Scott Lorenz of Westwood Communications has helpful tips on how public speakers can land a spot on a conference panel.
It’s in the latest issue of The Navigator, the ezine published by Bacon’s.
Most important: don’t wait for an invitation! And tell them you’ll help promote the panel as well as the conference.
Here’s my personal experience with panels. I stopped wasting time filling out RFPs to speak at conferences and conventions. In fact, I can’t remember one time when an RFP has led to an invitation.
For me, the three best magnets that attact invitations to speak at conferences:
—My weekly ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.” If you’re an expert and you aren’t publishing an ezine, or a tip of the week, start now. See “How to Turn Your Ezine into a Cash Machine.”
—The free articles page at my website, where I can flaunt my expertise.
—Word-of-mouth referrals from happy meeting planners who have hired me.
If you’re a professional speaker, learn everything you need to know about how to grow your speaking business from my mentor, Tom Antion.
I just joined your Yahoo Group, have just recieved your latest newsletter (I’m one of your newest ‘hounds’)And I’d like to thank you for all of the invaluable advice! I am new to the Promo-PR-Marketing ways of life, and especially since I am doing it all online for now. It has already proven to be SO very helpful! And since the company that has put it’s authors & it’s own future in my hands is benefitting so much already from the advice that I am reading as much as possible, I can say that a very new Publishing company and it’s owner thank you also! I am self-taught, so all that I am learning, I am using! And it is proving to be very effective!
Your tips are valuable and have inspired me to start a wiki on viral publicity/fast PR.