Event planners and meeting professionals are busy people and if you are fortunate enough to have attracted them to your website, you have a matter of seconds to command their attention. When you are presenting, you know you have to immediately get your audience on your side, but you usually have a ‘captive’ audience, and even if your first point falls flat, you can win them over in time.
When it comes to your website, you have a matter of seconds to make that great first impression and often there is not another opportunity to win them over. If you don’t get to the point and answer the question on their mind right away, they have moved on to the next speaker website on their list.
So, what do meeting professionals look for when hiring a speaker? And what should you include on your website to have that initial conversation with them? Here’s the little secret I’ve unveiled over my years in this business: you have to remember who you are talking to.

It is great to please the audience, but it is better to please the one who hired you. THAT is the key to a speaker website that gets repeat bookings and an increase in your bottom line!
Sometimes we get so caught up in audience feedback that we forget that, unless you are putting on your own event, the audience did not hire us. It was that meeting planner, that decision-maker who decided if we would be a good fit for their meeting or conference. Those meeting professionals hiring speakers are the ones we need our speaker websites to talk to!
When I am strategizing with clients on websites and marketing planss, we sit down and decide, among other things, exactly who is likely to be hiring them, and why. Before you write a single page of content for your site think about who pays you and the questions they might have.
So, what are the 5 main questions your speaker website needs to answer to get hired more often?
1) What do you talk about – will you fit with the theme for my conference?
Showcase your expertise and include your speaking topics within the first pages of your website. Event planners looking to hire new speakers need to know right away what you do.

2) Do you have credibility on the subject matter?
You can easily show them this by adding your bio or relevant credentials and awards to your website. This is crucial, with the number of competitions there’s online. And it’s the second thing event professionals hiring speakers will look for on your website.
3) Are you any good?
Well, of course, you are! But event planners will need more than your word in this case. It is helpful here to add a couple of videos or short clips of your conferences. And don’t forget your sizzle reel!
4) Who have you spoken to before – and did they like you?
Audience testimonials! Your meeting professionals want to know how good you are. It is always better when the one saying this is someone who has attended your conferences and can recommend you to others.
5) Are you likely easy to work with?
This question can be tricky, but it all comes down to this: Will you show up on time and stay within your time limit? Will you go the extra mile for my attendees?
This is something only other event professionals can vouch for, so don’t underestimate their reviews!
To be perfectly honest, there are a lot more questions after these to answer. But you only have 15 seconds, if that, to get an event planner’s attention to make them stay long enough on your site to entice them to book their call. Make sure you answer these main questions before anything else. When dealing with event professionals hiring speakers, it’s always better to be remembered as someone who was considerate of their time from the first conversation — the one they have with you from your website!