Turn Talks Into Your Most Effective Marketing Tool  🔗 **Source:** [Turn Talks Into Your Most Effective Marketing Tool](https://share.snipd.com/episode/c1a2c47b-19aa-487e-925a-dbc6a2337f6a) ## Highlights - **Keynote As A Marketing Product** - Speaking is both a marketing channel and a product when you frame a keynote as the story of your startup rather than a sales pitch. - Jess Ekstrom turned classroom talks into Headbands of Hope marketing and later monetized speaking as a distinct product. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom Remember the first email I got from Marshall University that said, what is your fee to come speak to our students? And I had to ask about a dozen people what they meant because I was like, what are they talking about? A fee I pay? I was so confused. I didn't even realize that this was a channel for income because it had been such a good channel for advertising for me. And one of the things that I teach now in Mic Drop to a lot of founders is the difference between an elevator pitch and a keynote. You have an elevator pitch is around what you're selling, the problem you're solving. But a keynote is around the story of your startup and making that story transferable to someone else. So, and then the keynote becomes the product. So it's not about selling your product through the keynote. ([Time 0:02:01](https://share.snipd.com/snip/76824fea-5f07-4237-bfd4-5c618b551b80)) - **Choose Paid Keynote Or Lead Gen** - Do decide which lane you want: a paid keynote as a product or lead-gen speaking where the back of the room sales replace a fee. - Jess defines lead gen speaking as unpaid stages where you freely sell and the resulting sales become your fee. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom Think that there are two different lanes that you have to decide what you want to run in. There is the keynote is your product, which means it's not about selling a product. It's about delivering a keynote. And then the other lane is called lead gen speaking or selling from stage, which means you get no fee, which is exactly what you're talking about, John, but you have free reign to sell From the stage. And in that case, whatever money you make in the back of the room becomes your fee for being there. ([Time 0:03:46](https://share.snipd.com/snip/63c419a7-684d-4b05-8de8-4f3506cf257f)) - **Collect Emails With Slide Decks** - Do capture attendees' contact info by offering your slides or notes via a QR code so you can continue the relationship. - Jess tested lead magnets and found slides/notes convert higher than other options for post-event follow-up. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom I tell them that they can scan a QR code and it's going to send the slide deck to them so that they have it. They can remember it. It's going to give them discussion questions to bring back to their team. But that is also where they're now in my orbit. Now I can also, they want to hear what I'm doing. The next email I send will probably be about Mic Drop Workshop or my book or my podcast. ([Time 0:07:20](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c9c0b699-5078-44b6-a1ef-569b5daae0f2)) - **Switch From Spotlight To Lighthouse** - Shift from a spotlight mindset (How do I look?) to a lighthouse mindset (What do they need?) to reduce nerves and increase usefulness. - Jess says researching audience pain points makes talks more helpful and less performance-driven. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom A good question. And I would say most of the women that I work with lean towards the what do I have to say? And how I teach this, this is actually a concept I gave in my TED Talk last year that has done really well. So I'll share it here. It's usually when you have that imposter syndrome coming from what I call a spotlight mindset. Spotlight speakers go up there, spotlights on them. How do I look? How do I sound? They're concerned with public perception. They want to appear impressive. What does everyone think of me? If a spotlight asks, what does everyone think of me? Then the other kind of speaker is a lighthouse, which is what does everyone need of me? You go up there with, I'm going to solve a problem. Where are they at now? Where are they hoping to go? How can I help? And so when you switch from like, how do I be admired to how can I be helpful? ([Time 0:08:26](https://share.snipd.com/snip/324841b1-044f-472c-ae44-401bff00e44a)) - **Share Failures Not Just Wins** - Vulnerability about failures resonates more than boasting about wins because audiences need the arc of struggle and recovery. - Jess's story of wiring $10,000 to a fraudulent manufacturer became a powerful lesson when she shared the recovery steps. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom I think sometimes when we speak from a place of a lighthouse, we want to share all the wins that we've had as a business owner. Oh, look at this thing I did. I'm on the Today Show. I sold millions of copies, blah, blah, blah. I did that. It didn't land. I didn't get booked from it. When I started to share moments that went wrong and what I did about it, that's when the rubber started meeting the road. Because it wasn't about making me look good. I had to admit, yeah, I wired $10,000 to a fraudulent manufacturer. That sucked. But here's what I did. That's when I think things started to get noticed. ([Time 0:10:30](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8ab68424-d639-420d-a2b7-119d311863bf)) - **Start Talks With A Transformation Promise** - Do start with the aftermath: define a transformation promise describing what people will think, feel, or do after your talk. - Jess uses that promise as a North Star and then works backward to craft the checklist of concepts and stories needed. