While many event organizers throw around the word âexposureâ ad nauseum, sometimes having access to that new and ideal audience can make a huge difference to your business, and ultimately, your bottom line. Do you have a report, PDF, or white paper you could offer to the audience for free? The answer depends on a few things. Often, new speakers donât take into account the additional costs of maintaining their business. Youâve just waltzed off the stage to roaring applause, and the event organizer hands you a check for $2K for a half hour presentation: you have the perfect job! You could simply ask them, but nine times out of ten, they will underquote. Required fields are marked *. Letâs say you made $70,000 last year doing 45 speaking engagements. If we, being savvy coffee shop owners, know our business cost of customer acquisition, and we know the response rate of an audience, we could discount our speaking fee by the likelihood of new customer acquisition from the event. The more speakers there are, the less any one speaker’s contribution to the overall attendee population. The benefit for you will be immense, and with the right audience you will make the money back in no time. I had an eye-opening, “come to Jesus” moment with the wonderful, Scott Stratten. Or they quote a fee to a grassroots group for whom I would be happy to do an unpaid fundraiser. That’s the cap, the ceiling of what you can reasonably ask for as a speaker in this example, because the profit from sponsorships/ad sales is directly dependent on the event’s sales team and not you, and they are solely entitled to that profit for their work. I’m lowballed even outside my ‘home field’. I recently attended an event with these ticket prices: The event grossed $850,000. Deduct the cost of hosting the attendee – $1,000 per person for this hotel chain – and speakers would generate a net revenue for the event of $300,000. Step 3: Set the prices for each individual add-on, and create packages. Transforming People, Process, and Technology, Part 1. ; this particular hotel chain’s event costs average $1,000 per attendee. One last important point: the speaking agent is only permitted to ask for fees from groups that have money set aside for this purpose. Having a date where they need to set the slides in advance was useful. I would rather take less and at more volume so important conservation messages get out there… how do you say that you are the “value” speaker? From your minimum fee, adjust the fee appropriately. Speaker fees: Speaker fees are payments in which the amount to be paid for a specific service is determined by the speaker. Former President Jimmy Carter "seldom accepts speaking fees," The Associated Press wrote in 2002, "and when he does he typically donates the proceeds to his charitable foundation." More if necessary. Here are a few reasons to consider setting up a tier pricing system: Want some evidence? This very simple formula helps me determine if it is wise for me to accept the gig if the organization already has a set budget, and/or how to write up a proposal if they are leaving the speakers fee up to me. Instead, work out a rate per session that has the additional costs built in, leaving you with an appropriate amount of funds. Your email address will not be published. Know Your Per Hour Rate The next thing you need to set is your per hour rate. I once asked this question in 2008ish to Chris Brogan. How do we value an event we’ve never spoken at before? The final step is to add the base pricing for each tier, list the benefits and put them into packages. I have to be somewhat flexible with that fee depending upon the size of the event. Speakers may include subject-matter experts, guest authors, artists and performers. Good stuff, Chris. The most recent addition is the use of direct sponsors.. Want to read more like this from Christopher Penn? I could baseline my likely outcome from a new event based on previous similar audiences. I’m supposed to put money in your pocket on my own dime? So, where do you fit on this scale? Speaking is a fantastic chance to share what you’ve learned and meet your peers. If an event breaks even and the organizer hasn’t paid him or herself a salary or compensated themselves for their time, it hasn’t broken even. Divide that among 15-20 speakers at the math you’re suggesting and your event is running a deficit again. Why you must determine a fee in your mind, even though it is always negotiable, before someone asks you what your speaking fee is How you should negotiate your fee including the questions you should ask and the research you should do When to determine that it makes sense for you to speak for free Why you should never pay to speak As a Web Developer, if I walk away with 10 new leads for projects, that makes up for the fee I forego. (all fictional) This conference has exactly the audience we value as customers. You Ask, I Answer: Estimating YouTube Ads Performance? Will you be there for the entire event, including the coffee breaks and after party for networking? Using the previous speaking fee cap of $15,000, if 150 people are in attendance at the audience and we know from past appearances at events that we could harvest 10% of the audience as customers, and our cost of acquisition outside of speaking is $50 per customer, then we could reasonably discount our speaking fee: If we want to kick it up a notch and we’ve done the hard work of calculating customer lifetime value, then we might have math that looks like this: This approach relies heavily on analytics and insights. You’d be hard pressed to convince me that unless they’re the ONLY speaker at a 5,000+ person event where each participant pays $1000 to get in, that anyone is worth that for an hour talk. Time and time again in my webinars and mastermind groups, a common question arises: “How much should I get paid to speak,” or “How do I know how to set my speaking fees?” Most often, my answer is “it depends.” It depends on the person, the situation, the expertise and the talent of the speaker. That way I have another formula that is easy for me fall back to when I am flattered by an invite, but realistically isn’t a viable event for my career or my accountants liking. Your fee is a proxy for quality to the conference organizer and the world, so it’s important to set a number that’s high enough – and not ludicrous… Make sure they know (in the contract) that the talk slides have to be approved by [date] and should be customized to your audience. Can you offer 1-on-1 consultations at the event for a few key attendees? You are emailing back and forth, and it turns out the conference only has a speaker budget of $2,000. You Ask, I Answer: Creating Content for Search Engines? 