>> Jamie Abbott: Welcome to Pitch Perfect, the podcast that helps you master the art of communication and captivate your audience. Hosted by Jamie Abbott, award winning speaker, public speaking coach and PR expert, this show is your go to resource for building confidence, crafting your message, and leveraging the media to grow your brand. Download Jamie's free PDF checklist. Visit jamieabbott.com speakerguide get ready to pitch, persuade and thrive. This is Pitch Perfect.
>> Jaimie Abbott: In today's episode, we're talking all about how much should you charge as a speaker? Welcome to Pitch Perfect. This is probably one of the biggest questions that every speaker faces. How much should you charge? Now, whether you're just starting out or you've been on the stage for years, figuring out your speaker fee can be tricky. You know, charging too little and you then undervalue yourself. And I've had people say to some of my clients, oh, you look too cheap because you're charging too little. But then if you charge too much, you might scare off potential clients. So how do you strike the right balance? Well, stick with me in this episode, I'm going to break it all down from setting your baseline fee to negotiating like a pro. And by the end of this episode, you'll have a solid pricing strategy that ensures that you get paid what you are worth. So let's dive in. First of all, understanding your value. Before you can even think about setting a number, you need to understand your value as a speaker. So firstly, ask yourself, what expertise do I bring to the table? How unique is my message? What results can my audience expect? The more valuable your content, the higher your fee can be. Now, if you're delivering transformative insights, a compelling personal story, or industry leading strategies, clients will pay more for that. Let's talk experience. If you're just starting out, your fees will be different than someone who has spoken at hundreds of events. But don't worry, experience isn't the only factor you can still charge. Well, if you have like, let me just think of an example, like you have a strong personal brand, you have perhaps a unique and in demand topic. And this is where niching is really going to help you. Also social proof, that's also going to really help you as well. So you could have like some testimonials and case studies. So how do you price yourself? Let's break it down now and we're talking about the pricing tier for speakers. Now, speaking fees can vary a lot. It's amazing to me how some speakers, some of my clients can charge 25k, but other beginner speakers will charge hundred, $500. Now, speaker fees can vary a lot, but here is a general guideline. Beginners, so zero to two years of experience. If you're literally just starting out, you're looking at about 500 to two and a half thousand dollars for a keynote. Mid level speakers, which is like three to seven years of experience. You're looking at about two and a half thousand up to the 10k mark. Then experienced speakers, and not just experienced speakers, but I'm talking like eight years or being very well known in their industry or if you've got something amazing. So for example, you're the first female to win the Melbourne Cup a la Michelle Payne. You could be looking at anything from 10k up to 50k. Now these are just estimates. Your actual fee will depend on your industry. So for example, sometimes, corporate events might, you might charge a lot more there than you would for a not for profit, audience size. So for example, speaking to 50 people versus 5,000 people can make a bit of a difference. And then your event budget, a large conference has a bigger budget than a local networking event. One insider tip. If a company is paying for a venue, catering and entertainment, they have money for you, they have money for speakers. You are the draw card. Don't undersell yourself. Algh. Now let's talk about how to set your baseline fee. Let's get practical. How do you calculate your speaking fee? A, very simple formula is you look at your hourly rate, times it by your prep time, plus the speaking time, plus the travel time, plus your expertise fee. So for example, let's just say you would normally charge, I don't know, just for argument's sake, $250 an hour as a consultant. A 60 minute keynote that's tailored for a particular audience might require 10 hours of prep, one hour on stage, three hours of travel. So that's 14 hours. 14 times 250. Do three, a half thousand dollars plus an additional Expertise fee of $1,500. Final fee, 5k. See how it works? Instead of just guessing a number, this kind of method ensures that you're paid for your time and expertise. Now, inside my PR club, I actually give you a calculator, which you can punch in all the different factors that are involved in you going to a speaking gig. It even includes sort of like your laptop depreciation, your fuel, your time, your IP and then we add a nice little healthy 60% profit. That's generally how I work things out. and it's allowing for any extra contingency fees or cost to you? Now, should you ever speak for free? Ah, that's the age old question. Should you speak for free? Sometimes yes. But strategically, here is when it makes sense to build credibility. If you're new and you need some video footage for example, or some testimonials to get in front of your ideal audience. If speaking at a free event could lead to some paid gigs or really high ticket clients. So many times I have spoken for free in front of my ideal customer, so I've had a large crowd of my ideal customers. I've walked offstage with 10k 20k in COR sales and that's a lot more than I would have charged for speaking at an event down the road. And for exposure, but only the right kind. Exposure doesn't pay the bills. But if it's a top tier event with some great networking, it might be worth it. But never let people take advantage of you. If they're charging attendees or they're paying for other speakers, you should be getting paid too. Negotiating like a pro allgh so now you've set your feet. What if a client says that's out of our budget. Here's how to handle it like a boss. Option 1 adjust the offer, not the price. So for example, instead of just lowering your fee, offer a shorter talk, no Q and A, or maybe fewer deliverables. Option 2 Ask about their budget first. So if they say what's your fee? Respond with what's your budget for this event? This gives you room to negotiate. Option 3 offer multiple packages. So for example, you might have a gold package, $7,000 $5,000 for a keynote plus a workshop. You might have a silver package, $5,000 for a keynote only, or a bronze package which might be 3,000 5,000 for a virtual talk. This makes it so much easier for them as the client to say yes Alrigh. So there you have it. How much should you charge as a speaker? Hopefully these tips have been helpful, but the answer depends on your experience, your industry and the value. But the key is to charge what you're worth and never undervalue your expertise. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with a fellow speaker. And if you want more personalised help with pricing or scoring more speaking gigs, join the Waitlist now for my upcoming paid to speaker course Doors Open in June. Specifically looking at my calendar, 10 June doors open 2025. You can go to www.jamieabbott.com.au paidtowspeak. Thanks for tuning in and I'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to Pitch Perfect. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review it and share it to social media. If you'd like to download my free paid speaking resources, go to jamieabbott.com.
