You’re a speaker. If we did a search online about you, what would we find? If we did a search on your message, would your information come up?
Pick a conference you’re thinking of attending and do a Google search on the list of speakers that will be presenting. What did you find?
Would you like to have your message stand out when people search you? Would you like to come up when people search for the message you share?
One of the tools that has helped me build a speaking business is having tons of information about my message online. The greatest thing to help me do that was having a blog and posting regularly. Here are some ways for speakers to use a blog to build a brand and message online:
1. A blog is a great place to discover what your audience wants to hear from you.
- Ask questions of your subscribers; ask questions on your social media page; ask questions of your audience when you speak. Then use the responses to write about the information they asked for.
- Take a chance and write about things that matter to you, then watch your traffic and see which ideas get more readers and engagement. The subjects and articles people engage with most are what they want to hear from you.
2. Use a blog to get their attention by sharing a solution to their problem.
- Talk about the problems they have that you have solved. Relate to where they are now in the problem using your own experience.
- Share practical steps to solve the problems they have with your personal stories of success.
- Leave them wanting more from you. The best place to use a call to action is placing you in the solution to their problem.
3. Use your blog to educate, not to sell.
When asking event planners what they like to see about a speaker online, one answer they all have in common is they hate to see a speaker who is pushy in their blog with their products. They want to see you help not sell.
I know we all need to make sales to be successful in business, but in a blog the more you push sales, the less you sell. The more you educate, the more you sell. Here are some suggestions to make your blog more of an educational path to getting more speaking gigs and making more sales.
- Write your blog in your own authentic voice. It makes a strong point as a speaker, letting people know you stand apart from anyone else who may have a similar message.
- Narrow your niche; learn 5 keywords or phrases that both the event planners and your clients would search on to find your solution to their problems.
- Share your story and make it personal to them. Let them see that you solved the same problem.
- Include a call to action with suggested next steps like asking for comments, referring them to a newsletter, offering a free guide to download, etc.
4. Use videos and pictures to make your blog stand out.
Pictures and videos were the biggest attraction tools to help build my brand. Some suggestions that will attract both event planners and event hosts are using pictures and videos of your audience interaction from when you speak.
Make a video of a meaningful blog post you did. The use of your own voice and dramatic effect will give them a view of how you are on stage.
Repurpose your live stream videos and interviews to a blog post. It’s a great way to use what you have done already and attract more.
5. Use your blog to write your book.
If you want to write a book about your message but the task of writing seems to be overwhelming, you could break it down into smaller parts and write it one blog post at a time. Make the outline of your book and just write it a point at a time. Keep your work in a Word document; then, when you’re done, combine all your work and get it published.
6. Use your blog as a stepping point from social media.
Social media may seem like a great attraction tool to find people who want or need your message. But placing all your faith in one site or one tool to build your list and business has been the downfall of many people when that site or tool was gone.
There are two sites where I have had a great deal of content and following and they are now gone. When they were up, they were the hottest trend to use to build your following. Using a blog to show them examples of how you can help is a great list-building tool online because your blog will always be up and running. It won’t be shut down arbitrarily.
7. Use your blog to share your story
And, the last way to use your blog would be to use it to tell your stories. As mentioned above about the step-by-step way to write your book, imagine using your blog to tell your story. In the process, you find out what parts of your story they want to hear. Sharing parts of my story on blogs, interviews, and videos is where I learned what story to tell.
Telling my story about sitting across a table from Zig Ziglar and having him tell me to become a speaker was something that impacted many people. In the beginning, I left that part out because I didn’t think it had relevance to my message. Turns out it was one of the biggest parts of helping others see themselves in my story.
I hope these ideas help you with your online presence. The more you have online about how you can help others, the better!
Tim Gillette has been creating content online since 2010, starting with blogging, then podcasting, and finally live video shows. He shows content creators a simple easy way, a simple easy message, and how to use a simple easy system. Learn more about Tim at the website link below.
