Get Paid to Speak at Virtual Events
“Just because you aren’t getting on a plane and staying in a hotel and catching an Uber to give the presentation, doesn’t mean that you aren’t delivering the same amount of value. You still have to prep, you still have to show up, you still have to deliver and connect and offer the same content.” — Denise Jacobs
One of our most common questions we get asked at Women Talk Design is “how do I get paid?” Now that conferences are going virtual, we’re getting the question from new angles. When we hosted our first Couch Cushion Conversation between veteran speakers Denise Jacobs and Margot Bloomstein, the talk turned to getting paid. Here is their advice for being paid when you speak virtually.
You have to ask.
Denise observed, “In my own personal experience, for at least 2 years I was doing all of my speaking with the belief (the very mistaken belief) that once I got good people would start to offer to pay me. I cannot tell you how profoundly incorrect that is. No one is going to give you money unless you ask for it.” This is more true than ever when you’re speaking online!
If you’re starting out, you might want to be flexible.
Margot explained, “When you’re starting out, you do want to figure out different ways to get exposure. Know your worth. Sometimes that is expressed through money, and sometimes that is expressed through the opportunity to connect with people at that conference or go to a city you’ve never been to before with your travel paid for. One conference couldn’t pay my rate but one sponsor was travel-related and could give me an extra plane ticket so my husband could come as well...
“As a speaker, you are the most valuable part of the conference so see how they are willing to value you and treat you.”
What extra value can you offer?
Margot talked about an organizer that wanted to decrease her fee because the event had gone online. She said she felt like she was between a rock and a hard place--saying yes to the decreased fees set a bad precedent, but she also didn’t want to come off as a hard no. Instead, she looked for a win-win, asking other speakers for help.
Finally, she found the answer. She approached the conference and said, “Why don’t we keep the rate the same, but let me do more. Because the one thing I have now is time. What if for the top 50 people or companies that opt-in, each gets 1-hour no-fee of my time. Or, we can offer 50 hour-long mentoring sessions to the first people who opt-in. It’s a chance for me to nurture our industry.” She then explained to us that 1:1 time with companies can help her build her client pipeline. If she can help them and get to hear about all of the thorny challenges they are having? She'd love that. The event responded with an unqualified yes, saying, “The value that you’re adding is so much greater than what we would be subtracting from your fee.”
Stand firm in what you offer.
Denise said, “Your hour talk is the years of experience that came before the moment you got on stage. That’s what they are paying for. The talk is a culmination point. Everything that goes into that informs that you should be getting paid for your experience and knowledge.
“Think of a number — and then, most likely, double it. And if it’s less than $1500 make it more. Start asking for it. You have to establish your own number and people will follow suit.
“Trust that what you are doing and the expertise you have and the act of sharing your knowledge is valuable and if you leave with nothing else know that. That value can have a dollar value to it and you deserve to get paid for your expertise."
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