Why Speakers Need To Be Content Creators
Patrick Nelson
I help successful entrepreneurs, non-fiction authors, adventurers and TV personalities get paid to speak.
Imagine this: You're a speaker with a message to share. You have the power to inspire, to transform, to revolutionize. But in today's crowded marketplace, having something to say isn't enough. You need a way to make your voice heard. To differentiate yourself, to build trust with your audience, to showcase your unique value.
This is where content marketing comes in. It's your rocket fuel. A powerful tool you can use to rise above the noise, establish authority, and attract the right opportunities.
The Power of Content Marketing
"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself." - Peter Drucker
First things first: What exactly is content marketing? Simply put, it's the art of creating and sharing valuable content to attract and engage your ideal audience. It's about building relationships and trust, not just pushing your services.
Peter Drucker, the legendary management consultant, once said, "The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself." That's the essence of content marketing – creating valuable, relevant content that attracts and engages your ideal audience.
For speakers like you, content marketing is a game-changer. Here's why:
1. You Establish Your Authority
When you consistently create content that showcases your unique insights and knowledge, you position yourself as an authority in your field. You become the go-to expert that event planners and decision makers trust and seek out.
Your content becomes your calling card, your proof of the incredible value you bring to the stage. It increases your visibility, credibility, and attractiveness to potential clients.
2. You Build Trust and Credibility
In a world where anyone can claim to be an expert, content marketing is your opportunity to show, not tell. By sharing your knowledge and experiences, you demonstrate your deep understanding of your audience's challenges and your ability to provide real solutions. You build trust and credibility, which is essential for securing speaking engagements and building a loyal following.
3. You Engage and Connect with Your Audience
Content marketing isn't a one-way street. It's a conversation, an invitation to dialogue. When you create content that resonates with your audience, you invite them to engage with you. You start conversations, build relationships, and create a community of loyal fans who will spread the word about your amazing work. You create a community of passionate advocates who will spread your message far and wide. You inspire them to take action, to make a change, to dream bigger.
4. Showcase Your Unique Voice and Style
Your content is a reflection of who you are as a speaker. It’s your chance to let your personality shine through and give event planners a taste of what you bring to the stage. Whether you're witty, inspiring, or thought-provoking, through your articles, videos, and podcasts, you can showcase your unique voice and style, your ability to captivate an audience, and the value you provide. This is your opportunity to differentiate yourself from other speakers and to give event organizers a compelling reason to book you to speak.
5. You Drive Real Results
Drucker noted, "The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous." Content marketing is about driving action. It's about inspiring event planners to pick up the phone and book you for their next conference. It's about filling your calendar with speaking gigs and your bank account with revenue. By including clear calls-to-action in your content, you guide your audience towards the next step, whether that's visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, or inquiring about your speaking services. Content marketing helps you fill your calendar and your bank account.
How to Create Content That Attracts Speaking Opportunities
Okay, so you're on board with the power of content marketing. But how do you actually make it work for you? What separates mediocre content marketing from successful content marketing? What will help you land more speaking gigs and thrive in your speaking business? Here are 6 keys to making your content marketing successful:
1. Write Content Your Target Audience Wants to Read
Seek to understand your audience inside and out. This is essential to successful content marketing.
As a speaker, you have two audiences for your content: the people who create and manage the events you speak at (event planners and decision makers) and the people who benefit from your expertise (the people who attend the events you speak at).
In both cases, do your research. Immerse yourself in their world. What keeps them up at night? What goals are they striving towards? What kind of content do they crave? What are their pain points? What kind of content do they love to consume?
By researching their pain points and aspirations, you can create content that speaks directly to them and position yourself as the solution.
2. Educate, Inspire and Entertain before Self-Promoting
Here's a truth bomb: People don't care about you. They care about what you can do for them.
So don’t make your content all about how amazing you are. Instead, focus on providing value.
The best content educates, inspires, and entertains. It provides value to the reader, whether that's a fresh insight, a practical tip, or a story that moves them to tears.
Share your knowledge and expertise in a way that helps your audience solve their problems and achieve their goals. Demonstrate your value by providing actionable insights and practical advice.
Serve your audience.
You will build trust, credibility and loyalty.
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They'll be more likely to trust you and want to work with you.
