3 Ways to Cash In on Public Speaking
Issue #2152
- WEALTHY: How I made $17,000 worth of "gravy" (Paul Lawrence)
- HEALTHY: A natural appetite suppressant you can sprinkle on your salads (Dr. Jonny Bowden)
- WISE: James Russell Lowell on wealth
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The big difference between hype and misleading advertising (Michael Masterson)
- 5 strategies for top-notch round-the-world travel (Lori Allen)
- It’s Fun to Know… why you shiver when it’s cold
- Add "confabulation" to your vocabulary
An Exciting Opportunity To Take Advantage Of A Trillion-Dollar Industry
Of the many paths to wealth, there is only one that Michael Masterson most consistently recommends to his closest friends and relatives.
It has all the advantages you want if you’re starting from scratch: simplicity, an extremely low entry cost and a huge and growing potential for wealth-building.
Here’s what I am talking about…
- Patrick Coffey
"Wealth may be an excellent thing, for it means power, and it means leisure, it means liberty."
James Russell Lowell
3 Ways to Cash In on Public Speaking
In March, I spent four hours giving two seminars at the Learning Annex in Los Angeles - and I walked away with about $2,000 in my pocket. Since I needed to be in Los Angeles anyway for other business, that money is what I would call "gravy."
It’s "gravy," because it was extra money that I picked up by speaking about subjects I’m very knowledgeable about and actually like discussing - so it only took me about an hour to prepare for both seminars. And, frankly, if I hadn’t been presenting those seminars, I would’ve just been trying to find some way to kill time before my meetings the next day. So, it was like found money.
Though I "only" made about $500 an hour for that gig at the Learning Annex, I’ve personally seen top speakers earn as much as $10,000 an hour when you combine their speaking fees with their profits from "back-end" sales - products or services they sell to people attending their presentations.
And speaking offers an additional income opportunity. In fact, as a direct result of my two Learning Annex seminars, I expect to earn an additional $15,000 this year (half of which I’ve already pocketed). This amount of money certainly isn’t a fortune, but it’s a nice piece of change that I’m picking up with little effort.
Here’s how…
One of the seminars I gave was on the art of direct-mail copywriting. This is a craft that I’ve been fortunate enough to become well schooled in as a result of completing AWAI’s basic copywriting program and masters program. Since completing these programs, I’ve had the chance to earn a nice six-figure income in the direct-mail business over the last few years.
At the end of my seminar on copywriting, two attendees approached me and asked if they could possibly hire me for some copywriting projects for their businesses. While they both felt they had learned a lot from my presentation, they realized they weren’t going to be able to get the results they needed for their respective businesses just from what they learned by listening to me for a couple of hours. I gave them my contact information and invited them to get in touch whenever they were ready to do business.
Since then, both have contacted me to procure my services as a copywriter. And one of them has become a steady repeat client.
This is not the first time I’ve spoken on a subject and had people want to hire me after the presentation. After a seminar I did on screenwriting, for example, an attendee asked me to help him with his scripts. I picked up a quick $5,000 from this gentleman - something I did not expect to happen when I agreed to do the presentation.
Aside from all the money you can make, there some other really attractive reasons to get into speaking as a business:
- You can speak about a subject you love - turning just about any type of expertise into a business.
- You can start the business with virtually no capital.
- You can easily do it part-time.
To start a business that can help you find new clients in addition to earning speaking fees and profits from back-end sales, take the following steps:
1. Determine a skill you have that is in high demand in the marketplace - one that people in your audience might be interested in hiring you for in the future.
Some subjects make perfect topics for seminars or other speaking engagements - and can earn you income via speaking fees and back-end sales - but might not generate much income from people who want to hire you afterward.
For example, if you are an expert at preparing very economical and delicious family dinners, there’s an excellent chance that you could attract an audience of people who want to learn how to prepare those meals. And there is the potential for back-end sales to them with such products as recipe books or instructional videos. But it’s unlikely that people who are interested in creating economical meals would want to hire you to cook for them.
On the other hand, if you were giving a lecture on how to catch more bass in the Everglades, you could likely attract a good paying audience and also sell them various back-end products … fishing lures, videos, and maps, for example. Plus, it’s likely that some of the attendees would want to hire you to guide them on a fishing expedition. And it’s just as likely that they would be willing to pay you a lucrative fee for providing such a service.
2. Create a curriculum that will sound attractive to potential attendees and provide them with a valuable learning experience.
