How to be a Speaker with CAMPUSPEAK
We receive approximately 150 submissions each year from speakers wishing to work in the college market. A committee of staff, interns, and current speakers evaluates the submissions. Applicants are reviewed annually in February for promotion beginning the next academic year. Our next deadline for submissions will be February 15, 2011. Decisions are made no later than March 31.
We usually bring on 5-10 new speakers a year. They speak on all sorts of topics. We’re looking for speakers who will get our customers excited, and they come in every shape, size, age, color and perspective. Becoming a CAMPUSPEAK speaker is a long-term thing, so we look for professionals who will make a strong, lasting commitment to our team, our business model, and their career as a campus speaker. If you’re looking to simply enroll with a booking agency, then CAMPUSPEAK is not for you.
Due to the immense amount of work it takes our modest staff to review submissions and get new speakers up and going, we don’t bring on new speakers outside of this timeline. However, we are happy to answer questions any time of year. Often, speakers who have attracted our attention prior to the evaluation/intake process get moved to the top of the pile in February.
Potential speakers are evaluated on a variety of criteria, including:
- Is there something here that will “click” with college audiences?
- No existing or conflicting obligations to other agencies
- Letters of recommendation from other speakers and/or college student life professionals
- Originality of approach to their issue… a unique expertise
- Does the speaker exhibit some depth? Or is it all fluff and personality?
- Do we need this topic on our roster? Does the demand exist?
- Willingness of speaker to invest in marketing
- Is the speaker an appealing person? Is he/she friendly?
- Quantity of business we can expect from the speaker
- Speaking style and comfort with large audiences
- Are we the best agency to market this sort of topic and speaker?
- Enthusiasm and overall professionalism/attitude of the speaker
- Realistic expectations for the first year in the college market
- Does the proposed program have educational value?
- Would a campus pay at least $3,500 for this program?
- Is this speaker interested in an entirely EXCLUSIVE commitment for college bookings with us?
- Will this speaker be low-maintenance and easy to work with?
Although not an exclusive list, these are some of the topics we are on the lookout for:
- Unique personal stories that offer teachable moments for others
- Speakers with a good sense of humor
- Fraternity and sorority issues and motivation
- Alcohol abuse prevention (but the approach needs to be unique and cool)
- Mental health issues and wellness
- Issues of special interest to women’s audiences
- Something with a strong “social media” connection
- Healthy relationships and/or sexual health
- Multiculturalism, LGBT, diversity, social justice, Latino/a issues, etc.
- Keynotes with a strong interactive element
- Hazing and/or bullying prevention (high school, athletics, club or fraternity/sorority)
Generally, we are NOT interested in these things:
- Programs about “success after college” or in “the real world”
- Fear-based programs that are “doom and gloom” and endeavor to scare audiences
- Programs that have overtly political or inflammatory themes
- Speakers with a dozen different topics – we want folks committed to a particular area of expertise.
- Speakers who are overt about their religion while presenting
- Personal finance and money management topics
- Anything dramatic in which the speaker acts out characters
- Disability awareness (we just have lots of that right now)
- Speakers who are more workshop-oriented (we need keynoters)
- Speakers who seem more appropriate for corporate audiences than college ones
- Academic-type programs better suited for classrooms
- Programs about foreign cultures or travels to far away places
- Hypnotists, mentalists, jugglers, slam poets, demonstration artists, or other folks better suited for an entertainment agency
What to send us:
We require that potential speakers take the time to submit a comprehensive package to us for consideration. Incomplete packages reduce the chances of a favorable evaluation. Please send the items in one package, not in several separate mailings, and please do not send anything that you want returned. We will not return submitted materials! So, do not send any originals. Also, please remember that we get as many as 150 of these a year, so make sure your package reflects your style and personality so it stands out. Here’s what we’d like to see from you:
- A cover letter detailing your goals related to speaking, your current level of speaking experience, and why you would like to work with an agency. Please make sure that this cover letter includes your contact information: mailing address, phone, and email addresses.
- A DVD clip of no more than 15 minutes of a presentation you have done in the last two years. If you have a clip uploaded to the Internet (YouTube, etc.), that’s fine. Send us only one link though, not multiple.
- A professional photo that you would use for promotional purposes. If you don’t have one, just send us a nice clear photo that reflects your personality.
- News clippings (if you have them, no more than three)
- A professional biography not exceeding 200 words.
- Titles, descriptions and A/V requirements for all proposed programs.
- Letters of reference from past clients (ones from colleges are most useful).
- Your website address, if applicable, so that we can dig a little further on you if needed
- A copy of a book or articles you have written, relevant to your proposed speaking topic
Send materials by February 15th to:
Amy Butler
CAMPUSPEAK
2280 S. Xanadu Way, Suite 300
Aurora, CO 80014
butler@campuspeak.com
A few things to consider:
- Except under very special circumstances, we are not interested in speakers who are already represented by another agency in higher education.
- Potential speakers might be asked to do a free program at a nearby campus or at a higher ed conference attended by a staff member to be evaluated.
- All new speakers are required to pay a one-time fee of $2,800 to CAMPUSPEAK upon acceptance. This fee covers administrative costs of start-up marketing, contracts and legal work. A speaker unwilling to make this initial investment should not apply.
- New speakers will be required to attend a new speaker training session in Denver in June 2011.
- It is very important that potential speakers subscribe to CAMPUSPEAK’s CORE VALUES. Please review them before you submit to us.
- We realize that you probably will have many questions about our financial policies, commission levels and other internal procedures. Please give us time to do an initial review, and then if we are interested in continuing conversations, we will happily review all of this with you.
Additional questions you have about your submission to us should be directed to Amy Butler via email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We prefer to handle initial inquiries by email rather than by phone.
Thank you for your interest in joining our team!
