If you do free or paid speaking engagements, there are opportunities galore to get in front of audiences that need to hear whay you have to say.

But some Publicity Hounds don’t quite know where to begin. In Friday’s issue of the SpeakerNet News ezine, Michael Schatzki said he wants to give a new hour-long speech he has created at least 20 times so he can polish it before charging a fee.  

His target audience is people in their late 30s to early 60s, business people or a general audience. His topic is on how to motivate people to fitness. Micheal asked for tips on how to let groups know that he speaks for free. He’s compiling all the results for the SpeakNet News archives. 

I responded and offered these nine ways to publicize free or paid speaking engagements:

1. Contact local chambers of commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, Business Networking International, and any other business networking groups.
     
2. Consider joining Toastmasters. You’ll get instant feedback. And Toastmasters know which groups in town welcome speakers.
     
3. Go to MeetUp.com and see what business groups are meeting near you. I belong to a MeetUp group for Internet marketers in Wisconsin, and at our last meeting, we discussed which speakers we could invite to speak for free.
      
4. Go to Craigslist and check out the community category. You’ll find sub-categories for classes, events and small business. Post a note in the best category offering your services. Make sure you don’t post the same item to more than one category. See How to Use Craigslist as a Global Publicity Tool.
           
5. Get a local business journal, daily or weekly newspaper or business magazine and check the section of the paper that announces local business events and who is speaking. You’ll find many groups you probably never knew existed. There’s usually a phone number to call for registration. Call that number and ask for the meeting planner.      
      
6. If you’re Twittering (you should be), let your followers know about your topic and ask them for suggestions. If you’re speaking in a specific geographic area, use a hashtag (#) with the name of a city in your tweet, like this—#Chicgo— so people who are searching for information on that city will find your tweet. Learn more about how to use hashtags for publicity.
      
7. If you’re on LinkedIn (you should be), post the question in their Q&A section and you’ll probably get many responses from people who do business near you.
     
8. If you’re on Facebook, ask your friends to spread the word. See 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.
     
9. You probably won’t have to resort to paid ads. But if you do, you can target people in specific geographic locations with fairly cheap ads on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Do you do free or paid speaking engagements? If so, what are some of the ways you publicize them?

(Shutterstock photo)

If you can’t afford your own photographer, or you take lousy photos, or you hate creating graphics, use a stock photo service to enhance everything from press releases to media kits in a PR campaign.

Royalty-free stock images can save you a lot of time and money trying to generate graphics on your own. Royalty-free means you can use the downloaded images forever and not have to worry about infringement issues.

Shutterstock has given me a complimentary subscription so I can try their service, and their photos come in handy at this blog. They’ve helped me compile this list of 13 ways you can use stock image photos in a PR campaign.

1. Blogs. Many bloggers are missing the opportunity to dress up their posts and make their blogs more attractive. Regardless of what topic I write about, I can usually find a stock image to accompany it.  
       
2. Ezines and print newsletters. Stock photos and illustrations can enhance articles in company newsletters and ezines. Now that so many ezine publishers produce HTML newsletters, stock images come in handy.
         
3. Press releases. Most press release distribution services allow customers to upload several images at no extra charge. If the headline doesn’t call attention to your release, the stock photo just might. Adding editorial stock images of premier events such as concerts or sports competitions can add weight and influence to a related press release, blog post or ezine article.
       
4. Presentations. Whether you’re submitting a proposal for a client, or you’re a speaker who’s presenting to an audience, compelling stock images used to illustrate business presentations can help capture the attention of your audience. Highlight key points with photos and illustrations in PowerPoint. 
       
5. Reports. Stock photos are a great way to add excitement to client reports and reinforce your accomplishments.
       
6. White Papers. White Papers often cry out for colorful stock imagery to break up text and hold readers’ attention. 
        
7. Media kits. Including stock photos and illustrations when designing a media kit or media kit inserts to add extra visual appeal. 
       
8. Event invitations and posters. Stock photos and illustrations allow PR professionals to create attractive event invitations. Stock images can also help create just the right mood for the event itself. Simply enlarge them to poster size and place them throughout the event location.  
       
9. Social media. Use them to enliven your your social media presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter (Twitpic), Wikipedia, and more.  
       
10. Search engine optimization. By properly tagging a stock image within a release, blog or website, you can raise your site’s rankings. PR clients will appreciate the added value as well as your SEO savvy.
        
11. Your own website. Stock photos and illustrations are a great way to demonstrate creative flair and generate interest in your website, or your PR client’s.
        
