Last updated on June 6th, 2018 at 12:24 am
Since your big dream is to become a well-known public speaker, you should know that being considered a prominent, sought-after speaker isn’t just about being a great speaker–it’s about letting people know who you are.
I am not an expert in sales, marketing, branding, and the like. If I had known way back then that I would be in the business of motivational speaking now, I would have taken a lot more of these types of courses.
But instead, I learned everything the hard way. The story of my life. Then again, I sure do remember what I learned the hard way.
I won’t use all the proper words, and I might tell you something you already know. But in case you don’t–let me share with you the number one thing that took me from not being booked for speaking gigs to being booked all of the time.
I worked hard to create an awesome website. I worked hard to write the best speeches that I could. I spent hours thinking about my brand, my image, what I am selling and how I am going to sell it. And all that was VITAL to getting speaking business. Without a good product, you don’t have anything worthy to sell.
But none of it means anything if nobody can find me.
Sure, I sent out postcards, I followed up on leads, I picked up the phone and made sales calls. And I did get results. But those results didn’t even touch the results I achieved from gaining a large internet presence. And notice I said gaining–that’s important. It’s not a one-step process. It was little-by-little, over time, one step forward and then another one, kind-of-a-process. It’s why they call it building your public speaking business.
There is no wave of a magic wand and POOF you’re a famous speaker. That’s important because I think there might be many speakers who are waiting for their POOF.
The Internet is the best way to let the masses know you’re available and help you become well-known as a public speaker.
Okay, so maybe you’ll never reach the masses, but you can find your target clients and still reach a lot of people. Google is the new telephone book where your future clients are using it to find speakers. It doesn’t mean diddly if they look up your name and you are on the first page. I should hope you are on the first page under your name. But most people don’t know to search for you. You want to be found when clients are looking for what you do. So you’ve got some homework–to figure out what keywords they are using to find speakers like you.
Google Paid Ads Versus Organic Searches for Public Speakers
I’m sure you’ve noticed the promoted paid ads at the top of the Google search page. People, obviously, have paid for these ads, and I’m sure they bring benefits at a high cost. But a lot of people searching through Google ignore those ads and head straight to the organic search. I know I ignore them when I’m searching for something on Google.
So that’s what you really want to aim for–getting in the organic search section–the part that’s not paid for–the part that lists sites which have proven over time to be creators of fresh useful content. Because that’s what Google wants–fresh, useful content in the category that you are aiming for.
There is a direct correlation to how much my phone rings and where I am listed on Google.
When I was on the first page of Google for several of my keywords, the phone rang off the hook. Potential clients were finding me. And not just clients, but TV shows, the press, people looking for coaching–people I didn’t expect. But don’t get too comfortable. Everytime Google updates its algorithm your first-page search placement can drop several pages. You have to stay vigilant and stay on top of your SEO strategy.
Feed Google fresh content as often as you can.
Here is a List of 14 Items How Using the Internet Helped Make Me a Well-known Public Speaker
1. I figured out what keywords my clients were using to find my type of motivational speaker. Here on out referred to as “golden keywords” in this post.
2. I created a website that was properly optimized for my golden keywords.
3. I created a Motivational Speaker Facebook Page that I comment on constantly, and work to write comments that get people sharing and commenting. My Facebook page is at the top of the first page of Google for my golden keywords, when my own website is at the bottom. Google cares about your speaker business Facebook Page, how many followers you have, how much you post, and who share and comments in your stream.
4. I worked on getting more followers on my Facebook Page by asking people to follow my page on a routine basis–asking audiences to follow my page.
5. I set-up a Twitter business account and regularly post.
6. Set up a Google+ account and regularly post there too. (Owned by Google, and should be as important to you as your Facebook Page.)
7. I built a LinkedIn profile. Note about LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a closed system–meaning the content you post is not available to Google search engines. It does not affect SEO at all. But I still use it because businesses and potential clients use it. I have gotten business because the person handling the speaker booking found me there. LinkedIn is a small driver of business compared to those who find me through Google search.
8. I created 7 blogs–all related to the golden keywords and subjects surrounding it. I post regularly on all the blogs–never repeating content. Google’s algorithm does not like duplicate web content. If you so this do not cut and paste content from one website to another. Your sites will be penalized by Google. None of my blogs has a big readership–nor do they have a lively conversation going on in the comments. But I am feeding Google fresh content every day. That’s what matters. Big readerships do work–speakers don’t typically have a cutting-edge topic that drives massive fans worldwide. Every time I write a blog post, I share it on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, an even share the links on other blog posts. You don’t need seven blogs. But I think you should write for more than one. And writing a lot is key–as is commenting and sharing.
9. I paid to be listed on several paid public speaker listing websites that have high SEO rankings for my golden keywords. While these investments didn’t really bring me much direct business, as is their intent, they still led people to my site who found me there and clicked-through to my website. Once the listing sites aren’t found on Google search on the first page, they will no longer be of value to me.
10. I wrote public speaking articles on Ezine Articles with links back to my main website.
11. I constantly created press releases for upcoming jobs and projects, with the golden keywords and links to my booking website. This often garners the attention of media people looking to do an article or get a quote for a story they’re writing.
12. When I booked speaking jobs, I looked for ways to be posted on their websites, their social media sites, with my golden keywords and links back to my site. I piggybacked off the online exposure they have. Every little bit helps.
13. I constantly create new videos and post them on my motivational speaker YouTube channel (with the golden keywords and links back) and then share those videos on my websites and social media channels. And there is no harm sharing the link as many times as I want (that’s not duplicate content) so I can sometimes bring up a video I posted back when I only had a few friends, and share it again.
14. I focus on funny. I write hundreds of articles which get read and shared, but it’s the funny stuff that gets the most attention, gets the most shares, gets the most comments. So I try to consistently be funny. Funny gets attention and breaks through the noise of their lives. Even if I have to use somebody else’s funny line (I give them the credit) it still gets the job done.
Yes, this is a LOT of work. It should be–it’s my motivational speaker business online marketing strategy. I don’t go to bed if I haven’t done half of these things. They are the number one thing that drives my business. That’s how the internet helped make me a well-known public speaker.
And now it’s your turn.
Kelly Swanson
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Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, and cast member of The Fashion Hero television show airing on Amazon Prime. She is also the author of Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale, The Land of If Only, The Story Formula, and The Affirmation Journal for Positive Thinking. She was a featured entertainer for Holland America Cruise Lines, keynote speaker for the International Toastmasters Convention, and has keynoted major conferences and corporate events from coast to coast. She just launched her one-woman show Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale in theaters, and it is being booked all over the country. In July of 2022, she was inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame.
Note: Articles by Kelly may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.
