By Abbi Leverton
"Hi I’m Abbi, I work with RecWorks on the Aspiring Women Speakers group."
The Aspiring Women Speakers (AWS) community recently engaged in a discussion on how to effectively market oneself as a speaker and build strong connections with event organisers and influencers in the speaking community.
Members generously shared their experiences and practical advice, offering a wealth of strategies to empower both aspiring and seasoned speakers.
In this blog post, we delve into the insights and tips shared by AWS members, shedding light on how to promote oneself as a speaker and foster meaningful relationships within the speaking circuit.
Build a Strong Online Presence to Promote and Elevate Your Speaking Engagements
In today's digital age, it's more important than ever for speakers to have a strong online presence. A well-maintained website, active social media accounts, and a clear online identity can help you connect with event organisers, build your audience, and promote your speaking engagements.
On this, Aspiring Women Speakers, Lauren Schaefer and Alex Radu, alongside AWS team member, Abbi Leverton, share their tips and expertise:
Lauren Schaefer, Staff Developer Advocate for Grammarly, emphasised the power of LinkedIn in her promotional efforts.
She shared, "I have 'speaker' in my headline and list all of my talks on my LinkedIn history—it's an easy way to show off my talk history along with videos."
Utilising Twitter and LinkedIn, she actively promotes her speaking engagements, catching the attention of event organisers and reminding her network of her expertise.
Alex Radu, VP of Product Adoption & Marketing for JPMorgan & Co, underlined the importance of a strong online presence.
She said, "I have a Sessionize profile and advertise some talks on Twitter and LinkedIn. I've actually got a few requests to speak that way!"
Additionally, she acknowledged the value of sharing post-event content, stating, "I sometimes post a short test and some pictures or slides from the event after it if it aligns with my goals/values/expertise."
Abbi Leverton, AWS team member, highlighted the effectiveness of creating a linktr.ee profile.
She explained, "This means you can put talk videos, code examples, etc., in one place for prospective conferences to see."
A linktr.ee profile is a great way to showcase all of your online content in one place. This includes links to your website, social media accounts, and any other relevant online resources.
Top 5 tips for building a strong online presence as a speaker:
Create a website that showcases your expertise and experience. Your website should be easy to navigate and include information about your speaking topics, past engagements, and contact information.
Use relevant hashtags. When you post on social media, be sure to use relevant hashtags so that your content can be seen by more people.
Promote your speaking engagements. When you have a speaking engagement coming up, be sure to promote it on your website, social media, and any other relevant channels.
Use high-quality images and videos. Your website and social media accounts should feature high-quality images and videos that showcase your personality and expertise.
Be consistent with your content. Try to post new content on your website and social media accounts on a regular basis. This will help you keep your audience engaged and interested in what you have to say.
Use Networking Techniques to Expand Your Reach
Networking is an essential part of building a successful speaking career. By connecting with other speakers, event organisers, and thought leaders, you can expand your reach and reach more people with your message.
Philli Rodney, Software Engineering Manager for VEED.IO, shared her successful networking strategies.
She advised, "Following the organisations you're interested in speaking at and the event organisers on LinkedIn is a great way to get your brand across."
Additionally, she emphasised the importance of sharing content online, as it spreads across various communities and attracts opportunities.
Top 3 tips for using networking techniques to expand your reach:
Attend industry events. This is a great way to meet other speakers and event organisers. When you attend an event, be sure to introduce yourself to people and let them know what you do.
Reach out to people in your network. Let people in your network know that you're interested in speaking engagements. They may be able to connect you with event organisers or recommend you for speaking opportunities.
Offer to help others. When you offer to help others, you're building relationships and making yourself more visible. For example, you could offer to speak at a local event or volunteer your time to help with an organisation's marketing efforts.
Study Successful Speakers to Enhance Your Public Speaking
One of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills is to study successful speakers. Pay attention to what they do well, and try to incorporate their techniques into your own speaking.
On this, Leena Mooneeram, Developer Productivity Engineer for Chainalysis, commented "Helen Scott's talk at Devoxx UK this year has a great section on personal branding."
Top 3 tips for studying successful speakers to enhance your public speaking:
Watch videos of their speeches. This is a great way to see how they use their body language, gestures, and facial expressions to engage their audience.
Listen to their audio recordings. This will help you to understand their vocal delivery, pacing, and intonation.
Analyse what makes them effective. What are their strengths as speakers? What techniques do they use that you can learn from?
Conclusion
In this blog post, we have explored some of the key strategies for effective speaker marketing and relationship building. By following the tips and advice shared by AWS members, you can increase your visibility as a speaker, build strong relationships with event organisers, and reach more people with your message.
