{"id":275215,"date":"2021-06-15T18:14:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-never-speak-for-free-at-events-is-bullshit\/"},"modified":"2021-06-15T18:14:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:14:55","slug":"why-never-speak-for-free-at-events-is-bullshit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-never-speak-for-free-at-events-is-bullshit\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why \u2018never speak for free at events\u2019 is bullshit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3fd2010540d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3fd2010540d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-never-speak-for-free-at-events-is-bullshit\/#The_wonderful_and_opaque_world_of_speaker_fees\" >The wonderful and opaque world of speaker fees<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-never-speak-for-free-at-events-is-bullshit\/#It_really_does_depend\" >It really does depend<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-never-speak-for-free-at-events-is-bullshit\/#So_should_you_get_paid_to_speak_at_an_event\" >So should you get paid to speak at an event?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-never-speak-for-free-at-events-is-bullshit\/#%E2%80%98Never_speak_for_free_is_too_simplistic\" >\u2018Never speak for free\u2019 is too simplistic<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Why \u2018never speak for free at events\u2019 is bullshit<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div><span>Every now and then, a recurring tweet shows up in my timeline. It will be someone complaining about being asked to speak for free at events and doing it \u2018for the exposure.\u2019 These complaints usually get a lot of support in the form of likes, retweets, and people replying \u201cYou should NEVER speak for free!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I don\u2019t agree at all. That\u2019s why I\u2019d like to offer a different perspective on things and explain why \u2018exposure\u2019 can be worth it and the upside of speaking \u2018for free.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But first, why is my perspective worth sharing? Because I\u2019m both a paid speaker who refuses to speak for free, and I\u2019m an event organizer who asks speakers to\u2026 speak for free.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Does that sound like a contradiction? Let me explain why it isn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_wonderful_and_opaque_world_of_speaker_fees\"><\/span><b>The wonderful and opaque world of speaker fees<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Let\u2019s begin answering a fundamental question: how much does hiring a speaker actually cost? Frustratingly, there\u2019s no single answer except: \u201cit depends.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The fee I charge for my speaking gigs is plus or minus 100 thousand euros. That\u2019s <\/span><i><span>not<\/span><\/i><span> \u00b1100K, but between -100K and +100K.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s right. I\u2019ll h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ily pay 100K to have a 5-minute speaking slot in the middle of an Apple keynote next to Tim Cook.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But, what if you want me to speak on a different continent in two days for an oil company, about a subject I\u2019ll have to do a lot of research for? And for an audience that would rather be somewhere else?\u00a0Yeah, I\u2019ll probably ask to be paid at least 100K.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So my speaker fee ranges from -100K to +100K depending on the circumstances. The same goes for pretty much every paid speaker in the world \u2014 including you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What about a professional speaker whose profile clearly states, \u201cMy speaker fee is 100K\u201d? Well, I can assure you that\u2019s not the fee they get \u2014 or even demand \u2014 every time they speak, because it all depends on the circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Of course, there are hundreds of personal factors that influence a speaker\u2019s fee, but these are some of the most common questions that I\u2019ve seen affect people\u2019s decisions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is it a 100% new talk or one I already did?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is it a 20 person audience or a 1000 person audience?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is the audience a group of students or the board of a Fortune 500 company?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>How busy am I that week?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Am I promoting myself or the company I\u2019m invited by?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is it close to my home?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is it outside my regular work hours?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is the event about a topic I like?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is it a private or open event?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is it one talk or is there a chance I\u2019ll be invited more often?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Is there a chance my company will end up doing business with this company?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Do I like the company that\u2019s asking me?<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>Will I learn or gain something by attending this event?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>When I\u2019m invited to speak at an event, my agent calls them and tries to figure out the deal. She\u2019s aware of my preferences and knows which events I like and which ones I\u2019d rather avoid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>She has access to my schedule and knows that if it is an interesting event, outside working hours, close to my home, and one that I don\u2019t have to prepare for, I\u2019m more willing to charge a lower price.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But if she knows the talk will be an energy drain, for a company I don\u2019t like, in a week where I\u2019m busy, in a place I don\u2019t like going to, she will know to quote them a higher price than usual.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_really_does_depend\"><\/span><b>It really does depend<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>One time I got asked to speak at a corporate event, and their budget was about 25% of what I would ask in similar circumstances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So did I decline? No.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What I got instead of my normal fee was a guarantee that I would be backstage for an hour with their CEO. This was a Fortune 500 company, and the prospect of having real one-on-one time with their CEO for an hour was worth more to me than money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At our next conference (<\/span><span>TNW2021, September 30 to October 1 in Amsterdam, be there!<\/span><span>) we\u2019ll have close to 200 speakers on stage \u2014 but we get about 5000 applications from people who want to speak.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-featured_img wp-image-1357022 js-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"796\" height=\"531\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-796x531.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-796x531.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-280x187.