Why we need more “long-tail” speakers

Long-tail is a term that has been coined in reference to topics of culture and economy, but can be applied practically to building your public speaking business.

The long and short of the idea is that you could sell a massive amount of something that only a small niche market is interested in, or a small amount of something that loads of people in the general market are interested in.

How does this apply to speaking and building your speaking business?

It is easier to stand out as an expert speaker in a small, niche topic than in a larger, generic topic that many speakers talk about.

While there might be less demand for the topic, you’ll be able to stand out because there is less competition, making it easier to be visible and find the right clientele.

Why be a “long-tail” speaker?

When you speak about too many topics, or your topics are far too broad, you can lose your potential audience.

“I see speaker websites all the time that list 12 to 20 different speeches – I can talk about HR! I can talk about sales! I can transform your legal team! – and they shriek “amateur” to me, because no one believes in the Renaissance person these days. We believe in narrowly focused expertise.” -Nick Morgan, Author of “Power Cues”

Instead of talking about anything and everything, choose one topic that you can focus on exclusively, and customize it to various audiences.

Within that topic, look at what your specific angle can be, and avoid generic topics. If speakers on that topic are a dime a dozen, standing out in that sea of speakers will be nearly impossible.

Let’s look at an example.

The importance of finding your niche

There are thousands of speakers who list their topic as “motivation”.

While it is a “best-selling” topic, it is also unmistakably generic.

How can you stand out from the thousands upon thousands of motivational speakers?

What could you offer that is more specific?

And while you might very well be a motivational speaker, how can you go more in-depth and really get to the heart of what you do? Can this make a difference between getting booked or not?

For example: perhaps your talk focuses on coaching people on how to overcome personal challenges by realizing untapped sources of self-confidence.

While this is still a pretty broad example, it already gives you more to work with: your topics are moving away from the generic term “motivational” and into key terms like “self-confidence coaching” and “overcoming personal challenges”.

While there are hundreds of “motivational” speakers, there are only a handful of speakers who are listed as “self-confidence coaches”. 

A subtle switch like this can help you go from being a small fish in a big pond, to being the big fish in a smaller pond.

By finding your niche topic, you position yourself as a “long-tail” speaker. By doing so, your ability to stand out to an event organizer jumps up insurmountably.

Want to learn more about finding your niche? We have a full guide here. 

Once you’ve narrowed down your topic specifically enough to figure out what your unique angle is, finding your audience and the event organizer who need you will become a lot more straightforward.

Be searchable on the fastest growing professional network of speakers and event organizers: SpeakerHub. Find out more here.