Make Marketing Suck Less

To Speak for Free or To NOT Speak for Free

Let's talk money.

It's wild to me how many organizations from non-profits to Fortune 500 companies and everywhere in between, expect speakers to speak for free or as they like to say it, exposure. Well the only things exposure has ever gotten me was the flu.

Today, we are going to talk about when you should speak for free, when you should start charging and saying NO to free speaking, and how to turn down free speaking gigs without burning bridges.

But before we dive into that, if you're ready to do more speaking and get paid to speak, I have an exciting event coming up. It is the ‘Get the Gig Kickstart,' it begins on March 27th and it's 5 days of five small actions all aimed at helping  you know how to earn money through speaking. How to sell your speech to  organizations and how to craft a pitch that gets you to yes. If you're ready to be speaking more you can sign up at drmichellemazur.com/kick.

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When Should You Say YES to Speaking for Free?

Never, right? Kidding. There are a few times when you want to consider speaking for free!

The first reason to say yes to free speaking is because it's part of your business model. In the first season of the Rebel Speaker, I talked about the two paths to revenue for speaking.

One is paid speaking and the other is client attraction speaking.

Now with client attraction speaking, the key is that you have to be in front of an audience that is filled with ideal clients for the offer in your business. Then you have to have everything else setup. Your speech has to be aligned with your business model. You offer some type of lead magnet or free consult. You know how to nurture people once they say yes to your freebie and then you’re able to make the offer and it converts.

You know even if you're taking this free speaking gig, you will get clients. You will get paid. It's a part of your business model. If it's not the right audience, then you shouldn't take that gig for free.

The second reason to speak for free is because you need the experience.

You're brand new to speaking and you need experience. You need stage time, or you might be an experienced speaker who is taking out a new signature talk or keynote speech, and you need to test that material.

What TED speaker, Nilofer Merchant, did to get prepared to be paid  when she was developing a new keynote speech,  was hire a coach to help her create that speech. She went to South by Southwest, where she knew  they don't pay their speakers. She also knew that her audience was at South by Southwest.  It was the perfect audience to test the new material on. She did her talk for free. She got the feedback that she needed so that she could make changes and start charging.

Now you must be careful here because there could be this tendency to think, “Oh wow, I've only done that speech five times and I still don't feel comfortable charging for it.”

Maybe it's one free speech, maybe it's a couple of free speeches, but there has to be a time when you draw the boundary and say, “All right, it is time for me to charge for this. I feel comfortable asking for a price. I know the product that I'm selling to organizations is a good one.”

When you know your speech is a good product and you can sell it, then it's time to move away from free or reduced fee speaking into charging. There comes a time in every speaker’s life where he or she has to say no to the free gigs.

When Should You Say Hell No to Speaking?

The first sign is that the product, the speech you’re selling is solid and you know it's ready for the market. You are comfortable pitching it. You are comfortable negotiating your fee for it, and you know it rocks.

The second sign is that you're already getting paid or you've been paid to speak. If you are getting paid do not backslide into free speaking just because you want to be speaking more. If you're getting paid, tell people NO, now that you get paid for speaking.

Finally draw a boundary that you will not cross. Exposure is not going to further your speaking business.

Some people say, “Oh, but you never know who you might meet at this speaking gig. You might get opportunities.” My thought is yeah, you might get more free opportunities. The exposure won't accelerate your speaking business, it's just going to keep you stuck.

[Tweet “Speaking for exposure gets your nothing but the flu.”]

As a side note, I know some of you are change makers, you're difference makers, you want to be of service and help. I am the exact same way, so every year I set aside two speaking gigs that I will do pro-bono for an advocacy group or for a non-profit group. I decide who gets those speaking gigs, who meets those qualifications, and all other speaking gigs I say no to.

If it's a cause that is close to my heart, and they want me to come in so that they can do their job better, I'm willing to do that twice a year. You need to have those boundaries if you do want to give back to your community.

How Do You Turn Down a Free Speaking Gig Without Burning Bridges?

The first thing is just to thank them. “Thank you for thinking of me for this event.”

Then just tell them, “However, I no longer do free speaking for organizations like yours. If you do happen to find a budget to bring me in, I'd be happy to talk about it.”

Set your boundary, say no politely, but leave that door open for when they do have a budget.

Always Say HELL NO to Pay to Speak Events

The final side note I want you to take away is, never ever, ever, ever pay to speak. There is a whole business model for event organizers where you the speaker pay for time on the stage, you pay for the exposure.

You are a rebel and you do not want to do that because your return on investment is going to be very difficult because all the other speakers who are speaking at that event also paid to be there. The only person who makes money is the event organizer. It's not going to be you.

Now you know those situations where you should say yes to free speaking. Where it should be a hell no, and how to gracefully say no without burning bridges.

If you're ready to get more speaking gigs and know how to get paid, then please join us for the ‘Get the Gig Kickstart.'

Remember rebels, it's okay to say no to a speaking gig. If they can't pay you or if it's not a good fit, saying no opens you up for speaking gigs that are right for you.