How to get paid for speaking (and create a whole new income stream for your business)
Glossophobia, or fear of public speaking, affects an estimated 77% of the population. Conversely, an estimated 10% of us adore it - experience little or no fear at the prospect and get a huge buzz out of speaking in front of others. No matter where you sit on the spectrum, it’s undeniable that the ability to speak compellingly in front of an audience is incredibly powerful in terms of building a standout personal brand. And many business owners and professionals realise this, and will routinely speak at business functions, seminars, even large conferences and industry events.
But how do you go from that - someone who enjoys speaking, is proficient at it and wants to do more of it - to someone that is actually being paid to speak at events and is sought out across the country? Here’s some quick tips to get you started.
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Create your own brand - and a content & visibility strategy to go with it
It’s all about cohesion - identify your key brand elements and make sure they flow through everything - the visual elements (logo, website, photography, colour palette, personal style), the written elements (your messaging, your brand voice, your social media content) and of course the verbal elements of your keynotes.
Once you’ve got the fundamentals of a great brand in place, work out how you’re going to amplify that message. Don’t feel like you have to be everywhere, all the time - choose your target wisely and remember quality is always better than quantity.
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Draw your audience’s attention to what you want them to see - and not just once.
You want to attract more opportunities as a speaker? Put it in your bio on LinkedIn and Instagram. Take photos (or hire a photographer) when you speak at events and share that content. Reach out to people in your network. People aren’t mind readers - make it clear you’re not only good at it, but you’re available to do more if it.
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Create that rate card.
It might not feel achievable if you’ve never been paid to speak, but trust us - people and businesses have budgets for speakers. Do you have an hourly rate? Apply that to the time it will take for travel, briefings, preparation, admin, attendance as well as delivering the presentation itself.
Charging something is better than charging nothing - you can always increase your fee over time as you grow your confidence and portfolio.
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Hone your craft.
Whether it’s structured learning, or more self driven, it’s critical to review your own skills and capabilities as a speaker and aim to improve them if you expect to be paid for it. Whether you have a natural talent or not - all of us benefit from continuous professional development. Identify the things you need to work on and set some specific tasks.
Think about other events you’ve been to - and think about the things that make a great speaker. Or if its easier, think about someone you may have seen speak that wasn’t so engaging. Why? Was it their intonation, their body language or movement? Was it their content? Identifying the ingredients will make it much easier to work on your own performance.