A recording artist earns fractions of a cent each time a listener streams their work. By comparison, a ticket to their show may cost anywhere between $50 to $200. Whether they host their own show, or work through an organizer, they can easily earn thousands of dollars for one night’s performance.

This business dynamic exists in writing nonfiction books and keynote speaking as well. Many authors earn good money from speaking, where they can also test and develop new book ideas at these gigs.

There are two keys to building momentum in keynote speaking:

The first is to develop a good speech, from the heart. Find a good topic, write it, edit it, practice it, perform it. Your speech is your product.

The second is to show up to local events like CreativeMornings. From there, you’ll find opportunities to get on stage. Participate as a listener. Meet the organizers and stay in touch. Film your speeches and put them online. Prepare to do this for a while until your first paid opportunity. This is the community circuit.

I’ve talked to more than my fair share of keynote speakers, and the thing they all have in common is they invested a lot of time and energy in the community circuit before they could get paid to do keynote speaking.

The most useful thing I did was to stop looking for a shortcut, and start putting the reps in.