Tactic title
Get off to a strong start by giving the session a catchy title, advises Chris Clark-Epstein, Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). "Start with a short, clear and concise title, along with a subtitle describing the benefits of the session."
Successful brochures have catchy titles, but answer the question immediately, "So what?" Subtitles should include phrases such as "how to do," "10 tips," "master the five steps," and so on.
Most importantly, make sure it matches the session description. "Make the speakers responsible for delivering what they promise," Clark-Epstein said.
Work on your website and create buzz with e-mail
Introduction Increases presence and your association website is a great tool to introduce your professional speaker to your potential audience. NSA member Jeff Blackman, JD, CSP, offers the following tips to help you make the most of your association's technologies.
Post a detailed description of the session and the professional speaker on your site. Photos of the speaker in action are a nice addition. You can also ask your keynote speaker to provide audio or video excerpts from a previous presentation to promote the program before the event. Be sure to provide your members with a link from your site to the Keynote Speaker website. "Members can learn more about the speaker or receive additional content before and after the program."
At the end of your program, Blackman suggests posting audio or video excerpts from the session to reinforce key points in the program and to raise awareness among absent members.
If your association has an online book or tape store, present your keynote contents before the presentation. If you have a chat room or bulletin board, allow your members some time to chat with your presenter. A professional speaker will use this opportunity to address your members' concerns and questions and to tailor your speech accordingly. Your members will appreciate the opportunity to learn and participate.
E-mail is another easy and inexpensive way to promote your event and your keynote speaker. Use it to remind your members to register. Send them the information and link of the online registration form. Create a pre-event discussion by sending an e-mail questionnaire to your members. Responses should go to the main speaker, who will be able to reveal what he found during the presentation. Add a personal touch to the presenter by sending a "welcome" message to everyone in your audience.
Word of mouth
According to professional speaker and former Olympian Vincent Potent, one of the best ways to promote your keynote is to talk to other members about them. Identify where your keynote speaker is going to display, between when you hire them and when they present them to your group. Invite members of your board of directors or events committee to watch the presentation while your speaker is in their city.
Consider pointing your chapters to the keynote speaker. Often, professional speaker fees are discussed when you book them for multiple presentations. Chapter newsletter editors often require additional content for their newsletters, so consider submitting an article to or from your presenter. Send them flyers to deliver at local conventions. Chapters are often the heart of the union, so do not neglect their ability to promote your presenter.
Writing material
Your presenter is likely to write several articles on this topic. You can ask the keynote speaker to create a customized article for your group or ask a member of your staff to conduct an interview. These articles not only provide a great addition to your union publications; They may also be suitable for publications from other industry-related associations with which you form relationships. Also provide links to articles on your website. This increases the reliability of the keynote speaker and provides value-added information to your members.
If your keynote is published, use a professional speaker book to increase your enthusiasm for the presentation. You can give the book to those who attended at the time of registration. For extra panache, wait for the book to greet members in their hotel rooms with your presidential welcome letter. "Books can also be personalized ... depending on the size of the group," Blackman said.
Media: Be ready
Collect everything you need to promote your keynote in the media. Request that the speaker provide you with photos. They can be black and white or colored, "headshot" or action shot. Scan the photo and save it as a TIFF file. 72 dots per inch is sufficient for web publishing. For print, save the image at 300 DPI.
The keynote speaker should provide you with a brief biography and a brief overview of the program, the main points, what the audience will learn and why he or she deserves to speak on the topic.
Prior to the event, send brief news releases to calendar editors in local newspapers and industry-related publications. Invite the chief editors to attend the event and make sure they receive a copy of the program and other promotional materials. Contact local print and broadcast media to arrange interviews for your speaker and your key union leaders.
Media: Set
Find out when your keynote speaker expires and when they will be available for interview. Keep a close eye on your Evening Week news...
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