I have the pleasure of demystifying how to get paid for speaking and make more money as an entrepreneur – and showing coaches, consultants and experts how to stop making common mistakes as speakers.
I’ve been doing this speaking thing for 20+ years (since winning the Miss Junior America competition in college).
And, when I first started out (and, to be completely honest, for probably the next 10 years), I thought when you want to get paid for speaking, the Holy Grail was the high-paid keynote.
So, I was constantly chasing what often felt like an elusive speaking opportunity – since few keynotes are “pitched.”
I would speak, oftentimes for free, in hopes that a decision-maker would be in the audience and then book me to deliver a keynote for his or her group. I thought this was the best way to get paid for speaking.
Sometimes, that did happen.
I booked 2 keynotes after speaking at INBOUND the first time, and between those gigs (and some other coaching opportunities that unfolded), I wound up generating multiple-five figures in revenue from one “free” speaking event.
I now realize that there are lots of ways to get paid for speaking as an entrepreneur.
I don’t fixate on landing keynote speaking opportunities. They come when they come. Instead, I focus on aligning my speaking with my larger business goals. I’ve discovered this is actually the best way to get paid for speaking.
Here’s how I’ve been using speaking to generate multiple six-figures of revenue for my business AND how I use it as a service offering in my business.
This is How I Get Paid for Speaking as an Entrepreneur
1. I use speaking to funnel individual coaches, consultants and experts into my business for my individual, group and mastermind speaking programs
I book myself paid (and, quite often, unpaid) speaking opportunities to speak on/at:
- Conferences and associations serving female entrepreneurs
- Conferences and associations serving business, life, leadership and health coaches
- Training programs/mastermind groups that serve female coaches, consultants and experts
- Women’s co-working spaces that serve female coaches, consultants and experts
- Tele-summits that serve female coaches, consultants and experts
- Podcasts that serve female coaches, consultants and experts
- TV segments with angles that will connect with female coaches, consultants and experts
- My own live events like The Spotlight MasterTreat and Improv for Speakers and Trainers (I could put these events under I how I serve in my business but because they are responsible for generating over 6-figures of business each year, I am keeping them in the marketing category)
2. I use speaking to funnel companies (and decision-makers) into my business
I book myself paid (and, quite often, unpaid) speaking opportunities to speak live and via webinar at:
- CEO groups
- HR and talent development groups
- Professional associations that serve decision maker-level employees (directors and above) across industries
- LinkedIn Learning (Now, I could put this in category 4 as I’m paid well for this, but in addition to creating great training I see this as a huge promotional opportunity, hence why it landed in this list)
Then, once I have my ideal individual and organizational clients in my sales pipeline, here are the two pathways for my speaking service.
3. I use speaking to create impact for coaches, consultants and experts in these core programs.
- The Spotlight Speaker Accelerator (90-day speaker coaching program)
- Spotlight Speaker Mentorship (1-on-1 speaker/thought leader coaching)
- Spotlight Speakers Collective (9-month mastermind) and Spotlight Speakers Collective Alumni Experience (9-month mastermind for SSC grads who want to continue their work with me)
4. I use speaking to create impact for companies via these offerings.
- Keynote presentations
- Step into Your Moxie® Presentation Skills (i.e., executive speaker coaching, team speaking coaching and training, and individual/organizational thought leadership development)
- Step into Your Moxie® Women’s Leadership (i.e., individual and ongoing training for high-potential women and established leaders)
I wanted to pull back the curtains on how to get paid for speaking as an entrepreneur.
To recap, I use speaking to attract opportunities TO my business. And I use it to serve clients IN my business.
I see too many coaches, consultants and experts thinking that Facebook ads and free webinars are the only way to scale and radically increase business profit – and, that’s just not the case. While I use both of these marketing tools, they are secondary to the marketing I do through speaking.
If you want to ensure you are strategic about using speaking to grow your business and don’t make the common mistakes I (and too many of my clients) have made, be sure to grab my free guide below. I’ll also share with you 70+ events/organizations/conferences looking for coaches, consultants and experts who speak!
