(this is a rough draft chapter from my upcoming book Mini Book Marketing which is available for pre-order on Amazon, you can click here to pre-order it. It will likely be released in February or March 2025)
Having people hear your voice and see your face is the most powerful form of marketing you can do.
While it often doesn't feel as scalable as the other forms of marketing, public speaking, whether its on a podcast or a stage, can be extremely viral. It only takes one person to get passionate about you and your message and it spreads to thousands online. Convince ten people and it's spreading like wildfire.
Keep this in perspective as we look at how to use public speaking to sell books.
Starting Your Own Podcast/Event
When people hear you interview or being interviewed by someoe they often raise their perception of you to the level of the other person.
This is why many authors start their own podcasts. Other experts are looking for interviews and places to share their point of views and providing that place for your niche audience is a powerful way to network and grow in influence. I did this by starting the Independent Adjuster Podcast 8 years ago.
It allowed me to interview CEO's, company owners, and others in the industry that wouldn't have probably given me the time of day and so can you.
Not only does having a podcast help raise your perceived credibility, but it also allows you to mention your book on every episode.
Most podcasts have a call to action near the end that tells people how to find out more about what you do and can be a great place to tell about your book. You can also use your book on the podcast as a lead magnet. Whether free or paid, people who love your audio or video content will often grab your book as well.
Starting a podcast or creating an in person or digital event is a lot of work and it takes consistent work to maintain, but even a short audiobook style series of your book as a podcast* can be a great way to spread your message about your book to a new audience.
(Russell Brunson did this for his book Marketing Secrets if you want to check it out, search for Marketing Secrets in a podcast directory. Also, Alex Hormozi released his audiobook as podcast episodes on his podcast called "The Game.")
Speaking at Others Podcast/Events
A popular strategy for new authors is to do a speaking tour around the launch of their book.
By reaching out to podcasts, influencers, and events in and around your niche, you can line up speaking engagements. (just start with the smaller ones) Most places allow you to give a call to action at the end and you can tell them about your book. (if it wasn't already discussed in the interview or event) This allows you to move dozens or more copies of your book at one time and can be a great way to get the momentum going on a book launch.
If digital recordings of your speaking/interview continue to live online, you'll also see residual sales coming as long as they are available and viewed by people.
There are several things you can do to move books easier when speaking.
Create a QR Code of where to get a copy of your book/lead magnet on your slides (if speaking)
Bring physical copies of your book that you can sell on site.
Work out with the organizer/host to email out to their audience your information and link to the book/lead magnet. (this especially works good if giving the book away, giving a discount, or something special for their audience)
Whatever you do, don't be transfixed by the numbers of downloads or people in attendance.
If you can speak to 30 people that care about what you have to say, that'll go farther in book sales and reviews than going viral to people who don't care about your topic.
Getting momentum for you book is winning over one person at a time.
Scaling Your Speaking Efforts
Once you've spoke once on a podcast or event it is much easier to get more speaking opportunities.
You are a published author and now a known quantity as a speaker. There are several things I know that you can do to leverage that one speaking engagement into others. I purposefully try to schedule 1-2 interviews a month for me to speak on the topic of mini books and business.
This allows me to keep the momentum going and more and more people to find out about my books.
I want to help you do the same.
How to Line Up Additional Opportunities to Speak
The biggest way to get more speaking opportunities is to ask.
When you complete an interview with someone, ask them if they know of any other shows or hosts that you might be a good fit for. 9 times out of 10 they'll know someone or have some lead for you to explore. Rolling from interview to next scheduled interview is the easiest and fastest way to build a speaking tour.
Podcasters and events tend to know other podcasts and events.
Don't be lazy.
While I advocate for the simple "ask" approach, you've got to do your own work. Use podcast directories to search for a list of shows. Make your dream list of shows and start reaching out to those that have smaller audiences and review numbers. They'll most likely be more open to you coming on.
Here are some things you can do to improve their response rate.
Look and see if they even do interviews before emailing them (even if they don't you can mention 'I know you don't normally do interviews but here is why I think I might bring value to your audience)
Check to see their latest podcast episode, is it still active?
Listen to an episode and mention it in your email.
When emailing make sure you understand how you can bring value to THEIR audience. Focus on their audience and on making their life easy.
List the 3 main topics you are able to speak on as episode ideas in your email (Example: Mini Books and how they build credibility faster, starting an online business, running an online business remote on a boat)
Include a link to a previous episode/recording you have of your speaking so they understand your style and quality of equipment.
Bonus points if you record a personalized video specifically for that host showing your face so they know you took time out to reach out to them.
Remember all this work pays off.
One interview turns into multiple through referrals and introductions.
Create a Speaker Page
Last thing I'll mention is that you should create a speaker page.
This page should have,
A quick bio
Where you've spoken at or been interviewed at
Have an introduction video about you and the 3 main topics you normally talk on
The equipment you use for recording podcasts (showing you can give a quality product to them)
Image and link to your book (establishing you as credible)
I'll be releasing a free speaking website template soon to premium members.