The reading level for this article is All Levels
1. The title of your speech should clearly explain the number-one takeaway (the result) that your audience will get. Make sure the title is so clear that a kindergartener would know what result or takeaway they will get from hearing you speak.

2. Create a handout or workbook and have attendees trade their names and email addresses in exchange for the information. Doing this will bring the seminar/webinar/teleseminar attendees into your marketing and sales funnel. You can offer them the opportunity to get the handout either before or at the end of the event, depending on the venue and whether it is online or offline. 

3. Prep, prep, prep! Whether it’s free or paid, you need to solidly prep for every event. Your attendees are giving you their most valuable assetâ€"TIME. Let them know you are treating it (and them) with respect.

4. If you’re using PowerPoint in your presentation, use relevant graphics that drive home your points. Don’t fill your PowerPoints with a ton of words and bullets. Keep the text to a bare minimum.

5. Send all of your marketing materials to the host or event planner as a single packet of information. The more together your information, the more professional you look, and the more likely that you will be asked to speak again and recommended by the meeting planner or host as a speaker.

6. One of your goals as a speaker should be to make it easy for those hosting the event to fill seats. So your marketing packet needs to provide them with information that sells. Top-notch speaker marketing packets include:
a. Your bio
b. Photos or a link to photos
c. The top 3 BENEFIT-driven talking points
d. One-paragraph blurb on your topic for a newsletter, blog, etc.
e. Longer blurb (for sales copy) on your topic. Make sure this copy really drives home the takeaways.
f. 3 to 4 benefit-driven status updates (130 characters or less) for Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
g. Make it easy to build excitement on your topic by providing articles or links to articles (written by you) on your topic.
h. Information on how and where participants can get the handout; I love squeeze pages where attendees can trade their contact information for your giveaway.
i. Your cell phone number for day-of emergencies (don’t forget to ask for theirs as well)

7. If you are selling something during the event or call, invite your host to become an affiliate of yours so they can earn too. This will motivate them to put more effort into the promotions.

8. Don’t reinvent the wheel. For each of your signature talks, create a packet that you can send out again and again.
