How To Start Your Paid Speaking Career

Ready to start your PAID speaking career?

Co-founder, Bridget here—I've known Speaking Coach and Speaker, Shannon Malkin Daniels for the past 1.5 ish years and we've loved not only getting to know each other but chatting about all things public speaking.

Tune into the full episode below or keep reading to learn more about how to begin.

The most important thing to remember if you desire to get paid for speaking is that this likely won't happen overnight—which yes we know isn't really the sexy answer. It takes building relationships, refining your craft, getting yourself known and usually* many free speaking gigs before you begin to make money.

Here's how to get started.

1. BEGIN SPEAKING—Ok, we know that this sounds silly and obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many business owners want to get paid to speak, yet aren't actively honing in on their craft. And speaking truly is a craft; an active practice that is refined over time. So look at areas of your life and business where you are already speaking. Are you currently hosting events or online workshops or getting yourself on podcasts? If you're not doing small things to enhance your abilities, this is where you should be starting. Any opportunity to speak is a good opportunity when you are just starting.
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR ZONE OF EXCELLENCE—To be invited to speak on a stage or host an event for an organization, you need to hold some level of mastery in a certain area of interest or expertise. You might even have numerous mastery areas. For instance, Bridget doesn't just speak about PR, Business Visibility or Audience Growth, but she's also well known for her talks in schools/organizations about Positivity, Dreaming Big, Meditation, Breathwork, Holistic Living and more. The key here is she's able to brand herself as such. So what's your thing? When people think of your name or your brand, what would they say is your zone of excellence? This is even something that you could go and ask a friend to see what they might reflect back to you.
3. NETWORK + BUILD RELATIONSHIPS—Just like with PR and Media Exposure, we are always focused on networking and building relationships when it comes to speaking. Although there are application only stages like TedX, most speaking is really through relationship building and becoming known for something in your industry. Bridget shares about this in the above podcast episode to learn more about the importance of building relationships.
4. SHARE YOUR SPEAKING WINS—In the Visibility on Purpose world, we call this leveraging media wins. No one is going to know about your speaking win unless you share it! Send an email to your list. Post across social platforms (LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, etc). Add your speaking win to your website to that you can begin to get more attention for speaking. It's really important that you make it known to the world that yes, you are available to speak! 
5. BEGIN TO MONETIZE—We're going to be honest, monetizing for speaking might take some time. You'll likely hear that many speakers spoke for free, for a while. Why? Because PRACTICE is a great gift. Organizations and businesses typically have money in their budget for lunch and learns or team trainings, etc so we recommend starting there. Also remember that monetizing your speaking might not come directly from the stage or event itself, always be thinking about where you are leading people. What is your call to action? Do you have books (remember to bring them, if allowed!) Most stages will ask that you don't sell from stage, so instead be ready with a free resource, gift or business cards so that your relationship can continue to flourish with the listeners.

Like what you're learning? Head over to Shannon Malkin Daniels site for more information, subscribe on Youtube and listen to our podcast where we talk about this topic and all things PR, Media Exposure and Marketing.

Want to kickstart your speaking and visibility journey as a business owner? Purchase our full PR course, Pitch Party for $1497USD. learn how to position your brand for media exposure, research top editors, writers and TV producers, answer HAROs correctly and build relationships with members of the media so that they think of you next time they're writing a story on health & wellness tips for 2024.