Beyond the One-Hit Wonder: Why a Diverse Speech Portfolio is the Key to Long-Term Speaking Success

Every speaker wants a great speech…

One that stands the test of time, is in high demand, and brings in boatloads of revenue.  

(If you’ve got one of these already, then pat yourself on your back.)

But, here’s the kicker.  One great speech isn’t enough.

In fact, when you only have one profitable speech, you’re putting a hard ceiling on your revenue and long-term growth as a speaker.

Yup.  That’s right.  One speech = limited potential.

(Sorry for the harsh reality check.)

It’s time to think beyond the single keynote and start building a diversified portfolio of speeches. Not only does this open up more opportunities, but it also protects your income, increases your flexibility, and enhances your market longevity.

Let’s break it down…

The Revenue Reality: Single Speech vs. Portfolio

The first thing you need to know is that there’s a revenue reality here.  When you compare a single speech to a portfolio of speeches, you’ll see a clear winner.

Let’s imagine you’ve got one fantastic speech. It’s doing well, and let’s say your fee is $15,000 per gig.

Here’s the problem: if you only have one speech, the number of times you can book it in a year is limited. Maybe you spoke at a certain conference last year, but you can’t return this year because you have nothing new to offer. Maybe some of your potential clients overlap on dates. Maybe your demand ebbs and flows.

So, let’s say you max out at 15 gigs for the year. That’s $225,000 in revenue. 

You’ve hit a revenue ceiling - unless you can just constantly raise your fee and increase your demand (which isn’t always possible.)  Now, if you’re getting consistent stageside leads for that speech, it should be increasing in fee.

Still, there are going to be some leads you can’t follow up from last year or the year before. People don’t want the same speech at their event two years in a row.  So, that represents lost opportunity or lost revenue. AND, if you're on a client theme call and they don't love your ONE topic, there's nothing else to discuss. 

Now, let’s look at the power of the portfolio.

First, you’ve got “Speech 1” (Your Star Speech): This one is fully mature, a proven performer. You book 12 gigs at $15,000 per gig = $180,000.  

Next, you’ve got “Speech 2” (Your Rising Star): This one is still building momentum. You book 8 gigs at $10,000 per gig = $80,000.  It’s earning new gigs through referrals and stageside leads.  Plus, it’s a great speech to offer to any leads from last year that couldn’t afford your main star speech.

And finally, you’ve got “Speech 3” (Your Newbie Speech): This one is just getting started. It’s this year’s brand new thing.  You book 6 gigs at $5,000 per gig = $30,000.  You’ve got a mix of paid and some strategic free gigs that are building traction for this new speech.

Total revenue? $290,000. 

That’s $65,000 MORE than your single-speech model.

Plus, you’ve done a total of 26 paid gigs versus only 15 with the single speech option.  So, you’ve accepted a whole bunch of gigs that you couldn’t have accepted if you didn’t have a speech that was in a lower fee range or one that was on a new topic for a repeat audience.

This is really powerful as a speaker because it helps you build longevity.

Which leads us to…