Going for Gold! A Complete Marketing Strategy for Speakers

Reviewed by Kirsten Cowan

Going for Gold! A Complete Marketing Strategy for Speakers
Cathleen Fillmore & Susan Sweeney C.A.
Elias Press, 2000, 220 pp

Cathleen Fillmore and Susan Sweeney, two prolific Canadian speaker/authors, have teamed up to create a friendly, warm hearted guide to establishing yourself in the increasingly crowded field of professional speaking. With topics ranging from finding your niche, cultivating your network, and making the most out of new technologies and the now de rigeur Web site, Sweeney and Fillmore have compiled a readable and approachable resource that should find a compfortable home on the desks of aspiring speakers as well as anyone with an interest in marketing their uniqueness.

Going for Gold! is really two books in one. Part one, authored by Cathleen Fillmore, editor of Speakers’ Gold newsletter, delves deeply into the nitty gritty details of beginning and maintaining a career as a professional speaker. From developing a media kit, through cultivating relationships with journalists, how to record a promotional audio or video tape, and etiquette with speakers’ bureaus, Fillmore gives a thorough and readable treatment to her subject. It holds a tight focus on the subject of professional speaking, although much of the marketing material does have "crossover" appeal.

Susan Sweeney, author of 101 Ways to Promote Your Web Site, takes the reins for part two of Going for Gold! Sweeney’s treatment of Internet marketing how-tos definitely has appeal beyond the realm of the would-be professional speaker. From maximizing the use of E-mail, through the dark netherworlds of Meta-tags and keywords, Sweeney does an admirable job of translating the buzz words of Internet marketing into real strategies.

All in all, Going for Gold! provides a solid introduction to the world of professional speaking, and reaches beyond it to provide an excellent marketing guide for anyone looking to promote a unique person or cause.

See Cathleen Fillmore Sources listing.
Visit Cathleen Fillmore on the Internet at www.speakersgold.com
Visit Susan Sweeney C.A. on the Internet at www.connexnetworks.com

See also:
7 Tips for Effective Speeches
Review of Your Guide to Public Speaking
Secrets of a Worthwhile Presentation
Don't Neglect Your Presentation Skills
Seven golden rules for more effective speaking
Going to the Public: Ten public speaking tips
Smooth Talking! Explore the Paid Speaking Market
Speaking to the Media
How Sources magnifies your Internet visibility