To market your seminar, you need to spell out exactly what the attendees will learn. And to get your attendees to want to hire you after the event, you must prove to them that you are a knowledgeable expert and have solid skills that would benefit them. So you want to make sure you provide high-quality information with real value during every speech you give.
3. Market your speaking business to people who will be interested in hiring you.
Your speaking business can go one of two ways: A third party can hire you to do the presentation or you can produce the event yourself.
Which third parties should you approach? That depends on your subject matter. A place like the Learning Annex, for example, offers hundreds of courses on business and all sorts of lifestyle subjects. So if you are an expert in something like Internet marketing or Zen meditation, the Learning Annex could be one third party you’d want to market your presentation to. But if you are an expert in urban planning and engineering, the Learning Annex won’t be for you. You might be better off contacting industry organizations or large engineering firms.
If you want to produce your own speaking events, you’ll need to get your message to prospective attendees directly. Again, the nature of your subject will determine how you’ll go about promoting it. If you want to give a seminar on how small-business owners can save on taxes, a direct mailing to a list of small-business owners in your area could be very effective. If you want to give a seminar on improving back pain through yoga, you might advertise in local general-interest publications or consider partnering with another business that has a client/customer list of likely attendees - like a chiropractor - instead.
A speaking business can be a full-time business that can generate an income as high as six or seven figures… or it can be a side business you run on weekends that brings in extra cash and additional clients for your primary business. Either way, if you have a skill or knowledge that others would be willing to pay to learn, a great new business awaits you.
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a produced screenwriter, direct-mail copywriter, and business author. He is also the creator of the Quick and Easy Microbusiness System, ETR’s program for starting a business for under $100. Learn how to make as much as $500 to $5,000 an hour just by talking about a subject you love by clicking here.]
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What’s All the Hype About?
A regular ETR reader who’s a freelance copywriter writes: "One of my clients is a local used-car dealer. He wants me to hype his products. But I don’t want to be involved with misleading advertising. What can I do?"
There is a big and discernable difference between hype and misleading advertising. Hype refers to claims that are exaggerated for effect. (The word was derived from "hyperbolic.") "Our X-90 Golf Club Lets You Hit Like King Kong" is hype. Deceptive advertising is at the other end of the scale. It refers to marketing statements that are patently false, such as telling a customer you have a no-questions-asked refund policy when you don’t. Misleading advertising falls in between. It refers to claims and promises that are technically correct but designed to be misunderstood. For example, "Twenty Dollar Golden Coins for Two Dollars Each" is misleading if the coins are not solid gold but gold-plated.
The best advertising doesn’t rely on hype. If the product is good, a smart copywriter can usually find some powerful but not exaggerated way of stressing its benefits. The key to writing without hype is to narrow down the product’s primary benefit - its USP (unique selling proposition) - and ask: "In what way and under what circumstances is this feature really, really beneficial to the customer?" Figure that out and you will be able to write strong, compelling copy without hype.
That said, hype is a subjective term. I might feel like Godzilla swinging that X-90 golf club… but you might try it and feel like Pee-wee Herman. Almost everyone recognizes this fact and the fact that the purpose of advertising is to express - as enthusiastically as possible - the benefits of a product. As long as there are ordinary (and there always must be, by definition) as opposed to extraordinary products and copywriters in the world, there will be hype. But we can live with hype. Hype isn’t the problem.
Deceptive and misleading advertising is the problem. Deceptive advertising is purposefully constructed lies that are intended to dupe the customer. It is an element of theft. Misleading advertising is in between - and more tricky. And this is where lots of marketers and copywriters get into trouble. Advertising that is technically correct but meant to trick the unwitting customer into coming to the wrong-for-him/right-for-the-marketer conclusion can seem like it is in the realm of fair play and caveat emptor. It is not.
I know the difference. Fifteen years ago, a former partner and I paid a stiff penalty for misleading advertising. It was a wake-up call to me. I promised myself that I’d never forget the distinction between hype and misleading advertising again, and that I would work to help other businesspeople avoid the same mistake. That’s a regular part of what I do when I work with my clients these days.
So here’s what I have to say to that ETR reader who wrote in: There is never a good reason to mislead your customer.
He should tell his used-car dealer client that he is looking for a good, long-term relationship with him. That he wants to help him build his business properly and legally so it will continue to grow and he can continue to get work from him. He should ask the client to trust him about the language in his advertising. After all, as a copywriter, that’s his area of expertise.) And then he should be creative and clever in his copy but never, ever write copy which states something that is factually inaccurate or fundamentally deceives the customer in any way.
He should press this client to give him good reasons why his used cars are good buys. If the client can’t do that, he is better off ending the relationship.
