How Speaking Drives Book and Merch Sales

“Within an in demand topic, how are you going to differentiate? There are only X number of categories of movies out there, right? And so it’s not like you’re suddenly going to invent a new category of movie, but you do want, within that well trenched category, to be distinct.”

Welcome back to The Speaker Lab podcast! In today’s episode, host Grant Baldwin is joined once again by youth speaker and entrepreneur, Josh Shipp, for a masterclass on how to build a seven-figure speaking business. If you’ve ever wondered what it really takes to reach and sustain that elusive seven-figure mark in the speaking industry, this conversation is for you!

Drawing inspiration from his own career and his work as the founder of a successful speakers bureau for the youth and education space, Josh pulls back the curtain on the practical, often overlooked strategies that lead to lasting success. He and Grant dive deep into the six core offerings every speaker should consider—starting with the foundational work of perfecting your speech, and then thoughtfully layering on merchandise, building an engaged online platform, writing a book, developing a course, and scaling through licensing.

You’ll hear candid reflections on why speaking alone can be both lucrative and limiting, the importance of focusing on quality before quantity, and how to know when it’s time to pursue additional streams of revenue. Josh offers clear benchmarks, practical income thresholds, and valuable insights into everything from setting realistic goals, leveraging audience feedback, and understanding the true costs and opportunities of each new offering.

Whether you’re trying to book more gigs, looking to expand with digital products, or simply want to avoid burnout while building a business you love, this episode outlines the unfiltered roadmap to becoming a seven-figure speaker!

You’ll learn:

• Focusing on substance over charisma
• The misconception that income must come from speaking alone
• Avoiding “shiny object syndrome”
• Building offers sequentially versus all at once
• Examples of different revenue pie charts
• Variables that influence your income model
• Why merch should come second in your sequence
• Utilizing other platforms like newsletters, podcasts, etc.
• The role of authoring a book as a speaker
• When to maximize a current offering or make a new one
• And much, much more!

“What I would advocate for, looking back on it with a bit of pattern recognition, is building these [avenues] deliberately step by step. That’s what’s going to help you get to a [seven-figure speaking business].”

Episode Resources

• Josh’s Website
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

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