There are multiple short-term and long-term benefits of speaking events, especially when it comes to your writing career and even building your platform. For some, just talking about speaking events evokes some stress. That’s okay! You aren’t alone. Perhaps you like speaking events, but you question whether or not the time and effort involved in developing a speaking platform is worth it. It is! Today, we’re discussing four ways that speaking events build your writing career.
We’re going to look at two short-term benefits and two long-term benefits. Disclaimer: While the benefits are more pronounced for non-fiction authors, novelists can leverage speaking events with great success as well.
Two Short-Team Benefits
- Allow You to Offer “Now Ministry” to Others
You don’t have to wait to get your message, story. or idea out there! Pre-published authors can get discouraged because they feel like their lack of platform prevents them from sharing their message or story with others. However, a speaking event provides an outlet for you to encourage, educate, inform, and inspire others with your work.
When you do so, those listeners in your audience will become enthusiastic readers and promoters when your book does come out.
NEXT STEP: Develop one or two keynote messages that capture the main themes of your work, whether it’s forgiveness, hope, healing, adventure, joy, etc. These are the messages that you share with an audience and weave in highlights from your story or some of the plot points in your novel.
- Clarifying Content/Message
It’s not uncommon for a well-known speaker to mention that they are working on a new book and they’re testing new material on the audience. You can use this same approach.
Testing new material in a keynote or retreat talk before you develop your book proposal is an excellent way to make sure that your idea connects with your intended audience.
NEXT STEP: Whether you contact your local writers group, MOPS community, women’s ministry leader or Christian camp, pitch yourself as a speaker for their next gathering or retreat. As you’re chatting with the listeners after the talk, pay particular attention to the feedback and their personal stories.
Two Long-Term Benefits
- Platform Momentum
Speaking events, whether live or online, give you a chance to invite a group to join your community at the same time. This is always a good thing and if you’re speaking to multiple groups each season, this is a an excellent way to speed numerical growth. For every person at a speaking event who joins your mailing list or social media, chances are they will tell their friends to check you out as well.
Speaking events are a powerful way to build trust with potential new followers. When someone hears your message at an event, especially if they are in the same room, this personal dynamic creates a stronger connection that if they just click “follow” or “like” on social media. When someone feels closely connected, the higher the engagement and the more likely to purchase books in the future
NEXT STEP: Intentionally develop a simple system for people to connect to your mailing list or social media at an event, whether it’s a QR code or tear-off card. (My next blog post could offer specific ideas. Let me know if topic would be helpful in the comments.)
- Sparking New Book Ideas
The more speaking events that you do, the more audience members will share their stories. Learning from them will likely spark ideas for future projects. Wouldn’t it be great to develop ideas for your audience that were inspired BY your audience?
JOIN THE CONVERATION: These are two short-term and two long-term benefits to doing speaking events. Are there any other benefits that should be listed? Whether you are a novelist or non-fiction writer, how do speaking events help you in your publishing career?
The Baseball Approach to Writing
There’s good points ’bout public speaking,
and you’ve told me what they are,
but the thought still leaves me shrieking
and running to the bar
to drink away that sea of faces,
implacable as destiny,
that let me know a higher grace is
lion coming to devour me.
They say that there are speaker -tricks,
like imagine audience unclothed,
but none of this wise counsel sticks
when I bear the awkward load
of forgetting what to say,
and wishing it was yesterday.
Andrew, thank you for putting a poetic twist on the angst and anxiety of those do not (yet!) love public speaking!
Well done, Barb! I’d particularly be interested in learning how to lead online audiences to signing up for my monthly mini-mag. Thanks!
Hi Janet! Interesting question. I’ll make a note of your comment as I’m working on my next post about different sign-up options for audiences.
Barb, this is such a great post. I’ve been interested in learning how to “get into” public speaking. This post is practical and helpful. Thanks for your tips!
Hi Jeanne! Thanks for stopping by today’s post! Lots of writers have questions about getting into speaking, so thank you for sharing your comment so that others know that they aren’t the only ones trying to figure this out.
I have my second speaking gig of the year this afternoon, with two more scheduled before the end of the year. Three are to a letter writers society, and are more for fun and practice than for book sales. Today I’ll present a book of our letters from the time we lived in Kuwait, a book for family consumption only. The gig in November is before our county’s Civil War Roundtable, where I get to present my Civil War book. The organizer says they typically have 50 to 100 people attend, but to expect perhaps five sales. That’s five I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Thanks for the great tips, Barb! I enjoy talking to kids and teens, but find adults the more difficult audience. I think that probably comes from growing up at a Bible camp, ha!
I served on a statewide court reporting board for several years, and when we put together our annual conventions, we were always looking for speakers. I met an attorney who was also an author of fiction, and he jumped at the chance to speak to a group of court reporters. His topic was ethics, so he put the heroine of his latest book in various ethical dilemmas to make his points. It was brilliant. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who got on my phone while he was speaking and bought the book.
What a cool example!
Thank you, dear Barb. This is exactly what I needed to read this week. Yes, I’m interested in learning more about this topic since I’m new to public speaking.
The thing that blesses me most about speaking to an audience is when people come up to me after and share what resonated with them. This is when I get to practice a little listening and yet learn a lot. To bless is to be blessed. Gotta love a win-win.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac