Brand Builders
Program Titles
- The Influential Personal Brand
Paula Amanda Johns Vaden: AJ Vaden is one of the world’s leading experts in personal brand strategy. Over the last 15 years she has helped create, launch and grow several multi-million dollar businesses from start up to 7 and 8 figures in annual revenue.
AJ has been featured in Inc, Success Magazine, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Good Morning America.
She is the Co-Host of The Influential Personal Brand which Forbes named as one of the top podcasts to listen to in 2021 and was recently named as one of the top 5 personal branding speakers inspiring and teaching the power of personal branding.
How do you create a speaker demo video?
DIY approach is a great place to start. You can keep adding as you go for your business assets, but be honest and real about where you can get your start. A demo video is imperative because it will showcase all the components of your branding: your expert bio, your speaker bio, your work history, etc. It is a lengthy process to accomplish.
You can do this from your office, your home, or wherever you get great lighting. All you need is ten minutes of videos, or less that showcase your story and your expertise.
Expert tip: if you live somewhere with a fancy hotel or convention center, It is likely they have a stage or auditorium. If someone can catch footage of you in those spaces, even just for a few minutes, those make great shots!
Creating your message and recording your video.
How do speakers get their message out into the world?
There’s four different ways of getting booked.
1.) You can book yourself,
2.) You can work with an agent,
3.) You can work with the Bureau,
4.) You can sign with a speaker’s management company.
Building a Speaker’s Press Kit
The first thing you need to start building your speaker press kit is an expert bio. You’ll need one that is also tailored to you as a speaker for these purposes.
First, we’ll recap what an expert bio really is — then I’ll show you the five or six elements you will want to add in to your own step-by-step. An expert bio for your speaker press kit will be a slightly altered version of whatever bio you currently have. It should highlight your past speaking engagements, who has hired you and when, and what topics you speak on.
Then we need to focus on your program. Your signature program is the one you will be leading with, the one you want to be known for. You may have three or four other ancillary programs as well, but your signature program is the one you want to focus on.
You’re going to want some professional headshots. Having photos of you speaking, even if it’s not truly during a speaker event, is important for your press kit. Don’t think you have to wait until you are doing a presentation!
Three things we want to analyze in terms of defining your personal brand.
The first is a question: what category do you fall within?
Next we define your one-word uniqueness (which should sound familiar to you if you’re familiar with us at Brand Builders Group!).
Finally, we have the empirical problem that you solve, which is at the foundation and the basis of all we do to build your personal brand.
First we have your overarching problem that only you can solve, which should be your personal brand. For example, my keynote speech is titled “Better Than Ever,” but the problem I solve is irrelevance.
The problem I solve in my keynote is irrelevance in the marketplace, which is unique to my experience and what I care to talk about. I teach how people and companies can go from (or prevent themselves from becoming) irrelevant.
What problem does your keynote solve this way? That’s what you need to ask yourself.
You need to clarify your message. What is the message of your keynote? I mentioned that mine is called, “Better Than Ever.” The problem I solve is irrelevance. The message that I am teaching on this topic is how to move on, how to not do things the way they have been done in the past, to not think the best has already come and gone, etc. I focus on how to help people and companies move on. I have a corporate and personal version of this to help me stay organized, but that’s in essence what both are about.
Who needs to reinvent, who needs to innovate and who needs to step into the next era. Then I have a tailored, more personal version, which is more for the individual about living the next half better than the first half. It’s about inspiring you to believe the best is yet to come.
What is your uniqueness? One word uniqueness is going to encapsulate your personal brand as well. What is the unique factor about you, your life, your past, your work or your speech?
You are the product; your expert bio is the packaging. Taking that into consideration, if you were to read your existing bio, does it enhance the product that is you?
Book Paula Amanda Johns Vaden for your Event!