Henry Stimpson’s PR and Marketing Tips
January 2004


How to Get the Most Out of Speaking Engagements

Getting a top speaking engagement for yourself or one of your executives is a coup. But it usually takes a lot of work and time. First, there's the effort to land the gig. Then there's preparation time and travel time. With so much involved, you'll want to get the most from your presentation and get your message to an audience beyond those who attend the event. Some tips:

Before : Send out a news release announcing the speaker and topic. Keep it brief: provide the basic facts of who, what and where, plus some compelling copy on why the speech will be interesting and important. Invite the media to attend.

Before: Send a brief email to your list of prospects, customers and centers of influence announcing the event. You'll probably be surprised by the good reaction you'll get.

After: Write a news release summarizing the speech . Quite often, the news media, especially trade publications, won't attend an event, but will use a news release. The release should read like a newspaper article and give the speaker's key points in lively, reader-friendly fashion. Send it to selected news media and your contact list. Additionally, use an electronic distribution service like Business Wire or PR Newswire to reach a potential worldwide audience on the Web.

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