How to Generate Revenue from Your Keynote Speech
Do you a have a little secret?
Don’t be ashamed. You did it, didn’t you? You let it happen. You said, “yes” to a speaking gig where you won’t get paid.
I know why you did it. I know how it happened.
But, you know what else I know? I know how to STOP it from ever happening again. Here’s how to generate revenue from your keynote speech.
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Get Paid to Speak? Who Me?
You are not alone. Most speakers don’t give a moment’s thought to how they might get paid to speak.
They want to be on stage and get exposure. They even hesitate to ask for any type of compensation!
The Rebel Truth: Exposure gets you pneumonia not income.
Speakers focus attention on how best to craft their speeches and then hop on the “I speak for free” train.
I believe most people have what it takes to get paid to speak, they just need to put in the elbow grease to get there.
So does this mean you should say NO to all request to speak for free?
The answer is: it depends on what path to revenue you choose for speaking.
There are two paths to getting paid for your keynote speech: Paid Speaking Gigs or to deliver a Client Attracting Speech.
Path 1: Paid Speaking Gigs
You start by crafting a remarkable speech (or I like to think of it as a product), you then go out and sell that speech to organizations who will pay you to deliver it.
If this is your path to revenue, then speaking for exposure is NOT the best route for you!
I know that landing a paid speaking gig might be your dream come true.
I'm surprised by how many speakers choose this path and then don't do the ONE thing that gets them paid.
Set their price.
I see this in the Rebel Speaker Facebook Group all the time. An inquiry for a speaking opportunity comes in. The person asks for the fee and the “Oh crap, what should I charge” conversation commences.
The bottom line is:
Paid Speakers Set a Price for their Speech in Advance
Need help setting your price? Watch this workshop on how to set your fee.
Once you sell and deliver your speech, if all goes according to plan, you then get offers for subsequent speaking gigs, keynote speeches, trainings, workshops and more from audience members who were moved by your message.
There’s no doubt this can be lucrative, but it’s typically a longer path to revenue especially if you’re just starting out.
If this is your reality, you are a paid professional speaker! Congratulations!
Now the next question that comes up is HOW do I find these speaking gigs.
My best advice…
…Work, Work, Work Your Network
What are the organizations you want to speak for? Do you know anybody there?
If you don’t know anyone yet, what events might you be able to attend to start making connections?
Once you get the “must-pitch” list together, it’s time to craft a pitch letter that is customized to the organization and illustrates what you know about them, positions your expertise and helps the recipient understand why your keynote speech is must-listen-to today!
Ready to Book More Speaking Gigs?
The kick in the ass you need to jumpstart your speaking business with a plan and a pitch for your signature talk.
All it takes is 15-minutes a day for 5 days to get on the road to being a sought-after speaker!
Path 2: Deliver a Client Attracting Speech
Many of my Speak for Impact clients are looking to expand their influence, make a bigger impact with their message, and attract the right clients to them.
Speaking for “exposure” works for them because they've aligned their speech and their business to turn free speaking into paying clients.
The best part is that the client attracting speech has none of that sleazy selling from the stage bs.
When you blow your audience away with your message that is aligned with your business, they want more of what you have to offer. Instead of sell, sell, sell you give, give, give.
In this type of speech include calls-to-action such as a free consultation (typically converts at 50% to 60%) or lead magnets such as audio, recorded webinar or an ebook (can you say 80% to 90% conversion rate? Whoop! Whoop!).
All calls-to-action in a client attracting speech should invite the audience to go deeper on the topic of the speech with you or to receive a gift. The only thing they need to give you in order to get their gift is their email address.
Those email addresses are then added to your email management system where a sequence of emails builds your relationship with the audience after they opt-in.
But no matter what route you choose, it all starts with your signature talk. And if you opt to explore both routes to revenue, you need a signature talk customized for each path to revenue.
[Tweet “The Rebel Truth: Exposure gets you pneumonia not income.”]
Your Signature Talk is the Foundation of Success
No matter what your path to cash is I know that this is the key to speaking success.
A great signature talk.
Your speech is your best marketing tool. It is the mission critical piece that consistently books you gigs and gets you paid.
The Signature Talk establishes YOU as the expert to book on your topic.
It’s not just a speech, it’s your next best-selling product that you can sell over and over again to those who book speakers.
Ready to build the foundation of your speaking business, book more gigs, and get paid? Apply for a Speak for Impact Strategy Session. In 30-minutes, we’ll create an action plan to start generating revenue for your speaking business.
