I spoke at the NCET Tech Bite on July 27, 2016 to a group of business owners and local business people on how to use webinars to grow their business.
When I finished, a few people on my Snapchat asked me: “How do you get so many speaking gigs?”
I had to pause and reflect for a bit…
In the past 18 months, I’ve had about 25 speaking gigs – and I’ve never asked for a single one. I’ve always been asked to speak.
Anything from high schools, colleges, graduation celebrations, TEDx, entrepreneurship events…
25 gigs over an 18-month period may not be a lot to speakers already in the game, but you’ve gotta understand – I started from scratch in January 2015.
I’m so incredibly grateful for each one.
So, you want to know how I’ve gotten these? My secret sauce?
First, I’ll tell you what it’s not:
It’s not because I’m the sweetest speaker. It’s not because I’m the smartest marketer. It’s not because I spent thousands of dollars advertising my speaking services. It’s not because I’m the deepest, wisest and best option.
Here’s what it boils down to: 1) I put myself out there, and 2) I have a deep network.
Let me explain.
If you’re reading this blog, chances are, you’ve likely also seen some of my videos. You’ve likely also read some of my other blogs. You’ve likely also read some of my social media posts.
(If you haven’t, you’re missing out – just sayin’!)
I put myself out there through every platform available to me.
In that content you’ve seen from me, you’ve likely gotten some great value from it. Whether it’s marketing, motivation or just good messages, I’ve delivered good content to you.
I’ve delivered value to you. You know when you click on one of my links or take 2 minutes to watch one of my videos or read my long Facebook posts, you’re more than likely going to come out better from it.
So, here’s where the magic happens…
Since I’ve already proven myself to you, you don’t doubt that I’m genuine and I know my stuff. I’m an expert in what I teach & preach.
So, if you ever have an opportunity that comes up in your line of work that may involve one of my expertises and you need someone to come in and share knowledge, who do you think you’re going to ask?
It would be a risk to request someone who is in the same space but you’ve never had direct contact with.
But since it’s me and you’ve already had contact with my other content, you know I deliver. You know I’m about that life.
So it’s easy for people in my network to ask me to share knowledge with their communities because they’ve absorbed my valuable content.
I’ve proven myself far before the speaking opportunity ever arose.
For those of you out there asking how you can get more speaking gigs or how you can gain bigger visibility, yes you can pay money to advertise your services…but man, that’s the hard way.
You need to prove yourself first.
Prove your worth and your value. This is often done through creating free content for people to digest on their own time.
Here are a few applicable examples:
• If you’re a personal trainer, post videos and blogs of your workouts
• If you’re a photographer, post awesome pics on all social media platforms
• If you’re a DJ, create music sets and post them on SoundCloud and on your social media platforms
• If you’re a speaker, create videos and post them on your social medias
• If you’re a marketer, create blogs about unique marketing strategies
• If you’re a real estate agent, create blogs and videos about cool homeowner facts
Creating good content not only indoctrinates people to your expertise, but if people are interested in you and do a search on you, they’ll see all of the good content you’ve created.
Content is king!
That’s it – simple, right 🙂
Action item for you: How can you use content to leverage your services? Let me know what ideas you have in the comments below and let’s chat!
