Getting paid to speak isn’t reserved for recognizable celebrities with decades of experience and an endless list of contacts in their industry. The truth is, consistent paid speaking opportunities are available to anyone who knows where to look, how to position themselves effectively, and how to approach decision-makers with confidence.
In this article, we’ll go over a proven approach to get more speaking gigs and increase your impact. Whether you’re new to professional public speaking or you’ve been doing it for a while, this systematic approach will help you discover opportunities that align with your expertise and audience.
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Start with Focus
The biggest mistake aspiring speakers make is casting too wide a net. Saying “I want paid speaking gigs” is like telling someone “I want a job.” It’s too vague to be actionable.
Instead, get specific about these incredibly important aspects of your speaking career:
- Your ideal audience: Are they business professionals, college students, nonprofit leaders, healthcare workers or something else?
- Event types: Do you want to primarily speak at conferences, corporate training, networking events, seminars or workshops? Do you only want to speak locally or are you open to national events?
- Industry focus: What industry are you focused on? Is it technology, healthcare, education, faith-based organizations, or something else?
- Message: What is the message you want to your audience to hear?
Deciding this may feel restricting, but it will ultimately be among the most important things you can do to get more speaking gigs. And it doesn’t lock you into anything forever, or mean you can’t take opportunities outside of your primary niche, but it does position you as an expert in a specific industry, topic, event format, and audience.
When you can say, “I want to speak at regional healthcare conferences about leadership development,” people immediately know how to help you. They can think of specific events, contacts, and opportunities that match your criteria.
This also makes your outreach more effective. Event organizers receive countless generic pitches, but a targeted message that clearly demonstrates you understand their audience and needs will stand out immediately.
Master the Art of Strategic Google Searches
Speaking events won’t just land in your lap without any action on your part. The key is taking strategic action to get the gigs you want. Google remains your most powerful tool for uncovering speaking opportunities. The key is knowing how to search strategically.
Start with Local and Regional Searches
Begin with searches like “[Your City] [Your Industry] Conference” or “[Your State] [Your Industry] Event.” Scroll past the major national conferences that appear at the top. Smaller, local events are often more accessible and eager to work with speakers from their region.
Use Google’s Own Suggestions
After your initial search, scroll to the bottom of the results page to find “Searches related to…” This section reveals related keywords you might not have considered, expanding your search possibilities exponentially.
Search by People and Events
Follow industry leaders and influencers on social media, then Google the events where they’re speaking. This reveals conferences actively booking speakers in your field.
Create a System
Don’t just browse randomly. Set up a dedicated Google Sheet or Microsoft Excel Document with columns for event name, date, location, contact information, application deadlines, and notes.
Your goal should be to compile dozens of potential speaking opportunities on this list. This doesn’t mean you immediately have to reach out to all of them, but this is about building a systematic approach to your speaking business.
For each entry on your list, make sure to include any relevant information you can gather about the event.
Master the Art of Reaching Out
Once you have your target list, it’s time to reach out. But this shouldn’t just be a sales pitch. Your first contact should focus on building relationships and providing value.
Your pitch for each speaking gig should be absolutely unique and completely tailored to the event you’re asking to speak at. Copying and pasting a generic template and sending it to 100 event organizers is an easy way to get ignored by all 100 of them. Here are some things to keep in mind when reaching out to event planners.
Lead with Genuine Interest
Reference something specific about their event or organization. If you attended a previous year, mention how it impacted you. If you know someone who spoke there, reference that connection. Show that you’ve done your homework.
Keep It Concise
Be respectful of people’s time. They don’t want to read your whole life story (and probably won’t, regardless). Your initial email should be 3-4 sentences maximum. Introduce yourself briefly, explain how you can help their audience, and ask a specific question like, “When will you be accepting speaker applications for the 2026 event?” Again, you’re building a relationship. Don’t pitch on the first meeting.
Follow Up Strategically
If you don’t hear back, wait a few days and send a brief follow-up. If you still receive no response, try again in a week. Event organizers are busy, and persistent (but polite) follow-up often pays off.
Ultimately, you should be reaching out 3-6 months in advance. Some events book out longer, and some shorter. This is why you’re contacting decision makers with plenty of notice. It’s important to be prepared.
Use Social Media
Social media platforms have become treasure troves for discovering speaking opportunities. Here are some of the ways you can use social media to find speaking opportunities:
Pay Attention to Hashtags
By following and regularly checking hashtags, you can often find a plethora of conferences, events, and people that may lead to speaking gigs. Here is a list of some of the best hashtags to pay attention to:
- #Conference
- #EventProfs
- #ConferenceSpeaker
- #MarketingConference
- #NonprofitConference
- #BusinessEvent
- #[Location]Conference
Once you start searching hashtags regularly, your newsfeed (on every platform) will be flooded with events and people you can connect with. Your mindset around “finding paid gigs” will be completely changed.
