A Simple Guide To Finding The Right Speakers For Your Events

 It’s easy to find yourself attracted to big names when you’re looking for speakers for your events or conferences, almost like they’re shiny objects or something. But I’ve been to enough conferences (as both an attendee and a keynote speaker) to learn that organizers can put themselves into some pretty bad positions by getting distracted by celebrity and not thinking through the right speakers for their events.

Bill Lee, the VP of client development at Eagle Talent Speakers Bureau, a company that advises and supports organizers in selecting the best speakers for their events, brought up a good point when I connected with him about the process. He said, “It seems like everyone and their grandmother is a ‘speaker’ these days ... but the fact is, not everyone has the background and, frankly, the personality or communication skills to speak and truly engage an audience for an hour or more.”

When you select someone to speak to your audience, you place your audience’s trust in you onto that speaker. You need to do everything you can to avoid destroying that trust because once it’s broken, it’s hard to rebuild.

To maintain trust and host an event with speakers your audience will love, here are seven questions you must ask yourself when selecting the potential speakers:

1. Are they going to deliver something your audience won’t find elsewhere?

It frustrates me when I speak at events and run into people who never change anything about their speeches. Look, I get it. They probably spent days in front of their mirrors at home practising over and over until they really nailed their speeches. But why should someone attend your event if he or she can just sit at home wearing pajamas, eating a bowl of Cheerios on the couch, and watching the same speeches on YouTube? Ask your prospective speakers exactly what they’ll deliver to your audience to keep them engaged.

2. Are they too cool to stick around, or do they care enough to make the effort?

When I was a younger speaker, I learned something from my friend Jay Baer that changed the way I approached my future speaking engagements. It’s a simple practice, really: Stick around with your audience afterwards and humanize yourself. Audiences often put speakers on pedestals, and that puts those speakers in a position to make attendees feel special. There are only so many speakers can do in 45-minute keynotes, but they can make a difference by chatting one-on-one or in small groups afterwards. Ask whether your speakers are willing to stick around to connect with your audience.

3. Do they go out of their way to be helpful?

If you think certain speakers will automatically draw thousands of attendees to your event just because you book them, think again. I’ve seen organizers rely on a speaker’s fame to attract an audience for ticket sales, and those conferences go under because they don’t market effectively. However, if the speakers you invite offer to go above and beyond to help you attract attendees — by spreading the news with their networks and getting other influencers involved — you can more easily justify the cost of booking them and getting them to your event.

4. Does their content connect with the goals of the event?

It’s great when presenters give amazing speeches that get everyone pumped up for a while ... but then what happens? Your speakers have to be able to connect the content of their speeches to your goals for the event because aligning those goals and tactics is what will make your event successful. The best speakers will ask you what that success looks like, and they’ll marry their content with those goals. (If entertainment is what you’re looking for, you might want to go the “Blue Man Group” route.)

5. Are the content and delivery of their speeches authentic?

I quit using podiums when I speak because I tried walking through the crowds a few times and heard feedback that my audiences felt it was more authentic that way. And I felt the connection, too. Audiences want to connect with speakers; they want people who will be real and share honest stories and present themselves naturally. I’ve seen people decide to become speakers one day and start speaking with no real-world experience at all. But the best ones have true examples of failures and successes and share their knowledge and real experiences in an authentic way. There are actors out there who pretend to know, and there are teachers who really do. You want the latter.

6. Are they flexible?

Your speaker room is not Mariah Carey’s ready room, and your speakers shouldn’t expect to be pampered. I’ve seen some well-known names make ridiculous demands, and they end up becoming more trouble to host than they’re worth. Think of it like dating: If your first few interactions give you the impression they’re divas, just cut ties. Those problems usually only get worse, so pay attention to your gut feelings about those signals.

7. Can you count on them?

I spoke at BOLO last year, after an agency executive let the organizer know three hours before his speech that he couldn’t make it because a big business deal arose. Maybe it’s the Midwest values in me, but if you commit to something and others are counting on you to follow through, then you do it. If you absolutely can’t, do everything you can to help fill the position. The right speakers for your event will be there when they say they will, and they’ll offer solutions or backup speakers to step up in case of emergency.