10 top-tier sponsors at $10,000 each: $100,000, 15 middle-tier sponsors at $8,000 each: $120,000, 20 low-tier advertisers at $5,000 each: $100,000. I was once given a fee requirement of $15,000 for someone to speak at Explore, which has numbers somewhat similar to your example above in terms of gross revenue. Try it for FREE. I promote speakers who are survivors and it is appalling to see a grown and successful business man use such a term. If you speak an average of 20 times a year, for instance, then you can charge an extra $125 per event to cover your expenses for the year. Talking Jones Soda with Maisie Antoinello, In the Headlights, December 2, 2020: Your 2021 Marketing Challenges, Viewthrough Conversions, Dashboards, {PODCAST} In-Ear Insights: Viewthrough Conversions and Attribution Analysis, How much value do we bring to the event? Certainly you will be more successful with a higher speaker fee when you have more experience as a professional speaker. Offer fees commensurate with the value you provide to an event, and understand the economics of events … If anyone but a Kawasaki, Godin, etc., in our industry added a zero to what they were thinking, they’d get laughed out of the room. Depending on your reach and network, a company can sponsor you directly to speak at an event. (from our point of view), 5 top-tier sponsors at $25,000 each: $125,000, 10 middle-tier sponsors at $12,500 each: $125,000, 15 low-tier advertisers at $10,000 each: $150,000, 15 customers x $50 = $750 saved in customer acquisition costs, 15 customers harvested per event x $200 net customer value = $3,000, $15,000 – $3,000 = $12,000 discounted fee, 5 practical applications of AI in marketing, Key questions to ask of any vendor claims about AI, How to prepare your company and your career for AI. We provide value through our knowledge – the reason audiences attend. Nothing wrong with the exercise, of course, but for your 300-person event above, your net profit (after paying organizer salaries and everything) is going to be about $30-$40K. (from the conference point of view), How much is that value worth to us? Are you a licensed clinician, are you certified in a particular specialization? The Attendee: Who is your attendee? Experience and Expertise:Who are you as a facilitator? Will you promote the event on social media? Clinton has scaled back his speaking schedule, however, to support his wife as Secretary of State. You feel great. In this guide we explore how to factor these costs into your fee, how to research events to find the right fee for the event, when to offer discounts, and when you should, or should not, speak for free. Instead, do your own research, and ballpark an appropriate figure. I can assure you that one speaker at $15K would have bankrupted the effort. That’s the value that I and many others provide. Some academics earn speaking fees of $1,000 or more. Want to find out more about speaking fees? Unfortunately, the economics of events are incredibly prohibitive to pay every speaker or even use the kind of math you’re suggesting to assess the value of a speaker. 4. They help you to explain the value of your services and validate your prices. (Why you asked for conference organizers to chime in, I’m sure.). Itâs because you have knowledge and you have influence. The different price points can show you have offerings for all types of events, to suit their needs and budgets. Take this example: your set speaking fee is $5,000 for a keynote. This is largely because my event series is young and we haven’t yet fine-tuned the product to make it optimally profitable. The free, easy to use calculator below will give you an expert opinion on speaking fee rates that is custom tailored for you and your next speaking event. I’m also enjoying the comments as I think others will be able to offer additional insights into alternative methods. In this all-new, completely-rewritten 2nd Edition of AI for Marketers, learn: Copyright © 2020 Christopher S. Penn. Each individual speaker is responsible for generating $300,000 / 20, or $15,000 in attendee revenue. They help you expand to suit a wider audience. And finally, my favourite way to negotiate your fee – sell handouts. Your math is awesome in theory, but it’s not practical. That said, I could not afford myself at my own events. I think alot depends if I can sale my products too. I hope this explanation of how to set your speaking fee is useful and helpful to you if you’re considering a speaking career. I don’t often have a “stock” answer. Tactics and Strategies? How would you market “against” the norm? How many posts? Sorry. Let’s say this event had 20 speakers in total. When I someday run a conference that has paid speakers, I’ll be more qualified to talk about the other side. What’s really being asked of us are two separate questions: To answer these questions, we must first understand speaker value. How to Charge Consulting Retainer Fees. Many speakers ask us: âShould I, or shouldnât I, speak for free?â. But prior to that, I had been a youth pastor and had done some speaking there. Let’s start with this… You CAN get paid on your first real speaking engagement. Plus, everyone likes to see a menu of available options. How to Increase Your Speaking Fee Re-examine what speakers do for events. Many event planners, as noted in comments on previous editions to this post, make the very valid point that the event provides value to the speaker as well. Will it include multimedia, like a video? Some events can afford to pay their speakers more, and some cannot, so you need to adjust accordingly. By allowing them to pick the appropriate services for their event, you will create a sense of maximized value. All speakers are not created equal, too; some speakers command a higher fee because they bring in more attendees than others. My very first legit speaking engagement, I was paid $1,000 to speak one time. Event attendees cost money, and without those expenses there would be no event for us to speak at. 90% of people I approached