Being a speaker has really opened my eyes to the wide world of business. When I just started out online, I sold courses and did internet marketing. However, once I got into speaking at different events and seminars I saw how my branding and ways to leverage sales of my products went up tremendously
It’s been more than 20 years since then and I can rightly say that speaking and engaging audiences are a great way to get sales for your business. What’s more enlightening is that it can even become a career on its own.
Booking gigs to speak may take you some time if you’re just starting out but let’s look at some great ways to approach it.
Branding
Branding and marketing of yourself have to occur to get your name out there. Do some due diligence on your social media pages and websites to ensure they have a consistent theme, look, and feel. Find what you can speak about for long periods of time without much prompting and post some videos with that on your pages.
Speakers have to speak! So do some of your first speaking engagements freely if necessary. There are many church groups, associations, boys and girls clubs, and community centers that need people to discuss issues. Most of these have limited budgets but are always actively meeting, so they are ideal for you to engage and hone your speaking gift.
With the world most remote due to the pandemic, it has become even easier to do this. Attempt to even go on podcast shows and tell your story. Become bold enough to create one of your own or a blog. Another fun way to share your content and let people know about you is to guest blog in different places.
Getting Leads
Try to offer a lead magnet. Test it out first using free and organic traffic.
But what should I offer, you may be thinking? Look at your core speaking topics and craft something around them. Then give something about it away for free in a report, guide or e-book.
Once you know people gravitate towards it, then you can drive paid traffic to it with the aim of getting your offer more visibility.
For example:
1. On my site, where I teach people how to make money online, I have a free report about different ways to earn income. From it, people can easily reach out to my team and sometimes I get offers to speak at different places about online income-earning opportunities
2. I’m also on LinkedIn, and regularly engage and post things about places that I’ve been speaking or talking about affiliate marketing. People tend to inbox me daily asking how to “build your online business empire.” I take my time to nurture a conversation and help where possible. Sometimes I get invited to podcasts and conferences.
3. I’m also on Clubhouse in many rooms talking about earning income. Afterward, sometimes people book a consultation appointment with me or ask me to speak at their event, podcast, or in another Clubhouse conversation.
Remember, follow up whatever audience you get on social media or your list with consultancy or speaking offers and see what may pop up.
Nurturing The Sales
Once you’ve figured out your ideal market, branding, methods of engagement, and the final offers, it’s time to get the sales.
Have a deal or pricing range for when you speak. And offer persons a way to send you payments when necessary. For example, speaking for an hour versus two (2) hours are separate prices. And speaking at a conference as the keynote speaker is different than being on a panel for a discussion. Look at your options and bill appropriately.
Don’t be shy when asking for these payments. Providing a stable, valuable offer and delivering on that expectation consistently, is a great way to keep business and grab new clients.
Nurture your audience and gather enough of a targeted approach to get people starting to buy into you speaking for them. You don’t have to be pushy or salesy. Once you provide enough value, and you are strategic, sales will come over time
I’d love to know what you’ve been doing online to promote yourself as a speaker. Comment below and let’s start a discussion.