, bookers do actively search for speakers themselves. While it helps to be proactive, it\u2019s also a good idea to make sure you\u2019re visible to the bookers you don\u2019t even know about yet.<\/p>\n Your social presence is important here. But what you may not know is that many bookers have other avenues for finding talent.<\/p>\n Paul Potratz is a multi-millionaire speaker who\u2019s established himself in the business niche. He points out that you need to put yourself where bookers look if you want to get booked.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a plethora of sites online that work as speaker databases, so organizations looking for speakers can search through by content or topic to find the perfect speakers for their event.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He points to the National Speakers Association and Speaker Services as good examples of such databases.<\/p>\n Each operates a database that basically acts as a directory of speakers. You can enter your basic details so that your name starts to pop up in searches for your niche.<\/p>\n Potratz also discusses the issue of paid entry into these databases. That\u2019s something that a lot of new speakers may balk at. He says that the free options are good enough when you\u2019re starting out:<\/p>\n \u201cYou may be thinking, \u2018If I want to take this seriously, shouldn\u2019t I get a better plan?\u2019 But the idea isn\u2019t necessarily to get you hired off of one of these sites, but to have your name pop up in as many different places as possible when a potential client searches your name.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The point he\u2019s making is that you can use these sites to build awareness. If your name keeps popping up, it\u2019s going to stick in people\u2019s minds. Even if they don\u2019t book you from the initial search, the fact that you keep appearing may pique their interest.<\/p>\n You just need to ensure you have something of value to offer when the booker researches you further.<\/p>\n \n All of the influencers cited in this article have built careers as professional speakers. That makes them the perfect people to listen to when you\u2019re trying to find more bookings.<\/p>\n Leverage every scrap of material that you have to help people see how much value you bring to the stage. Make sure bookers can find your name on the platforms that they use to search for speakers.<\/p>\n Establish a defined purpose so you can show your expertise. And finally, get in touch with the decision makers. Sometimes, you just need to put yourself out there to get bookers to pay attention.<\/p>\n This offers a good starting point. However, there\u2019s so much more to building a speaking business that Speakers Institute can help with. We recommend that you do the following:<\/p>\nTip #2 \u2013 Define Your Purpose<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tip #3 \u2013 Ask for the Gig<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Tip #4 \u2013 Put Yourself Where Bookers Search<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nThe Final Word<\/strong><\/h2>\n