Keep this in mind for all the advertising you do in your business: Hype is fine, but don’t be misleading. Take it from somebody who knows.
[Ed. Note: Get Michael Masterson’s insights into becoming successful in your business and personal life, achieving financial independence, and accomplishing all your goals on his brand-new website. You’ll find updates on all of Michael’s books, news on upcoming ETR events, Michael’s blog, and room to send in your comments and questions. Check it out today.]
How to Plan a Trip You’ll Never Forget
By Lori Allen
Round-the-world travel is becoming more and more popular these days - and it’s no wonder, since you can quintuple your vacation experience by stopping in multiple countries on your trip.
Here are five ways to get the most out of a round-the-world vacation:
- Try to pick destinations that are at least nine hours apart by air.
My husband and I thought we were doing ourselves a favor on our round-the-world honeymoon by scheduling our destinations fairly close together to eliminate flight time. But we were happiest on our nine- to 12-hour flights (in business class). On those flights, we had plenty of time to eat and sleep and arrive well rested. A six-hour flight is too short to be able to do that, and anything over 12 hours is exhausting.
- Save your energy.
Try to schedule flights at night, and plan to keep the day you arrive open to give yourself a chance to acclimate to your new time zone. Night flights will also save you hotel expenses.
- Pre-plan more than you think you’ll need to.
When I travel, I usually like to have just a rough itinerary that allows for lots of freedom and flexibility. But when you’re traveling around the world, it’s a different game. Before you leave, schedule walking tours and excursions. When you get to your destination, the last thing you’ll want to do is get online and try to make last-minute arrangements.
- Work your way up.
Europe is a much smoother transition for Americans than Asia, and Tokyo is smoother than Shanghai. Start with cities that are easier to adjust to - those that have similar customs… or an easy-to-navigate public transportation system… or where you can speak at least some of the language - and work your way to the harder ones.
- Plan at least two nights in each hotel.
On our round-the-world trip, my husband and I often stayed in two different hotels in two very different parts of a city - and it was nice. But we wouldn’t have wanted to change rooms any more than that.
[Ed. Note: Lori Allen is Director of AWAI’s Travel Division. For more tips, sign up for AWAI Travel’s free e-letter, The Right Way to Travel.]
Control Your Hunger With Flaxseeds
For anyone trying to lose weight, eating right and exercising are sometimes only half the battle. If you eat too much - even if you’re eating healthful foods - you can still end up gaining weight. Fortunately, you can help control your hunger with a single tasty food.
You have probably heard of flaxseed oil, the best-known plant source of omega-3 fats. But flaxseeds themselves are even better for you - especially when it comes to curbing your appetite. In addition to omega-3s, one ounce of flaxseeds provides the added benefit of eight grams of fiber. The more fiber you eat at any meal or snack, the slower the rise in your blood sugar… which helps to keep the hunger hormones at bay.
Flaxseeds are easy to incorporate into your meals. Just toss a handful into salads, smoothies, or vegetable side dishes.
[Ed. Note: Dr. Jonny Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health. He’s a board certified nutritionist with a master’s degree in psychology, and the author of the best-selling book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. For more information, go to www.jonnybowden.com. To read more of his articles on healthy living in ETR’s new natural health e-letter, click here.]
It’s Fun to Know: Why Do You Shiver When It’s Cold?
A sudden drop in temperature causes an immediate, noticeable reaction in the human body: shivering. So why does it happen? Your body likes to stay around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit - and when there is a significant change in air temperature, the brain detects it and alerts the body. One of its responses is the involuntary, rapid movement of muscles - shivering - in an attempt to warm up.
(Source: Why Do Men Have Nipples?)
You Already Know Fortunes Are Made from Trading. The Question Is: WHAT Are "They" Trading Most? (And It’s Not Shares or Commodities!)
… Thirty times more trading going on than the stock market and mostly investment banks doing it. Ummm… Maybe "they" know something you don’t? Click here to learn more…
Word to the Wise: Confabulation
"Confabulation" (kon-FAB-yuh-lay-shun) - from the Latin for "to talk together" - is the act of having an informal conversation. Psychologists use the word for a plausible but imagined memory that fills in gaps in what is remembered.
Example (as used by Jennifer Howard in Civilization): "Sigmund Freud, a stubborn, bullying interrogator of hysterical women, harangued his patients into building fantasies and traumas that fit into his grand narrative scheme, eliciting confabulations rather than actual memories."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker … build your self-confidence and intellect … increase your attractiveness to others … just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR’s new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007