How to Make Money From Public Speaking: 8 Steps

Your speaking expertise can earn money through a paid talk, a workshop, coaching, or a useful recommendation to the people you teach. You can build a speaking business around more than the fee for one appearance.

If you teach speaking skills, our speaking.app affiliate program lets you earn from recommending a way to practice between sessions. Show your audience an exercise they can use, then share your referral link so they can continue practicing on their own.

This guide explains how to put both routes to work: selling your own speaking offer and recommending speaking.app where it helps your audience. For the paid-booking examples, we will use an illustrative workshop helping newly promoted engineering managers explain technical decisions to colleagues outside engineering. Adapt it to expertise you actually have.

1. Choose how you want to get paid

You can charge for a speaking engagement, sell help that follows it, or earn commission from relevant product recommendations. Choose a starting point that fits the expertise and audience you have.

For our engineering-manager example, a workshop is a sensible format because participants can practice explaining a real decision. A conference talk could introduce the same idea to a larger audience, with less time for individual practice.

Choose the format you can deliver well now. You can develop another version after you understand what buyers and participants find useful.

The National Speakers Association's business guidance treats professional speaking as work that includes selling, preparing, delivering, and maintaining client relationships. Include those activities in your plan from the beginning.

2. Recommend speaking.app and earn affiliate income

If you teach people to speak more clearly, give them a way to practice after the lesson. speaking.app lets them record a speech, presentation, pitch, or interview answer, review feedback on their message, structure, and delivery, then try again. That gives your recommendation a practical purpose.

For example, after teaching engineering managers how to explain a technical tradeoff, demonstrate a two-minute explanation in speaking.app. Show the transcript, choose one point to improve, and record another attempt. Participants can use the same process for their own explanations after the workshop.

You can share that exercise in a workshop resource page, a teaching video, or a newsletter. When you are an approved affiliate, include your referral link beside the instructions and disclose that you may earn commission. Follow the organizer's rules about commercial recommendations.

What you can earn

The speaking.app affiliate program offers:

• 30% of eligible collected payments, excluding customer tax.
• A 12-month earning period per referred customer, starting with their first eligible payment.
• Eligible individual Pro monthly and annual subscriptions, plus one-off 7-day passes, called Week Passes in the terms.

Monthly payments within that original window can qualify. An annual renewal on or after the first anniversary is outside it. Free signups and unpaid trials earn no commission. Refunds and chargebacks reverse the related commission.

Use the affiliate earnings calculator to explore examples for your audience's country and chosen Pro subscription plan. Prices vary, and the estimate depends on qualifying purchases and how long customers keep paying.

Start with one exercise your audience needs

1. Try the exercise yourself. Use speaking.app to rehearse the task you teach so you can demonstrate it accurately.
2. Get in touch about becoming an affiliate. Introduce your audience and explain where the recommendation would fit. Joining requires approval, an invitation, and acceptance of the agreement.
3. Share your active link with the exercise and a clear disclosure. A visitor must choose your referral and complete verified signup or login. Their first eligible payment must be captured before the 90-day deadline, measured from their first qualifying account referral.

Eligible existing free users can qualify if they have never made an eligible purchase. Previous paying customers and self-referrals do not. The standard offer covers personal purchases; Workspace and group purchases need a separate agreement.

Your session fee pays for the workshop. Affiliate commission comes from qualifying product purchases by people who choose to continue practicing. For a full client-practice example, see our affiliate guide for communication coaches. You can also compare public speaking affiliate programs. Check the affiliate terms before joining.

3. Turn your expertise into an offer someone can book

An organizer needs to understand the job your session will do. A broad topic such as “leadership” gives them a category. A specific offer gives them something to put in the program.

Compare these two descriptions:

I speak about leadership, communication, and technology.

I offer a 60-minute workshop where new engineering managers practice explaining a technical tradeoff to a non-technical colleague. Each participant drafts and rehearses a two-minute explanation of their recommendation.

The second description identifies an audience, a task, a format, and a deliverable. It also gives the buyer useful questions to ask: How many people can participate? What preparation do they need? How much feedback will they receive?

In her National Speakers Association article on getting paid to speak, Lois Creamer emphasizes clear positioning around the people you serve and the value of hiring you. Translate that into an offer you can explain in a few sentences.

Fill in this speaker-offer worksheet

Here is how the worksheet looks for our engineering-manager workshop:

Now write your version. Choose a task people recognize from their work or lives. Describe what you will teach and what participants will do, keeping promised results within what the session can support.

Test the description with someone who understands the audience. Ask them what they think they would be buying. If their answer differs from your intention, revise the offer before building the full slide deck.

