I’ve talked about whether you should always get paid for speaking opportunities before; long story short, it depends on the event itself. Speaking opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Getting booked doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be onstage at a conference. And that’s great news for us speakers, because it means that we can show up for our people in so many ways.

But when you are getting paid, I want you to charge what you’re worth.

In this episode, I talk about what’s actually included in your speaker fee. What are organizers or hosts “buying” when they book you? Hint: It’s not the number of minutes you spend onstage.

If you loved this episode and it motivated you to work on more polished presentations, I’d love for you to leave a review on iTunes and tell me about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @jessicarasdall.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

What people are actually paying you for as a speaker

Say you’ve started to charge speaker fees and you have no clue whether you’re offering “enough” with your fee. Maybe you think that you could never charge thousands of dollars for a sixty minute presentation because it sounds wildly overpriced.

You have to look at it from a different angle, my friend. You have to get away from that “charging X dollars for X hours” mindset — which can be hard, because it’s such a common pay system in our society.

But people aren’t paying you for sixty minutes up on a stage.

They’re paying you for the value you’re bringing. Years worth of your experience as a speaker and living life. All your research, preparation, and practice for the event. Plus everything you’ve learned and done to become a speaker.

Remember, organizers are not paying for your time in minutes. They’re paying for

that amazing presence you’re gonna bring to the stage when you knock it out of the park, and
the impact you’re leaving on your audience.

That’s why it’s crucial to have a signature presentation that really offers value to your audience. Because if you just stand on stage and ramble about how amazing you are for an hour, of course it’s not going to feel right charging thousands for it!

Think of speaking as a service of your business

Speaking is just another service you offer in your business. This is a mindset that we teach our Speaking Strategy Academy members and our 1:1 clients, because it’s easy to view speaking as this entirely different, celebrity-like thing you do on the side.

But if you view speaking as just another service of yours — like consulting, legal representation, or marketing — you’ll start to see it as something you should price accurately. Because you wouldn’t offer up your regular business services for cheap, right?

Look at speaking as a high-end, boutique service of yours, and pricing and packaging your services will become a little bit easier.

I encourage you to price your speaking in a way that makes sense for you. I’m a big fan of all-inclusive pricing, for example. By charging one flat fee, I don’t have to worry about saving receipts and tracking every little expense.

If you charge a flat fee, you can sweeten the deal by throwing in extras. Copies of your book or access to your digital products. Membership to a program. Q&A sessions, roundtable discussion time, or breakout sessions. Offering your time and experience to others is a huge bonus for audience members.

There’s no right or wrong when it comes to what to include. Think about what the organizer or host would want most. There’s a difference between booking you for a keynote speech vs. a workshop, for example. That detail can help you think about what to include in your presentation.

How to charge what you’re worth for speaking

We’ve covered what people are “buying” when they book you and how you should view speaking as a service. But I’m sure you’re wondering how the heck you can come up with an accurate fee in the first place. I got you.

First, you gotta run your numbers. How much will this event cost you? And be honest. Getting paid $3,000 sounds really exciting when it first happens, but you’ll learn that expenses add up fast. Not to burst your bubble, but you have to think of expenses like:

Flights
Car rentals
Hotel stays
Food
Childcare
Out-of-office expenses

Once that all adds up, you may find that you’re basically doing this event for free.

So, again, run your numbers. Figure out how much it will cost to actually do the event. Then, calculate how much profit you need to make. Factor that into your costs. You want to be compensated fairly, but not take advantage of your host or organizer, obviously.

After you have your fee, remember to add in those extras to sweeten the deal and add more value for the organizer. Physical items, access to digital resources, 1:1 time — whatever would be most appealing to them and best for your biz.

Need help pitching your presentation?

You should always bring value to the table as a speaker with every stage you take. Every speaking opportunity is a chance to serve your audience, expand your reach, and make connections, whether you make $0 or $12,000.

However, don’t undersell yourself when it’s time to make your speaker fee known. All that time, practice, passion, and work spent on your presentation is worth it. You deserve to get paid for your expertise and the connections you’ll make with your audience.

When you get to that point in your speaking journey when you can start charging, you should be excited! Not stressed wondering whether your fee will cover all your costs, or worried that you’re charging too much or too little.

That’s just one reason I would love for you to join The Speaking Strategy Academy.

What can you expect as an Academy member? In February 2023 (the month I’m writing this!), for example, we’re talking all about packaging, pitching, and selling your presentation. Pretty appropriate for this episode, right?

Our members learn everything they need to know about speaking — marketing yourself, booking engagements, converting audience members into paying customers, and so much more — so that they can scale their business from the stage.

If you’re ready to build your speaker cred, boost the number of qualified leads for your biz, and serve your audience through speaking opportunities, The Speaking Strategy Academy is calling your name. Enrollment is open, so join now!