Are you wondering how much do motivational speakers get paid and what is the average motivational speaker salary?
You often see speakers talk in events, conventions or television, but what they do behind the scene and how much they earn seems a bit mysterious.
If you’re exploring motivational speaking as a career, you may wonder if you can make a living wage, or even get rich from this unique job, here are some considerations.
Paid Speaking vs Ancillary Revenue Streams
The first thing you need to understand is that many speakers make their money from other ventures. Meaning that they leverage their brand as a speaker to get them other opportunities where they make the bulk of their income.
This is not to say that speaking does not pay well because it does, but you have to play the game for quite some time before you start making a living wage from it.
Branding & Positioning
The most critical factor to making money as a speaker is your branding and positioning because at the end of the day, you are an entertainer.
Musicians, comedians, actors, athletes, performers, magicians, etc. all have one thing in common: to fill seats.
When a company or organization hires a speaker, their main goal is to either:
A. Fill paid seats
Or
B. Boost their brand credibility
This is why your branding and positioning is critical because the amount of money you will be paid is entirely dependent on how well you can fill seats or increase a brands credibility.
So if you want to make the big bucks, you need to be prepared to market and position yourself as an authority.
Salary Range For Motivational Speakers
Depending on their knowledge area and years of expertise, fame, and status, a motivational speaker can make anywhere from $10,000 to more than $300,000 a year.
Here is the general outlook of how much speakers make per engagement:
- Beginners: $0 – $2500
- Average: $2500 – $5000
- Good: $5000 – $10,000
- Established: $10,000 – $20,000
- Authority: $25,000+
Top Speakers
When it comes to becoming a successful speaker, it is all about selecting a topic that is in demand. Here are the main topics that organizations and event planners are looking for:
These are the categories where there are bigger budgets for speakers.
Pay Your Dues
When you first start your speaking career, you may need to accept free gigs to gain experience and exposure, but as you become more well-known in the community, you may charge a speaker fee which ranges from $100 to more than $10,000 for a speaking arrangement.
Motivational speakers are often self-employed, and when you’re first starting this new career, you need to invest time and money to expand your network, apply to speak at conferences, conventions and events.
At the beginning of their careers, many speakers need to hire a speaking coach to help them hone their delivery techniques, eliminating unwanted ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ or awkward body language, intonations and pauses to help them deliver their messages more effectively.
Most motivational speakers travel and deliver speeches around the country (and even the world), and you may need to pay the travel expenses out of pocket to get to your gigs.
When you gain more fame and expand your network, you may get invited to speak at events or in businesses, organizations and communities. Usually, your travel arrangements and even expenses will be sponsored for these types of events.
Keep in mind that it will take a while to become a top earner in any career, so don’t be discouraged if you’re not making enough from speaking engagements to support your needs.
Side Hustle
Many people start their motivational speaking career as a side hustle and only make it a full-time career when they earn enough to sustain their lives.
Additionally, motivational speakers income not only comes from their speaking arrangements but also through other channels that help them spread their messages.
You can make money by creating short YouTube videos, write daily blog posts, host a podcast, or use different forms of social media to spread your message and gain influence.
When you have a certain loyal audience, you can also write biographies and self-help books, appear on Television shows and specials, these are big contracts that can exponentially expand your influence and earning.
The income stream may vary depending on the stage of your career and your growth trajectory, but you should explore additional sources of income to increase your salary.
Depending on your area of expertise, the growth trajectory may look somewhat different. If you’re in a high-demand field such as business and entrepreneurship, you may book more speaking arrangements and get a bigger audience in a shorter amount of time. As a result, your income may grow exponentially once you have acquired a loyal audience.
Similar to other careers, motivational speaking requires a long-term commitment, discipline, and continuous improvements in one’s techniques, messages, and business approach.
Motivational speakers’ successes are measured by more than just their salaries, but also their fame and influence, and especially their impacts on our society.
Job Requirements Of A Motivational Speaker
Firstly, you need to have a unique story that moves people. Most motivational speakers have years of training and experience in a certain area, or they have extraordinary tales of personal healing and growth.
You need to reflect within your own life journey to find what sets you apart from others and start to develop your ideas around that story. This is the first step in creating a unique, compelling thesis that can inspire change among your listeners.
You need to inspire people to start improving their own lives and communities. Motivational speeches are aimed to educate their audience and inspire a change in mindset and behavior.
Most motivational speakers even develop their own course of actions to help people tackle common mindsets and problems. Often, these are small, simple steps that people can take immediately to start solving their problems and improving their lives.
You need to have some public speaking skills and charisma to communicate your ideas effectively to your audience. If you watch famous motivational speeches, you can see that the speakers often command the room, every word they speak and every action they take is purposeful and intentional.
This kind of gravitas helps the message resonate better with the audience. Don’t be afraid if you’re not a natural because this is a skill that can be learned and improved with time and continuous practice.
If this sounds like you, then you can start to explore a career in motivational speaking.