How to Start Landing Paid Speaking Gigs

Many underestimate and overlook public speaking as an efficient technique for scaling a business. They fail to account for the essential aspect of networking to grow a business. With the help of public speaking, you get to stamp your brand’s mark on the industry, which in turn, helps your brand’s voice resound across different platforms.

Landing paid speaking gigs also means that you get to travel, expenses paid, and network with influential people in your industry. You may be thinking that guest-speaking gigs are the realm of CEOs and famous people, however, this is far from the case. With the help of a strategic plan and effective marketing techniques, you too can land a paid speaking gig.

Create content on popular platforms

Publishing video content on popular platforms is one of the best ways to boost your reputation with a view to landing a paid speaking gig. Free media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, and others are spaces that account for much internet traffic. Hence, these social networking platforms provide you the best odds for a noticeable entry into the niche of your choice.  

However, it is crucial that you first create your brand’s voice and decide on the particular niche that you will target. Once you have decided on that, you can begin working on your content and start to upload frequently. Ensure that your content is always of the highest quality you can manage.

For that, you do not necessarily need a fancy camera set up. For most situations, the camera on your phone should be more than good enough to film content for, say, YouTube.  

Jump-start your social media presence as a speaker

Help people out for free to start with

Revenue generation should not be your priority when you are first starting out. Networking should be your priority, even if it costs you time and money. Helping people out for free is great for gaining heartfelt testimonials and reviews.

The only way you will get clients that are willing to pay you as a speaker is after they hear good things about you. In the beginning, think of speaking for free as a crucial time and money investment that you are willing to make for a brighter future. 

13 professional speakers weigh in: Should you speak for free?

Create your Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch can be in the form of constructing an email that pitches the idea of you guest speaking at a conference, meeting, or presentation. This pitch is the tool that will convince people of the value you can provide them by speaking at their event. 

Remember to center this pitch around the value of the topic, and the type of impact it can have on the audience, which in turn can benefit their business. The email should engage and excite the reader about the productive possibilities of your session. Don’t bore them with long credentials and introductory sections.

How to create your elevator pitch and defining your “Why choose me” statement

Start sending out emails regularly

Once you have formulated the email, you can start sending it to potential clients. Emails are a great way to land a speaking spot because they directly enter the inbox of the client. Hence, an elevator pitch email is a direct method to market your brand. If you are consistent and efficient with your email frequency, then emails can be very impactful in kick-starting your career.

The 6-step guide: Email marketing for professional speakers

Reach out to your local business hub

If you want to land a paid speaking gig, then do not expect it to come to you. It is more likely that your first gig will come from hours of reaching out to your local business hub, compiling a list of venues, and meeting people in your industry. In other words, actively networking and building relationships with industry professionals will facilitate landing a speaking gig greatly.  

5 ideas on how to build your speaking business and get booked

Get involved in Facebook groups

Facebook is somewhat of a goldmine in terms of the marketplace. If you use it the right way, it can be a great pathway to landing a paid speaking gig, but you’ll need to get involved.

You have to start engaging in relevant groups, whether it is posting a pitch, commenting, or direct messaging. The more you become familiar with the community, the better your chances of landing a speaking gig. 

Social networking: what to talk about on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Final thoughts 

The tips mentioned above are things that you should be consistently implementing until you land your first gig.  Success in this situation is directly related to your persistence. Stick at it and you will be rewarded.