When it comes to speakers for industry events, the most well-known speakers aren’t always the right ones. As you evaluate your options and select people to speak at your next conference or event, ask yourself these seven questions. Your audience will thank you.

 

Culled From Forbes

Children’s Book Publishing Tips

 

If you’ve always dreamed of publishing a children’s book and you want to make that dream a reality, you must make sure that your goal is realistic. Writing books for children can be exciting, but it takes thick skin, an ability to handle rejection, and a commitment to revise and rewrite. The best children’s book authors are soft-hearted and thick-skinned all at the same time.

Once a publisher bites on your children’s book idea, you’ll want that feeling again. This is why most authors who publish their first children’s book will go on to publish more.

Tips on Writing and Publishing a Children's Book

Publishing your first book can be a challenge. If you want to learn from others who’ve experienced everything from rejection to publishing offers, here are 5 valuable tips:

1. Read As Many Children’s Books As You Can

Visit as many bookstores and libraries as you can and read as many children’s books as you can both old and new. The only way to know the market and what types of characters are appealing is to immerse yourself and the products that have already been published. You don’t want to copy content but you can get a feel for the writing style, illustrations, and characters that publishers prefer.

2. Attend Writers Workshops and Critique Groups

Become a regular at your local library and ask the people in charge when bulletins, workshops, and conferences are going to be held. When you attend these workshops and critique groups, you can not only speak with authors and interview them to find out how they got started, you can also submit your manuscripts and portfolios so they can give you their honest feedback.

3. Learn the Collaborative Process of Publishing Picture Books

If you’re going to be publishing a book for children between 3 and 10 years old, you’re probably going to have to secure a deal for a picture book. You don’t have to be both the illustrator and the author of the book, but you do have to learn about the collaborative process before you start it.

Collaborators involved in the process include you, the author, the illustrator, the editor, and marketing personnel. If you want to work with a publisher, you have to be flexible and willing to work with all of the parties involved. If you need full and total control, you should publish your own book.

4. Make Your Manuscript Great and Be Persistent

Your manuscript is essentially your job application and your interview all at once when you’re in the field of publishing kids books. You have to remember that it’s great books that get published but it’s great manuscripts that get noticed. Publishers receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts from excited first-time authors just like you so yours is going to need to stand out.

Don’t just write up a manuscript in a rush. You need to commit yourself to revising it, editing it, revising it, rewriting it, and redoing the process from start to finish before the manuscript is submitted. The publisher must believe that the book is going to compete and having errors and run-ons in your manuscript won’t give the company confidence.

5. Share Your Work With People Close to You

You will probably have to deal with a lot of rejection no matter how good your book is. There are large presses and small presses and sometimes your book just won’t be a good fit. One way to help you build your confidence before you question your talents is to share your work with people who will enjoy reading it. This is what will ultimately encourage you to keep writing.

As fun, as it might sound, getting your children’s book published isn’t an easy process. It will take time to learn the ropes and sift through the competition on the market. Use these tips for publishing a children’s book, and start brainstorming ideas.

If you have got aspirations to get your book published, contact SOI Publishing for an easy walk-through by proven experts.

Article culled from Best Value Schools

Why Blogs Are Crucial for Online Reputation Management and Repair

 

What are blogs, and why are they crucial for online reputation management?

Blogs generate good content that eventually push down negative links, build trust by showing industry expertise, and is a way to get visible online.

Here are some tips for excellent posts and four ways blogging is important for online reputation repair.

What to Write to Repair a Damaged Online Reputation

A blog is a place for brief, targeted articles online. Knowing what to write and where to post them are crucial details to get right for the repair process.

Blog articles should be at least 500 words long but ideally about 1,000 words (a page or two). The topic should address a specific issue for readers or clients. For example, write about top business-related questions that often get asked, offing some of the best solutions. The idea is to generate good content that people legitimately find interesting and pertinent to them.

