9d • General discussion
Pay To Speak vs Paid To Speak
Someone asked me about paying to speak at conferences & what's some things I typically look out for when solicited.
This is a good question, so I’ll answer it here for everyone. It's long, but worth the read if you want to understand the speaking world a little better.
First, let me be clear. Many people don't know this, but some speakers pay to speak at summits and conferences. Why? Because this allows them to borrow an audience.
The question here is do they get paid to speak. Well.... they can. But it depends on the rules of the conference or summit.
Speaking opportunities usually fall into two categories:
1️⃣ You create your own paid speaking opportunities by building your own audience.
2️⃣ You speak on someone else’s platform where they’ve gathered the audience & sometimes they will ask you to pay (because they did the hard part).
3️⃣ You’re hired and paid to speak. This is the one everyone wants but it comes from prior proof, positioning, and reputation. In other words, you usually need to have a portfolio which happens in 1 & 2.
For the second option (summits, conferences, panels, etc.), there are a few things you need to look at, especially when it’s pay-to-play.
1: Do you have a back-end offer? If you don’t have something to sell, you’re basically showing up to motivate, inspire, or lecture,. This is fine if that's what you want, but unless they are paying you, the money you make usually comes from what you sell from the stage.
2: Is it your audience? Not just “do they have people,” but are these people actually aligned with what you sell and who you serve? Do these people fit your ideal client or audience? A small, curated room is better than a room full of people that are not your people.
3: Who is really building the audience? Sometimes these summits or conferences (especially online) require every speaker to promote. They may even ask for your email list. The event is often an aggregation of a bunch of other speakers’ audiences. That’s not necessarily bad—but this makes the audience very muddy. Can you sell your back end offer in it?
4: How many speakers are there? Large speaker lineups can be great for beginners that just want experience. Personally, I prefer more curated rooms, because attention and buying decisions get diluted when too many speakers are selling to the same audience.
5: What’s the ROI? ROI could be sales, leads, content (video/photos), or portfolio-building—but you need to be clear on your why before you say yes.
6. Are you even allowed to make an offer to the audience? Some events prohibit selling. In those cases, you need to decide whether you’re there purely for experience, visibility, or to network & connect. Bottom line, you need to know what the rules actually are and why you are there.
Here's MY truth. And what I tell my clients.
If you don’t yet have a back-end offer or experience selling to an audience, it’s usually better to practice with your own audience first (including going live or via a virtual event). Why? so your nervous system and sales muscle are trained.
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Pay To Speak vs Paid To Speak
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