25 tips to help grow your speaking business
Today I celebrate 25 years in the speaking business. Yes, I started on April Fool’s Day in 1998. As it’s a special I thought I’d share 25 tips to help you to grow your speaking business.
Let’s just get right into it:
- Focus on one specific area, go deep in your expertise rather than wide. This will differentiate you and your content.
- Be totally clear on who your target market and audiences are and speak specifically to them in all your materials and on social media.
- Have a clear USP (unique selling proposition). If you are struggling to define a USP you might find that it is You. Your experience, who you are, what you have done may well be the USP you are looking for.
- Create a speaker website with video, topics, and testimonials.
- Produce high-quality videos: Record and share clips from your speaking engagements or record pieces to camera. Bookers need to see how you speak.
- Be visible on LinkedIn, share posts, comment on other people’s posts, grow your network.
- Network with event organisers, decision-makers and other speakers who can recommend you for speaking engagements.
- Attend industry events; conferences, workshops, and seminars to meet potential clients and stay up to date with what’s going on in the market.
- Tailor your content to each event and audience. You’ll be surprised to know that many speakers don’t tailor, this could be a huge selling point for you.
- Leverage your existing network. Ask friends, colleagues, and clients to introduce you to their contacts who may run conferences or events.
- Be brilliant! Every time you speak, exceed expectations. Go above and beyond.
- Follow up after events. Thank the organiser, ask for feedback and for more work.
- Make it as easy as possible for bookers to find you, book you and work with you.
- Join speaker bureaus, see free resources on our website for a How to Guide on the subject.
- Prospect – look for people and organisations who run events and tell them you are available if they need you (and can afford you).
- Offer workshops and training sessions as well as speaking.
- Collect testimonials from clients and add them to your website, LinkedIn, etc. Paper your office wall to remind yourself how good you are.
- Price yourself correctly, don’t under value yourself or price yourself too high in the market.
- Work with other speakers, support each other, pass enquiries to one another, give each other regular advice and encouragement. Speaking ban be a very lonely business.
- Speak for free or at a reduced rate to practice new content, get more experience, or to reach a target audience you would otherwise struggle to meet with.
- Write articles and guest posts. If you’re listed with a bureau that regularly shares a blog, they will constantly be looking for new content, offer to write them an article/blog.
- Start a podcast to showcase your expertise, or guest on other people’s podcasts.
- Offer value after the event. Workbooks, checklists, slides, recorded videos etc. Stay top of mind for longer than the presentation itself.
- Reply to enquiries quickly. If you don’t bookers will move on.
- Keep working on improving your speaking skills: Book a session with Mary Tillson
- Track your success, analyse your results so that you can adjust your approach and keep growing your speaking business.
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