Include Keywords, Headings, Images

A blog should include keywords–phrases that are useful for searches, which are related to the topic–sprinkled throughout the article; headings help break the blog into easy to read sections; an image placed at the top, relating to the topic, gives a visual queue to the story; lastly, be sure to include your name or business name a few times, but avoid artificially “stuffing” unnecessarily.

Find the Right Place for the Right Blog

Post to well-trafficked platforms, such as LinkedIn or Facebook, to dedicated industry-specific blog sites such as Avvo.com for law, etc., or general sites, like Medium.com.

The best place, however, is to post an article on one’s own business or personal blog because this generates website traffic, in turn pushing up positive links.

Here’s four reasons why to write blog articles to help repair a damaged online reputation or build a positive one.

1. Blogs Push Down Negative Links

Blogs are powerful tools in the reputation repair process because they can push down negative links. Popular and well-written pieces eventually show up on the top of Google searches,  suppress damaging articles posted by competitors, disgruntled ex-clients or employees with an axe to grind.

2. Builds Trust, Showing Industry Expertise

Building trust and showing that you are an expert in your field is another prime benefit of blogging. If someone conducts a Google search–which clients do–and there is little information, the business could be perceived as not being active, inexperienced or not tech savvy. Having a list of articles that address prospective clients’ concerns shows expertise, leading directly to increased sales.

3. Part of a Social Media Strategy

Blogging is, or should be, a vital part of a social media strategy. A great way to generate interest in social media feeds is to write good quality information. Writing a blog post and then sharing it on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, etc., not only makes those posts more visible, but they also generate more traffic on those platforms.

4. Blogs Create Backlinks

Blogs are also powerful because they create backlinks–links that go back to your site–which Google finds very favorable and is a key part of its ranking formula. This too is a way to drive up positive articles, helping to push good ones to the top of Google searches, thereby suppressing negative pieces off the first or second page.

Bottom Line

Writing a blog should be an integral part of online reputation management and repair because it pushes down negative links, shows you as an expert, improves existing social media campaigns and helps your Google ranking. The key is constantly writing quality articles.

This article was first published on Recover Reputation

Easy Steps to Writing for a Magazine

 

Writing for a magazine has served as a launchpad for many writers. Starting small like that can be just what you need as a writer to give doors that little nudge they need to open - before you go ahead to talk about things like book contracts, literary agents and international recognition.

For some, especially freelance writers, writing for paying magazine markets where they receive returns on their investment of time and effort could help pay the bills until they become more settled as writers and find their way into big literary circles.

If you would like to get published in a magazine, then you need to understand how the process works. It is essential to do so because publishing in a magazine works a little differently to other kinds of writing, and your not understanding the process might lead to a rejection of your work.

It can hurt a little to know that you're a good enough writer as any out there getting published, yet for some reason you keep getting those rejection emails.

If writing for a magazine is something you want to try out, here are important pointers to guide you as you make that move.

Writing for a Magazine? Here are Five Easy Steps

1. Choose a topic you’re passionate about

You need to come up with a great article idea.

A good way to get awesome ideas is to read other ideas and mull them over. If you have a magazine in mind to write for, then you should probably read published works in that magazine.

The urge to just jump in and write without a lick of background work is often irresistible. Resist it nevertheless - if you want to get published that is.

When you get ideas from your reading, compare them with what is currently trending in society. Find out the current events in society and see if you can generate a good topic from those. It always helps your article get noticed if you're writing about trending issues.

You can also check what people are searching for and see if you can generate ideas around those.

While writing for a magazine, you can write about your own interests. However, whatever you're writing about will have to be very attractive - attractive enough to pull people towards it. Otherwise, there's a high chance you'll get rejected.

2. Determine which publications to submit to

This is important and sometimes you might even consider doing this first.

Is the magazine you're writing for paying or free? Paying magazines naturally have more stringent criteria. Also, there are loads of other people who are also trying to get published or are already regular writers there, so you'll face a lot of competition.