3. Fish Where the Fish Are
If you want to catch a fish, you wouldn't cast your line in the middle of a parking lot, right? Just like a retail business, when fishing, location is everything.
The same goes for your content. To get results, go where your audience is. Go where they spend time online.
Attend the online events they attend. Read the blogs they read. Join the social media groups they join. Listen to their conversations.
While it might be tempting to focus on big-name platforms like Forbes, HBR or LinkedIn, the truth is that most of their readers aren't in a position to book speakers.
Get strategic and focus on the places where your audiences hang out. Find the niche blogs, podcasts, and social media groups where they congregate. Then, focus your efforts on creating content for those specific channels. Even if the audience is smaller, it's the right audience – the people who have the power to say "yes" to your speaking services and book you.
4. Establish Yourself as a Thought Leader
Content marketing is like going to the gym. You can't just do it once and expect to see results. To build your authority and stay top-of-mind with your audience, you need to create content consistently.
By regularly creating high-quality content that showcases your unique insights and perspectives, you stay top-of-mind with your audience and build your reputation as a thought leader in your field.
Set a schedule and stick to it. Whether it's one blog post a week, one video a month, or one podcast episode a quarter, commit to showing up regularly with fresh, valuable content.
When event planners and decision makers see your name repeatedly associated with valuable, relevant content, they begin to perceive you as an authority. This increases the perceived value of booking you as a speaker and sets you apart from the competition.
5. Make It Easy for People to Find You
Creating amazing content is only half the battle. To get results, you also need to make sure people can actually find your content. That means optimizing your blog posts, videos, and other content for Google and other search engines so that they appear when your prospective clients search for solutions to problems in your area of expertise.
Use keywords that your audience is searching for. Write compelling titles and descriptions. Make your content easy to share on social media. The more visible your content is, the easier it is for event planners to discover you.
6. Showcase Your Credibility
Your content is the perfect opportunity to showcase your credibility as a speaker. Use it to share success stories, testimonials, and examples of the results you've helped achieve.
Include videos of your best speaking moments to give event planners a front-row seat to your style and energy on stage. Share photos of you in action, engaging with audiences and delivering your message with passion.
The more you can demonstrate your credibility and effectiveness as a speaker, the more confident event planners will feel in booking you for their events.
How to get the attention of people looking for a speaker
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Peter Drucker
If you're feeling inspired to dive into content marketing, at our speaker bureau, Speakers Associates, we have created a programme which you will love. Designed to help your content marketing succeed while amplifying your impact and reach, our Contributor Programme provides a platform that meets all of the requirements we've discussed in this article.
To begin, we offer an audience that is highly targeted – we reach event planners, business leaders and decision makers who are actively seeking speakers like you. By being a member of the Contributor Programme, you get your message in front of the right people at the right time.
But we don't just provide a platform – we provide a partnership. Our team is dedicated to understanding the needs and challenges of our audience. We use advanced research tools to identify the topics and formats that speaks directly to their interests. We then share this information with you, so you can focus on creating the content that your audience wants to read.
When you join our Contributor Programme, you become part of our community of speakers, business thinkers and thought leaders. We showcase your content across our website, social media channels, and email newsletters, increasing your online visibility and establishing you as an authority in your field.
And, through the curated content we produce in-house, we also provide opportunities for you to collaborate with other speakers, participate in expert roundups, and share your success stories. This allows you to provide social proof of your expertise and gives event planners a taste of what you bring to the stage.
In short, our Contributor Programme is your secret weapon for content marketing success. We provide the tools, the support, and the amplification you need to take your content marketing to new heights.
It is designed for speakers looking to build their brand, attract new clients, and grow their business. By consistently creating valuable content that showcases your expertise and engages your target audience, you position yourself as a sought-after thought leader in your industry. And by contributing to our content hub, you tap into a highly targeted network of event planners and decision makers who are looking for a speaker like you.
So if you're ready to tap into the power of content marketing, backed by a platform that is dedicated to helping you thrive, we invite you to learn more about our Contributor Programme.
If you’re ready to tap into the power of content marketing, backed by a platform that is dedicated to helping you thrive, choose one of the links below to find out more about the?Speakers Associates Contributor Programme:
This article was first published on Speaker Marketing Academy, where I will be regularly sharing insights into marketing for speakers.