Speaking at events and delivering workshops are a great way to market your services. Shameless self-promotion is essential. Here’s what to put in your speaker media kit.

This post was originally written and posted July 8, 2013. Updated September 29, 2020.

For consultants and motivational speakers speaking at events and delivering workshops are a great way to market your services to your target market. Even more so when you can easily create a platform and promote yourself online.

Here is where shameless self-promotion is essential. You want to present yourself as an authority, and you want to make the organization and meeting planner look good (especially if they’re all you). You need… *drumroll* a speaker public relations (PR) or media kit.

This kit introduces you, your brand, and your popular topics. Never mind if you’re just getting started as a speaker. The questions your friends ask you over and over and over qualify as popular topics.

What goes into your media kit? It doesn’t have to be (and really should not be) too expansive. After all, meeting planners have to go through a whole lot of these. You want to grab their attention without being too over the top.

Your Speaker PR Kit needs:

A one sheet. Most of this information, plus video, is probably on your website. However, I promise you no one is printing anything out from your website and taking it to a meeting – unless it’s your one sheet. Your one sheet is all the relevant points about you conveniently wrapped up in a one-page brochure. Your bio, a great headshot, your most popular speaking topics, contact info, done.

Professional headshots. Your favorite cell phone selfie or your high school prom glamour shot is not going to get you to keynote speaker status. Remember what I said about making the meeting planner look good? It’s time to invest in your personal brand. No matter your fitness goals or current hair status – you need professional photos to represent you and your business well. Invest in them or become an expert in smartphone photography.

Brief but detailed descriptions of your speaking topics. Often this will go on the back of your one-sheet, but sometimes a planner will ask you for this information separately – and this info should be easily found on your website. Another great reason to make sure you have this done is so that you can easily complete online speaker applications. After all, you’re going to be submitting them a lot, right? Make sure to include any objectives or takeaways that the audience will receive as a benefit of your awesome talk. (Your awesomeness is NOT enough.)

If you’re an entrepreneur, author, or aspiring executive, chances are you have a story to tell, and someone can learn something from your story. Guess what? That makes you a speaker. Even if your topics are more practical (like how to become an edupreneur, for example), you can benefit from speaking as a way to elevate your visibility and build valuable social proof.

This means that these tips wholly apply to you, as well. A professional PR kit also makes it easier for you to pitch stories to media outlets and make a lasting impression. After all, you’re telling the world that you take your knowledge, your expertise, and your business seriously. They will follow your lead.