You Spoke at BrightonSEO April, Spring 2026 Conference? Don’t Waste It! — Turn That Talk Into Paid Speaking Opportunities
I thought I wouldn’t be this nervous. I was wrong. 🫣😮🫣😮
When I reflect back on this, I can understand why things didn’t exactly go as I imagined they would.
When I first attended BrightonSEO in San Diego last year, I was an attendee. My only job was to listen, learn, and network. ✅✅✅
This time was different.
Being a speaker takes time, energy, and mental capacity. I thought I could still do it all… learn, network, and deliver my talk.
My nervous system said no. ❌❌❌
On the morning of my talk, I did my final preparations and my stomach didn’t feel great. You can imagine there may have been a few loo visits. TMI, I know, but thankfully I wasn’t sick. 💪🏾 👍🏾 💪🏾
I calmed myself down, watched one track, then went back into prep mode. I made my way to the speaker room, had some tea, and went early to the Skyline Stage. I met my stage manager Julie, the AV team, and my videographer Paul, because I wanted this captured as an asset I could use to build future stage opportunities.
Right before I went on stage, I told myself:
You can do this! 🙌🏾🥰🎉
I decided to open with an energiser. The audience engaged. One woman even tossed her hair, which led me into a bit of karaoke energy, “I do my hair toss…” 🎶🎶🎶🎶
That moment reminded me:
Connection matters, people don’t remember what you said. They remember how you made them feel.
After I came off stage, I filmed extra content with Paul. A woman I spoke to post conference networking bit, told me they enjoyed my talk and that it made them think differently about collaborations.
Ekua, smiling and pointing at the BrightonSEO sign. 😍😍😍
The uncomfortable truth
Speaking at conferences builds visibility. ✅✅✅
But visibility alone doesn’t pay you.
Most Diverse Speakers:
Show up. Deliver. Hope something happens.
Hoping isn’t a strategy… 🫣😔💡
That’s why it doesn’t convert.
Why most Diverse Speakers stay unpaid
Speaking for free isn’t the problem.
It’s your strategy that’s the problem.
Most Diverse Speakers I work with, start as accidental speakers.
They’re invited to speak because they’re good and they know their stuff.
Then they get stuck.
They don’t want to ask to be paid because it feels:
awkward 😔
rude 😔
greedy 😔
So they wait…
They hope.
They stay passive.
But paid speaking isn’t passive. It’s proactive. 💡💡💡
You have to:
ask for the budget
position your value
build a speaking business
Because exposure without a strategy is just unpaid labour.
The Paid Speaker Mindset
This idea comes from my book, and it’s about understanding that speaking is not just delivery.
It’s:
consistent visibility
defined positioning
building relationships
creating revenue
It means:
you ask for the budget every time
you know your deal or no deal point
you make leveraged decisions
Every stage you step onto is intentional.
✅ A visibility play.
✅ A positioning play.
✅ A relationship play.
5 Smart Actions to take after speaking at speaking at a major industry conference
If you’ve spoken at a major conference and you want to turn that into paid opportunities, start here:
1. Create your speaker assets folder
Put your best photos, clips, and testimonials in one place.
Use them regularly, and share different aspects from that talk or experience.
2. Create content angles
Don’t post once and move on.
Come up with 10–20 angles:
Lessons I learnt from speaking at…
What I didn’t say in my talk…
Industry myths I challenged…
Brainstorm with AI, or fellow speakers!
People have short memories. Repetition builds authority. 💡💡💡
3. Capture testimonials or feedback
If someone messages you after the talk with positive feedback, ask to share it.
Or use it anonymously. If you got good feedback, use it! Ask people were you at my talk, what did you learn or think? And you can use their comments as testimonials too!
Social proof matters. 💯
4. Share collaboration moments
Did you attend conference fringe events, Podcasts or supporting events or socials.
Talk about them! Give that organiser a mention, they’ll thank you. Everyone needs social proof, be a giver of social proof. 😍😍😍
This expands your reach beyond the stage and to new audiences and opportunities.
5. Ask for the next stage
You’ve done a big stage, Congrats! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Now ask for more.
Reach out to:
event organisers
companies
your network (people, who know, like and trust you!)
Ask for the opportunity to speak on other stages.
Discuss the problem you solve.
Check if there is alignment, naturally if it’s a fit, discuss the budget.
Because the speaking business is a relationship business. 💯
Are you squandering your speaker visibility?
Be honest… 🫣🫣🫣
Are you inconsistent with your visibility and content?
Have you only posted once about your talk? (Was that your plan…)
Is your LinkedIn profile clear and up to date? (Include speaking or training…)
If no, you’re leaving opportunities behind.
What happens next?
If you do nothing:
You’ll keep getting pay-to-play opportunities
You’ll keep getting low-budget offers
You’ll stay unsure of how to monetise your visibility and this stage
If you get this right:
Your content leads to paid speaker bookings
You get DMs with organisers who have budgets
You get referrals for stages you weren’t even in the room for
I’m creating something for Diverse Speakers like us
I’m putting together The BrightonSEO Speaker Revenue Report 2026.
Because I don’t want to guess, I want real insight.
If you’ve spoken and you’re navigating:
transitioning from free speaking to fee based speaking
getting paid
increasing your fees
turning visibility into opportunities
I’d love your input. 😍😍😍
Complete the short Survey: HERE (Deadline: 9th May Midnight BST! ⏰⏰⏰⏰)
Make the Stage Work for YOU!
You landed a major stage, congrats for being a BrightonSEO 2026 Speaker! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
You pitched. You got accepted. You showed up.
That’s more than most people do.
But this is not the end…
It’s the starting point.
Now it’s time to make it work for YOU! 🎯🎯🎯 Be visible and keep showing up! 🤩🤩🤩
P.S. Complete the short Survey: HERE (Deadline: 9th May Midnight BST! ⏰⏰⏰⏰)