Seriously?! You can Get Paid to Speak There?

Speaking at your local library can be a great place to start getting paid as a speaker. Libraries are funded by their cities through property taxes and have a budget for paying speakers to present at their events. It brings patrons into their libraries and helps the community learn something new from an expert like you. Let’s explore what you should do to become a part of the library speaker circuit.

1) Do your homework – Start by doing some research. Call your local library and ask who hires the speakers for their events. Usually it is the Adult Services Librarian, but sometimes the person has a different title. Ask who that person is and how you can contact them by email and by phone. Be sure to get the correct spelling of their first and last name and what their title is. Ask if that person hires speakers for that branch of the library or all branches. Most towns have multiple locations of their library system.

2) Ask questions – Reach out to that person (or persons) with an introductory email. Make it about what you can do to help the librarian serve the patrons of the community, not about you. It should be an exploratory email that offers solutions that can make a difference for the patrons, not a pitch for how amazing you are (although you certainly are amazing!). Come from a place of service. Use statements like “I have found that the message I share has made a powerful impact on those I’ve had the privilege of presenting it to. Perhaps, your patrons would enjoy learning more about it”. When you get a positive response, ask questions to bring clarity to what the librarian is looking to provide. During your email exchange, ask questions about the library’s expectations, when they are looking to schedule the event, the time allotted for speaking, any necessary equipment needed, and if you can sell your books (if you are an author, you have a better chance of getting booked, because they can feature you as an author in residence and feature your book on display at the library. However, if you are not yet an author that doesn’t exclude you from presenting at a library). I will share a list of questions in the next blog that will help you drill down to their needs, so you are able to provide exactly what they need.

3) Be authentic & passionate – When you deliver what you were asked to deliver with authenticity and passion, you make the librarian the hero and you serve your community. When you draw a crowd and make an impact. the librarian loves you and shares you and your brilliance with the very close-knit community of librarians that he or she keeps in touch with. This could lead to future bookings at other libraries and possibly a gig at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Washington DC on June 20-25, 2019 (or in Chicago on June 25-30, 2020, or in Chicago on June 24-29, 2020…).

4) Be generous – Bring a raffle gift or two (gift basket including your book or a book the speaks to your topic, a mug, some tea or specialty coffee) for a drawing of all the attendees. Ask the attendees to complete a short evaluation card with their contact info on it and use those to pick the winner. It serves two purposes: it allows you to use the cards (which are all the same size to make it a fair drawing) to do the drawing and it allows you to collect the attendees contact info to keep in touch with them and to keep serving them. You also might consider donating a few copies of your book to the library or you can make a donation to the Friends of the Library fund to purchase more books. These contributions are low cost and are a business tax deduction.

5) Be grateful – Be sure to thank the librarian who invited you at the event and thank the audience members for their attendance. Within 24-48 hours after the event, send a sincere hand-written note to the librarian to express your appreciation for allowing you to present to their library patrons. Send an email to all those who attended who shared their contact info with you and attach a special tip sheet that reminds them of your presentation, if you get the okay from the librarian. DO NOT SELL THEM ANYTHING. That is a sure way to get blocked from any further library gigs. Remember, library professionals are a close-knit community. Bad news travels even faster than good news.

How would you like to be a part of a speaker community that shares speaking opportunities with fellow members? Engaging Speakers is a collaborative, non-competitive environment, where you can support and be supported on this journey to building a successful speaking business. Learn more at https://engagingspeakers.com/ .

Gail Brown, Founder of Engaging Speakers, gail@engagingspeakers.com