After plenty of searching for event speakers, you finally rounded up an amazing lineup of experts for your event. Now what?
There's always a chance something could go wrong. (It wouldn't be event marketing if everything went perfectly, right?) One of your speakers could end up bailing — sometimes even canceling the day of your event. But have no fear, we're here to help make sure this won't happen to you.
In this new Run of Show video, we walk you though how to create a speaker brief and explain the importance of each step along the way.
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I once had a speaker drop out of a conference that I was planning on the day of the event. Luckily, the attendees at the conference were all event planners, so this scenario wasn't necessarily new to them.
So, I got on stage and we toasted to anyone who has ever had a speaker bail on them. It ended up working out, but at the end of the day, I was sad that the speaker dropped out, and I started thinking back to what I could have done differently to make sure this didn't happen.
In our previous episode, we talked about the process for finding great event speakers. And when a friend was teaching me how she wrangles speakers, I realized that I was missing one very important step in the process: creating and delivering a speaker brief.
So today we're going to cover why speaker briefs are so important, and I'll walk you through all of the key components of a great speaker brief.
Bonus: Here's a speaker brief template you can reference for your own events.
A speaker brief is a personalized document that you should send to someone immediately after they show interest in speaking at your event. The goal is to lock that speaker in, get them really excited, and then get them to commit. And right after you send them the speaker brief, try to get on the phone with them to review it together.
But what makes a good speaker brief? We've put together six steps to follow to ensure your speaker brief is clear, robust, and — most importantly — effective.
The first step in creating a speaker brief is to convey that the event is actually happening. If it's clear to a potential speaker that this thing is a go, they'll be more likely to take your event seriously and commit to it.
The best way to do this is in the first page of your brief. You want to include these key pieces of information:
• Your event's theme
• The content that will be presented
• Goals for the event
• The five Ws: who, what, when, where, and why
Including these details will help show that this is a real event, and your potential speaker will be much more likely to take you seriously about the opportunity,
The next important step is to show your speakers the value in participating in this event. Your job here is to show them the differentiation — aka how this event is different from any other event — as well as the value the event will provide them.
From our previous episode, you'll remember the four Ps that convey value: People, Purpose, Prestige, and Perks. Here's what this means for your speaker brief:
• People: Who are the other people involved? This includes current speakers
(those who have already confirmed), past speakers, and the audience.
• Purpose: What is the purpose or mission of this event? What does the event's
theme look like?
• Prestige: Has the event been covered by the press? How many people have
attended in the past? How many people have shown interest already?
Highlight any positive stats or details that really talk up your event.
• Perks: Are you paying them? Are you covering their travel? Will there be really
great snacks in the green room? Do they get a gift bag? Perks are a great way to
show differentiation.
The next slide in your speaker brief is your secret weapon — it's what we like to call the Homework Slide.
Here, you want to show your speaker that you understand the type of content that they cover. You can map this out with clippings from blog posts, tweets, and really anything that shows that you have a clear idea of what you might want them to talk about. This is also a great opportunity to flatter them and get them excited that you've done your homework and researched what this person is all about.
As someone who's spoken at a lot of conferences, there's nothing worse than showing up to an event and realizing that the host really didn't know who you were, and the attendees certainly don't either.
You also want your speaker to know that the audience they'll be speaking to understands them and is going value what they have to say. The best way to do this is to walk through the demographics and psychographics of your audience.
First, explain the demographics. First and foremost, show them that you understand how many people are going be there, and who they are.
Are they B2B? Are they B2C? What level — meaning, are they a CMO? Are they a director? Are they a VP? Where are these people coming in from? What industry are they coming from? Are they representing enterprises or small businesses?
And then cover their psychographics. What is their mindset coming into this event? Why are they coming? What value are they looking to get by attending? By showing that you understand your audience — and that it matches the homework you've done on the speaker — you'll have painted a picture of real value for the speaker.
This will get them excited, and lead into a very important step that we call The Pause. Because at this point, you really want to take a step back and ask an important question: Are they in?
More often than not, your speaker will say yes when you ask this first time. But the next thing you need to do is the Double Confirm, which means telling your speaker that you're going to confirm them for your event — and even mentioning a certain time slot.
You want to hear them say, "Okay, that sounds good." And if they don't, be sure to take a step back and ask them to let you know when they can confirm.
Once they say that they're in, you should run through a list of what they're committing to, right there on the phone.
First, go over what topic they're going to commit to — including the due date for the content they're going to provide — and maybe even come up with a title right then and there. This is also when you'll want them to commit to any kind of onstage interviews or other promotion you have in mind.
Next, and maybe most important, you need them to commit to a date. They should fill out what we call The Speaker Preferences Form — but that's a whole episode onto itself, so just remember that you also need them to commit to filling that out by a certain due date.
Then, that should be the end of the call. This is the perfect time to thank them again and let them know how excited you are. Right after the call — and I mean the second you hang up that phone — email them with the speaker brief attached for one final confirmation.
Now that you know everything there is to know about creating a great speaker brief, I want to go over three things you can do before your event that will help lock your speaker in.
The first is stay excited. There might be a long period of time between the actual event and when you initially confirmed your speaker. Treat the speaker like you would an attendee — you want them to build excitement around the event, just like you would your attendees.
Number two, look for signs that they might bail. Leading up to the event, there are certain things to look out for that could indicate that your speaker might not be in anymore. If they don't promote the event on their own, or if they don't ask any logistics questions, those are early warning signs that they might not plan on showing up.
Last but not least, be human. If you act like a human on the phone and be open and honest, you become their friend. You'd be surprised what that can really do. People don't like letting other humans down.
So, don't go silent on your speakers once you've got them. Act like a human, talk to them, and be honest about what you need from them. This will help ensure that after you've gone through the process of searching and selling these speakers, you'll be able to lock them in for the long haul.
Ben Hindman is co-founder and CEO of Splash, the country's fastest-growing event marketing platform that helps businesses and brands more effectively market through their events. An event planner turned tech entrepreneur, events are in Ben’s DNA. Prior to starting Splash, Ben was the Director of Events at Thrillist, where he produced large-scale events from concerts to mystery fly-aways.