Speaking and Appearances to Promote Your Book

By Rick Frishman - Mar 28 , 2008

Speaking engagements, personal appearances, and workshops can help you get exposure and build your following because they put you face-to-face with people who may buy your book. And many authors earn more money giving speeches than they receive from the sales of their books. Speaking can build your following because people who are interested in you or your book frequently want to see who you are and hear what you have to say.

The easiest and often the most enjoyable personal appearances are book signings, readings, and book parties, and their advantages are clear. Audiences love to hear authors read from their soon-to-be-published novel, collection of short stories, or book of poems. They attend in order to meet authors—even if just briefly—buy their books, and get them signed. When an author meets people and/or signs their books, it creates a connection, and those people often become the authors’ staunchest followers. These supporters spread the word about books, devote chat rooms and websites to them, and become unpaid, unofficial publicists. An army of these supporters can get a book on the bestseller’s list, and the top authors cultivate such armies.

Speeches and public appearances are usually on a larger scale than book signings and readings. More people generally attend, so you can receive greater exposure. Audiences will frequently buy your book. According to the experts, when authors’ books are sold at their personal appearances, 25 percent of the audience usually buys a copy. For big, more established, and popular authors, they say the percentage is higher.

Speaking engagements:

• Cement your status as an expert or personality
• Enable you to meet others with similar interests

The more acknowledged you are as an expert or personality, the more books you can sell and the more it can boost your business.

Being an acknowledged expert or personality can expand your network contacts and interest more successful and accomplished individuals in you.

As an acknowledged expert or personality, you will be more attractive to businesses.

At speeches and public appearances, the questions and comments you receive from attendees can inform you about problems, issues, or developments that may increase your expertise. They can provide material for your future books, articles, presentations, and business. They can also alert you to new directions that you might want to check out and pursue.

Since speaking engagements are often a part of larger events, they provide marvelous networking opportunities, and the media is frequently on hand. As a speaker, you will have celebrity status, so people, including the media, will be eager to meet and spend time with you. Everyone you meet could help your book sales and career.

Your Topic

OK, you’re sold on the value of speaking and public appearances—but how do you get them? First, find a compelling topic.

Speeches and presentations must educate and entertain. The National Speakers Association (www.nsaspeaker.org) found that audiences primarily want education and skill building, so that’s what 75 percent of speakers are hired to provide. Give your audiences realistic, practical information that will help them solve or avoid problems. Show them how to save time and money. Provide solutions to problems they can immediately implement, explain how others solved similar dilemmas, and explore new approaches. Always give audiences tangible benefits so they leave feeling that you gave them important information that they can really use.

Talk about what you excel at, what you’ve successfully done a thousand times, and what people pay you for. Make sure that your topic is not only relevant to your audience, but that it’s important to them. Know the information you give inside out and present it in an entertaining and logical way. List the steps that should be followed: one, two, three. Give information besides that which is included in your book, and don’t constantly refer to your book or dwell on complex material.

If you write fiction, talk about how you got the idea for your novel and how you researched it, wrote it, and went about getting it published. Discuss your experiences, observations, feelings, and views. Audiences love stories associated with your book and the writing and publishing process because they give them a closer connection to you and the book. Such stories also provide aspiring writers with a blueprint they could follow.

No matter how well you write or how brilliant your book is, if your presentations aren’t entertaining, people will fall asleep and you won’t be invited back. So tell spellbinding stories, give vivid anecdotes and clever quotes. Reveal secrets, expose hoaxes or myths, make your audience laugh, and create controversy. Learn the art of PowerPoint so you can illustrate your talks with graphics such as charts, lists, diagrams, and graphs. Sprinkle in some jokes and asides that will help your audience enjoy the process of learning. Show the media that you will be a lively, informative, and entertaining interview subject.

Become a performer so audiences talk about you, spread the word, and look forward to attending your presentations. Remember that host organizations ask audiences to evaluate speakers, so make it your mission to be informative and entertaining so you are the first speaker they invite back.

Venues

Start small and locally, in your own backyard. At first, volunteer and don’t charge. Do it for the experience. Concentrate on gaining exposure, polishing your speaking skills, and learning from your mistakes. Select organizations where you can make good contacts and start building a following. Learning to be a good speaker takes practice, so start small and work your way up.

To get speaking engagements, use your contacts in civic, community, business, and charitable groups. Approach religious or social groups that you, your family, or your friends belong to or service clubs such as the Rotary Club, the Elks Club, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Contact you local chamber of commerce and local business, industry, and professional groups.

Additional Thoughts

Before you book an engagement, find out who will be in the audience, because some audiences may not be right for your talk. For example, events at some local organizations may cater to retirees or segments of the business community that will not be interested in you or your book. However, appearing before these groups might help you get valuable experience.

Build a strong local base by speaking frequently. Local audiences are usually less intimidating and more supportive. Usually, you know some of the attendees, and seeing friendly faces can help you relax. Spice up your talks with comments or references to local events or personalities. Become a local favorite and then try to move up.

When you accept speaking engagements, you often must travel, which can take lots of time. While you’re in other cities, leverage your appearances by arranging for book signings or other media appearances. Frequently, the host organization or your publisher can help, so ask if their in-house publicity arm could help you get on some local morning shows.

When you speak at engagements, prepare messages that will help sell your book. In your presentations, provide strong, interesting content. Throw in interesting and provocative stories; explain ideas that your audience could explore further in your book. Be tactful; be an interesting, entertaining speaker, and don’t dwell just on what’s in your book!

Develop your speaking career by:

• Taping your presentations and then reviewing them.
• Asking your friends and associates for constructive critiques and working to improve your performances.
• Attending accomplished speakers’ presentations, noting their strengths, and adapting those that could work for you.
• Taking media training (see Chapter 9 for more information on media training).
• Hiring a professional videographer to record your presentations as you grow more proficient. Professional videographers can capture your performances in the best light, suggest how you can improve your performance, and recommend you to other groups that hire speakers.
• Assembling a reel that demonstrates the excellence of your performances. Work with your videographer and/or a designer to put the reel together. Then take it to booking agencies or larger, higher-profile organizations that use speakers.

And remember to promote your appearance by contacting the local media:

1. Send announcements or press releases to newspapers and radio and TV stations and ask them to post your upcoming appearance on their event calendars.
2. Insert items in the host organization’s newsletters or bulletins and ask them to post and send separate announcements of your speech.
3. Place posters and fliers in busy, high-traffic areas and send postcards announcing the event to your media list, your network, and the host organization’s list.