Give an organizer enough evidence to consider you

Create a short speaker page or one-page document that an organizer can forward to the person approving the booking. Include:

• Your session title, audience, and short description.
• Two or three specific learning goals.
• Available formats, with the differences explained.
• A short biography tied to the subject you will teach.
• A video showing you explaining an idea or running part of the session.
• A clear way to ask about availability and fees.

Your sample video can be a clearly labeled rehearsal. Show enough of the explanation for a buyer to judge your delivery and teaching. For the engineering workshop, demonstrate how you would explain one tradeoff and introduce the participant exercise.

Use relevant experience as evidence. That might be work you have led, teaching you have done, research you have conducted, or a documented project. Explain your role accurately. Get permission before using an organizer's quote, a client logo, or audience footage.

A strong sample helps the buyer assess the session. Your next step is a conversation about whether that session fits their audience, budget, and event.

4. Find paid speaking engagements by looking for the buyer

Start with organizations that already gather the audience you want to help. For each one, identify the person responsible for the session and how they choose speakers.

Check past agendas, current programs, and any public speaker-submission instructions. Look for a match between the audience's task and your offer. Ask whether the opportunity has a speaker budget early in the conversation; an accepted session proposal does not by itself establish that you will be paid.

Send a short, specific outreach email

Adapt this template using your actual experience and a specific reason the session fits the buyer’s audience:

Subject: [Session title] for [audience or program]

Hi [Name],

I saw that [specific event or program] includes [relevant audience or topic].

I [one sentence about relevant experience you can substantiate]. I offer a [length and format] on [specific task]. Participants work on [exercise] and leave with [concrete takeaway].

Here is a short sample of my teaching: [link].

Would it be useful to send an outline and fee for [event or program]?

[Your name]

When an organizer is interested, ask who will attend, why this session matters now, what participants already know, and what they want people to do afterward. Then ask about the budget, decision-maker, booking timetable, and procurement requirements.

Use the answers to refine the session. For example, a workshop for first-time managers may need a different exercise from a talk for experienced engineering directors. Note the person responsible, the booking timetable, and the next step you agree.

5. Set a speaking fee around the complete booking

Price the work you are agreeing to do: preparation, customization, delivery, travel, and any follow-up. Discuss recording and reuse too. A live session and a recording the buyer can distribute indefinitely are different requests.

All American Speakers' booking FAQ explains that fees vary with the event, time commitment, location, and demand. It also says recording requests should be raised before booking. Its published roster prices describe the speakers it books; they are not a universal beginner rate.

Work through the costs before sending the quote

Here is a sample calculation to test whether a fee covers your time and direct costs:

The arithmetic is (US$1,000 − US$200) ÷ 10 = US$80 per hour. These figures are a planning example, not a recommended fee or an earnings forecast.

Estimate your own time and costs, then consider the value of the session, the buyer's budget, comparable offers in your market, and the evidence you can show. Your cost calculation tells you what the work requires financially. A booking conversation tells you whether that buyer is willing to pay for it.

Make the scope clear in writing

Start the fee conversation with a practical question:

What budget have you allocated for this session, and does that need to cover travel or recording rights?

For the workshop example, a quote should identify:

• The date, location or video platform, session length, and participant limit.
• The planning call, preparation, materials, and feedback included.
• The fee, agreed travel costs, applicable taxes, and payment timing.
• Cancellation or rescheduling arrangements.
• Whether recording is allowed and how any recording may be used.
• Any follow-up session or additional work being purchased.

Agree whether a deposit will be paid, when you should invoice, and the payment due date. Check whether the buyer needs a purchase order or supplier registration before payment can be processed.

A worked quote for the workshop

Using our example workshop and the figures above, a quote could begin:

Explain the Tradeoff is a 60-minute workshop for up to 12 participants. The fee is US$1,000 before any applicable taxes. It includes one planning call, preparation, participant worksheets, and the agreed travel and materials costs. Recording and reuse rights, and any follow-up session, would be agreed and priced separately.

Add the date and location, and replace the example assumptions with the agreed booking details.

If the budget is too small for the proposed session, discuss a smaller scope you can deliver well. A virtual session may reduce travel costs. A shorter presentation may reduce delivery time, although preparation still needs estimating.

Keep the fee and included work together in the proposal so both sides can make an informed decision.

6. Rehearse your speaker pitch and talk in speaking.app

Use speaking.app to rehearse your booking pitch and the session you will deliver. Start with your speaker pitch, then practice the opening of the session.

For a 60-second speaker pitch, cover four things:

1. Who the session is for.
2. The problem or task it addresses.
3. What people will do during the session.
4. What they will leave with.

Record your first attempt in speaking.app. After recording, review the transcript and delivery feedback, including pace, pauses, and filler words. Read the transcript as if you were the organizer: can you identify the audience and offer quickly?

