Your website is the best example of your personal brand. Most speakers spend the same amount of money on their website that they want to be paid for one speaking gig. Experienced event planners can typically guess your keynote fee simply by the quality of your website. Here’s what you should have to help you land the gig for the price you deserve:
1. Lead with a Catchy Tagline
This is the place to grab your potential client and intrigue them with that Super Power that makes you unique.
2. Provide intro text
Strive for 50 or fewer words that show you understand the wants and needs of your ideal audience and how your unique abilities and experience can solve them.
If these 50 words were on a piece of paper on the ground and someone you know picked it up, they should be able to realize that it belongs to you – not to any other speaker.
3. List your talk titles and a few sentence description for each one.
I suggest about 3-5 talk titles because it shows variety and doesn’t overwhelm people with choices. Make sure it’s easy for your potential client to understand how each talk is different. If you really want to impress, provide a few learning objectives for each talk too and start those with an active verb.
4. Include your bio somewhere on your website
Your bio can be on your About or Staff page, though do make sure your bio has a speaking focus. Please let your personality shine in your bio and make it interesting to read.
Side comment for you here: when you provide your Introduction to your event host, make it one paragraph, customized for the audience, and engaging. The people listening to your introduction want to know your vision for them, not your full bio of degrees and book titles. Get your audience interested in what you will say before you even walk on stage.
5. Invest in high quality photos
Spend the $200-400 to hire a professional photographer to capture you speaking in fantastic venues and add those photos around your web site and especially on the Speaking page.
Note 1: Be sure to confirm with your event host that you can have a photographer.
Note 2: Find time when the big room is empty to get close up photos of you on stage.
6. Obtain high quality videos of you speaking
I suggest a few un-edited videos of about 1 to 3 minutes. You don’t need to invest in a highly produced speaker reel with music, voice over and multiple cuts. Anyone can make one of those look good and sophisticated buyers and speaking bureaus would much prefer to see unedited clips that show you introducing a point, making that point and connecting it to the audience.
7. Share audience testimonials
Add testimonials and client logos to your website and especially speaking focused ones on your Speaking page. Ask your cleints for testimonials on LinkedIn too!
8. Provide easy ways to “Learn More” or “Contact (Your Name)”
Add links that go to a contact form with a few key questions throughout your speaking webpage. It is good to gather potential client’s name, email, phone number, event date, and have an open source box for them to type in a message.
Still feel overwhelmed? Think of the speakers you admire and/or those who have been in the business a few years longer than you. Check out their websites and think about what you like and how you would do some things differently. Looking to others for inspiration is a great way to get clarity.
