You wrote the perfect magazine article: It is 800 words
filled with meaty and usable
tips, and completely focused
on the readers’ challenges with
absolutely no self-promotion. The editors love it (yes, that’s “editors” with
an “s” because so many different magazines and journals have agreed to publish your masterpiece).
It’s now a few months later and you
have copies, tear sheets and reprints of
that pithy article—with your byline—
from all the various publications that
ran the piece. While you’re waiting for
the meeting planners to notice you
from your other publicity efforts, you
can use this time to leverage your published author status.
Here are 12 strategies to convert your
published articles into paid speaking
engagements.
1Make your resource box
memorable. You should never
overtly self-promote in your
articles, but you need a way
to let readers know about what you
have to offer and to position yourself as
an expert in your field. That’s the job
of your resource box—the short paragraph, or bio, that appears after the
article that explains who you are and
what you can do. The biggest mistake
speakers make when crafting a resource
box is stating that they’re president of
ABC Company and author of The
World’s Greatest Book, yet they never
mention they’re a speaker.
So as you create your resource box, be
sure to mention that you’re a speaker,
as well as all your contact information.
Also, provide a call to action, such as,
“To have Mark speak at your next
event call…” Or, offer readers a chance
to sign up for your free e-zine, which
means more e-zine subscribers and
potential business.
