How The Public Speaking Circuit Really Works For Consultants
How to get paid to speak at events, what to charge, and how to secure the speaking slots that lead to clients.
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Who Gets Paid To Speak At Conferences And Why?
I’ve been on the ‘speaking circuit’ since 2011. Since then, I’ve given hundreds of talks across 20 countries. I’ve also hosted major industry conferences in both the UK and the USA.
What I’ve noticed during that time is that there is a deep misunderstanding about who gets invited and paid to speak at events (and why).
The big myth is that event organisers pay the people who give the best talks or have the most expertise.
Expertise isn’t irrelevant, but the majority of the time, speakers are invited before the organiser even discusses what they will speak about.
Often, the agenda isn’t published until a week or so before the event, when most people have already decided whether they will attend or not.
The Three Reasons Speakers Get Paid
It’s best to think of this as organisations not paying speakers, but buying something the speaker has or represents.
When organisers pay speakers, it’s for three reasons:
They make the event more credible.
They help sell more tickets.
They make the event more enjoyable.
There are broadly three types of speakers who get paid at most events.
CREDIBILITY. The first bucket is comprised of big-name speakers, which makes the event more credible. These are the industry leaders or well-known figures who are celebrities, have bestselling books, top-ranked podcasts, or run major companies in their sector. This is like having a major actor attached to a movie - it attracts more investment (especially sponsors) and gives the event an oompf factor. This is the bucket where President Obama can earn $400k for a 30 to 60-minute talk. Outside of the 4k+ person tech events, fees of $10k to $50k are more common here.
PROMOTION. The second bucket is people who have a big audience (mailing list or social media following) in your sector. In this case, the event organiser is shrewdly hoping you will promote the event to your mailing list and a percentage of them will attend.
If you have a 20k+ audience, you’re far more likely to be paid to speak. The economics of this are straightforward. If just 50 people sign up based on your promotion, at 50 * $500 per ticket, charging $5k isn’t such a bad deal (this is the category I fall into).
ENJOYMENT. The final bucket is the speakers who bring something unique to the event, which makes it more enjoyable. These are the folks who are incredibly good at public speaking. The emcees often fall into this category.
These are the TED-level speakers. They have undertaken numerous public speaker training courses, spoken hundreds of times before, and are incredibly engaging and compelling to listen to.
There are exceptions to the above, which we’ll address later, but ultimately, if you want to be paid for speaking at conferences, you must fall into one of these three categories.
Even then, it’s not always easy. If a conference is going to sell out regardless, their motivation to pay speakers is a lot lower.
The Morality vs. Economics of Speaking For Free
It’s worth noting that many people feel strongly that events should pay speakers.
I recently started this discussion about public speaking and what speakers should be paid. It became far more heated than I imagined, but it highlights just how sensitive the topic is.
Broadly, though, a large contingent of people feels that the speakers are the product, and the event organisers are committing a moral sin by not paying them. I sympathise with this argument but it overlooks economic realities.
If every speaker were paid, most events would be unprofitable, and there would be fewer events to speak at. That means less speaking opportunities for everyone.
The event organiser creates huge value for speakers and incurs all the risk. Most speakers recognise this - hence the huge demand to speak for free. Most event organisers either lose money or barely break even from hosting events. When individuals try to host their own events, they soon realise this reality.
Most speakers don’t bring as much value as they think. People might enjoy your talk, but how many would register for the event to attend it? (If you want to test this, consider giving the talk as a paid webinar and see how many registrations you receive.) The value lies in the connection and standard setting as much as in the talks (which is why video packages sold separately rarely sell well).
Unless you can bring something to the event that the event organiser really needs, you should recognise that the organiser is probably creating more value than any individual speaker.
Ultimately, if you’re against it, don’t do it. There’s no shame in that - just be mindful of the cost of that.
Why You Should Speak For Free A Lot
The reality is that you should speak for free the majority of the time.
There are three reasons for this.
You elevate your profile. Yes, getting $2k to speak is nice, but if it attracts a $40k client, then who cares? The more you speak, the more credibility you will have. You will build your audience, establish your reputation in your sector, and significantly enhance your profile. If you speak for free at four events and attract just one client, it will be worthwhile. It may also invite other opportunities you didn’t anticipate.
You need the practice. The more you speak at events, the better you will get. Trust me, you’re probably not as good as you think you are. Keep practising and improving your skills until you can give client-winning talks. See this framework below to evaluate where you’re at today.
