My little secret is that I’m a strong introvert that feels really, really awkward at conferences. Even so, my participation at conferences has been one of the single-best ways that I’ve honed my skills, grown my brand, and helped real people face-to-face.

As I’ve suggested in earlier blog posts, conferences help you:(1) learn from leaders and experts in your field; (2) to build a network of similar-minded colleagues; and (3) to find speaking opportunities. I also believe they are an ideal place to be of value to other people, whether you’re speaking or not.

In this episode of the Shontavia Show, I’m providing tools, strategies and suggestions you can use to grow your brand and business via the conference circuit.

My advice in this episode revolves around how you can get that coveted invitation from conference organizers.

I give three pieces of advice that I think you have to do to keep the speaking invitations rolling in:

1. Pick a speaking topic that fits you (I give you some suggestions about how to do this).

2. Create content around your speaking topic (I give a laundry list of the types of content you can create, including blog posts, podcasts, newsletters, videos, photography, and more).

3. Create “social proof” of your speaking abilities–even if you haven’t been invited to speak anywhere yet.

For more, check out the full episode below.

Questions and Action: Create a conference strategy

After you’ve had a chance to watch the video, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section!

Please answer the questions relevant to your current situation:

1. If speaking is something you want/need to do to grow your brand and business, what are you struggling with the most?

2. Can you create a list of one conference to pitch per month? Start here if you need a list of conferences to consider.

3. Have you recorded your first “speaker reel” video yet? If not, do you have a cell phone with video capabilities? Assuming you do, record a 60 second video of you talking about your expertise.

Please give as much information as you can in response to these questions. I’d be happy to share more tools and resources that help you get what you want.

Check out the show notes at the end of this page for a few resources from this episode.

Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster of an experience.

I am eternally grateful that I get to do this work with creators, entrepreneurs and innovators like yourself.

Let’s continue to make it happen,