Alicia Dunams$$ · ~SPECIAL)REPORT~) 2011© Alicia Dunams International $ $...

~SPECIAL REPORT~

2011© Alicia Dunams International www.AliciaDunams.com

How to Leverage a Book to …

Secure Countless Speaking Gigs and Attract Influencers Who Will Promote Your Products

and Services

-‐ 8 Tips Inside -‐ ________________________

Alicia Dunams interviews

Brandy Mychals

~SPECIAL REPORT~


As a publisher, speaker, and creator of Bestseller in a Weekend, an intensive weekend workshop in which I take business owners, experts and aspiring authors from idea to author in 2 days or less, I also help my clients master the marketing and promotion of their books to maximize media coverage, sales and brand visability. I've also worked with Brandy Mychals, the creator of ‘The Character Code System' and her system for attracting clients without coming across as a “salesy” used car dude.

Brandy Mychals is the 2011 International Femtor Award Winner, which was presented by the eWomen Network for Business Matchmaker of the Year. She was also selected by a Fortune 500 Company as one of the top 10 bloggers in the United States and Canada and served on their blogging advisory committee. Brandy is the author of the soon to be published book, Savvy Speaker Secrets. Her specialty is teaching entrepreneurs how to make the journey from obscurity to buzz in record time so your ideal clients can track you down. She is known for delivering high value content and has been featured on NBC Talk Radio and Yahoo. To find out more information about Brandy, you can go to BrandyLive.com.

This special report combines my Bestseller in a Weekend strategies with Brandy's strategies, providing authors with the maximum exposure and influence among those who will promote their products and services.

1. Get paid as a speaker so you can market your message to a broader audience.

There are three types of speakers, and each of them has a unique value to authors. They are platform speakers, keynote speakers, and hybrid speakers.

• Platform speaker: An entrepreneur who uses speaking to build their brand and promote their business, usually for free. Platform speakers usually make money on the back end, by selling their product(s) or service(s), increasing traffic to their business, website, or events.

• Keynote speaker: A speaker who is paid a fee to provide a speech or presentation, usually at corporate events or large conferences.

• Hybrid speaker: A platform speaker who is so clear in his or her message and who has already built a strong platform—usually, this results in receiving invitations for keynote speaking.

A book is beneficial for all three types of speaking engagements, particularly, though, for keynote speakers.

~SPECIAL REPORT~


2. Creating and Optimizing a Speaker Sheet. A speaker sheet (also called a one sheet) is a really powerful tool for authors. To be truly effective, a speaker sheet should include the following information with the intent to attract the interest of the event planners or personnel who book speakers.

• Your name • Your business' name • Your headshot • A short introduction (one paragraph or the equivalent of five sentences) to the body of your

work or your book, depending on what you are promoting or marketing. • Presentation topics: List two separate topics you are qualified to speak and present to their

audience. Following each topic, include a short (2 to 3 sentence) description of the content, with bullet points signifying the main points for each.

• State who your presentation is suited for. Include demographics, gender, career, etc., to appropriately match your presentation with the ideal audience.

• Biography: A short, one paragraph bio that includes your basic information. • Testimonials: Include 4 or 5 testimonials or endorsements.

3. Developing Your Story or Presentation. As a speaker, it's important that you develop and prepare your story or speech, based on your experiences and expertise. The key components in your presentation should include:

• Your story: What do you do? Share past experiences, bringing your audience through your journey to the present.

• Express your greatness: In this phase of development, focus on first impressions. As a speaker and an author, your photo will be included on your book and on your speaker sheet. Make sure your first impression and image convey an appropriate image for the industry and audience. It's important to be yourself, while being aware that people make assumptions.

• Create confidence: Public speaking is feared by many, usually because people fear that they will be judged (and they will be). Build confidence by being natural and knowing how people communicate, verbally, in writing, and through body language. Know that confidence increases over time, so practice is an important factor in enhancing self-‐confidence.

• Build your platform: A platform is like a structure behind your body of work; who you’re influenced by, who supports you, what is it that you offer, how your business is designed, etc. What is your platform, your book title, and your main topic?

• Build your message: It is very important to discover your message as you create your speaker sheet. Don't worry about creating perfection, because your message will evolve and improve over time. But make sure you do have a message and it's succinctly stated and identifiable.

~SPECIAL REPORT~


• Know who you're trying to reach and who your ideal client is. If you're trying to attract them, fine; but if you're trying to attract the interest of a different audience, know who they are and how to reach them.

• Make your offer: In video presentations or platform speaking, you'll make offers. Make sure your offer is one that you're confident in presenting and can deliver without appearing pushy or "salesy." Find your motivation factor and the motivation factor of your audience and appeal to it.

• Marketing: Regardless of what type of speaking you'll be doing, you'll need to market. You have to let people know about your product, service, upcoming events, special programs, and special offers.

• Develop an online presence: As a speaker, it's very important that you create an online presence. People will do research and seek information about you via Google, Facebook, articles, pictures, and your web site. They'll want to see photos of you in action, delivering speeches to intent audiences. Take photographs and videos and post them on the Internet where they can be found and accessed by those who want to learn more about you.

