I do a fair amount of public speaking. Not *insane amounts of traveling* like Chris Brogan, but I am usually engaged in some talk or training 3-4 a month. A good deal of it is for-hire work within corporations, anything from training seminars to cheerleading rallies to get the company excited about social media/marketing. The content is generally customized to the particular client, and can’t be broadcast on the internet. To be honest, a lot of times companies don’t want the fact that they are getting help advertised. I’m the wizard behind the curtain in Emerald City.
All fine and well, but I would like to do more public conference speaking, and without any HUGE public conferences under my belt, it’s harder to land a gig. I’m not a new speaker. I don’t need to learn the ropes (but acknowledge there is ALWAYS more to learn, my TEDx talk taught me that). I’ve done plenty of talks for free. And, as much as I hate to blow my own horn – YES, I am good at speaking, I’m very knowledgeable, and my topics are relevant and in-demand.
So what gives? There is a conference coming up in the fall I really wanted to land, and so far it doesn’t appear that I made the cut. Seeing what did get on the roster is a mix between “oh, my company isn’t that famous” and “wow, really, they picked that over me?”
Maybe all I need to do is share the stage just once with a big-shot in my industry (after seeing Julien, Mitch, and Chris all on one stage, I see the benefits) to get more eyeballs and start to build my own creditability outside of the inside of corporations. I don’t see the benefit of joining a speakers bureau, they don’t seem to actively solicit gigs for you, just give you access to newsletters, speaking tips, and a landing page on their website.
OH! WAIT!!! I haven’t written a book. (Yet.)