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom I would say start with the aftermath. Before you think about what you want to say, think about what you want to stay. Like, what do you want to stay in the room after you leave? And so I give, we call it a transformation promise. After people hear you speak, what do you want them to do? What do you want them to believe? What do you want them to think? What do you want them to feel? And then once you have that transformation promise, maybe it's after people hear me speak. I'll give like my example. I speak about motivation and how to create motivation that lasts. So after people hear me speak, I want their whole team to be intrinsically motivated to create lasting motivation. Now I have a North Star. Now I have the outcome in mind that I can build my keynote around. So then you work backwards. Well, what are the things that people need to understand in order to create motivation that lasts? Well, they need to know the science motivation, how our brain works. They need to know how to be intrinsically motivated instead of extrinsically validated. They need to know how to define their success. So then I start going down the list of what's a checklist that someone needs to understand in order to arrive at that transformation. And then of course, fill those with, well, when did I learn this? What's the story I can answer here? What's a data point? But I think one of the most important things you can do as a speaker is to simplify, not complicate. ([Time 0:11:31](https://share.snipd.com/snip/aa319022-1591-49cc-90f0-80bbd84f39b3)) - **Simplify The Message** - Do simplify your message and avoid fancy jargon; remind people of something they already knew but forgot. - Jess cites James Clear and Mel Robbins as examples of simple, repeatable ideas that stick. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom Well, they need to know the science motivation, how our brain works. They need to know how to be intrinsically motivated instead of extrinsically validated. They need to know how to define their success. So then I start going down the list of what's a checklist that someone needs to understand in order to arrive at that transformation. And then of course, fill those with, well, when did I learn this? What's the story I can answer here? What's a data point? ([Time 0:12:27](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c7e605df-b169-434f-b314-dcb2c3220afd)) - **Build Modular Micro Talks** - Do break a long talk into micro talks so you can adapt to variable time slots like 30, 45, or 60 minutes. - Jess bundles modular sections so she can plus/minus segments and start cleanly each time. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom It's daunting. That's why it's the kind of like, you know, if you're a runner or something, it's like instead of running a marathon and thinking 26.2 miles, it's like, how do you break it into five races Of five? And so breaking your talk into smaller talks in that way, because now it's pretty variable. I don't know if you've gotten this, but I get asked to speak for an hour, which typically was a norm. And now it'll be like 45 minutes, 30 minutes, 50. And so that way you can just plus or minus some of these micro talks within it and starting to start over every time. ([Time 0:14:22](https://share.snipd.com/snip/66cde905-aa52-4ef8-845d-af37ed4b3638)) - **Be Known For One Signature Talk** - Do specialize: pick one signature talk and avoid being a 'Cheesecake Factory' speaker with too many topics. - Jess recommends sticking with a proven talk you can iterate on and reference with past bookings. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom Trap that sounds like a lot, but mistakes sometimes I see speakers come into is they think by being dynamic and being able to speak about 20 different things, it's helping them as a speaker When it's actually hurting them. People want your greatest hit. I call it being a Cheesecake Factory speaker where you go, it's like no one wants Alfredo sushi and a burger. What is your chef special? What's the thing that you're really good at? And so tell them what you deliver and how it's going to help them. Don't necessarily ask them what they need and create a talk around that. Doesn't mean you can't find ways to customize your talk to that audience. But if you're starting from scratch every single time you speak, one, it's a lot more work for you. And two, it's a lot less benefit to them because they are not getting something proven. Like no one wants to be your trial run at this. John Jantsch Do the reps. Try to do some new material. Yeah. Yeah. Jess Ekstrom Get good at it. And they want something that's like, oh yeah, I've given this talk at Coca-Cola. I've given this talk at Chick-fil You know, I've given this talk here. So build one signature talk. That's what I would recommend. ([Time 0:17:43](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1ed17aad-e5c3-499c-a3e0-32a160a747ef)) - **Commit To Your Talk For Years** - Do commit long-term: be willing to own and iterate one keynote for three to five years so people associate you with a solution. - Jess warns against changing your core talk annually because it prevents name-topic association. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom I think a keynote is a living and breathing thing. Like I'm never done with a keynote. I'm always editing and improving. But I would say, if you're not willing to stick with it for three to five years, then don't do it. I see so many speakers that like every year are changing their thing that they're known for. I'm like, you're not giving anyone time to associate your name with a solution. ([Time 0:19:14](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0d16ad92-c5af-4fad-a4a2-6f2956828b82)) - **Find Your Billboard Mantra** - Do find your billboard statement: pick a short mantra you would put on a billboard to define your speaking theme. - Jess uses social media to test that slogan and iterates before building a keynote around it. Transcript: Jess Ekstrom Would say, if you want to start speaking, ask yourself... I actually said this to someone today, so I'll say it here. Imagine I gave you money to buy a billboard in your town or on your local highway. And it was up to you to put whatever phrase or slogan that you wanted to on that billboard. What would be the thing that you would put on that billboard? Like, what is like a mantra, a theme, like something that you keep coming back to that helps people? And so if you want to just get started, I would think about like, what would you put on an empty billboard and start there? John Jantsch All that comes to mind me is eat more chicken, but that's already chicken. So sorry. Jess Ekstrom That's a place to start, John. And then you have the greatest test group of all time with social media, like test, test and test again. ([Time 0:20:24](https://share.snipd.com/snip/46baa667-55ce-45d9-9d13-e81b0d5cdc80))