Choose one change and record another attempt. You might shorten the background, replace a technical term, or explain the participant exercise more clearly. Our three-pass recording review gives you a repeatable way to listen back.

Then rehearse the first minute of the actual talk. In our workshop example, introduce a familiar technical decision, show why the explanation matters to the listener, and tell participants what they will practice.

For a full run-through, use the free speaking.app Speech Timer to check your total time. Include instructions, exercises, transitions, and Q&A in the rehearsal. A session that fits only when you read the slides silently still needs work.

The useful test is whether the audience can follow the explanation and complete the activity. Use speaking.app's feedback to choose a revision, then listen to the next attempt and test the exercise with another person.

7. Decide what an unpaid opportunity is worth to you

An unpaid session can have a clear purpose: testing material, helping a community, or obtaining an agreed recording sample. Write that purpose down and set a limit on the time and money you will spend.

Ask who will attend, what costs you will carry, whether you can use the recording, and whether any relevant follow-on offer is permitted. Decide whether the opportunity still makes sense if nobody later buys from you.

TEDx is an important distinction. TED's official guidance says TEDx events do not pay speakers and cannot charge people to speak. Some events may cover necessary travel or accommodation. That makes TEDx a different proposition from a paid booking.

Check an event's promotion rules before treating a talk as a sales channel. TEDx rules, for example, restrict commercial promotion from the stage.

Offer a relevant worksheet when event rules allow it, and agree on the link and format with the organizer.

8. Deliver well, then build the next booking from what you learn

Before the event, confirm the audience, running order, technical setup, accessibility needs, and who will introduce you. Send the organizer the short description and biography they need. Rehearse the agreed version, including its stopping point.

Afterward, deliver the materials you promised and ask about the session's usefulness. For a workshop, ask which activity participants could complete and where they needed more help. Record preparation time and direct costs alongside the fee so you can judge the work commercially too.

If the organizer found the session useful, ask permission to use a specific comment and whether another team or event could benefit. Suggest further work only when it addresses a need you have discussed. A second workshop or coaching engagement gets its own scope and price.

If you already teach through social media, our guide to monetizing a public speaking Instagram account covers ways to connect that audience with a paid offer. For recommendations within a coaching practice, see affiliate marketing for communication coaches.

Choose your next source of speaking income

For paid bookings, write one session description, make a short sample video, and identify a handful of organizations that serve the right audience. Rehearse your 60-second speaker pitch in speaking.app, then start a conversation about the strongest match's program and budget.

If you already teach speaking skills through workshops, coaching, videos, or a newsletter, give your audience a useful practice routine they can continue on their own. Get in touch about the speaking.app affiliate program. Tell us who you help and how you would introduce the app. An approved referral lets you earn 30% of qualifying payments while giving your audience a way to put your teaching into practice.

Questions about making money from public speaking

How do I get my first paid speaking engagement?

Start with a subject you can teach credibly and an audience with a reason to learn it. Package a specific talk or workshop, show a relevant sample, and approach the person responsible for a suitable event or training program. Confirm that a budget exists before treating the opportunity as a potential paid booking.

How much should I charge for my first talk?

Work from the booking's scope, your time and costs, the buyer's budget, and the value and evidence behind your offer. Compare relevant local or specialist offers. A celebrity bureau's published range is a different market, so it should not determine your starting fee.

Can I get paid to speak without a large following?

Yes. Build your offer around relevant expertise and a session that helps a particular group. Give the buyer evidence they can assess: your experience, a teaching sample, and a clear description of the work. Audience size may matter for some bookings, particularly those intended to attract ticket sales, but it is a different question from your ability to teach a particular group.

Can I make money from public speaking online?

Yes. Offer a paid virtual workshop, training session, or event-moderation service. Define the group size, participant activities, technical setup, and recording arrangements. Include preparation and support when you price the session, and rehearse the online format you will deliver.

Can I earn affiliate income alongside paid speaking?

Yes. You can earn a session fee and separately recommend a relevant practice tool to your audience. The speaking.app affiliate program pays approved affiliates 30% of eligible customer payments, excluding tax, for 12 months from each referred customer's first eligible payment. Demonstrate an exercise, disclose the commission, and share your active link where the organizer permits it. Earnings depend on qualifying purchases.

Sources

• National Speakers Association: How To Make Money in The Speaking Industry, by Meridith Elliott Powell.
• National Speakers Association: The 5 Biggest Challenges to Getting Paid to Speak and the Tactics that Help Solve Them, by Lois Creamer.
• All American Speakers: Speakers FAQ.
• TED: Can TEDx speakers pay, or be paid to speak?.
• TEDx rules.
• speaking.app affiliate program and Affiliate Program Terms.