5 easy steps to land gigs like an expert
Determine your target audience
Start by knowing your niche audience. This is a vital factor because it can establish your relevance and make your presence felt better in the lives of those who are genuinely passionate about the information you have and can share.
You will need to know who specifically will engage with your message.
Research organizations that have members of your target audience
Once you’ve determined which people will resonate with what you have to share, research what organizations, associations, and groups they might belong to. Create a directory of organizations along with contact information for the person responsible for booking speakers for conferences, workshops, etc.
Prepare a 1-minute presentation highlighting who you are and how your speech can help people
If you’re trying to get speaking engagements with little or no prior experience, create a presentation that examines who you are and how your speaking can help your niche audience. Put together a highlights compilation reel if you have some previous engagements under your belt.
If you are an author and have a book that has been published or will be released soon, be sure to include this information.
Contact those organizations and ask if you can speak to their members at one of their upcoming events.
Contact the coordinator of the organizer. Explain who you are and that you are a speaker. They will want to know the topic of your speech, so be prepared with some highlights of your speech. Be sure to emphasize the value you would bring to your membership.
Ask if you can send them any marketing materials. You want to have a summary of your “talk” and your bio ready to send to them.
Follow up with those contacts via email and send them marketing materials to remind them of the value your pitch will bring to your members.
You can make this a simple email where you write “I wanted to sign up again regarding possible guest speaking opportunities” and then include the text of your previous email.
It can feel like a hassle emailing someone two or three times, but it’s important to remember that everyone is busy. However, some of the most successful live workshops or chats were with people who were sent multiple emails. Marketing materials should be sent to the target audience to emphasize the benefit each member will receive from her speech.
In conclusion, gaining traction as a professional speaker takes time and effort. You have to do a lot more than hang around saying you’re a Speaker. Being reserved to talk constantly requires you to get out there and market yourself.