I want to help you start your motivational speaking business and train you to make more and more money in your motivational speaking career. One question I get all the time is, “James, how do I get paid public speaking jobs?” These jobs are out there but you need to know where to look in order to find them. Here are just a few ideas.
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 opportunities in related associations within your area of expertise. Get the contact information of the conference coordinator even if you weren’t hired as their keynote speaker, don’t be afraid.
3) Creating a database of potential clients who may be searching for conference speakers in the future can help increase your professional speaking success. You can do this by contacting universities, colleges and professors. Be sure to also try and contact your local speakers bureaus, non-profit organizations, corporations and even libraries.
4) You may want to check out the speaker forums for jobs when starting a professional speaking business. Many jobs aren’t paid ones, you’ll find, but they may be useful in helping you create credibility in your niche. It is key that you remember 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) In order to find all the paying markets in your particular area of expertise you can use directories. Do try to remember however that no directory is complete, but it will help provide enough contact to keep your business up and running. The three main directories that are helpful when trying to do research: The National Trade and Professional Associations Directory, The Directory of Association Meeting Planners and the Directory of Corporate Meeting Planners. They’ll make researching your niche easier than ever however these directories do cost a bit to acquire.
7) The last source of potential paid public speaking jobs are referrals. As you build up a network of peers and clients in your niche market, referrals will help bring your name to the forefront when conference planners are looking to hire. One thing I know is that the person who markets first to the conference planner when they are ready to hire will get the job. Your job is to be there first!
One last thing I’ve got to share with you. Be sure to remember that you can always find the people who have the money you need to pay to hear you speak. With these resources you can get started on researching your particular area of expertise. And once you done a number of gigs, get out there and go after the big money!