Running an online event has numerous challenges, including finding speakers and getting them to agree to speak. Delivering in-person speeches is different from speaking at an online event, and some speakers may wonder whether they can sufficiently engage online attendees.

Speak at your live webinar

Today, many businesses hold webinars that are video presentations, lectures or workshops hosted online, and arranging the basics of a webinar may be simple. Still, if you want to find quality speakers, you will need to approach them strategically. Here are five tips you need to focus on to get speakers to agree.

1. Reach out to the right speakers

You will want to bring in dynamic, thought-provoking speakers who will give your audience something to think and talk about. When selecting speakers, you will be limited by your budget and need to take your audience and goals into account. You may not have the right budget to get a top industry influencer, but audiences will usually relate well to any speaker that knows how to engage them. The best speakers usually have real-life stories about how they triumphed over difficulties and what they’ve achieved.

Do some research for quality speakers by browsing online discussion forums, polling guests from your last event or scrolling through LinkedIn groups. Upcoming book releases or blogs in your industry could also provide you with some names. Once you find a speaker you’re interested in, you can do a more thorough search to find out how well the speaker will appeal to your audience by checking out reviews.

You don’t want to pitch to those unlikely to agree to speak and won’t relate well to your particular audience. You may hesitate to ask people you know, such as your clients, to speak at your event, but a client may be able to share industry-related experiences with your virtual audience that they will benefit from.

Read also: 5 Tips to Get Speakers to Agree to Speak at Your Online Event

2. Clarify your expectations

According to experts at college papers writers, when you email speakers, you will need to give them certain details to help them decide whether they want to speak at your event. When you approach them, you don’t want to overwhelm them with unnecessary things they don’t need to know. Do not expect your potential speakers to go through paragraphs of nuances to get to the crux of what you require from them. Here are some details you need to give them:

• The event theme.
• The date, time and location.
• The expected audience size and type.
• How you will be promoting the event.
• Special gifts giveaways for speakers.
• What time commitment you will require.
• What other speakers will be speaking.
• The available technology.
• Any deadlines they must meet.
• The type of talk you’re looking for.

You need to set realistic expectations, or speakers could pull out at the last minute if they realize you are asking for more from them than you stated in your original email. What is most important to explain is why you’re hosting an event. If you can explain your purpose well, it may persuade potential speakers to want to be part of it.

3. Describe the benefits

Mentioning the benefits to speakers may encourage them to accept your pitch. Many speakers who speak for a living will expect compensation for speaking at your event. If you don’t have it in your budget to offer monetary compensation, you may find offering other things like exclusive access to your products may work.

Don’t use “exposure” as a benefit as speakers don’t usually appreciate being offered this as compensation. They must feel it will be worth their while to speak, and if they would love to get in front of your particular audience, they may even consider reducing their compensation.

If speakers are busy, they will need other reasons apart from money to choose to speak at your event. Speakers may be interested to find out that other speakers have agreed to speak, and doing some name-dropping may be a good incentive. A speaker may get excited about speaking on the same platform as another influential speaker.

4. Give speakers some latitude

When you’re planning your event and want it to be a good day, you will want as much control over all the details as possible, but giving speakers detailed instructions for what you expect them to speak about can come across as too controlling. It is fine to give them some suggestions based on the nature of the audience.

For example, you may say that polling your guests revealed that they are interested in applying virtual reality practically. Apart from giving speakers some suggestions, you need to trust them to deliver their message in their best way.

5. Don’t make it too much like hard work

An easy way to get a speaker to agree is to say that there will be interaction with the virtual attendees who can ask questions. This interactive format is often a more successful approach, especially when dealing with younger generations. They do not want to sit and listen passively to a presentation but respond better to an interactive format. Delivering a presentation requires more preparation than answering questions.

When speakers know that everything will be taken care of and all they have to do is speak on their favorite topic, they tend to respond favorably. If they don’t agree to speak, be gracious in your response, and you can ask for recommendations from them for other speakers.

Conclusion

Getting a potential speaker to agree to speak at an online event can be a challenge, and it will be easier if your outreach strategy focuses on approaching the right speakers in the first place. For instance, the content interests of your audience will dictate the type of speakers you approach. Give them all the details and the benefits they will get from speaking, and offer them latitude about what to say. Reaching out to speakers and convincing them to agree to speak can take time, so it is important to start the process on time.

We are sure you will succeed, and the webinar service is an excellent online event platform for your ideal webinars, web meetings, and video conferencing.