It’s great when an invitation to speak falls into your lap. But the reality is that if you want more speaking gigs, at some point you’re going to want to start being proactive about it. This means reaching out directly to Event Planners (EPs), because if you don’t get on their radar, there’s no possibility of them asking you to speak!
The goal of reaching out to an EP is to provide them with enough information about you and your presentation that they’re inspired to reply with interest in learning more. Achieving that goal starts with you doing your own research. It’s your job to learn as much as you can about their upcoming or previous events so you can provide them with the information they’ll need to visualize you as a potentially good match for their audience. This doesn’t mean you need to share everything about yourself. In fact, short and simple is often the way to go.
How do you get on an EP’s radar when you’ve never met them and don’t have a referral? You do research to find out the name of the EP who makes decisions about which speakers to invite to speak. Make sure your initial attempts to reach out are sent via the EP’s professional/company contact info rather than their personal contact info. If an EP’s contact info is also their personal info, that’s fine. Otherwise, contacting an EP via their personal info can come across as an annoying and sometimes creepy invasion of privacy.
What’s the best way to reach out? With some EPs, a formal letter might be called for. For others it could be an email, a phone call, a text, etc. Everybody’s different. But that’s okay because you’ve been doing research so you probably have an idea about the most effective way to approach the EP. At the very least, even though you’re reaching out “cold,” you’re more likely to make a good impression.
Here’s a link to a word document that I’ve prepared for you. It outlines the bare-bone basics of things to include in a first contact letter, email, text, etc. Because you’re unique as a speaker, the way you reach out is going to be unique to you too. There’s no right or wrong here… no singular “secret sauce” recipe to follow. But doing your due-diligence research could pay off big time by providing you with exactly what you need to make your first communication stand out.
As I said though, the attached letter is just a guideline for covering the basics of what to include when you’re reaching out to an EP for the first time. It’s up to you to develop your own style, tweaking as needed depending on your results. And remember, EPs are busy people. So don’t take it personally if you don’t hear back from them immediately. You can set your own timeline for how long to wait before sending a follow-up communication. Just don’t become a pest. That’s one of the fastest ways to turn anyone off no matter how good you look on paper!
There are some people who think getting a speaking gig is more about luck, being in the right place at the right time, or knowing the right people. Obviously, it’s great when luck and timing are on your side, but I also believe great things can happen when you create your own positive momentum by doing your own research and taking action. The fact is, you have to start somewhere. If you don’t, you aren’t going to get anywhere!
‘Til we speak again,
~Beth
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