"How to Launch a Professional Speaking Career in 2023”
Launching a professional speaking career can be a thrilling and rewarding journey. It's an opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise with a broad audience while also making a name for yourself in the industry. However, starting a speaking career can also be daunting, particularly for those who are new to the profession. In this weekly newsletter, I’ll provide you with some tips on how to launch a professional speaking career and stand out in a crowded market.
To build a successful speaking career, it's essential to determine your niche. What topics do you feel most passionate about? What are you an expert in? What issues can you provide unique insights into? Answering these questions will help you identify a focus area that you can excel in and build your brand around. Additionally, it's crucial to choose a niche that has a demand for speakers. It’s needs to be a niche that has the budget to pay speakers that solve problems.?
The next step in launching your speaking career is to hone your speaking skills. While some people may be born with natural talent, most speakers develop their skills through practice and training. After 25 years of training aspiring professional speakers all over the world in the Bill Gove Speech Workshop, I’ve found that 95% of them overrate their level of speaking skills. They’re attempting to sell amateur skills at the professional level. I should know because I did the same thing. Most of us are told we are very good or great speakers by friends, family, church, civic clubs, Toastmasters clubs, etc. And in those free speech settings, we are probably good enough. But when you’re asking to get paid to speak, that requires an entirely different level of skill.?
Please don’t make this mistake.?
I’ve known aspiring speakers from the National Speakers Association who have struggled to make it for over 25 years simply because of their amateur level skills. They refuse to get professional speech training, mostly due to ego, and it’s cost them a potentially fulfilling and lucrative speaking career. I was in the same position in 1996, but I had the good fortune of meeting a professional speaker named John R. Spannuth, who told me I was failing because I lacked pro-level speaking skills and stage craft. I didn’t like hearing that. After all, as a speech major in college, I was a straight A student. I won ribbons at Toastmasters. I gave speeches all through high school and college as President of multiple student organizations. Everyone told me I was great. The problem was, I lost $50,000 my first year as a Professional Speaker. Something was wrong, and I knew it.?
John strongly suggested I attend the Bill Gove Speech Workshop in West Palm Beach. But it was expensive and I was broke. Luckily, John convinced me that this would catapult my career, so I borrowed the money on credit cards and took the risk.?
John Spannuth was 100% correct. The 3-day workshop was mind-bending. 2 hours into the first day I called my wife during the break and told her we were going to make a million dollars in the speaking business based on what I learned in the first 2 hours. She said: “I hope so, because I don’t know how we’re going to pay all this money back at 22% interest.” I told her not to worry, as I had never been surer about anything in my life.?
12 months after I graduated from the Bill Gove Speech Workshop, I earned $182,000 in speaking income. We paid off the credit cards, and our lives were never the same. By the time COVID-19 paralyzed the speaking business, my speaking career income had exceeded $50 million dollars. And it all started with a 3-day workshop I couldn’t afford.?
Bottom line:?get professional keynote speaking training. My recommendation is the Bill Gove Speech Workshop, which you can attend LIVE or through an online course. More info at?www.speechworkshop.com
3.?????Build Your Brand
Once you've identified your niche and developed professional level speaking skills, it's time to build your brand. Your brand should reflect your expertise and values while appealing to your target audience. Start by creating a professional website and social media presence. Use your brand to develop your speaking topics, which should reflect your expertise and the needs of your audience. Your brand must include a topic for which companies, associations and organizations will pay to hear. Be sure to include your unique points of view in your branding, especially on social media. Clearly establish what makes you different and sets you apart from your competition, and how those differences solve problems for your audiences. Use video platforms like YouTube to showcase your brand on video. You can see my YouTube channel for the International Personal Development Association, of which I am the current President, at?https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFesk1tAKx_bF9OBgLpXUHQ
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Linkedin is another wonderful platform to promote your brand and establish a network or contacts. Create videos, write articles, post photos of yourself onstage, create newsletters, create a poll, and engage with your contacts to build your brand. In 2023, this is the way the speaking business is marketed and advertised. Professional Speaking, at the highest level of the business, in almost 100% referral based, but once you’re referred, the prospect goes online to check you out. That’s where branding yourself through these channels pays off the most.?
Please don’t forget Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as well. While it’s difficult to post regularly on them all, creating even a small presence will help boost your brand. To showcase the content and philosophies of your brand, I recommend Twitter or Instagram. I prefer Twitter because you can promote your best quotes, ideas and opinions, which helps you establish you as a thought leader. You can see mine on Twitter @siebold.?
I would use Instagram and Facebook to showcase the more personal side of your brand, or who you are as a human being. Photos of family, friends, pets, vacations, hobbies, etc. Remember that in the speaking business, the brand is YOU, and sometimes prospects prefer to see you in a more casual, non-professional setting to get a feel for who you really are.??Be careful not to post anything that might hurt your chances of getting hired. Treat every post as though the President of a Fortune 500 company is going to be dissecting it. Don’t take too many chances with posts, including making political statements. I’ve made this mistake in the past, and it was stupid. Stating opinions online can be costly, no matter how right you may be.?
Remember that one speech made to the right audience can literally change your life. The first time I spoke to 10,000 people in Los Angeles Convention Center in 1999, the proceeds paid my house off. No kidding. This business can produce incredible results, so always keep that in the back of your mind. In 2023, everything is public and online. So always consider your brand and how what you are saying and doing might affect it.?
4. Establish Credibility
Establishing credibility is crucial for launching your professional speaking career. Start by creating a portfolio of your work, including video footage of your speaking engagements, video testimonials from clients, and any media coverage you've received. Additionally, seek out opportunities to speak at industry events, conferences, and workshops to build your credibility and gain exposure. When it comes to establishing credibility, do not be bashful. Put it all online and promote it.?
5. Build a Paid Referral Network
Networking is essential for launching your professional speaking career. Attend industry events, connect with other speakers and event organizers, and engage with your audience on social media. Developing relationships with key players in the industry can lead to speaking opportunities, partnerships, and other valuable connections. One of the most jealously guarded secrets of the speaking business is that it’s almost 100% referral based. This is one of the reasons so few people are able to break in on their own. Organic referrals from satisfied clients are great, but how do you get them if you’re just getting started? That’s where paid referrals come in. By building a network of people that you compensate for leads and connections, you take a proactive approach to speaker marketing. I train every one of my Professional Speaker Apprentices how to do this, and it’s generated millions of dollars in speaking fees over the years. To learn about the Speaker’s Apprentice Program, visit?https://www.paidspeaking.org/speakers-apprentice
6. Be Prepared
Finally, it's important to be prepared for each speaking engagement. Prepare and practice your presentation in advance, arrive early, and have all the necessary equipment and materials. Remember, your speaking engagement is an opportunity to make a lasting impression, so make sure you're delivering your best.
Launching a professional speaking career takes time, effort, and dedication. By following these tips, you can build a strong foundation for your career, establish yourself as an expert in your field, and make a lasting impression on your audience. Remember to be patient, persistent, and passionate about your work, and success will follow.??
Each week this newsletter will explore different aspects of the speaking business to arm you with the tools and knowledge you need to succeed. Until then, be sure to take our NEW AI driven Professional Speaker Assessment that generates an immediate probability score that predicts your odds of success as a professional speaker. It only takes 3-minutes, and its FREE at?www.PaidSpeaking.org