Motivational speakers are professionals who speak to crowds to motivate or inspire them to take action. They educate the audience and teach them how to bring about the changes they desire in their lives. Motivational speakers can bring messages concerning personal development, business, the community, or youth. As they gain experience, they come into events to fill seats and deliver an inspirational message.
Motivational speakers can be classified into five pay scales with a range of salaries in each. If you are interested in becoming a motivational speaker, read on to learn more about salaries for motivational speakers.
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Starting Out: Beginner Speaker ($0 to $1,000)
When you are starting your career as a motivational speaker, you may need to give a few talks for no charge. Motivational speakers are normally self-employed, and during this time, you may need to invest in your future career. You should consider hiring a public speaking coach to perfect your delivery, body language, intonation, and the overall presentation. You can also apply to conferences and other events just to get exposure.
As you are developing in your quest to become a motivational speaker, you will work on gaining experience and building your network. It is common to earn anywhere from nothing to $1,000 for an event. You might consider motivational speaking to be a side gig until you become more established.
During this time, you should work hard to develop your message and your presentation as you gain a following. Once you become known and in demand, you will be able to move to the next level.
Some Experience: Average Speaker ($1,000 to $2,500)
After you gain some experience and start developing your network, you may be invited to speak at events within your community. When you reach this level, your travel expenses may also be covered if you are speaking out of town. During this time, you should continue developing your presentation. The more exposure you get, the more powerful an impression you want to leave with your audience.
You should consider working on your social media profile, blog, or website. There are a lot of different ways to take your momentum and build on it. If you have a video of a particularly good talk, be sure to upload it to your YouTube channel. If you want to expand, people will want to look you up online.
More Experience: Good Speaker ($2,500 to $5,000)
When you reach this stage, you have made a splash. People have seen you and like what you have to offer. You have a clear message based on your personal experience, and you are able to generate enthusiasm within the audience. You should get paid for your travel expenses, and you may be getting jobs outside of your community.
You will want to further develop your social media presence, blog, YouTube channel, and website. You should have samples of your speeches uploaded online, and you should write and engage with your audience. This is a time to work hard on branding yourself. Make sure that your followers and your viewers know that you are the expert.
Even though you are earning $2,500 to $5,000 for speaking engagements, you may start to earn money online. You can find ways to earn money through your blog and YouTube channels, as long as you have developed a following. Now is the time to make sure that you have a strong online presence as you build your brand.
Experienced: Established Speaker ($5,000 to $10,000)
At this stage in your motivational speaking career, you are established in your niche. When people think of your topic, they think of you. You will be traveling around the country to talk to audiences, and you should be able to fill the rooms.
You can earn between $5,000 and $10,000 for speaking engagements, and as long as you continue to fill seats, people will continue to hire you. You need to focus on your online presence as well because you can earn a stream of income from your YouTube, Facebook, and more. You are working toward being regarded as an authority on your topic, and a stronger online influence will help you achieve this goal.
Expert: Excellent Speaker ($10,000 and more)
Once you become an authority in your niche, there is no limit to what you can earn. However, many factors will play a role. You need to be in demand, and you need to stay on top. You should continue building your brand online, but you can also start writing books and having television appearances.
Once you are deemed an expert in your niche area, people will come to you to learn more. Fame and exposure increases the demand for your services, so you should get your name out there as much as possible.
How to Get Started as a Motivational Speaker
If you want to become a successful motivational speaker, you need to do two things. You should have a compelling and unique experience that motivates people, as well as an actionable plan to teach them. You should start with public speaking coaching and gaining as much experience as possible. Never lose sight of your message, as it is the key to your success.
You can choose to speak to people about a personal development issue such as raising kids or overcoming a loss. You can also go into business and speak on how to generate sales within a company. No matter what you speak about, make sure that you do have experience in that topic. You need credibility, and people will not trust you if you talk about something you haven’t done.
Read More: 10 Tips How to Become a Motivational Speaker
Final Words
Motivational speakers can make a good living if they become successful and are in demand. However, it will take a lot of hard work. In addition to speaking as often as possible while you are starting out, you should build an online presence and establish yourself as an expert in your niche. Build your network and give people a reason to come back and hear you speak again.
