Speaking
Rather than write this whole page in the third person and refer to how brilliant I am, I’m going to talk a bit about my style, favorite topics, and what other people say about my speaking.
Where I speak
I’ve presented at:
- Ad:Tech Tokyo
- Blogworld
- Emerging Media Conference (mini-keynote)
- Internet Marketing Conference Calgary
- Search Engine Strategies San Jose
- OMS Seattle
- Northwest Entrepreneur Network
- Pubcon Las Vegas
- Pubcon South
- The SDMA
- Search and Social Hawaii
- SEMPDX Searchfest, ’08, ’09 and 2010
- SMX West
- SMX Stockholm
- Wordcamp Seattle
- The WSA
- A bunch of others
I’ve been speaking about internet marketing since 1998. Please hold any remarks about my age for later.
Favorite topics
I’ll speak about whatever you like. What I never do is promote my company or myself. My sessions are focused on teaching and entertaining. Some suggestions:
- Conversation marketing. My strategic overview of internet marketing, from search engines to e-mail to social media. Great for marketers looking to understand the online world.
- Web site reviews. I do a live review of one or more web sites, teaching the crowd along the way. This is a fantastic education tool, and provides real value to the site owners. See my Wordcamp presentation video, below, for an example.
- Web copywriting. Tips and techniques for writing great online copy.
- Search engine optimization secrets. How to move a your site up in the rankings, minus the hocus-pocus and nonsense you often hear.
- Connecting to your audience. Using social media and your site to build a real, positive connection with your audience.
- The changing online landscape. How new technologies, mergers and individuals are influencing internet marketing, and what it means for us marketers.
As I said, you can pick the topic. These are just ideas to get you started.
My style
If you read my blog, you have a decent idea of my speaking style. I use humor and directness, with a little creativity. I always strive to simultaneously entertain and teach. I’m never rude, and generally stick to a PG-13 script.
A little proof
Sure, you say, you can write a bit, but I’ll bet you curl up in a ball as soon as you stand up in front of a group.
Fair enough. This is a 5-minute summary of a talk I gave at Emerging Media Conference 2011:
And here’s a video of my presentation at WordCamp Seattle in 2009:
Aside from an occasional disappearance behind a concrete pillar (I had no idea they were recording) I think it went pretty well.
Also, never let it be said that I’m not expressive:
And, here are a few comments folks have made about my presentations:
“Ian gave a fabulous presentation about Design and SEO and how they (should) work together and answered a lot of great questions.“
“Ian was a great presenter and you can tell he knows his stuff. Well worth my time.“
“An engaging speaker.“
So, you want me to speak at your event, huh?…
Send me an e-mail: ian AT portent DOT com, and we’ll talk. Or, contact me via SpeakerMix:
Ian made internet marketing simple, fun and educational. He connects really well with his audience and helps them understand the more complex side of the business with wry humor and plain language. I left his presentation having learned something new … Jessica Hickey
