Want to become a paid speaker?
TED talks, YouTube rants and Mr. Peanut, the mascot for Planters Peanuts, are all signs of just how highly valued the art of oratory is today.
Yes, even Mr. Peanut can be seen in Planters ads giving TED-style presentations; people spend top dollar to attend a well-presented speech with useful information from an inspired perspective. The ability to command a fee is a sign that you've made it as a speaker. While it's a long way to the top if you're just starting, if you have something to offer, you can reach that fee status, and there's a reliable path to follow.
Here are the three phases to becoming a paid speaker.
• Ready. “Picking a lane” in your topic is the first step to becoming not only a paid speaker, but a wealthy one. What topic do you want to be known for five years from now? Will someone pay you for that information? Who gets chosen as a conference keynote speaker -- a jack of all trades or someone who hits the center of the bull's-eye on a topic? When picking a lane, consider topics such as leadership, engagement, corporate culture or communication. You'll want to really develop your bona fides, including your material and establishing the goal of how you'd like to help your audience.
• Aim. This marketing phase cannot be underappreciated. It includes aspects like your website and what you do to drive traffic there, which may include a well-written blog with relevant content, and media exposure. However, the most important way to market yourself is to do a truly excellent job with your actual speech. A quality product speaks volumes itself. Therefore, if you think your speech could use help, take care of it right away. No amount of marketing dollars, no fancy Facebook page and no ultra-cool website can overcome a mediocre presentation. However, when you market yourself, you'll want to include a number of materials, including your brand, promise statement, photos, a bio illustrating credibility, testimonials and more.
• Fire. You must now identify your target market and determine the best method to reach them. You need to roll out your product and continue to build momentum. Be ready to fire your message to your target market via a public relations campaign strategy. There are multiple ways of effectively getting good media attention, but don't believe all attention is good attention. Carefully consider your press releases. The mistake most speakers make is sending out a press release that does not answer the question: “So what?” They don't tie it to anything relevant to the press. Another way to “fire” is to identify your ideal customer, also called the The Attraction Method, as detailed in the book, “Attracting Perfect Customers: The Power of Strategic Synchronicity” by Stacy Hall and Jan Brogniez.
If you feel as though you have something to offer audiences via oral presentations, then you probably do. Free online content doesn't take the place of a live experiential presentation. The ability to present your content live, and make the presentation worthwhile and relevant, means you can earn a reliable stream of revenue based on what you're good at.
Jane Atkinson is a speaker coach and author of “The Wealthy Speaker 2.0” and “The Epic Keynote” (speakerlauncher.com). As a former speaker's agent, she has represented business speakers, celebrities and best-selling authors.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments