How to Turn Free Speaking Gigs into Paid Business Opportunities

Welcome to this

week's episode of

Unleashing Brilliance.

Today, I want to dive

into something that

I'm often asked about,

and this is how do you

turn free speaking gigs

into real paying

business opportunities?

Now, when I first started

my entrepreneurial

journey speaking for

free was one of the key

strategies that I used to

build my positioning, to

find lead opportunities,

and to actually get

my name out there.

And let me tell you,

I did a lot of it,

but here's the thing.

I learned very quickly that

there's a big difference

between speaking for

free and hearing crickets

afterward, versus Speaking

for free and generating

real opportunity.

Everything we do in

business comes at a cost.

I've spoken about

this before.

If you think about it,

every decision you make,

every single thing you

say yes to, whether

it's free or paid, every

single yes has a cost.

It costs us in terms

of our energy, in

terms of our time, in

terms of our focus, and

sometimes even money.

If you're going to say

yes to a free gig, it

needs to have a return

on investment, even if

there is no fee involved.

I got strategic very early

on and today I'm going

to share with you some of

these strategies so that

you can take every free

speaking opportunity that

comes your way and turn it

into something meaningful

for your business.

Turn it into a return

on that investment.

So let me take

you back a moment.

And you've probably

experienced this.

Or, if you haven't

yet experienced it,

you certainly will.

It will be coming your way.

You're standing on stage.

You're speaking to a room

full of people, giving

away valuable insights from

your years of experience.

The applause is thunderous,

and you walk off stage

feeling like a rock star.

But then what?

You wake up the next

day, you look at your

email inbox, and Silence,

nothing, no inquiries, no

follow ups, no connections,

no new clients.

And you're left

wondering what happened?

What did I do wrong?

This my friends is where

so many of us fall short.

We assume that just by

speaking, just by showing

up, just by giving away

some awesome IP, just

by being a rockstar

on stage, that we're

building a pipeline

of future business.

But here's the thing,

free speaking doesn't

equal automatic ROI,

return on investment.

It doesn't guarantee

clients knocking

on your door.

You've got to work that

room before, during, and

after your talk, after your

presentation with a very

clear strategy in mind.

So today I'm going

the exact steps

that I use when I.

Speak for free in

particular in those early

days that you can then

implement to, to take

every single free talk that

you do as an opportunity

to open doors for real

business opportunity.

So before we get there,

there's no doubt in my mind

that free speaking can be

a very powerful marketing

tool and opportunity to

build your positioning, to

showcase your authority,

to build your profile,

and to get in front of

your target audience.

Think of it as

planting the seeds.

The people in that

audience are either your

ideal clients, or they'll

know people who are.

But as with any garden,

seeds don't grow

without watering and

without a little bit

of TLC and tendering.

So the question you've

got to ask yourself is

how do you nurture this

exposure into paid work?

First things first,

free gigs are not

about giving away your

expertise for nothing.

They are about the platform

that you have been given.

Done right, free speaking

gigs can lead to new

clients, consulting gigs,

or even lucrative speaking

fees down the line.

But you've got to

be smart about it.

Let's just talk about the

danger zone for a second.

And this is something

that I see so often with

so many of my clients who

are speaking for free.

I've seen too many amazing

business people fall into

what I call that resentment

trap of free speaking.

You give, and you give.

You spend hours creating

unique content for

every single free gig.

You've got that energy

spike as you lead in

the adrenaline, and then

afterwards it's like,

And you're speaking

for free again, and

again, and again, but

nothing comes of it.

Suddenly, you start

feeling frustrated.

You may be wondering,

why am I giving away

my time, my energy, my

IP, and for nothing?

That's not building a

business at all, it's

actually draining you.

So here's the truth

again, if you don't

think strategically about

what happens after the

gig, you're You're not

only losing time and

energy, you're missing

out on turning that

exposure into business.

So here's I'm going to

share with you the seven

tips, seven ideas, things

that I have done in the

early days of building my

business while I was doing

a lot of speaking for free.

Yep, a lot of speaking,

travelling the world,

travelling the country,

speaking for free,

literally getting IP out

there in front of them.

So these are tips.

That I learned to adopt

for myself and tips that

I want to share with you

so you can try them out.

So the first one, tip

number one, is I want

you to be strategic

about who you actually

engage with before you

even step on the stage.

This is about getting

really clear on who

you need to connect

with at that event.

Think about who the

decision makers are.

Who the influencers are,

maybe consider potential

clients in the room.

Don't leave this event

without making those

meaningful connections

with those people.

Start those conversations

before and after

your presentation.

But remember, this is

not about hard selling.

This is about building

relationships and

building trust.

When you meet these right

connections, when you make

those right connections,

when you show up with

compassion and conviction

in your IP, follow up

becomes much more natural

and much more productive.

