I get asked about speaker fees often enough that it makes sense to explain how I think about them. I do not publish a fixed rate because the honest answer is that the fee depends on factors that vary by engagement. But I can be specific about what those factors are and how they affect the number, which is more useful than a rate card anyway.
What Goes Into the Fee
There are four primary inputs: format, customization, travel, and event type.
Format
A thirty-minute keynote is a different investment than a full-day workshop. The keynote requires preparation time but the delivery is compact. A workshop requires more pre-session research, more tailored materials, and a longer commitment of time on the day itself. Both have value; they have different price points.
Customization
A talk delivered to a room of e-commerce teams is different from the same talk delivered to a room of local service businesses. The underlying knowledge is the same, but the examples, the framing, and the specific recommendations change. More customization — especially if it involves reviewing the client organization’s actual site data before the session — takes more time and that is reflected in the fee.
Generic talks cost less than tailored ones. That is not a policy; it is just an accurate accounting of what goes into each.
Travel
I am based in Tempe, Arizona. Events in the Phoenix metro area, including Chandler, Scottsdale, Mesa, and the broader Valley, involve minimal travel overhead. Regional events within a few hours of Arizona add flight and hotel. National events add more. International events add more still.
Travel is typically billed at cost: airfare, hotel, ground transportation. For events close to home I sometimes build that into a flat rate; for events that require significant travel, separate billing is cleaner and more transparent for both parties.
Event Type
A session for a corporate team with a training budget is priced differently from a community conference that is running on registration fees. Non-profit events and practitioner community events sometimes get different treatment than commercial or vendor events. I am willing to have that conversation. I have done sessions at reduced rates for events that were clearly the right fit for the audience even when the budget was tight.
What I Do Not Do
I do not adjust fees based on whether I am allowed to mention my services during the talk. If the content is useful and relevant, I may reference my work naturally. If an event wants a commercial pitch disguised as a session, that is not something I am set up to deliver, regardless of what the budget looks like.
I also do not do free talks in exchange for exposure at large commercial events. That arrangement tends to benefit the event organizer more than the speaker, and it undervalues everyone else speaking on the same agenda.
How to Have a Productive Conversation About Budget
Tell me your budget range early. I will tell you honestly whether it is workable and what format makes the most sense within it. Most budget conversations go better when both sides are direct about what is possible rather than going through a negotiation that could have been a two-sentence exchange.
If the budget is below what makes sense for a full keynote, we can sometimes find a format that works: a shorter session, a virtual session with lower overhead, or a different scope. If the numbers are genuinely incompatible, I will say so without making it strange.
Other Consulting Rates for Context
For context on how I price advisory work generally: my strategy consulting rate is $500 per hour and a full website audit through Salterra is $1,500. Speaking engagements are priced separately from those services but they are in the same general range for someone trying to understand how I think about the value of time.
To start a conversation about a specific event, the SEO speaker page has the contact form. The post on how to book an SEO speaker covers the process from initial inquiry through confirmation if you want a fuller picture of how the logistics work.
Virtual vs. In-Person Fee Differences
Virtual sessions cost less than in-person sessions at the same format level, and the reason is straightforward: there is no travel involved and the time commitment is bounded more tightly. A virtual keynote that runs forty-five minutes does not require a travel day on either side, hotel stay, or the logistics overhead of an in-person event. That reduction in overhead gets passed through to the fee.
The format difference matters here too. A virtual keynote is priced differently than a virtual workshop. The workshop requires the same pre-session research and tailored materials regardless of whether it is remote or in person. What changes is the delivery overhead, not the preparation overhead. So while a virtual workshop costs less than an in-person workshop, it does not cost the same as a virtual keynote. The preparation work is similar; the travel and time commitment on the day differs.
For organizations that are deciding between virtual and in-person partly on cost, it is worth factoring in what you are getting at each price point rather than just comparing the fee. An in-person session carries relationship and credibility value that a virtual one does not replicate fully. A virtual session can deliver the same technical content at lower cost. Both are legitimate options; the right one depends on what the organization actually needs from the engagement.
What Speaker Packages Typically Include
When an organization puts together a speaker package, the components vary. Here is what I expect, what I consider standard, and what I treat as optional.
Hotel accommodations for the night before and night of the event are standard for any engagement that requires travel. I book my own room and get reimbursed, which keeps logistics simple on my end. Ground transportation to and from the venue is also standard — either a reimbursement for rideshare or a rental car arrangement, depending on the event location.
Meals during the event day I handle as part of the travel expense. I do not require a dedicated green room, though having a quiet space before a keynote to review notes is useful and I will ask about it if the schedule is tight. A dedicated event contact I can reach on the day of the event — someone who can troubleshoot A/V issues, answer logistics questions, and flag schedule changes — is more valuable than any of the perks.
What I consider optional: speaker gifts, sponsor gifting suites, VIP dinner invitations, and similar add-ons. Those are fine when they happen, but I do not factor them into decisions about taking a booking. The event, the audience, and whether the topic is a good fit matter more than the surrounding hospitality.