12. Advertising.  If you’re buying an ad, a good stock photo can come in handy.
        
13. For the media. Offer stock photos to journalists if they’re coving a story about you, and the photos are a good tie-in. Sure,  the media have access to their own stock photos, but Rule #1 when working with the media is “Be helpful.” 

My ebook How to Use Photos & Graphics in Your Publicity Campaign offers thousands of helpful tips on how to  incorporate images into your publicity efforts.  

Cheryl Muskus of Oak Creek, WI, writes:

“I’m the owner of  The CarmelRose, a floral shop, and I’m looking for ways to generate publicity in a very competitive market.

“Even though our industry is hurt to a large extent when obituaries state ‘in lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to…,” we’re trying to form relationships with local funeral homes so they can refer us to families that are buying flowers for the funeral.  I’d also like to target the local corporate market because revenues from local businesses that need floral arrangements can be significant.

“What ideas to your Hounds have for events I can sponsor at the shop or elsewhere, story ideas I can pitch to the local media, press releases I can write, photos I can offer the local media, opportunities for getting onto local TV, and joint venture partnerships I can form with other businesses? 

“Also, suggestions for using social media would be appreciated.”

With so many international reporters and editors, TV producers and radio show hosts, it’s more important than ever that you pronounce their names correctly, particularly if you are appearing on their shows or pitching them by phone.

Ditto for potential clients and bosses, or for audience members who you call on from the platform if you’re a speaker or trainer.

HowtoSayThatName.com is the perfect place to learn. First, choose the correct language or nationality from the left side of the screen. Then type in the name you don’t know how to pronounce and click on the audio button. You’ll hear a native speaker pronouncing the name.  

Aside from the more common languages like French, Italian and Chinese, you’ll find more obscure languages, too, like Xhosa, Kikuya, Mandinka, Maasai and Wolof. Want to learn the correct pronunciation but not sure of the language you should choose? Type in the name anyway.  

A hat tip to business networking expert Lynne Waymon who submitted this to the SpeakerNetNews ezine, a terrific ezine for anyone who speaks for free or for a fee.

If you REALLY want to impress somebody and let them know you know the meaning behind their name, check out  20000Names.com, which features 20,000 names categorized by  country, language and meaning. 

Vicki Young of Dallas, Texas writes:

“What’s the best way for a very worthy nonprofit agency to get free help with their PR campaign?

“I’ve been doing PR work for Captain Hope’s Kids as a nonprofit client for years, but I have to step down. It’s a great organization in Dallas, Texas, that’s dedicated to meeting the critical needs of homeless children in North Texas.

“They need an annual marketing and public relations plan developed, and help publicizing their annual special events. 

“I know this agency isn’t the only one that needs volunteer PR help, so I’m hoping your Publicity Hounds can recommend ideas that will help many other groups, too. Where should we be looking for volunteer PR people who can write press releases, or at least advise nonprofits on how to create a good marketing plan?”

If you’re participating in Make a Difference Day, the annual day of doing good in the U.S., let your local media and bloggers know.

Typical projects. like cleaning up neighborhoods and helping the elderly with repair projects, make great stories for newspapers and magazines, and great visuals for television, particularly if the media are part of the Gannett Company, Inc. which sponsors the event through USA Weekend magazine.  

This year, the event will be Saturday, Oct. 24. 

You can get tips about planning a volunteer project, and register your plans in the Make a Difference DAYtaBANK. This searchable database will help you recruit volunteers and get recognition for your efforts.

Once your project is registered, you become eligible to receive free breakfast for your volunteers from Newman’s Own. A total of 50 projects (one from each state) will be chosen to receive a donation of Newman’s Own Sweet Enough Cereal to feed their volunteers on Make A Difference Day. 

Don’t forget to share your Make a Difference activities with your social media friends and followers:

• Recruit volunteers from your Facebook groups, and Meetup.com.
• You can upload video after the event to Facebook, Twitter and your YouTube channel. 
• Upload photos to photo-sharing sites like Flickr.
• Update your Twitter followers throughout the day.     
• Report on activities before and after the event at your own blog.
• Thank your volunteers through newspaper and magazine letters to the editors and via social networking.

Your projects—and the accompanyhing publicity—don’t necessarily need to be grandiose. If you’re doing something to benefit your local church, for example, try to get a story into the church bulletin. If you’re helping a local nonprofit, offer to write an article for their newsletter.  

Maria Antonia of New York, N.Y., writes:

“I volunteer for a small independent film company based in New York, NY.  We recently completed filming for a feature film called ‘Under Jakob’s Ladder.’ 

