Does anyone have any experience with fees associated with giving a keynote talk a conference? As part of my consulting business (providing industry data and analysis) I will likely be asked to do something like this in the next couple months
Details…
it is an niche IT industry conference (for profit vs. non-profit)…I’m not going to say what exactly as it would “out” me.
probably a couple of hundred attendees
Not a lot of people are able to provide a good overview of the industry (which will be the topic of the talk)
It would be good exposure for me (i.e., could generate new business) but I’m not really seeking new business as I have about as much as I can handle now.
They’ve already offered to cover travel/hotel expenses and want to know what my speaking fee will be.
I think that my talk will be advertised as a reason to attend the conference.
I have my own thoughts on what to charge but just curious if anyone else had experience with what fees are associated with this.
I used to help set up conferences, but on the non profit side of things. I used to arrange speakers and it was par for the course to inquire about their fees. However, I always hoped they’d say “just expenses.” I only had two speakers charge fees – one was a few hundred dollars and the other just asked us to buy copies of his books for all attendees. Of course, the group I was working with was about the quarter of the size of yours. And, again, it was nonprofit so that changes things.
If you have a book that may be a good way to arrange your fees. Charge, say, $500 speaking fee plus they have to buy all attendees a copy of your book. Or if you don’t have one I’d think that between $1000 and $2000 was fair.
For the sort of thing like the OP describes, I see fees anywhere from 0$ to $1000. I personally tend to get paid about $300 for a 1-hour speech and Powerpoint in those sorts of situations (with a range of $0 to about $500).
Thanks for the feedback so far. The amounts so far have actually been lower than I’ve had in my mind – more in the 2K to 4K range. This is based on my need to generate the talk (I don’t have a canned presentation ready so 6-8 hours of work), the time required for travel (1/2 day there, 1/2 day back), and my disinterest in traveling right now (we have small kids). Just curious if anyone else has seen prices in this range. Thanks
If I were you I’d just ask for what you want. If you want to get $4000 from them, then ask for it. If you aren’t really interested in traveling then what’s the worst they do, turn you down?
I was doing contract work for an organization a few years back and they wanted me to come to a conference to help with its organization. I didn’t really want to do it so I asked for a large sum in compensation, thinking that would discourage their interest in me. Turns out they gave it to me, no problem. The lesson is that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for a high amount, especially if you don’t really care if they turn you down.
Note that in my case, I’m being paid by my firm at the same time I’m getting the speaker’s fee, so in effect I’m netting somewhat more than that alone. Or maybe I work in an industry where speaker’s fees are smaller than most.