Many magazines around today are primarily consumed online, so that makes it easier for you to go through them and make up your mind about a topic like we mentioned earlier. You can go to makealivingwriting.com where you'll research magazines to write for and some necessary stuff you gotta know about those magazines.

Depending on the magazine, you might have to send a pitch before you get accepted. Some magazines accept unsolicited pitches, others more commonly assign specific pieces to freelancers.

Ensure you take your time to craft an excellent pitch because it goes a long way towards getting you a chance. You can check out how to write a great pitch for a magazine on Masterclass.

3. Research and write

A rule of thumb you can follow is to do more research than you think you need. Gather sources, quotes, and statistics that you can use in your story. As I mentioned at the beginning, the urge to start writing immediately can be intense. But you need to resist it. Before you begin, make sure you know enough about the topic you are writing on.

Also, make sure you write based on the magazine you want to publish in. Otherwise your article might be great but just not what they are looking for - in which case you'll get rejected.

4. Edit your article

Edit, edit, edit.

Read through your article a second time and then a third time. Ignore the urge to just hit the send button as soon as you insert your final full stop. As you go over your work again, you'll definitely notice things to change, shake up, or remove. You'll also be able to make your text more cohesive and coherent when you're not absolutely focused on stringing your points together.

5. Submit your article

Your work is done and you can finally push it on. If you've researched thoroughly on the magazine you're submitting to, you should know whether or not they've got time-specific criteria about submissions. The last thing you want to do is submit the right work at the wrong time.

Also, articles for major paying magazines are usually slanted for publication for their next month’s issue weeks in advance, so make sure you don't fall into the deadline trap.

Time to Take Control of Your Narrative

You meet a prospective client for the first time. You are desperate to impress. Introductions and a handshake follow, and next thing the person is saying to you, “I’ve heard so much about you”. You search your mind frantically for a mutual friend or acquaintance hoping the prospective client heard only good things about you. You even say jokingly, “Good things, I hope”.

He may not notice, but your voice falters as you attempt to laugh. At that point, you simply cannot say what he has heard about you.

So, you know who you are and where you are going. You even have goals and plans for your life, career, and business. But, have you given much thought to how people perceive you and your business? Do you often wonder what emotions your name evokes when mentioned? Have you thought about what people say about you to others?

If you are even a little bit concerned about your personal brand, then you need to take control of your narrative. And here’s how you can do that

Articulate your Brand

Who are you? What do you have to offer that no one else can?  Every so often people claim expertise in a broad topic such as writing, or marketing, or even politics. You need to look beyond the peripheral titles and identify the category within that field where your unique experiences make you, undeniably, a major player.

Content is a very powerful tool for articulating your brand, as words wrongly strewn together may have the opposite effect on your audience. Use language as building blocks for your brand.

Have a Strong Online Presence

One of the first things people do when they hear of a new person, company, or trend is run an online search, usually on Google. So, it is important you have some measure of control over what the search results will be. A good way to start is by having a strong online presence. A good website with quality content sets you apart immediately. Remember, it’s all about taking control of your narrative and what better way is there to start than having a website that talks about you just the way you want to be heard?

How Social are you on Social Media?

Social media goes a long way in helping you establish your brand even beyond your website. Having profiles on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram will get you more visibility. Social media is also fantastic for engaging with people who may not have visited your website before. An activity as simple as following someone on Twitter and retweeting their post can get you noticed.

Become a Thought Leader

Beyond getting online and getting noticed on social media, people want to be sure you actually know what you are saying. Nothing establishes your brand as solidly as when you are seen as a thought leader, especially in the same area you have been known to address. Write blog posts, articles in newspapers, books, deliver seminar papers. In short, get noticed and get published.

If you have ever felt like you had no control over what was being said about you, now is the time to take back control of your brand by controlling your narrative.

Are you ready to begin?

 

Omatseye is a Creative Consultant at Sons of Issachar Concepts, an idea management firm that offers integrated publishing services to authors from writing, publishing, book launch, to marketing and sales.

The Ready Writers Consult

The Ready Writers Consult is Nigeria's oldest Content Writing & Editorial Agency with a mission to avail its clients the convenience and time to do more of what really matters to them.

