Yep, I'm talking about the one with 50K Instagram followers who’s also featured on Forbes and Wall Street Journal. You know, the one who you REALLY wanted to collab with but..
1. You think you need a huge social media following
Maybe you feel better inviting this kind of speaker once you have 10,000 followers. But any number below that just feels small. So you go through the route of growing your community as fast as you can or.. not invite your speakers till you reach the magic number.
2. You believe that it will take at least 6 months before they say Yes
I get it. High profile speakers just seemed SO BUSY. Running a million-dollar empire, impacting thousands of people, managing hundreds of staff. They wouldn’t have the time of day to entertain a speaking request, especially since they are not going to be paid for it. So if you DO want to invite them, 6 months sounds like a pretty good time in advance.
3. You think that you need VIP connections
Ahhhh this one. If only you knew somebody who knows somebody who knows these speakers - getting a “hell yes” would be so easy. Because this is just one of the many reasons why people agree to do things - the fact that they have friends in the mix to pull favours for. (I’m an introvert with no friends so I’m really stretching my imagination with this one)
4. You want to establish your online presence first
One of my clients told me that he needs to be interviewed on at least 10 podcasts first so that the speakers would have heard of him upon the invite and then be more likely to say yes. And you might even have your own version of it - “I need a website first”, “I need to have an Instagram account first”.
5. You feel like you are not ”credible”... yet
This one came with even more variety. It can look like:
the number of experience in your industry
or a set of track record
the number of listeners on your podcast
a professional website
or even things like having media features
All these reasons are actually some of the biggest misconceptions that I've heard from my clients. And the great news is - you honestly don't need any of this! The reason why you think these is because you are operating on the assumption that you are HELPING your speaker, when in reality, you don't.
Your speakers honestly don't need any more money, popularity or connections - they are already there.
That’s why my clients like Rachel secured speakers who are featured on Marie Claire, Wall Street Journal and CNN, and also collaborated with speakers with a big community (one had over 56K Instagram followers) even when she only had 700 IG followers. The key is in filtering your “Hell Yes” type of speakers who are excited to get behind your impact. So, go ahead and send that invite!
