Speaker Relations For Community Managers
If you organize events for your community, chances are that you’ve had to recruit and book speakers. Are you one of the lucky individuals that gets budget for their speakers? I certainly hope so! But if you’re not, then you’re faced with a conflict… “how can I make this worthwhile for this speaker, even though I can’t pay them?”
*I truly hope that your first inclination is always to TRY to find budget to pay people what they are worth, but this post isn’t about the ethics of that topic.*
Here are some suggestions on what to do, at the very LEAST, in the absence of budget, to still make it a positive experience for everyone involved:
Offer other compensation in the form of gift cards, discounts, free courses/workshops/memberships/conferences, covering travel expenses.
Promote the heck out of them, and provide a link to their preferred website, not just yours.
Create social media images they can share.
Give them a copy of the attendee list and contact info (keep in mind that attendees' consent should be asked for prior to this).
Provide a link or file with the presentation recording.
Provide copies of official photos/videos, of the speaker, after the event.
Allow them time during the presentation to make a pitch for their services/offerings.
But if you DO have budget…and there’s enough outside of offering a speaker fee, here are a few more tips that go the extra mile:
Arrange, and pay for, speaker-only events like a dinner or activity.
Offer high-quality swag. Even better if it's rare or unique swag, made for a special occasion.
If you can't offer more than one of the suggestions from the list above, then you shouldn't be asking others to give their time, effort, and attention to you, IMHO.
Shoutout to Talkbase and The Community Collective for the OUTSTANDING speaker experiences I've been fortunate enough to be invited to!
What would you suggest adding to the list above?
What’s an exceptional speaker experience you’ve had?
Comment below to share with the All-Things-Community audience!
And if you’re at CMX Summit right now, you’re welcome to join this event tonight:
SEE YOU THERE! ~Jenny