All I need is a speaker reel, right? Wrong!
All I need is a speaker reel, right?
Wrong.
If you ask a professional speaker what their most important marketing asset is in attracting buyers for their talks, without question, 9.8 out of 10 of them will immediately blurt out:
SPEAKER REEL!
And they would be correct.
Bureaus and event organizers want to hear you present, with good reason. As a former television producer, I get it.
It’s one thing to simply create amazing stories through articles and social posts, it’s quite another to deliver on a stage with hundreds of sets of eyeballs staring at you.
And do it in a captivating way while also providing some type of interactive experience for your audience members where they tale some gems away with them.
The mistake that many speakers make is that they believe their marketing efforts begin and end with that reel.
Photography? You mean my headshot? Yeah, I have one of those - it’s on my one sheet!
The above sentiment is unfortunately a very common one that I’ve heard openly discussed within speaker circles. And yes, it’s very hard for me to bite my tongue when I hear it, but many of them believe that if they have that one good photo, they can use it everywhere and call it a day.
The reality is much different than this assumption.
In this day and age, marketing is an all-day, everyday proposition with your online presence comprised of social media, websites, online courses and professional member sites, just to name a few.
There’s a lot of pieces to the pie and variety is the spice of life.
People (read: potential buyers of your talk) get bored to tears in mere seconds, just like you do.
So, if you think that posting that old headshot everywhere is enough to cut the mustard, you better get back in your car, head back over to the supermarket, and buy some more mustard because you’re running dangerously low.
Not by a long shot.
You need a wide variety of image content that illustrates who you are, who you serve and why you do what you do in order to create a consistent, high-quality look that satisfies every aspect of your digital footprint.
It’s not just about posting a variety of images, either.
It’s about posting a variety of dynamic lifestyle portraits that foster connection and rapport.
How the hell does lifestyle portraits foster rapport?
When you share images that reveal to your audience what your day-to-day activities look like (working on your laptop, having an in-person consultation, conducting workshop, etc), it may not seem that exciting to you, but, it breaks down the fourth wall between you and your audience.
And when you offer them an opportunity to take a sneak peek into your life in this way, that creates a connection.
This starts a conversation.
Factor in that each of these photos illustrates aspects of your personality, that gives potential buyers an opportunity to qualify your personality and determine if they want to learn more about you…
...like the desire to watch your speaker reel to see if you’re a fit for their event, for example.
Your entire online presence is one big playground where your potential clients are qualifying you daily.
All of your various marketing assets need to complement and play nice with each other, from your online to your printed materials (book cover, bookmarks, postcards, folders, brochures, etc.).
And they all will have their moments where they need to shine the brightest.
There is no question that your speaker reel is an absolute must-have. But, it is not the only piece of marketing that will make the difference for your speaker business.
Remember one thing: in order to even get into a conversation with a potential buyer, they need to discover you first. And, if you aren’t getting direct referrals, guess where they’re going to discover you?
And guess what kind of impression you leave with them if you have barely any recent photos of yourself in circulation? You think they’d be psyched to give you a call? Or, will they move on to the 10000 other potential speakers who can satisfy their needs for their event?
Don’t sleep on the need for leveraging an image content portfolio of diverse and versatile image content. Potential buyers of your talk are watching - don’t give them a reason to skip past you.
If you’re looking for inspiration for the types of images that captures your audience’s attention, take a look at my gallery of speakers, authors and expert-based business owners.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out - I’d love to help, :)