Get the photos and videos. It's beneficial to have high-quality images and videos of you on stage. You can sprinkle them in a wide range of places to add credibility and social proof to your work.
Speaking to 1400 people at Mozcon in 2014 - one of my biggest ever talks. New opportunities. An often-overlooked aspect of speaking for free is the networking opportunities it provides. They often host speaker dinners, VIP access to after-parties, private rooms, and more, where you can connect with people and sponsors at the top of their game. I’ve probably generated as much business from this as any other part of public speaking.
See: Event Equity: Stop Aimlessly Attending Events and Hoping To Attract Clients
Instead of being paid to speak, negotiate for something better.
In my experience (before hosting and speaking at events), speakers often negotiate for entirely the wrong things. For example, speakers might try to negotiate for a relatively small speaking fee ($1k to $3k) at the expense of things that would give them the visibility to land $35k to $50k consulting contracts.
For example, it’s often smart to offer to waive your fee in exchange for:
To be on the main stage. This gives you the most credibility and access to the biggest audience. It also means the photos and videos will look a lot better.
To speak on the first day. Then everyone knows who you are, and it maximises your networking time and opportunities.
To get free use to the photos and videos. This is important - you want to promote your talk widely and use the videos in your material.
None of these events cost the organiser much and will seriously improve your odds of achieving your goal from attending the event.
The Three Alternative Ways You Can Be Paid To Speak
There are three ways you can be paid to speak without meeting one of the criteria above.
1. Be Invited (vs applying to speak)
There is a vast difference between applying to speak and being invited to speak.
If you apply to speak, you’re competing with hundreds of others eager to talk for free, and you shouldn’t usually expect a fee (or even expenses). That’s just the nature of supply and demand.
However, if you’re invited to speak, you should always ask for their budget and expect a fee (or at least travel expenses) to be covered.
And the best way to be invited is to know the organisers well (often by speaking for free previously).
See: How to get coveted speaking slots at major industry events
The fee here will typically range from $1k to $5k. Though up to $10k can be possible if you have a large audience, work at a major brand, or meet the criteria above.
2. Speak At Smaller Events
It’s ironic, but a known fact amongst speakers, that the highest fees don’t come from the major conferences, but from the smaller events, often for associations and within internal organisations.
This typically occurs when a regular event has a theme and you’re discovered as a speaker who can give a talk within that theme. Often, these events are online as much as in person.
I’ve earned more from webinars in several years than from events like these, and speaking at industry conferences.
There is an inverse relationship between the benefit of the event to you and how much you will be paid. The less relevant the audience is to you, the higher the fee often is. I’ve earned fees $5k to $10k from speaking at events about travel, science, blockchain, archiving, economic development and more. All of which are conferences outside of my field that had a ‘community’ theme.
This is also where having a speaking agent can help - I have a friend who frequently gets paid $10k+ to speak at events like these, all thanks to a speaking agency she’s signed with (which earn 20% of her fee).
The challenge here is making sure you’re the first person they’re likely to find - and that often means search engine optimisation.
Of course, if speaking at the event doesn’t benefit you, then you’re free to charge whatever you like to make it worthwhile to you.
3. Workshops
Ok, so workshops are a different category altogether.
You should get paid if you’re delivering a workshop.
Only now does it depend on the type of workshop. The two main types are:
Client workshops. This is where an organisation brings you in to train their team. This should be a fixed rate (between $5k and $15k per day is usually appropriate).
Event/organisation workshops. This is where an organisation provides the venue, but we split the recruitment effort. We typically split the revenue with a minimum amount ($3k + 30% to 50% of workshop ticket sales). Often with industry events I earn around $10k for a workshop.
You can learn a lot about hosting workshops here.
The Advice I Give To Most Consultants
In truth, most speakers aren’t paid because they’re not bringing what event organisers are actually buying - credibility, promotion, or a remarkable experience.
If you don’t fall into one of those buckets yet, it’s smarter to view speaking as an investment rather than an income stream. Speaking for free can build your reputation, attract clients, and create opportunities far more valuable than a modest fee.
And if you are going to negotiate, focus less on the paycheck and more on visibility, positioning, and long-term gain.
Good luck!
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As someone who puts a big emphasis on ensuring client content is visually compelling, I just wanted to share that your visuals are great! The public speaking 'maturity model' you reference is such a good breakdown.