Ep 73: Unpaid Speaking Made Profitable with Mentoring Sessions (ft. Dannie Fountain)

I know that a lot of our listeners have been implementing everything we're teaching, which includes speaking for free when you're getting started. I can relate to how hard it can be when you're not making as much money on the front end as you'd like. On this episode of the Creative Speaker Podcast, I've brought back my friend Danny Fountain to tell us about something that she is implementing in her own speaking business in order to make unpaid events profitable. This method was something that she came up with after dedicating herself to building her speaker credibility for years!! You guys, this one is gold! Dannie is truly giving you something special in this episode.  If you loved this episode and it motivated you to add speaking to your business, please take the time to leave me some positive feedback on iTunes. I'd also love to hear about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories and tag us @thecreativespeakerpodcast.   Episode takeaways you don't want to miss: Sponsorships can be a great way to try and recoup your costs when you're speaking for free Check out Episode 2 of the Creative Speaker Podcast (Leveraging Sponsorships and Speaker Sprints) In order to monetize your unpaid speaking engagements, you have to put in the leg work up front Have a strategy/goal Build a landing page Mentoring sessions were an ideal way for Dannie connect with her clients outside of her presentation while recouping her travel expenses Don't say, "I'm willing to spend X on my speaking expenses this quarter".... Say, "I'm willing to Invest X on my speaking expenses this quarter". Every presentation you give needs to be set up so that your audience engages with you in a way that feels like they're getting value added to their business or cause The second you grab that microphone and step onto the stage, it's easy to be perceived as an untouchable magical being and you don't want that at all. You want to kick that pedestal over and get down on your audience's level and say, "I've been there, I understand, I'm here to serve you. Come to me with your problems!!". Before advertising your mentoring sessions on a conferences group page on a social media platform, respectfully as the conference organizer.  If you do get approval, DO NOT spam the conference social media pages. Advertise once or twice and then talk about it on your Instagram stories.    For full show notes and links, visit: http://www.thepublicspeakingstrategist.com/shownotes/073