How I Was Booked To Speak at Social Media Marketing World 2019

😵 I can’t quite believe it, I’m speaking at Social Media Marketing World 2019!

😮 Social Media Marketing World is THE biggest and best social media marketing event in the world with 7,000+ people attending next year in San Diego.

👍 In this article, I’m going to share the specific things I did to get booked to speak, so that you can too.

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Why Get Booked To Speak At Social Media Marketing World?

There are a number of reasons why speaking at Social Media Marketing world can be incredibly valuable;

✅ Exposure to Social Media Marketing World’s huge live and online audiences

✅ Positioning as an industry expert

✅ Potential for more paid speaking opportunities

✅ Potential for paid work opportunities

✅ Opportunity to network and build relationships with lots of influential people

✅ Opportunity to network and build relationships with lots of marketers

See what the event is like for yourself below.

Below I’ve outlined the specific things I’ve done over the last 4.5 years that I believe have allowed me to get booked to speak at Social Media Marketing World 2019.

How To Get Booked To Speak At Social Media Marketing World

There was no one silver bullet to get booked to speak at Social Media Marketing World. It’s taken a huge amount of work over the past 4.5 years.

Step #1 Become part of the community

Social Media Examiner is a U.S-based media company, founded by Mike Stelzner, which is the marketing arm of the Social Media Marketing World conference.

It’s important to start by finding a way to join and contribute towards the Social Media Examiner/ Social Media Marketing World community.

I did that initially by becoming a writer for Social Media Examiner.

Learn how: How I Started Writing For Social Media Examiner & How You Can Too

If writing is not your thing, there are various ways you could join the community;

🎯 Attend Social Media Marketing World

🎯 Join the #smechat Twitter chat every Wednesday at 6pm (UK Time)

🎯 Be a volunteer at Social Media Marketing World

🎯 Join the Social Media Marketing Society membership

Step #2 Become A Good Speaker

There’s no ‘3 easy steps’ you can take to become a good speaker.

It takes hard graft and lots of practice.

This step-by-step guide shows you how I did it: How To Become A Speaker & Grow Your Business

Step #3 Build Relationships With The Right People

Over the past 4.5 years, I’ve built genuine relationships with a number of people in the Social Media Marketing World community.

Please don’t be fooled, you can’t just get booked to speak because you’re mates with someone on the inside.

However, it will play in your favour to have people in the community who know that you’re a good speaker and who think highly of you.

These types of people could include;

👨 Social Media Marketing World speakers

👩 Social Media Marketing World delegates

👨 Social Media Marketing World employees

👩 Social Media Marketing World volunteers

👨 Social Media Examiner writers

👩 People that are friends with any of the above

How To Build Relationships With The Right People

1. Be a nice person

2. Be a genuine person

3. Go to Social Media Marketing World, find the above people and chat to them

4. Go to other events the above people go to and make friends

5. Connect withe the above people on social and regularly engage with their content

Step #4 Apply To Speak At Social Media Marketing World

Anyone can apply to speak at Social Media Marketing World via the application form (see screenshot below).

However, just because you can apply, it doesn’t mean you should.

My advice to you is to work on doing the other things mentioned in this article super well before applying.

Once you’re ready to go all in with your best foot forward, go ahead and apply.

Below is a screenshot of the application form.

Step #5 Be A Guest On Mike Stelzner’s Podcast

Firstly, start listening to Mike’s Social Media Marketing Podcast (it’s wicked).

As a listener myself, I learnt that Mike uses his podcast as a vetting process for speakers.

It’s a low risk way of seeing how someone performs as a speaker under pressure.

I know it’s not the same as being on stage, but you get the gist.

Because of this, I put a lot of effort into trying to impress whilst on his Podcast.

How do you get to be a guest on Mike’s Podcast?

Listen to Chris Ducker’s podcast episode on How to Become the Podcast Guest Everyone Wants.

Listen to “YOU276 – How to Become the Podcast Guest Everyone Wants” on Spreaker.

Over To You

Are you willing to put in what it takes to speak at Social Media Marketing World?

Start by getting your ticket to Social Media Marketing World 2019.

If you have any more questions for me then comment below or Tweet me: @dknowlton1

Disclosure:  If you happen to purchase a Social Media Marketing World with the links I have provided, I’ll receive some kind of affiliate compensation. Please know that I only recommend purchasing anything that I truly believe in.  If you ever have any feedback about anything I recommend, please let me know as my aim for you is to get great value and results for your business.