Finding Paid Public Speaking Jobs
I’m going to help you with starting your own motivational speaking business and train you on making more and more money in your public speaking career. “James, how do I get paid public speaking jobs?” is one question I am constantly getting. Paid speaking jobs are out there but you just need to know where to look in order to find them. Here are just a couple of ideas for you.
1) Start by looking for organizations that serve the niche you’re in. An example: in my niche I’d look at DECA marketing organizations such as FCCLA. Take a look at investor associations, the national board of realtors or even local community associations if you’re in the real estate industry.
2) Research public speaking jobs in associations within your specific niche. Never be afraid to network yourself and get contact information from the conference coordinator even if you weren’t hired to be their keynote speaker.
3) Increase your motivational speaking success by creating a database full of possible clients who may be hiring conference speakers in the near future. Not only should you contact universities, colleges and professors but also you should try contacting local speaker bureaus, non-profit organizations, corporations and even libraries.
4) When starting a motivational speaking business, you may want to check the speaker forums for jobs. You’ll find that many jobs aren’t paid ones, but they may help you build your credibility in your niche. The key thing to remember is to eventually go after higher and higher paying jobs instead of working for free.
5) You’ll develop a system to keep track of all the places you’ll market yourself to as you figure out how to get books for professional speaking. To provide contact information for organizations and conferences that are hiring motivational speakers the internet is going to be very helpful. You can get a large listing to work with just by searching for “calls for speakers” or “speakers wanted”.
6) There are directories that are published that list all the paying markets within a niche. No directory is ever complete, but it will provide you enough contact to keep your business going. There are three main directories that can be helpful with research: The National Trade and Professional Associations Directory, The Directory of Association Meeting Planners and the Directory of Corporate Meeting Planners. These directories do cost a bit to acquire, but they’ll make researching your niche easier than ever!
7) Referrals are the last source of potential paid public speaking jobs. Building up a network of peers and clients in your area of expertise can create referrals, helping to bring your name to the attention of event coordinators looking to hire. The person who markets first to event coordinator is the one who will get the job when they are ready to hire. Make sure you are the one there first!
I’ve got one last thing to share with you. Remember that you can find the people who have the money to pay you to speak. You’ve got a number of resources to help you with researching your niche market. Once you get started working a few gigs, don’t be afraid to go after the big money!
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