Speak for Free to Speak for Fee

by BIG Mike McDaniel

Published on this site: November 24th, 2004 - See more articles from this month...

The world of speakers is very large. The world of professional speakers (those who get paid for what they do) is not so large. The world of professional speakers who make a living at it, full time, is not very large at all.

To be a success at speaking, the challenge is to find a way to get more speaking engagements where you get paid. The full time professionals also sell products related to their speaking, often at the back of the room following their talk. Some have a staff to man the tables, others sell out of a briefcase.

BIG Mike's three steps to making money as a speaker

1. Fine tune what you say and how you say it with free speeches. Even those who make 7 figures give freebees. Invite yourself to Rotary or Kiwanis (their members are business leaders most likely to be in a position to recommend you).
   
   To learn the details of how to invite yourself, to Rotary and Kiwanis (including how to find them), read my article "Getting Booked to Speak for Free" You can get it by sending a blank eMail
   MailTo:[email protected]
   
   
2. Become an expert in your field by reading everything you can. If you a plumber and speak about plumbing to enhance your business and reputation, there should not be one question that an audience member could ask that you can't answer. Study your field on the Internet at least one hour a day, every day. You should know what you do so well you could write a book about it
   (not a bad idea).
   
   A speaker with a book is more likely to get booked that one without a book. With two or more books, CDs Tapes, eBooks and TeleSeminars and hundreds of published articles, there can be no doubt of your credibility and expertise.
   
   
3. Speak everywhere. Every time you speak you will get better. Don't worry about audience evaluation forms at first, just go talk. As you get better, the number of people coming up to you afterward will grow accordingly. You will have to do it for free until you get the credibility, and experience, to do it for a fee. Invite yourself to speak to clubs and associations in your area.

Don't quit your day job until you have business and marketing systems in place and running and are generating bookings at least 6 months in advance. It takes work, but it can be a lot of fun and very profitable.

(c) 2004 BIG Mike McDaniel - All Rights Reserved -

BIG Mike has been a professional speaker for over 30 years and Chapter President of the National Speakers Association.

Big Mike works with people who want to become professional speakers. His GetPaid2Speak series is a 12 week university-level distance learning course. Check it out at http://GetPaid2Speak.com

Subscribe to BIG Mike's GetPaid2Speak Newsletter, filled with tips and ideas for professional speakers, new speakers and those who want to be speakers. Send a blank eMail to: [email protected].