The ultimate cheatsheet for becoming an internet famous public speaker in 2023
The quickest way of going from zero to closing big clients is showing expertise from the stage. Here's everything I learned, from winning best speaker at SXSW V2V to closing big clients:
3 quick growth hacks for getting the most out of a public talk):
A) Make sure you invite each event attendee to the event via a regular calendar invite and set alert emails 1 week before, 2 days before, 1 day before, and on the day - Include some value in each email and a strong title so they open - All of this massively increases attendance
B) Have your slides ready to go out in an email immediately after your talk ends to everyone who signed up to attend the talk - Strike while you have their attention!
C) When traveling around, change your Facebook “current location” to wherever you are about to give a talk to - then you can filter “friends” to find & 📩 them!
Ok, now you’ve got the quick hits, let’s get to the main meal :-)
1. Book your own talks - Don’t wait to get asked.
Most co-working spaces will host you for free with the big screen, chairs, security etc.
WeWork were great when I used to give talks as of the free beer and wine they would give guests, though they have since then started reducing it 🥲
2. Find out what everyone else in your industry talks about… and do the opposite.
Instead, put a new twist on it or ideally come up with a new "thing".
This will get that early interest for your talk.
I spoke about “growth hacking” - a new thing. If I had spoken about “digital marketing” would not have worked so well, people had been giving talks on that for years.
I had a unique brand and angle, and my “internet fame” (in a tiny corner of the internet, but it did exist!) helped me book a crazy 100-date world tour, launching a book that made nearly $250,000, meeting or being referred to my biggest clients ever, and making friends for life.
But how did I get people to travel across town to see me after they’d already had a long day?
It came down to ONE sentence:
3. The title of your talk is the MOST IMPORTANT THING in getting people to attend it.
Don't be boring. Best format is still "Thing they want most" "without thing they scare the most" hence things like "Building a startup company on a budget of $100" did well, or the classic "how to lose weight without giving up chocolate"
4. You also need to get people down to your own talks, no one will do that for you.
Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook Groups are probably my top three as you can easily target people to invite.
Instagram can work for arts/fun/creative stuff, a little less so for business stuff.
TikTok is not really hyper-local, which is what you need.
5. Go on sites like Eventbrite and Meetup.com and search for your keywords to find places to talk at.
Look for regular events, that look like from photos that they might be well attended and cold message them a quick 3-sentence pitch of what you’d like to give a talk on.
Remember: They need you (fresh speakers every week/month) as much as you need them, so don’t think you’re being a “nuisance” - make it happen!
This is how I got started, cold messaging *every* event with the keyword “tech” “startup “marketing” “growth hacking” or “entrepreneur” in it in London.
A few weeks later, once I was confirmed to speak at SXSW V2V, with just 30 days notice, I booked eight other talks in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, including at Cross Campus Santa Monica, where President Obama had given a talk there a few weeks before 💯
Also: Apply to talk at conferences.
They always need more speakers.
And unlike music festivals, there aren't thousands of people applying.
You can apply all the way up to being featured at SXSW, which is the crown daddy of all business events
6. Always film your talks!
Get an audience member to hold your phone and livestream your talk(s) and/or pay someone on Craigslist or from a Facebook group $50 or $100 to professionally shoot it.
Next, edit down the video of your talk to the best bits for social media content.
A one hour talk should be a months' worth of content if your talk is interesting.
7. Get "support act" speakers who are popular locally to speak before you.
No one will expect to get paid and having support act speakers with an existing audience can bump your attendee numbers up.
8. Don't charge people to come see you talk.
All the money is in the brand building, network, and clients on the backend of them coming to see you speak.
Launching a new product or service in the talk is good too.
9. Offer an "afterparty" following your talk, so you can get to know your audience/potential clients.
It’s fun and you'll build great relstionships with even more people - People often feel intimidated to talk to the speaker in front of the rest of the room but a low key setting enables stronger connections.
10. Don't forget to enjoy it!
Business is often boring, difficult, and often a thankless task.
I look back on travelling the world speaking as the most fun I've had so far in my business career.
I made lots of new friends and noticed most of the people who bought my higher-priced courses or became bigger agency clients had seen me speak, whether, in UK, Canada, USA, etc.
There is *no* better way of showing authority that converts to sales then being onstage, live.
Now it’s your turn to go have your little slice of internet fame :)
Get your talk ready, get hustling, and close clients that would be impossible over “cold email” or “tagging influencers on Linkedin”
If you have any questions about any of this, comment below!
As ever, forwarding/sharing this article with people who might get value from it helps me on my journey to help one million entrepreneurs get the cheat codes they need to transform their lives, so…please do! 😄
So…Who’s ready to take the stage this year? 🗣⬇️