The Ready Writers Consult's service portfolio includes Content Writing, Content Rewriting/Refinement, Content Editing, Content Proofing, Transcribing, Visual Contents, Audiovisual Contents.

Sons of Issachar Publishing

Sons of Issachar Publishing is a Content Publishing & Production Agency with core expertise in Book Publishing, Digital Publishing, Book Marketing, Digital/Multimedia Production and Idea Incubation Consultancy.

TRW CONSULT

TRW Consult is a marketing communications agency with core expertise in reputation management, event marketing, content marketing, brand promotion, cause marketing, social media campaigns, razzmatazz, web management & optimisation, amongst others.

The project portfolio of TRW Consult spans international and national spectrum having executed impressive jobs and successful campaigns for World Economic Forum on Africa, Nigeria’s National Conference 2014, CBN CashExpo, YouWIN, Guaranty Trust Bank, Lagos Business School and FMCGs such as NNFems makers of Apple and Ozone cosmetic products, FanMilk, Sweet Sensation, amongst others.

The Corona We Know

The Corona in Me

Excuse me, Sorry, I beg your pardon

We use the following words and phrases, Excuse me, Sorry and I beg your pardon almost every day, but most times we interchange them for each other and they still sound nice to the listener.

Well, that might be allowed semantically, but for proper representation and for the sake of good writing we have to align them properly in terms of the syntax structure. So, the onus is on us to properly know how and when to use them, either in the British or American context. Please follow us as we clearly distinguish their usage.

We say excuse me to someone if we want to get the person’s attention or before we do something that might disturb him/her, interrupt him/her, push him/her in a crowd or disagree with him/her.

    1 .   Excuse me; can I get past, please?

We say sorry (formally) or I beg your pardon when we need to apologise for something:

    2.    Sorry, I did tread on your toe.

    3.  I beg your pardon. I think you were next in queue.

But in American English, pardon me and excuse me are used as apologies.

We say pardon? When we did not hear what someone has said and want them to repeat it. In this case, sorry?  is also used in the British English and excuse me? or pardon me? in American English.

We hope we have been able to shed some light on the different contexts of usage of “excuse me”, “sorry” and “I beg your pardon”.

This is the second building block; do keep in touch with us as we intend to lay a solid foundation in the use of English as it relates to problematic words.

PROBLEMATIC WORDS IN EVERYDAY USAGE

When building a house it becomes necessary to put the right blocks in the right place otherwise, the house will not align with the layout or design in the original plan. The foundation is the most important part of a building because it carries the weight of the whole building. That is how it is when it comes to our everyday use of grammar.

There are words that look simple, yet they are problematic. If we don’t have a proper understanding of these words, it might affect our writing and the information we intend to pass across to our readers.

Standard text on the use of English are in two-denominations: the first one is that most books on English language present formal ideas of how the language should be written, that’s not  bad but it is the grammar of the language  which most times we find hard to conform to because of the various ‘shifting lattices’ of the usage. Secondly and more importantly, because of their continuous insistence on the grammar, some books usually fail to capture and describe how people use the language. In this perspective, we have decided for the next few weeks to point the way to linguistically correct and socially acceptable form of the language. So, please stay with us:

 (1) EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENT 

 If somebody works without wasting time or energy, and in a well-organized way, we say that he is efficient. For instance, a good secretary is efficient; an inefficient secretary puts paper in the wrong place, forgets things or takes too long to do small jobs. A machine or a system that works well is also described as efficient. Let us consider these examples:

1. She has sorted out all my letters and filed them alphabetically; I think this new secretary is efficient.

2. The Nigerian Telephone System is becoming efficient.

When we say that something is effective, we mean that it solves a particular problem that we have, or gets the result we want:

3. My aunt only gets weaker by the day; those drugs are not effective at all.

4. I think a black belt would look very effective with that dress.

We hope we have shed some light on the difference between “efficient” and “effective”. This is the first building block that we want you to lay.

Please share this with friends so they also can put it in use.