Every speaker wants to get booked – well most any way. Some insist they get paid, others are ok with getting experience, and then there are speakers who will speak for free – if they’re speaking to the perfect target audience – and they can sell from the stage.

Getting speaking engagements takes time, and if you’re busy working IN your business and not ON your business, it’s not always easy. Here’s a trick I learned a while back – see what you think of it.

If you track conferences and places where your ideal audience hangs out, and where you’d like to present, it’s easy to use this strategy. I just love it, because it saves the day for the event organizer and you’re the hero!

Let’s say you wanted to speak at the Ultimate Digital Marketing Conference in East Marketingville, Illinois, but were late in applying or you were on vacation, or honestly, it just slipped by and you didn’t even notice. No problem.

Two weeks before the event, write an email to the event organizer and tell them that you’re available as a back-up speaker, in case someone doesn’t show up. Simple as that. The event organizer will be thrilled to death, and more often than you think, there’ a situation where a speaker can’t make it. Life happens.

Another quick tip to getting a speaking gig is to check out where your competition recently spoke, even a few years back.  If the topic was relevant and timely, event organizers might like another speaker in a year or two to present. You’ll probably have to check your competition’s website or the association’s, so you may want to do this in stealth mode.

These are insider tips, two of the many not so traditional ways to get speaking gigs to build your sales funnel and base of raving fans.

I’m Robin Samora, host of Fast Marketing Minute. If your company is looking for a fun and engaging speaker on marketing – or all things marketing and how to grow your business, check out my speaker page at RobinSamora.com/speaking. I’d love to talk with you about your event goals, challenges, and what you’d like to accomplish.  Talk tomorrow!