Getting consistent speaking engagements doesn’t come from chasing meeting planners or constantly posting on social media. Instead, it comes from positioning yourself as the go-to authority where meeting planners and their audiences are already searching. In this article, we’ll explore a proven strategy for getting more speaking engagements by leveraging YouTube and evergreen content.
A Different Perspective On Speaking Engagements
I’m not a keynote speaker. I’m a marketing strategist who has helped professional speakers get more speaking engagements than ever before. The key question is this: have you fully leveraged YouTube for lead generation, and do you know how to use it to fill your speaking calendar?
This approach focuses on three things:
- Visibility in the right places
- Dispelling common myths that waste time
- Using evergreen content to create long-term opportunities
Case Study: Doug Andrew
Doug Andrew is a well-known authority in the financial services industry and the author of Misfortune. Years after stepping away from frequent keynote speaking, Doug launched a YouTube channel using this strategy.
Within a year, Doug saw steady growth in leads from giving away free books. But something else happened—organizations began reaching out to invite him to speak again. Event organizers told him they found him on YouTube and realized he was still the leading authority in his space.
YouTube didn’t just generate leads for his business—it reopened the door to paid speaking engagements.
Case Study: Paul Jenkins
Paul Jenkins is a positivity psychologist, parenting expert, and keynote speaker. After implementing this strategy, Paul began receiving more speaking invitations directly tied to his YouTube content.
In many of his parenting videos, Paul answered questions alongside his wife, Vicki. Although Vicki wasn’t a keynote speaker at the time, audiences connected with her expertise. Meeting planners began requesting both Paul and Vicki to speak, which ultimately launched Vicki’s speaking career.
The Key Distinction
In both examples, these speakers were not marketing to meeting planners directly. Instead, they were marketing to the audience of the meeting planners.
When meeting planners research experts for their events, they search online to see who is truly authoritative. The goal is simple: when they search, you should be the one they find.
Why Social Media Alone Doesn’t Work
Many professional speakers stay extremely active on social media, posting content that quickly gains a few views and then disappears. This content isn’t indexed by topic, so it gets buried and becomes invisible over time.
YouTube works differently. Every word of your video is automatically transcribed and indexed. That means when someone searches for a specific question or topic, your video can appear—even years later.
How People Find You
Meeting planners discover speakers in two main ways:
- Through search: They use Google, YouTube, or ChatGPT to find experts on topics their audience cares about.
- Through referrals: After being referred, they research you online. A strong YouTube presence builds trust and credibility instantly.
A single well-made video can rank at the top of Google, YouTube, and ChatGPT for years, positioning you as the expert whenever someone searches for your topic.
The Power Of Evergreen Content
Evergreen videos continue working long after they’re published. Unlike social media posts that fade quickly, evergreen YouTube videos attract the right audience consistently over time.
This means that meeting planners—and the audiences they serve—can find you at exactly the moment they’re searching for an expert.
Free Webinar: The Leaf Strategy
If this approach resonates with you and feels like a fit for your speaking business, you’re invited to a free webinar where I teach the full strategy in detail.
This webinar is not a sales pitch. I’ll walk you through the five ingredients of my Leaf Strategy and show real-world examples across different industries so you can clearly see how it works.
Visit theleafstrategy.com to register. I’ll see you there.
