12 Keys to building your speaker business
In November, we were lucky enough to have marketing and business building expert, Tsufit, give a webinar presentation on how speakers can grow their business.
In the session, which you can view here, she outlines 12 common mistakes that speakers make, and how avoiding them will lead to more speaking opportunities and business growth.
Many of the speakers who attended the session wrote to tell us how helpful they found the advice, and it inspired us to create this infographic on the 12 keys to building your speaking business.
1. TELL YOUR STORY
Before diving into the content of your presentation: give the audience a reason to listen to you. Build your authority by sharing how you became an expert.
2. DON'T CALL YOURSELF A SPEAKER
Remember you are not just a speaker. You are an expert on your topic. Keep your options open by keeping this distinction clear.
3. HAVE A 30-SECOND PITCH
If you can’t say what you do in 30 seconds, you will never be able to say it in 30 minutes. You need to be able to transfer the essence of what you in 30 seconds, in a way that showcases your skills, personality, and expertise. Spend time working on this!
4. BUILD A BRAND
What is a brand? You have to have a look, you have to have a language, you have key phrases. Your brand is what people will buy into first, before they even get to hear your content.
5. PICK ONE TOPIC
Ideally, you should have one main speaking topic. Keep it focused and clear. You can treat your main speaking topic as an umbrella, with a few customizable sub-topics under it.
6. DEVELOP A FAN BASE
Don’t always rely on the person who hired you to speak to fill the room. People should chase you rather than you chase them. Build an email list, build a social following, grow your own audience.
7. SET A BOLD SPEAKING FEE
Don’t send mixed messages to event organizers by offering to speak for peanuts. People buy confidence, and your fee is part of how you communicate that confidence.
8. BE FOCUSED
Go narrow, or go home. What do you want to be? Own the topic, until people know exactly what you stand for.
9. AUTHOR A BOOK
Books are natural marketing tools. Why? They build authority and they crystallize your message in such a way that people consume it even if you’re not there.
10. MULTIPLE REVENUE STREAMS
You don’t want speaking to be your sole source of income, there is too much risk. Develop other sources of income, like an audio program, online course, or book sales.
11. STAY IN CHARACTER
All business is show business. You cannot go out-of-character just because something technical goes wrong; stay in control, and in command, and confident.
12. HAVE A CLEAR GOAL
Every single time you speak you’ve got to ask yourself what is my goal today? If you don’t know what your goal is, you might as well stay home.
Want to learn about how you can instantly start getting more speaking opportunities with SpeakerHub? Find out more about how SpeakerHub works, or contact us here.