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-405x270.jpg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-202x135.jpg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-1592x1062.jpg 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1.jpg 1600w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fgrowth-quarters%2F2021%2F06%2F15%2Fspeaking-events-for-free-is-fine%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Tiny me, speaking at TNW\" data-title=\"Share Tiny me, speaking at TNW on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Tiny me, speaking at TNW on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Tiny me, speaking at TNW<\/figcaption><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-featured_img wp-image-1357022\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-796x531.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"796\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-796x531.jpg 796w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-280x187.jpg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-405x270.jpg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-202x135.jpg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1-1592x1062.jpg 1592w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/TNW2019-Main-Stage-003-1.jpg 1600w\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p><span>What would be a fair fee for us to pay the speakers we end up inviting? The answer is still: it depends.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>The billionaire CEO who flies in on his private plane? No fee<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>The author doing a European book tour to promote his bestseller? No fee<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>The company CEO wanting to pitch their new product? They\u2019d have to pay us<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span>The diversity expert who we want to give an audience? We pay them<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Some speakers use public conferences to reach companies that will book them for commercial fees \u2014 even though their profiles suggest they never do unpaid gigs. We\u2019ve had speakers at our events who charge hundreds of thousands of dollars per speaking gig. But at our event\u2026 they speak for the \u2018exposure.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Why? Because we have representatives and decision-makers of all the Fortune 500 companies you can think of in our audience. Those decision-makers pay attention, and if a talk resonates, they approach the speaker and invite them to speak to their board or employees. It\u2019s not uncommon for these speakers to get booked for five or six speaking gigs based on that one presentation at our conference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In this system, everybody makes money, and everybody wins. It\u2019s the market at work, and it really works.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_should_you_get_paid_to_speak_at_an_event\"><\/span><b>So should you get paid to speak at an event?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Don\u2019t get me wrong, my answer to that question is an unequivocal \u2018YES!\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I\u2019d just like to add the caveat that there are more currencies than money, and only you can decide whether an event can be seen as an investment or as a waste of time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When my team and I approach speakers, we try to figure out as soon as possible what their business model is and whether we can help each other. If a speaker makes money from speaking and only does gigs for a set fee, well, then we probably can\u2019t help each other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But I respect their position, and everybody else\u2019s. People approach speaking in a myriad of different ways. Let\u2019s take book authors as an example.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I know authors who don\u2019t even need to promote their books through speaking gigs because they sell fine on their own. For those speakers, doing an event is just an excellent way to supplement their income \u2014 but unfortunately, we might not be the right place for that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Then there are other authors who love meeting their audience and promoting their book and only charge <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> costs. Those are the ones we know we can work with because we can help each other.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There\u2019s even a third type, authors who want to pay us to speak at our event, and we\u2019ve declined because their topic didn\u2019t match our audience. So you can see fees and the reasons behind them can swing wildly in any direction.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Never_speak_for_free_is_too_simplistic\"><\/span><b>\u2018Never speak for free\u2019 is too simplistic<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>There\u2019s no such thing as a fixed speaker fee, and every event has a different audience and potential outcome for you as a speaker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Sometimes you can speak for free, and sometimes you shouldn\u2019t. But don\u2019t get hung up on just direct money, because you might get value from participating which far outweighs any monetary value \u2014 it all depends on what\u2019s valuable to you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So saying \u2018you should never speak for free\u2019 is too simplistic to help anyone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But saying \u2018you should get something out of each speaking gig, and make sure you know what it is and what it is worth\u2019 is more layered and helpful advice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This more layered approach also doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll end up doing a ton of speaking gigs \u2018for free.\u2019 It helps you to think about what you <i>really want<\/i> to get out of speaking \u2014 which could end up being more cash.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I once compared notes with a very well-known author. I asked him about his highest-paying speaking gig ever, and he mentioned a number that blew me away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When I asked how he had justified the number, he shrugged and explained: \u201cI just didn\u2019t want to do it, so I told my agent to ask them ten times my usual fee, and then they said yes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And that\u2019s sometimes how speaker fees are established.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Can\u2019t get enough of Boris? Sign up for his weekly <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>letter <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/share.hsforms.com\/16RshXHWTSPS2DavMtAceBA47gef\">here<\/a> where he writes about everything related to being an entrepreneur in tech \u2014 from managing stress to embracing awkwardness.<br \/><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/speaking-events-for-free-is-fine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Why \u2018never speak for free at events\u2019 is bullshit&#8221; Every now and then, a recurring tweet shows up in my timeline. It will be someone complaining about being asked to speak for free at events and doing it \u2018for the exposure.\u2019 These complaints usually get a lot of support in the form of likes, retweets,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":275216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/growth-quarters?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/06\/boris-tnw-speaking-gq.png&signature=3c7c50051528445341882a2f6340e73a","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}