• Promotion: This area relates to the feedback you'll receive as an author and speaker. As both, you, your work, and your message will be vulnerable to the opinions of others. If you’re doing a good job, most of it will be positive. Occasionally, you may get some that’s negative. Be prepared to receive feedback and, if necessary, to address it.

• Know your ultimate goal: What is your ultimate goal and how will your life look once you've achieved it? Determine what your professional and personal life will look like once you've achieved that goal—how will you dress? What time will you get up and go to bed? Start living your life today as if you've already accomplished that goal. This will help you to develop the mindset, attitude and confidence you need to create your success.

• Attack your To-‐Do List: Being a speaker and an author isn't all about events and presentations. There is always behind-‐the-‐scenes work to be done. Determine who will do that work and how it will be accomplished, even when you're involved in other activities.

• Determine your next step: The speech isn't the ultimate goal—it isn't both hello and goodbye. A speech or presentation should feed into the next step for people to work with you or learn more from you, etc. Use your speech as a stepping stone, taking your audience to the next step, not as an all-‐inclusive one-‐and-‐done approach.

4. Establishing yourself as a sought-‐after speaker. To further increase your appeal, utilize the Internet and other tools to increase interest in your message. To do so, increase your exposure through:

• Photographs: Upload photos and videos to your website, Flicker, YouTube, and any other places where you can receive exposure on the Internet. Make sure you tag or label them so they are readily identifiable.

• Use social media: Establish a Facebook fan page as a speaker and an author.

~SPECIAL REPORT~


• Create a speaker's website: Your website should be about speaking and your message. For optimal results and traffic, you should update the content on your site frequently, keeping it as fresh and up to date as possible. Blogging activity on your own site, as well as other blogs, is a good way to increase traffic to your website.

Ideally, you'll offer three things: Products, services, and information. The easiest thing to market is information. When you market a product, it's natural to come across like a salesperson; however, marketing information is different. That's why it's important to have a clearly defined platform and to provide quality information that will entice people to want to work with you, buy your products or services, or sign up for the next step in working with you and benefitting from your knowledge.

5. Overcoming the Challenge of being an Introvert in an Extrovert's World.

Whether you're networking, at a book event, an interview, or presenting to an audience, it's important that you are able to interact and communicate with your audience. One challenged voiced by many is that they are naturally introverts, uncomfortable speaking to strangers or large groups. To overcome that obstacle, it's important that you have a desire to be successful. You must have a clear goal and a vision that is so appealing to you that you are compelled to take action, regardless of any discomfort. Adopt the belief that you are helping others and transforming their lives through your message.

You can also start by being selective in the places where you network. Start small, connecting with only two or three potential clients at a time. Stay for short periods of time until you increase your comfort levels. And choose events where you already know one or more of the people attending.

As a speaker, when you focus on your audience and how you can serve them, you tend to forget your comfort levels and focus on them and their needs.

6. Creating Joint Ventures and Partnerships. Once you've established yourself as a professional speaker who delivers quality information, you can take advantage of joint ventures and partnerships. These mutual relationships benefit both parties and increase interest and attraction to both partners. Things to consider when creating joint ventures and partnerships are:

• As a speaker, do they deliver quality information, or are they merely promoting and marketing their product or service?

• What do they have to offer and how will it benefit your audience? • How will they assist in promoting or marketing your event, product, or service? • Do you have an affiliate or partnership agreement that specifies the details of the venture or

partnership?

~SPECIAL REPORT~


7. How to turn your current business to a knowledge-‐ based practice so that clients pay more to learn what you know.

There is a difference between product, service, and information. With products, people will feel like they are being sold. So products should be only part of the model, not the whole model. The same is true for services. The one thing people will pay a premium for, though, is information. When they receive information, whether it’s free or they’re buying upper level information, they then own it and it can't be taken away. The greatest leverage you can obtain as a speaker and an author is obtained from providing information. You definitely want to have information that's valuable and credible, then monetize how to deliver your information and market it.

8. Tips on how to package your knowledge and use information for profit.

Once you've selected the information that you're going to present, decide how you will deliver it. You might choose to offer a workshop, calls, coaching, classes and webinars, and/or online activity. Once you know what you'll offer, develop your message and make it clear, letting your audience know how they'll benefit from your information and what additional information and knowledge you have that will be advantageous to them. You can do this at various levels, starting with small webinars, leading to private coaching and consultations. Monetize your information and envision your ultimate goal. Use your book and your speaking engagements to attract interest and deliver quality information. When you do, your book and your speaking engagements become tools that create more business, more interest, and more publicity and exposure for what you know and what you do.

Alicia Dunams$$ · ~SPECIAL)REPORT~) 2011© Alicia Dunams International $ $...

Documents

Transcript of Alicia Dunams$$ · ~SPECIAL)REPORT~) 2011© Alicia Dunams International $ $...