“Set in the Soviet Union in 1941, it’s based on a true story about a man who was thrown into prison for praying at a funeral. We’re still  editing the movie and it’s almost ready to be screened. (A photo taken during shooting is shown at left.)

“How can we spread the word that this movie is coming soon? Any ideas for unique and intriguing ways that we can use our blog, website, and our Facebook page to get people interested? What would make YOU want to go see an independent feature film that doesn’t have oodles of money for advertisements? 

“Remember, we’re not studio backed.  Right now, we’re looking at releasing this movie ourselves and booking our own theaters.

If you use public speaking to promote your expertise and generate publicity, don’t believe what the naysayers tell you about how all speakers are suffering during this bad economy.

The July/August issue of Speaker magazine, published by the National Speakers Association, features 25 men and women who are shaping the speaking profession.

The “Who’s Hot?” Cover story might make your eyes pop out of your head when you see the fees they’re commanding, even during a bad economy:

• Sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer: $30,000 for a one-hour event.
      
• Amanda Gore, who teaches people how to get radical results in a heartbeat: $18,000 in the U.S. and $11,000 in Australia.
      
• Prosperity and success guru Randy Gage: Up to $60,000 internationally.
     
• Comical therapist Connie Podesta: $18,000 to $20,000.
                      
•  Technology futurist Dan Burrus: From $20,000 to $30,000.
                                                           
• Political strategist Donna Brazille: $10,000 to $20,000.
              
• Customer service expert Ron Kaufman: $28,000 for a full day and $16,000 for a keynote of up to 90 minutes.

And on and on.

I’m betting that some of the 25 speakers started their careers on the chicken-and-pea circuit giving speeches before community groups while building their expertise and speaking skills.

The magazine asked each of the 25 to explain what makes them “hot.” I noticed a pattern among many of the responses:

• Their ability to entertain. Amanda Gore uses magic wands, kangaroo headbands, heart-shaped sunglasses and finger puppets to convey concepts.  
     
• Involving audiences in their presentations. Joe Calloway says his presentations have become so interactive “that I’m rarely identified as a speaker anymore. I generally bring members of the audience on stage with me to tak about competitive issues. I love the give and take.”
       
• Customizing presentations for each audience. Simon T. Bailey says “I literally rewrite my speech as I speak.” 

There are many ways to get started as a professional speaker. If you have no experience whatsoever and you’re not interested in building a career around speaking, join Toastmasters to learn platform skills. If you want to get paid for speaking, join the National Speakers Association. 

For more immediate tips, join Steve Harrison who will host a free telephone seminar at 2 and 7 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, July 9, with author/speaker James Malinchak on how to get started giving paid speeches—even if you’re a complete unknown in your field. It’s called “What You Need To Know To Make $2,500.00 A Day (Or More) As A Public Speaker Without Being Famous!”

Whether you’re already a veteran speaker or you’ve never given a paid speech before, you’ll still benefit from James’s strategies. Register for the call here.

Here’s just some of what you’ll discover:

• How to find companies and organizations that already have a budget to pay speakers like you handsomely—even if you’re not famous or well-known in your field like some of the speakers I’ve mentioned above.
      
• Why you should never accept less than $2,500.00 to give a speech—even if you’re a complete unknown with an “ordinary topic”—and what to do to easily get that fee.
      
• Five critical steps for landing speaking engagements when you don’t have a lot of time to spend marketing yourself.
       
• Why you don’t need a demo tape or a fancy speakers kit to land speaking gigs, but what you DO need to give them instead.
        
• How experienced speakers can raise their fee and get it.
        
• Proven ways to brand yourself and your message in a way that will prompt a flood of requests for speaking engagements.
        
• Four actual case histories of speakers who have gone from not knowing anything about the speaking business to making a six-figure income as paid professional speakers.
       
• How to host your own “sold out” seminars and workshops.
      
• Five other ways you can make money beyond the speaking fee you receive.
      
• Three critical things to ask for when negotiating with the meeting planner to make the most of the opportunity.
    
• Which topics colleges and corporations are most interested in having speakers address.

If you have other time commitments on Thursday and you can’t make either one of these calls, recruit somebody to listen and take notes for you. Steve seldom records them.

If you’re a retailer who’s looking for some clever ways to do fun in-store promotions in this sluggish economy, and you’re on a tight budget, pick up a copy of A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions by Carolyn Howard Johnson.

It’s part of her “How to do it Frugally” series. When it comes to marketing on a shoestring, Carolyn knows all the tricks.  

On Pages 67 and 68, she lists some “frugal oopmph builders” that will also create a buzz in your community.

Here are her ideas. Many of them cost nothing or nearly nothing.  Some of them will even make your event profitable. 

