Online Success Tips for Public Speakers

by Wendi J McNeill

I can’t stress the importance for each and every speaker to create a strong online presence. Today about 90% or more of your buyers are going online to find their experts and you want to found quickly and easily. Below are a few tips to help you build a strong online presence. 

• The most obvious of course is a website. Have a site that speaks directly to your audience and one that clearly states your message so there is no confusion in the visitors mind as to what you do, what you have to offer and how you can benefit them our their audience. Make your site is easy to navigate and has all pertinent information. No flash, it not necessary and it’s a distraction plus it makes your site load slow and they will close it and move on to another website. Be sure and have your media kit online because this is where buyers want to find it. Don’t send hard copies through the mail unless requested.
• Create videos and more videos! Today a lot of your marketing tools online are free or low cost so you all should be taking advantage of them because they will boost your online presence. Use YouTube to get your videos online and then copy and paste the HTML code and add the video to your website and blog. Your video can become a viral marketing campaign and be shared worldwide. It will also give the buyer a little taste of what you have to offer them.
• Blog. Set up your blog and post on a regular basis you will be amazed at the results. Consistently be adding new content to your blog…search engines love new content. Many put off blogging because they feel its time consuming or they’re not sure what to blog about and this is a mistake. Remember your blog post doesn’t have to be the length of an article, it can be a short paragraph, some helpful tips or you can even share a post from another blogger, but be sure you add their blog link. Blogging will allow you to voice your opinion and stand out from the crowd and show the readers that you’re the expert in your subject matter. It builds credibility and increases exposure. You can set up a free blog platform using several blogging services.
• Write articles on a regular basis. This is another top marketing technique. You are an expert and you know your subject matter very well, you speak in front of hundreds, so writing a short article on a regular basis should be a breeze for you. Once written make sure you submit it online to several article marketing submission sites and I highly suggest using EzineArticles to start. Offer your article to other bloggers who you feel may be interested, pitch your article to local, regional and national publications and add the article to your website. Remember to share your article as well with your social media followers. Article writing will expose you as an expert and give you more credibility. Your article could very well end up on a website you never dreamed possible so don’t hesitate on this one…just get it done.
• Social Media. Yes we mention SM again and again and the importance of being involved with social media. This one I can go into length on but to briefly touch on it I would say that the two top and obvious ones to get involved with are Twitter and Facebook. Share high content and be helpful, this is not the place for hard selling but creating relationships and sharing your expertise. If you go the extra mile and truly share from your heart you will be amazed at the results social media marketing will bring you.
• Sharpen your search engine process. Make sure you are clear on the keywords you use and be specific so buyers can find you. Most buyers will do a search when looking for an expert so make sure you don’t just have keywords such as professional speaker, workshop leader, coach or trainer. Use keywords that fit your subject matter.
• Sign up box. Don’t forget to add this to your website. You can do all the marketing in the world but if you do not have a way to capture your visitors email and name it can be for waste. Your site has many purposes but the top two are going to be to showcase and grow your mailing list. Don’t use your ezine to entice visitors to sign up this doesn’t work anymore. Offer them something of value; create urgency as to why they need to sign up for it NOW. Be very target specific and let it speak directly to your audience.
• Have a monthly ezine that you share with your readers. It’s important to stay in touch with your readers and always giving and sharing helpful content. Don’t oversell in your ezine or you will find people opting out. You want to provide information that will help them grow or solve their problems. Be a resource for them, let them come to like, know and trust you this will open the doors to communication, relationships and many opportunities.
• Become a Media Magnet. With this I mean get yourself out there and everywhere so the media eventually comes to you for interviews and guest spots. The more media attention you can get via radio, TV, publications, etc. the more you will build your exposure and credibility. This will open many, many doors for you including speaking events and product sales. If your new to this start little by contacting your local media outlets and when you have done a few move on to regional and then national. Don’t forget about all the online media outlets as well. You want to become the ‘Go To’ expert in your field. Also, make sure you add all your interviews, guest spots, etc. on your website because this will build your platform and shows visitors that you are the expert they seek.
• Send out Press Releases. You can do this to announce your upcoming events, new products, teleclasses, workshops, etc. If you have news to share be sure and get it out there via a press release and there are many free press release submission sites, simply do a Google search.

The above are just a few ideas and there are so many but it’s important to get yourself out there and be everywhere you possibly can online. You want the buyer to find you easily so when they type in your keywords, for example: Career Transition Expert you come up in the top on the Google search results, you want to have many pages of information just on you so they can see that yes you are indeed the expert they seek.