One thing I did early on

was identify the key people

at every single event.

and I'd make sure I

introduced myself, Um, it

could be the person that

had booked me, it could be

the CEO, it could be some

key players in the room.

I'd make sure to find out

who was attending those

events and I'd make a point

of going and finding them

and introducing myself.

This was about connecting

on a personal level and

making sure that I could,

at that moment in time,

leave the door open for

future conversations.

And these relationships

often led to more

consulting work to

partnership opportunities

and very often led to

brand new clients because

those relationships when

I ask, can you introduce

me to someone else?

They always did.

So tip number one is

really about becoming much

more strategic about who

you engage with at those

free speaking events.

So think about that

next time you go.

Who's going, who are

the decision makers,

who are the influencers?

Tip number two is

really about having

a post speaking

follow up strategy.

Speaking for free does

not have to end when

you leave the stage.

The real magic happens

in the follow up.

Don't wait for people

to come to you.

Take the initiative

within 24 to 48 hours

of your presentation.

Send a follow up email,

send a thank you for, if

you look back at a previous

podcast, I talk about

this opportunity of adding

that word for on the back

of the email of thanks.

Do that.

Send a thank you for email.

Send a LinkedIn message.

Connect with some of

those key people that you

saw or met at the event.

Include a thank you note.

offer something valuable,

like, I don't know, a free

resource, a downloadable

guide, or an invitation to

book a consultation call.

I had a client who turned

her free gig into 10, 000

worth of business simply by

sending a follow up email

that offered attendees

a free consultation.

People need an easy

way to take that

next step with you.

So don't leave it by

chance make sure that

you are intentional

and strategic with your

follow up strategy.

Tip number three.

Get content.

Positioning, positioning,

positioning, positioning.

Get content, whether

it be photos,

videos, testimonials.

Get content.

Capture the moment.

When you're speaking for

free, the value doesn't

end with your talk.

Use that time to get

content that will

serve you long after

the event is over.

Can you get someone

to turn up to take

professional photos of you?

Don't have a budget?

Maybe ask if you can get

a friend, a colleague, a

contact to turn up at the

event for free so that

they take photos of you.

Don't have a budget?

Maybe ask the event

organizers if they're

planning to have a

photographer at the event.

And here's what I do.

I then ask for an

introduction to

that photographer.

I contact them

before the event.

I let them know I'm

one of the speakers.

And I ask them if they

can take some photos

of me on stage that

I can use thereafter.

I'm intentional

about connecting with

that photographer.

or that videographer.

Reach out, ask for

some help, ask if they

can do this for you.

Get your shot, that master

shot of you, that amazing,

shit hot, amazing photo

of you speaking from

stage in their shot list.

And you can offer to

pay for that one photo.

Action shots of you

engaging with your

audience, speaking

from the stage,

sharing your expertise

are so, so powerful.

And video is even better.

If you can record snippets

of your talk that you can

share on social media, on

your website, in follow up

emails, even a short video

clip can be repurposed

multiple times to build

your positioning and

showcase your authority.

Here's another tip in

here in terms of content.

One of the things I often

do is gather Vox Pops.

These are quick, candid

videos, voice recordings

from audience members

where they are sharing

what they learned or how

their talk, how your talk,

sorry, impacted them.

It's real, it's in

the moment, you're

capturing that energy,

it's authentic, it's

powerful social proof.

You can even ask attendees

to give you a voice

testimonial afterwards.

They can share a

written testimonial

on LinkedIn for you.

The key thing here is

getting that raw feedback,

getting that in the

moment content while

everyone is buzzing with

energy is so powerful.

These assets, the gold,

absolute gold for your

social media, for your

websites, for your

email campaigns, you

can use them to build

your authority long

after the event is over.

And don't forget that

if you're going to

share this stuff on

social media, don't

forget to tag the event.

Mention that you were a

speaker, even tag some

of those important people

that you met, some of those

influencers that you met,

some of those decision

makers that you met,

because this will reinforce

your expertise and it shows

that you're in demand.

So content,

content, content.

So valuable to catch it

in that moment and the

ROI of having that content

will last way into the

long term, particularly

as an ROI if you're doing

a free speaking gig.

All right, tip number four.

is about using that

social proof to build

your online presence.

So very similar to

tip number three.

But what I see too

often is people get the

content and then they

do nothing with it.

So these next two tips

are about leveraging

that content.

So tip number four, use

social proof to build

your online presence.

Once you've gathered

the testimonials, the

photos, the videos, use

them to build your online

presence, share everything.

Those moments of connection

and feedback become

incredibly powerful when

used as social proof across

all of your platforms.

Remember, people buy

from people they trust.

When potential clients

see you engaging with

audiences and hear from

attendees about the impact

of your talk, it reinforces

that you are the go to

expert in your field.

In one of my talks, um,

I had an attendee post

incredible review about how

much value they received.

