Trusted Resources

How to Become a Professional Speaker Without Going Broke

description / why I’ve created this  (list of resources & people w/ links)

Disclosure: Some (but not all) of the links on this page are affiliate links —
meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

— • — • —

Online Audio / Video Services

• Audio Acrobat (audio / video)
• Zoom (video conferencing)
• Audacity (free audio editing & recording)
• x

List-Building / eNewsletter Services

• MailChimp
  Account is free up to 2,000 subscribers, drag-and-drop interface is very easy to use
• Other services like Constant Contact, Get Response, Aweber etc. are nice, but when you can use MailChimp for free, why would you choose anything else? Just sayin’ . . .

Shopping Carts / Money Processing

• PayPal
  They charge a small percentage per sale… very easy to set up & use… nearly ‘everybody’ has a PayPal account these days, so you should, too.
• Stripe
  Inexpensive online payments processor… also charges a small percentage per sale.
• DirectPay Online Shopping Cart
  I’ve got numerous clients who have been happily using these folks for years. Your options include a simple auto-responder, a shopping cart, all the way up to a full suite of marketing and affiliate program tools. This is good, because you can choose your level of service based on what your business needs… ultimately, saving you money!

Creating Social Media Graphics

• Canva (super-cool graphics creator)
• Gimp
  Free image editor for Mac or PC
• Affinity Designer
  Very low-cost graphic design software for Mac or PC
• Affinity Photo
  Very low-cost photo-editing software for Mac or PC
• (more coming soon!)

As Your Speaking Business Grows…

• PR / PR Public Relations
  PR/PR is a boutique public relations organization specifically for professional speakers & authors. Let them help you establish credibility and reach numerous unique niches through published articles. Say ‘hello’ to Russell Trahan for me!
• SpeakerMatch
  The awesome folks at SpeakerMatch will help you create & promote a professional brand through their online job board & application system made just for speakers. And, to top it all off, they offer a variety of webinars and tools to help you succeed as a professional speaker
• eSpeakers
  Cutting-edge tools that will elevate your online presence, streamline event lifecycle management, maximize your industry exposure, and get hired as a speaker. If you’re serious about the business of speaking, this will be a great investment for you.
• DirectPay (1ShoppingCart)
  All-in-one list-builder, e-newsletter, shopping cart service. They offer three different packages that increase in number of features as your speaking business grows. I like that you can integrate PayPal into the shopping cart. I’m not thrilled with the fact that you’ve got to have a separate payment processing service to accept credit card payments. (i.e. Authorize.net)
• Infusionsoft
  If you expect your business to grow by leaps-and-bounds over the next 12 months, you should consider switching to Infusionsoft. But, be warned… there’s a huge learning curve, and — frankly — if you aren’t willing to take the time to learn how to use it, you’ll be wasting a lot of money. Infusionsoft is a FANTASTIC all-encompassing customer relationship manager, marketing & funnel-building tool, and shopping cart. But it’s only “fantastic” when those tools are actually being used. Understand what you’re investing in before signing up.
• (more coming soon!)

Free Stock Photo Sites

Workshops / Training

• Darren LaCroix’s ‘Get Paid to Speak by Next Week’
• David Newman’s Speaker MasterClasses (various topics)
• Judy Carter’s ‘The Message of You: Get Paid to Speak’

Miscellaneous

• Fiverr – short, quick tasks / pretty much ANYthing you can imagine
• Upwork – contract-based work / virtual assistance / tech help
• GoDaddy – for domain names only… DO NOT host your websites there
• SiteGround – for hosting services

Product Creation

• Disk.com (short run CDs + packaging)
• Fiverr.com (packaging design)
• HybridGlobal Publishing (book publisher)

Books

Listed in alphabetical order by title…

• 21 Ways to Make Money Speaking by Felicia Slattery
• Book More Business: Make Money Speaking by Lois Creamer
• Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port
• Get Picked: Tips, Tricks, and Tools for Creating Irresistible Speaker Proposals by Aurora Gregory
• How to Become a Professional Speaker by Tom Antion
• Million Dollar Speaking by Alan Weiss, PhD
• Paid to Speak: Best Practices for Building a Successful Speaking Business by National Speakers Association (Various Members)
• Speak for a Living: The Insider’s Guide to Building a Profitable Speaking Career by Anne Bruce
• Speak More! by National Speakers Association (Various Members)
• The 6-Figure Speaker: The Ultimate Blueprint to Build a Business as a Highly-Paid Professional Speaker by Brian Tracy
• The Message of You: Turn Your Life Story Into a Money-Making Speaking Career by Judy Carter
• The Wealthy Speaker 2.0: The Proven Formula for Building Your Successful Speaking Business by Jane Atkinson
• Totally Booked! by Cathleen Fillmore

Speaker Marketing Blogs

Listed alphabetically…

• Book More Business / Lois Creamer
• CharliJane.com
• Darren LaCroix
• DO-IT Marketing / David Newman
• eSpeakers.com
• Felicia Slattery
• Jane Atkinson / SpeakerLauncher
• NSA’s SpeakerMagazine.com
• PublicSpeakingSuperPowers.com
• SpeakerHub.com
• SpeakerMatch.com
• theNewSpeakersToolbox.com
• TotallyBooked.me / Cathleen Fillmore

Awesome Speaking-Related Podcasts

• The Speaking Show with David Newman
• Grow Your Public Speaking Business by Wendi McNeill
• The Wealthy Speaker Podcast with Jane Atkinson
• The Speaker Lab Podcast with Grant Baldwin
• World of Speakers Podcast with Ryan Foland
• The Creative Speaker Podcast with Jessica Rasdall
• Key5 Speaker Podcast
• The NSA Podcast Network by National Speakers Association
• Speaker Success Podcast by Women Speakers Association
• Claim the Stage Podcast by Speaker Sisterhood
• The Speakers, Authors, and Coaches Podcast with Jake Ballentine

 

What’s missing?

If you’d like to be on this list — or if you have a helpful resource to share — please let us know!