Have you ever had an organizer ask you if you would speak for free at their event?
Maybe they have promised exposure to a new audience.
Or the chance to sell your book, consultations or training course.
Where is the line between it being a great opportunity to build your business and selling yourself short?
47 speakers from our community weighed in on this question, offering advice and opinions about whether speakers should speak for free or not.
While their opinions were diverse and sometimes contradictory, what we did find was there are a handful of factors you should consider before agreeing to speak for free.
Key deciding factors:
By polling the speakers feedback, we found the majority of speakers will speak for free- but only if it will directly benefit their speaking business.
So, should you decide if you are should speak for free or not?
Scroll below to read through the advice and opinions offer by our community of speakers:
Speaking for free is neither good nor bad. Speaking for free is a marketing strategy. If you are not strategic in accepting this opportunity, then you probably will receive minimal benefit. If you have an alternate marketing strategy, then you may not want to speak for free. However, if you have no strategy to obtain speaking engagements, then speaking for free can be an easy way to get "stage time," which could lead to paid engagements, important feedback about your presentation, and an opportunity to refine or alter your speech to fit the intended audience. In the speaking world, there are many, many options, choices, and alternatives. Most of these decisions can only be assigned positive or negative based on how you will include that decision with your business plan or your strategic positioning. -Richard M.
It all depends upon your agenda in terms of branding and what value it would bring. For example, many speakers on my podcast have spoken for free and have gotten lots of exposure. Also, there may be times when you are going to have to pay to speak, to be in the room. So come up with a plan for your speaking gigs and what end goal you are trying to reach. -Anissa A
The short answer is: absolutely. Recently I spoke for free at a large HR conference (my ideal audience) which also had a bookstore which sold my book while I did a scheduled signing. I tailored my presentation very specifically to the audiences' needs and held a raffle at the end giving away copies of my book (and collecting over 200 business cards). I've been keynoting for a long time and also teach it, so not to pat myself on the back but I know how to do it. Just two months later I had two very large consulting contracts that came from folks who attended that program and a slew of potential coaching clients. Conditions for speaking free:
1. Must be your "ideal" audience.
2. You should have a book you can sell at the back afterwards.
3. You should tailor your presentation EXACTLY to the needs of your potential audience.
4. You should ask to be allowed to raffle something off while collecting business cards.
5. Follow up with each person with a thank you.
Go for it! -Gregg W.
Every situation is different - some may be purely charitable, others you want to be aware of who is going to be in the audience and if the right people or person is going to be there - all is good. if you aren't careful, you CAN be taken advantage of and find yourself forever doing "free" talks. -Tom G.
14. I speak for free to small, nonprofits if I can sell my book at the event. For larger groups and those that don't allow direct sales, I request an honorarium; the amount is negotiable. -Bonnie F.
15. Collect the contact data of the audience. I use an app that immediately sends a free gift when they text the specific number I give them. This call to action should appear on your slides, or if you're doing a keynote then have your logo and the number projected onto the screen for your entire speech and stop at least twice and ask them to pull out their phones and text you for the free gift you have for them. I provide my eBook. This data you collect is equity. Specify this deal up front. Also, request they provide the contact list with phone numbers and email addresses in the event there are people who didn't attend and registered or they just didn't text you. Also, provide a paid offer to engage in with a finite call to action on the spot. These are my deal breakers....I respect my gifts far too much to not leverage my audience. You deserve that. -Deborah P.
16. It is beneficial if you have InfusionSoft (or some other list building product) that allows for text messaging. You could always invite the audience to text a code to a number that will give them a free "one-page" sample of your services or trip for supporting them or - the first 50 of the 200 of you that text this code will receive a free 30 minutes of coaching with me personally. There are lots of things you can do with your talk to encourage them to get on your list. Be creative and ask what you are specifically allowed to do and not do at their event. -Niki C.
17. Speaking for 'free' is fine provided you get something out of it. If you're speaking free at a conference, ask if you can get a good quality recording of your speech/talk etc. Or if you can promote/sell your book/training course etc. Make sure the audience is your target audience too, especially if you're doing it for 'exposure'. Nothing for nothing! -Jacqui H.
18. Speaking for free is a great option for someone starting out as a professional speaker...or a more seasoned speaker trying out some new material. When doing a freebie, let them know that you want them to connect you with at least three referrals of key decision-makers from other organizations who may want to hire you for one of their future events. The challenge with that is this: Organizations who want you to speak for free are generally connected to other organizations who will want you to speak for free. It is what it is. Tell them you will need a reference letter. This is perhaps the most valuable takeaway. Plus, you can have a friend stand in the hallway at the end getting video testimonials from participants who are extolling the positive impact of your educational, funny and passionate delivery. This is like gold for your website. Do 10 free speeches and you now have 10 reference letters and 30 warm market referrals. Could be the start of something huge! -Joel F.
19. Look at the opportunity strategically. That is, do you need/want the experience of getting comfortable in front of a live audience? Do you want to test some new material that has not been tested with a live audience? What size audience - will you have exposure at a breakout session that may attract 30 people or a keynote opportunity that will expose you to 1000 people, etc.? What opportunity do you have to collect attendees contact information if you want to pursue testimonials? And as others have stated, the exposure may lead to other paying jobs. -Jerry B.
20. Find something related to your talk that you can use as a product to sell and which will help people remember you. -Barbara J.
21. Look at the organization's commitment and ability to market you as a speaker - free press- and who will be sitting in the audience that might respond to a call to action. You can also do a raffle for a free 20-minute consultation. -Jackie K.
22. The VERY VERY VERY best marketing you can do is to show what you can do rather than tell people what you can do Find a way to get your audience's details and make sure they pay your expenses. Follow up and add the audience's details to your database. -Will K.
23. It's not just exposure, it's assets. Get images, get a recording if you can, give the audience the opportunity to sign up to your mailing list etc. Freebies are worth it if the assets/connections are good enough and, of course, if you need them. -Taz T.
24. If I had to do it again from scratch, I would never speak for free with the exception of chapter meetings where my ideal clients are and I'd be practicing my talk. What I would do is my best to do is get paid as much as I can wiggle out plus as much in-kind as they can provide me based on what I want as in-kind. So, last year (may) I spoke to 25 of my ideal clients for free. I got a fancy dinner, 3 testimonials, and because they were my ICP, I got a client who paid me 8K in 6 months. I am also speaking to 150+ of their other ICPs next month, and am getting the usual travel money, meals, and room plus conference to do so. And for the same group paid me for a webinar. Get the demographics of the audience (including income level). Never expect clients from a group, no matter what they say. If they don't pay, get as much in-kind as possible. -Maria M.
25. I've spoken for free before and been able to use the connections I made to land clients and increase my revenue stream. That said, I won't be doing the speech I've been giving (based on a public speaking book I co-authored) for free anymore because I've honed it to the point that it's too valuable to give away. Weigh what you'll get, the audience you'll get in front of, an opportunity to build or add to your email list from the opportunity, and/or land new clients. If you can, it might be worth it. You didn't mention travel for the speech but if the gig is out of your area, you'll want to weigh if you want to spend the money on travel to speak. -Aurora G.
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