Here's how you can discover speaking opportunities to jumpstart your career in motivational speaking.

Look for podcasts in you field of expertise. Upstart podcasters are always looking for experts to help them build a following. Not only does this help them with content but it gets your name and reputation out to others.

Local networks can definitely be your go-to for starting up as a motivational speaker. You can also start by speaking among smaller group of friends or colleagues and even get them to give you feedbacks to support your voice . This can be a great start the biggest setups have always started the smallest remember each tiny drop counts in the formation of an ocean

Chambers of Commerce are underrated tool in the speaking world. I have found that being a part of a chamber and volunteering for projects and to be a face of it helps get your name out there much faster. This strategy has helped individuals rapidly scale their business and speaking careers.

Niche down to blow up! Go hyper local. What is happening in your community, your town, your book club, your crafting circle…the list goes on and on. Start with the most niche things and spaces that you happen to know really well. Those can serve as really great entry level speaking opportunities. Once you have a few of those under your belt, it’s time venture out a little further.

I've started my career speaking at Meetup Groups, Toastmasters meetings, Universities, and small local events. Start where you are since it is easier to get the opportunity and doesn't require you to spend a lot of money on travel expenses. Make sure however that you are constantly asking for testimonials and recording your speeches. These are really valuable to your career.

Joining online forums and social media groups is a fantastic way to launch your motivational speaking career. These groups provide a platform to not only share your insights and establish yourself as a thought leader, but also to connect directly with event organizers and potential clients searching for new voices in the motivational speaking world. By actively engaging in discussions and showcasing your expertise, you can increase your visibility and land those speaking opportunities that will jumpstart your career.

This has worked wonders for me ! Specially for the start a great way to practice your skills and even overcome a fear or hesitation you may have in line with motivation speaking . Listening to others audio and live eevents can give you great tips and ideas to start up and learn new things from . Continued listening and practicing is the way through

Facebook groups are an old classic online space where you can connect with like minded people. LinkedIn has groups. And the favorite that not many people seem to know about is meetup.com You can start there and connect with people who would love to hear you speak on a topic that’s important to them.

I've recently tried my first speaker bureau experience and it was great - they handled everything and made it easy and transparent for the client to book me and know my prices.

Speaker bureaus can be very effective, but be careful to steer clear of "speaker bureau" scams out there. Red flags: 1. Asking for a fee upfront. (They should only be receiving a commission on contracts) 2. An unprofessional website with very inconsistent speaker photos 3. The "bureau" doesn't doesn't vet or assess your value before inviting you aboard.

Speaker Bureaus are a great source of opportunities. However, don't bet on them when you are just starting out. Respectable bureaus won't work with you until you have a proven track record of success. It's a catch-22 really, they will only work with you and send events your way once you start getting so booked that you don't need them. Beware of SCAM bureaus where they charge you a fee for any reason (to get listed, to get a visa for a foreign country for a speech they have for you, etc).

At this point, a personal brand isn’t something that’s nice to have, it’s actually essential! More and more, our lives are being loved out on the internet and your personal brand is like your digital representation of who you are and what you stand for. The beautiful thing is that you can curate and create this. It shouldn’t be a chore, this is a fun endeavor! There are a ton of resources online about how to build a personal brand but I suggest you start with getting clear with what you want your brand to stand for and what message you want to convey to the world.

An effective personal speaker brand will not predominantly describe you. It will instead communicate your point and purpose. Consider how your audience will be enlightened and empowered by your keynote, and make that impact clear in your brand/marketing messages.

If you are starting out, your personal branding isn't as important as your hustle. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have some personal branding on your website. Try to find areas you can speak on where you are or can quickly become an expert on. I know, you probably think you can talk about a variety of subjects but if you focus on one or two main ones, it makes a lot easier for event planners to choose you over a bigger speaker. Mine for instance are Risk & Change management as well as leadership through crises. Can I talk about normal leadership? Of course. Burnout prevention? Surely. Engaging talents? Yes. And sometimes I am invited to talk about these topics as well as others. But my marketing focus is on those two.

It’s okay to speak for free, in fact, every speaker should speak for free at some point in their career. It shows you what you’ll show up for, what you truly want to give back and to who. It’ll also help you in ways that are not monetary - testimonials, loyal customers, leads, etc.

Start small. Be consistent. Use opportunity to build trust and relationship. Walk the talk. Speak from your heart and experience. Share your life lessons. Be simple . Use language others can understand easily

When you are starting out volunteering or doing pro bono is almost a requirement. Be careful only not to be sucked into bad opportunities just because the event organizer says it will be great exposure for you. Only you can decide that. Here are some things to have in mind to decide if a free gig is worth for you: - People in the audience that can hire you - The size of the audience is bigger than you are used to - Low cost to get there and free space in your calendar anyway - You want to try out some new material - The stage from last year looks good and you need new footage for your sizzle reel - You need/want more testimonials

A direct outreach will have a rather empowering impact on your motivational speaker skills as that boosts your confidence 3X and also increases the exposure level. You need to be very proactive to research on types of events or communities for which you can speak your best and need be very confident when presenting your skills . When you stay in the loop of such events networks you gain more knowledge confidence and skills to grow further on

Why are you so afraid of direct outreach? I have a mindset shift for you! What if you viewed it as a situation where you’re making it easier for the people who are looking for you and your brilliance to find you? See what we did there? It’s true though - the people who you’re mean to connect with are already in process of looking for a speaker and you, by reaching out, are making their job easier! Most people will be grateful for it!

Unless you are a celebrity, you NEED direct outreach to get events. You can either do it yourself or hire an assistant or salesperson to do so. VAs are cheap and if you train them well, they will be a good investment. However, don't hire them thinking they will bring in many clients if you don't have a working sales process in the first place.

find likeminded speakers!!! I cannot say this enough! being part of a network that is supportive of each other and not against is key to collective success.

If nothing else works, record yourself speaking and make a demo video. Ask for friends and people who saw you before to give you testimonials. Apply for TEDx events near you at the TED website. If you can afford it, consider even paying to speak at an event. Do whatever is necessary to speak on stages if professional speaking is your goal.