It was so cool.

They literally took a photo

themselves, they posted it

on LinkedIn, they shared

a review of the event,

um, and tagged me in it.

And I re shared that across

my own platforms and guess

what, two new inquiries

popped into my inbox.

within 24 hours.

Social proof, leveraging

the content that you

have across your social

platforms, having a

strategy of how you're

doing that can absolutely

build your position

and authority and it

has the potential to

lead to business leads

to more business.

Tip number five, offer

value beyond the stage.

Many speakers assume

that the value ends when

the applause dies down.

But I really want you to

think about not leaving

money on the table.

Make sure that you're

offering something

actionable for your

audience to take away.

Again, it could be a

free strategy call.

It could be a QR

code to download some

additional resources.

It could be a discount

to attend a workshop or a

discount to your services.

It could be a clarity

call or a free Q& A call.

Whatever it is, the point

here is you want to find a

way to easily enable your

audience to take that next

step, to reach out and get

more information from you.

When I speak for

free, I always offer

that next step.

it could be a free 30

minute consultation.

For me, often it is

a QR code to access a

page where there's some

exclusive training or

some further resources

that they can access.

What happens is people

who are wowed by your

presentation, they'll want

to go deeper with you.

People that may have had

questions but felt a little

bit shy to be able to,

to ask those questions

publicly, they'll then, ask

those questions privately.

You've got to give them

a way to enable people

to ask those questions

or to go deeper.

So always think about how

you can offer way more

value from the stage.

Tip number six.

What about writing a

blog, or recording a

vlog, or even a podcast

about the experience,

about the event?

Now this is quite a

powerful move that most

people actually overlook.

After your free speaking

gig, write that longer

form piece, the blog,

the newsletter, about

your experience.

Reflect on what you shared.

What you noticed

about the audience,

maybe share some key

insights from the event.

You could record a vlog,

sharing behind the scenes

moments, key takeaways, how

that event impacted you.

You could even record a

podcast about the event,

uh, why you spoke, what you

noticed, what you shared,

and some of the feedback

from it and what the impact

of that made you feel.

By sharing your

reflections, you're

not only keeping the

conversation going,

but you're also showing

your audience that

you're actively involved

in your industry and

delivering value.

Plus, again, it's

a fantastic way to

demonstrate your own

thought leadership, your

own perspective, and to

keep your name in front

of potential clients

long after the event.

You could, for example,

write a post titled Five

lessons I learned from

speaking at Insert event

name or behind the scenes

of my talk on insert topic.

People love to get a

peek behind the scenes.

It actually humanizes

you, it builds rapport and

connection and it leads

to that deeper engagement.

And also, don't forget to

include a call to action

here in that blog, or that

vlog, or that podcast.

Whether it's to book

a session, to buy your

book, to subscribe

to a newsletter, or

to engage in a phone

call or conversation.

And the final tip is

what about creating a

post event lead magnet?

Here's a real actionable

tip to help you generate

leads after the event.

Create a lead magnet based

on on your presentation

on what it is that you

shared, it could be a

free downloadable guide.

It could be a checklist

or even a mini course

that expands on the

key points that you

shared during your tour.

Promotes this lead magnet

in your post of an email or

social media in your blog.

The goal here is to

capture email addresses and

continue nurturing those

leads through whatever

your marketing funnel is.

Bye bye.

By doing this, you can

turn that buzz from

your free gig into

long term engagement

and potential calls.

I have a mini course

that I use for this exact

thing, particularly if I'm

talking about networking.

Again, it's a QR code,

goes to a page, they can

register, and they get a

90 day follow up program.

The intention there is

first and foremost to embed

the learning and to give

them more tips, but also so

that I can start nurturing

and building connections

with those people.

So there you have it.

Free speaking gigs

don't just have to

be about exposure.

They can be one of the most

powerful ways to generate

real business opportunities

if you approach

them strategically.

So to recap, it's about

being intentional about

who you connect with.

It's about following up

with value, capturing

content, offering a

clear next step, and

keeping the momentum

going with blogs, social

proofs, and lead magnets.

The key is consistency

and strategy.

Every single free

speaking gig that you

do is an opportunity

to build your business.

Please make sure that doing

a free speaking gig isn't

a cost to the business, but

does provide an opportunity

to your business.

Whether it be

exposure, social proof,

positioning, leads,

content, whatever it is.

Every single free speaking

gig has an opportunity

to convert into business.

I'd love to hear how

you're putting these

tips into action.

I'd love to hear

what you think.

You know, have you recently

done a free speaking

gig and how did it go?

What opportunities

came out of it?

Please let me know

because I'm here to help

you make the most of

every single speaking

opportunity you say yes to.

Until next time, stay

inspired, stay focused,

and please keep unleashing

your brilliance because

I know that you've

absolutely got this.

Yes.