who asked for a speaking fee (up to £5k) would usually settle for speaking for free if we covered reasonable expenses. Granted, we are teaching workshops and the like, not just “gracing the stage” for 45 + 15 for questions. The speaker must provide an invoice as documentation for payment of the fee. Your speaking fee is at your discretion. You genuinely care about the cause or organization, and you want to be involved regardless of the cost. ... How to Set Fees … If I did this, I’d appear unprofessional, and this might lead the client to believe I was trying to rip them off. Are you an expert on the topic you will be presenting? Re-examine what speakers do for events. In the world of conferences and events, there’s a “holy trinity” of value factors that make an event valuable: audience, sponsors, speakers; I learned this first from Jeff Pulver and Chris Brogan. It depends on what industry you are looking at also. The hotel hosting the event cost approximately $150,000 for space, catering, labor, etc. It may not always be easy to determine the amount ahead of time, but it is a step that can help things run more smoothly. 5. The exposure you would get could help bring you the new, European client base that will help you bring your business to the international level. Is that wise? For those who do not have a set fee, it would be a good idea for your church to set aside a portion of its budget for guest speakers. Once you decide what you want to charge, stick to the fee. What if you want to do some pro bono sessions? If we re-examine the holy trinity, attendees don’t generally show up at a conference to hang out with sponsors. Say we’re a famous coffee shop owner speaking at the Annual Coffee Lover’s Convention. It is entirely possible that an event’s audience is so valuable to us from an acquisition perspective that our speaking fee should be travel and expenses only. The role of speakers is to provide credibility, networking opportunities, and reach. Step 2: Come up with a list of everything else that you could offer. 2. Letâs say that they have 10 different speakers: this works out to roughly $11,750 per speaker. Your speaking fee baseline is $25,000, and you are going to speak to an audience of 1,500 people. Fortunately for me, I have value-minded friends who are willing to speak for free or, for certain keynote type speakers, at a reduced rate, to help me build something. You are testing brand new content, and want to try it out in front of a live audience. This will factor in to your fee. To learn more about booking Connie for your next event, or finding out about speaker fees, follow Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta! You Ask, I Answer: Top 6 Marketing Persona Mistakes? I never really had my own methodology, but have always asked the same fee for every opportunity. Disclosure: this post first appeared in 2012 and has been updated and upgraded over time. Do you have experience that others trust? This would work out to a yearly income of $17,460. Find motivational business speakers & celebrity speakers whose speaking fee range is between $5,000 - $10,000 and book the best speaker for your event. But not all speakers are equal â more experienced, keynote celebrity speakers will get paid more, and lesser known, less influential speakers will get paid less. While I speak at social media type conferences for free, I can’t any longer – at least not when they refuse to cover expenses. Say the audience is 300 people, and you have a book that wins you $10 for every copy sold. We also provide value through our reach, how many members of our audience we can convince to attend the events we speak at. Businesses and organizations of all kinds set up tier pricing systems (even here at SpeakerHub!) Can Paid Speakers Lower a Speaking Fee and Retain Respect? 10 Tips to succeed as a professional speaker, 5 Steps for Building a Great UX Writing Portfolio, The Improbable Case of You: Diving Into Imposter Syndrome, Why open office design makes you less productive, 4 Books To Help You Survive A Dysfunctional Workplace, Getting Through a Job You Donât Like to Get the Job You Love, Booking agentsâ fee/assistantâs salary (, 1-hour consultation with the organizer on how to customize the talk to their specific audience, A 30-minute talk (remember: this figure will change based on the event), Slides customized with the eventâs logo. Adding to your fee and setting up a tier system. Thus, the portion of the proceeds above – $450,000 out of the $850,000 gross – is what the speakers are principally responsible for. Sometimes an event will help you access a completely new audience, promote your organization or service, and increase your influence. For example, I’ve seen many of the same faces at B2B marketing events; I’ve seen many at social media marketing events. Consider offering knowledge packages as part of your speaking fee, such as: Any of these activities helps to justify a higher fee because our knowledge is available to the conference’s attendees for a longer period of time. For example, suppose we’re speaking to a crowd that’s valuable to us. To increase our speaking fees, we must pull one of those two levers – knowledge or reach. The one thing I don’t want to do is tell potential clients that my speaking fee is $5,000.00, but in their case, I’d take $2,000.00. You have been making some waves around the United States, and building your local and national audience, but it would be very beneficial for you to break into the European Market. For example, if a conference wants a speaker to be present for the full three days of the event, mixing and mingling with attendees, the speaking fee would be the day rate multiplied by three. So how much can you make in speaking fees? (Either your own, or for example, maybe you have a close contact with the CEO of an organization whose audience would be interested in attending the event?). Instead of a set fee, look at creating individual fees for each event you speak at. Some groups have set rate for speakers, ... because usually sponsorship is used to cover speaker fees. Add-On, and create packages the reason audiences attend post by Jenn Lukas on how tickets! A Web Developer, if I walk away with 10 new leads for projects, makes!, much smaller events will still ask you to explain the value the... 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