Make the Most of Giving Your Speech for Free

Is speaking in public one of your goals for the year? If so, congratulations! You
are embarking upon one of the best ways to attract your ideal clients. One of
the things I enjoy about speaking is that the organization that produces the
event is in charge of filling the room, so there is no marketing that you have
to do. That’s already taken care of for you! As you start to create your plan
to put yourself out there as speaker, here are a few success tips to follow.

Create Your Signature Speech. You can use this speech for live speaking
engagements, webinars and teleseminars. A signature speech is your standard
message that you can give to any audience at any time. It’s an overview of your
topic and why it’s important to your audience. It needs to be filled with
relevant information that your ideal clients are hungry for and also opens the
door for those who want more personalized help directly from you. This speech
can serve you for years!

Create a Speaker’s Sheet for Your Signature Speech. This simple document includes your speech title, your introductory bio, the product or service you’d like to offer, sample questions you can be asked if you are being interviewed, phonetic “spelling” of your name if it’s tricky and any technical support you’ll need during your presentation. Have this on hand to send out at a moment’s notice.

Establish a List of Events, Associations and Organizations who Use Speakers.
Select 3-5 of these organizations each month and send them your speaker’s sheet. Make follow up calls and book your next few months of speaking engagements. If you travel for speaking engagements, be sure to call around to other organizations in the area to see if they also need a speaker during that same week so you take advantage of already being in town.

Be a Guest on Internet Radio Shows, Podcasts and Teleseminars. Don’t want to travel for speaking engagements? No problem. There are many Internet radio shows and podcasts out there now that are looking for guest experts to interview. Do a search online to find them and write a standard email that you can send out at a moment’s notice. Go to Google and look up “your niche +
internet radio show” or “your niche + radio show” or “your niche + podcast” to find such shows. Or look on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Increase Your Credibility by Promoting Your Speaking Engagement. While you don’t have to be concerned with filling the event, add a simple section in your e-newsletter where you share your speaking calendar with readers. Also, mention your speaking engagements in your social media outlets, web site and
blog. These kinds of promotions allow your followers to show up just for the opportunity to finally meet you in person to further check you out before hiring you. And you’ll also quickly become known as a speaker and attract other speaking opportunities.

Be the Paparazzi. Take your camera and Flip camera. If you don’t have a Flip yet, I suggest getting one. A Flip camera is a simple to use small hand-held video camera that even my cat can operate. It features a USB jack which makes uploading your video to your computer, blog or other web sites a breeze. Have someone take pictures and video of you speaking in front of the audience. Use the images in your ezine, on your blog, in your social media outreach, in your online press kit and so forth. Having these
images will prove handy for increasing your image.

Request a Speaking Endorsement. After you speak, it is perfectly fine to ask the event organizer if they would be willing to provide you with a testimonial. You can either do this at the event, using your Flip camera for a video testimonial or after the event in written format. Once you have a testimonial, add it to your speaker’s sheet so future event coordinators will see that you are skilled at bringing value to other groups.

Make a List. Be sure to make a list of each and every speaking event you do. You will use this on your speaker’s sheet and also for future marketing if and when you develop a different speech.

Embrace “Miss Manners.” It takes an enormous amount of time, energy and money to create events. If you take a few minutes to send a thank you card to the event organizers, you will continue to build a relationship with them. Many event planners say that this is a sure-fire way of getting booked to speak again because most people don’t take the time to do this. Also, offer to be a resource should they need other speakers. This works for both live and virtual speaking events!

Make Some Money. If the event allows you to sell something at the back of the room, by all means, do it! If not, just use the experience to build your list by offering a free report in exchange for their email address and their permission to send them your ezine.

Record It. If you are speaking on a teleseminar, be sure to record the call yourself or ask the event coordinator if they are recording it and can send a copy. Here are just three ways you can use the recording: Use it as a bonus for a program or service, have it transcribed and use the content for several written articles or as a free down loadable report or sell it as an audio product.

Collect Testimonials. After you speak, it is very likely that people will walk up to thank you and introduce themselves to you, tell you a little story or why they enjoyed your presentation. If you have an assistant with you, make it his or her job to ask these people if they would be interested in doing a video testimonial (with your Flip camera) or written testimonial to use in future marketing. Include these testimonials on your speaker’s sheet, ezine, web site, blog, and so forth.

Build Your List. Depending on where you are speaking, you may be able to collect a list of attendees and email them a special report or your power point presentation after the speaking engagement and encourage them to sign up for your e-newsletter. (Again, never add them directly to your list without their permission.) Or you can do a drawing for a book or a product of yours and to be eligible to win, attendees must drop their card in a basket. Be sure to tell them that everyone who enters the drawing will receive a free subscription to your ezine and will get a copy of your no-cost report.

With just a few tips and tweaks like this, you can maximize your efforts with these tips to make the most of speaking, even if you don’t charge a fee.

© 2011 Meredith Liepelt, Rich Life Marketing

Meredith Liepelt, President of Rich Life Marketing, offers a free report called “101 Ways to Attract Ideal Clients, Build Your List and Raise Your Profile,” which can be downloaded immediately at www.RichLifeMarketing.com.