• Make your event so much fun or such a good deal that people won’t want to put off their purchase until later—or better can’t because the purchase is an essential part of goings-on. A Make It and Take It event falls into this category.  (A local ceramics shop that lets people make their own pottery can host a special “Make a Jewelry Dish for Mom” event just before Mother’s Day. Invite a local reporter to bring her kids and report on it.)
       
• Provide an ambiance that’s different. Include color and scent and sound. There’s nothing more delightful than a real Christmas party with wassail, carols, and the scent of evergreen. Forget those things and it’s just another hard sell. (Include a description of the colors, scents and sounds in your press releases!)
        
• Use a unique invitation. Send your customers one adorable earring for a Ring in the New Year party. (Include an earring in the invitation you send to a local reporter or blogger.)
                      
• Let your refreshments sell additional products. Put packets of the cider you use for the cider near the punch bowl with a sign announcing the price. Have the host who ladles the punch talk about how easy it was to make and mention that the do-it-yourself packets are available for purchase. Stack tins—festively wrapped and ready to go—of the rum cakes you served up in finger-sized cubes nearby. Good signs are a must. (Off the recipe for the do-it-yourself packets to the food columnist at your local newspaper, and let her know about the in-store promotion.
      
• Feature a tasting table of all kinds of other goodies you sell. If you don’t sell foodstuffs, get someone who does to set up a table in trade for publicity at your event. (Many people will JUMP at this chance to participate because they hate doing their own publicity.)
    
• Ask favored customers to help rather than hiring extra people. It is easy to get someone to be the honored punch ladler. Reward them with a gift and a public thank you. (Send a letter to the editor of your local weekly newspaper and include the names of people and businesses you’d like to thank. Also thank them on your Facebook page, by writing on their Facebook wall, and by complimenting them at other social networking sites where they hang out. See 11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook.) 

Bricks-and-mortar store owners can find lots more tips in my article on marketing tips for hardware stores and 13 publicity ideas for retailers. 

Carolyn, by the way, has three decades of experience as founder and manager of her own chain of stores. She has also been a New York publicist, and a retail consultant and journalist. Follow her advice, then be ready for the rush of customers.

The book, published by Thinking Store Press, is $17.95.

Several readers responded to the item I posted in yesterday’s publicity tips newsletter about how Facebook is expected to announce this week that it’s offering vanity URLs.

“What’s the big deal?” one reader asked in an email. “Anyone can already do a short URL—yours would be http://profile.to/joanstewart.”

She’s right. Facebook already has an application lets users adopt a short URL for their Profile, Group or  Page. 
    
   
Two problems with those URLs

Lots of people use those shorter versions, but I don’t like them for two reasons.

First, they aren’t memorable. A URL for a profile looks like this: http://profile.to/joanstewart  A Group URL looks something this: http://groups.to/doglovers. And a Page URL looks something like this: http://pages.to/publicityproducts.

That’s too confusing to remember. How many people, off the top of their heads, would remember the “to” part of the URL? Not many.

Second, those URLs don’t have the word “Facebook” within them. Facebook FINALLY got smart and decided to offer easy-to-remember vanity URLs that, I hope, look something like this, and are so much easier to remember: http://www.Facebook.com/joan-stewart

We won’t know for sure whether those URLs are free, or if we must pay. And we won’t know for sure exactly what they look like until we see them. Even so, they’ll probably be a whole lot better than the alternatives—the current app, or the long, unsightly URLs you’re assigned when you create a profile. It looks like this: http://www.facebook.com/people/Joan-Stewart/541605146   
       
      
Facebook teleseminar tomorrow

Speaking of apps, When I host tomorrow’s teleseminar on “11 Ways to Avoid Missed Opportunities on Facebook,” we’ll talk about a variety of apps, features and tools that many newbie Facebook users aren’t aware of. I get so  many basic questions about how to use Facebook, and many of them deal with the same things, like the confusing user interface,  that caused problems for me when I created my own profile. 

My guest, Christine Buffaloe of Serenity Virtual Assistant Services, creates and manages Facebook for many of her clients and will share lots of tactics and strategies she uses to find friends, save time, spread the word, and promote products and services the RIGHT way, without getting slapped by Facebook. 

We’ll cover things like the best way to promote events, how to create and promote Fan Pages, and how to use Facebook in conjunction with other social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Plaxo. You’ll also learn about a few simple things you can do to give you massive exposure.

The teleseminar is from 3 to 4:10 p.m. Eastern Time. If that’s inconvenient, you can listen to the MP3 recording you’ll receive within 24 hours after the call.

Register here. Hope to see you tomorrow!