Follow the Right People
Identify speakers in your niche and follow their social media activity. See where they’re speaking and hanging out. A professional speaker will most likely have a list of events that they will be speaking at in the upcoming months. You can check out their events and reach out to the coordinators.
You can learn so much about people and what they do from their social media profiles, pages, and groups that it is easy to find speaking opportunities if you try.
Strategically Engage with Content
Don’t just consume content. Instead, take time to engage with it. Comment thoughtfully on posts about events in your field. Share insights that demonstrate your expertise. This helps to position you as an expert, and event organizers often notice people who are actively engaged with their industry.
Attend the Events You Want to Speak At
One of the most effective ways to secure future speaking opportunities is to attend the events where you want to speak. This strategy works for several reasons:
Building Real Relationships
Face-to-face connections are still the gold standard in the speaking industry. Event organizers remember people they’ve met in person, especially those who were engaged and positive attendees.
Understanding the Audience
By attending, you gain insider knowledge about what resonates with that specific audience, what gaps exist in the programming, and what kind of speakers the organization values.
Documenting Your Experience
Take photos, share on social media with event hashtags, and write thoughtful posts about key takeaways. Event organizers often search their hashtags after events and appreciate attendees who help promote their work.
Following Up Strategically
After the event, send a brief email to organizers thanking them for the experience. Maybe even offer a testimonial they can use for marketing next year’s event! Remember, your focus at this stage should be adding value and positioning yourself such that you’ll be the obvious choice when you pitch to them later.
Join Professional Organizations
Another great way to make the kind of face-to-face connections that are so valuable in the speaking industry is through speaker associations like the National Speakers Association (NSA) or the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS).
Speakers associations are excellent resources for many reasons, but one of the main benefits is the ability to network with a community of professional speakers, many of whom are likely more experienced than you and who can help you find more public speaking opportunities in your niche.
Additionally, these associations often provide resources for improving your craft. The investment in membership typically pays for itself through connections and opportunities.
Take Advantage of Referrals
The speaking industry runs on referrals, but you can’t wait for them to happen organically. You need to systematically create opportunities for referrals. When you speak well and deliver a message that resonates with the audience, people want to hire you. Speaking at live events and crushing it on stage leads to more speaking gigs. You never know who’s in the audience. Here are some important tips to getting referrals:
Tell People You’re a Speaker
This may seem obvious, but many audience members may not realize you’re a professional speaker available for hire. Consider working this information into your presentations naturally through stories and examples of other speaking engagements.
However, you can also be more direct, and say something like “If you’re interested in having me come speak to your company or at your next event, let me know!” at the end of your talk.
Build a List of Contacts
Build an email list of people you meet at speaking events. This gives you a way to stay in touch and share information about your availability for future events. Having an extensive list allows you to be proactive in getting referrals, rather than just waiting for the phone to ring.
Ask Your Client for Introductions
After successful speaking engagements, ask your contact if they’re aware of any colleagues who are planning similar events in the near future. You could even consider including a discount on your fee as an incentive for fulfilling this request in your speaking contracts.
Use Hotel and Venue Websites
Hotels and event venues often list upcoming conferences and events on their websites. Many cities have convention and visitor bureaus that maintain calendars of business events requiring speakers.
Research major hotel chains and event venues in your target geographic areas. Many provide searchable databases of upcoming events, complete with contact information for event organizers.
Set Up Google Alerts
Google Alerts can automatically notify you when new content appears online containing your target keywords. Set up alerts for terms like:
- “[Your Industry] Conference”
- “[Your City] Business Events”
- “Speakers [Your Topic]”
- “[Your Niche] Summit”
Consider creating a separate email account just for these alerts to avoid overwhelming your main inbox.
Get The #1 Marketing Asset To Book More Paid Speaking Gigs Join us for the Booked & Paid Bootcamp — our NEW 2-day virtual event designed to help you start booking more paid gigs FAST. Over two 5+ hour days of live training and Q&A, our team of 6 and 7 figure speakers will give you the proven playbook you need to become a successful paid speaker.
Conclusion: Getting Consistently Booked and Paid to Speak
Many public speakers make the mistake of thinking they need to wait for speaking opportunities to come to them, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, building a sustainable speaking business takes time and consistent effort. It’s not about getting a single paid speaking gig; it’s about building a sustainable way of getting gigs consistently.
The speakers who consistently book high-paying gigs aren’t just people with some ultra-rare talent or a long list of important connections. They take proactive steps to find and secure speaking engagements, rather than simply hoping and waiting for opportunities to arise.
Start with this proven framework, adapt it to your specific niche and goals, and commit to working the system consistently. Your calendar will begin filling up with the exact type of speaking opportunities that align with your expertise and allow you to make the impact you’ve always dreamed of making.
Remember: every successful speaker started exactly where you are now. The difference between those who make it and those who don’t isn’t pre-existing talent or connections. It’s the willingness to do the work consistently until the system starts producing results.
Your speaking career isn’t limited by who you know. It’s only limited by how systematically you’re willing to pursue the opportunities that are already out there waiting for you.
