Practical. Actionable. Inspirational. Real. Hilarious.
Those five words show up most often in feedback I get after a marketing keynote speech.
Hi, I’m Ann.
Thank you for considering me as a keynote speaker for your conference.
The rest of this website is written in the third person (“Ann Handley is a marketing keynote speaker, best-selling author, and entrepreneur...”).
But I’m switching to the first-person narrative now so I can speak directly to you, because this page is too important to offload to an omniscient, absent narrator.
I believe your conference or corporate event is also too important to offload.
You: Seek the perfect keynote presenter who will speak to your audience’s specific pain points and unique challenges.
You want someone who will inspire--but also offer marketing insights with real-world ideas and examples. (You don't want them walking away with the vague unease of "What now?")
You seek one of the best marketing keynote speakers in the world: One who will affiliate with your audience. Make them laugh. Make them think. You need a motivational speaker who will motivate and activate.
Me: YES! I want all that, too.
I want to be sure I am the best fit for your event or meeting, and I want to deliver the most effective keynote presentation I can to your company or group.
Trained as a journalist, I am obsessed with making complex subjects simple to understand and accessible.
I want your corporate audience to have fun, because I don’t believe that educational and fun are mutually exclusive.
The best keynote speaker testimonial I ever got was from my then 14-year-old daughter, who said (after listening to my speech): “I thought I’d be bored, but instead I’m motivated to go create some great marketing!”
Your audience is more receptive to my message than the typical teenager. So there you go.
Finally, I want to help you fill seats. You can find out more about that here.
If this feels a little like a personal ad, that’s intentional: I want to be a partner in making your event the best version of itself it can possibly be. (As the best relationships do.)
Sound good? Let’s talk.
You can contact me directly here.
What do I talk about as a marketing keynote?
In my presentations, I draw on my 25 years of experience as a writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and best-selling author to teach business leaders how to shed marketing mediocrity and ignite real business results. (I sneak in a bit about the importance of great marketing writing, too.)
I motivate people to create powerful work they’re proud of.
I help mobilize marketers to become true leaders.
I can help you tell your bigger, bolder, braver story.
"I've seen a bazillion marketing keynote speakers. Ann is amazing. The energy. The insights. Time after time she's the top-rated speaker. Book her as your keynote and sit in the front row." --Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media
RECENT MARKETING KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
Time: 45-60 minutes
Tactics, tricks, takeaways for improving your marketing writing.
Suited to: Marketing practitioners, writers, journalists looking to move into content marketing, creatives
Most everyone hates writing.
But most everyone loves to have written.
Especially when we’ve produced something we can be proud of. ("Of which we can be proud” might be technically correct, but it sounds too stuffy, amirite?)
Come to this fun session to hear Ann’s key insights on a subject near and dear to her heart: how you can take your writing from second-rate to spectacular.
Time: 20-45 minutes
Suited to: C-suite, business leaders, marketing and business strategists, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, change-makers, ass-kickers
In our always-on, speedy, tech-connected 21st century... why should your business think about marketing more slowly? Conventional wisdom holds that when you’re slow, you’re a slacker. When you slow down, you’re road kill.
But, just maybe, the opposite could also be true?
Come to this fun and entertaining session to hear Ann describe how slow is indeed the new fast.
Time: 45-60 minutes
How Marketing can embrace the clear opportunity of content and social media.
Suited to: Marketing strategists and practitioners, creatives, entrepreneurs
Content marketing and storytelling offer a vast opportunity for all businesses.
Even yours.
But too many of us aren’t embracing the opportunity.
Our own marketing seems puny and underdeveloped, when it should be strong and buff.
So the question is: How do we inspire our teams to create more robust, effective marketing? Or, how do we up the quality of what we are producing? (And how do you define “quality,” anyway?)
In this fun, inspiring session, Ann will counsel you on how your organization can create marketing that’s engaging—because your audience demands it, and your organization deserves it.
Time: 45-60 minutes
A clear-eyed, fresh look at the state of marketing.
Suited to: C-suite, business leaders, marketing and business strategists, decision-makers, entrepreneurs
A new year is always a good time to reflect on the year that was: what worked and what didn’t. That’s especially true now. Because if 2017 taught us anything, it’s that we need to challenge our own biases and assumptions. And we need to separate the fake facts from the truth.
Now is the time to challenge what we think we know about our marketing, with an eye toward challenging ourselves to do better.
In this highly engaging talk (and politics-free, don’t worry!), Ann uncovers the three specific places where most companies are relying on fake news and hunches instead of data, research, and honest empathy.
She’ll challenge you to rethink your content and your marketing to make it truly drive business for your company.
Time: 45-60 minutes
Suited to: Marketers, leaders, and storytellers
These are weird times to be in Marketing, aren't they? It's business as usual at exactly ZERO companies. That's true no matter what you do or what you sell -- B2B, B2C, SMB... all of us. Everything is suddenly, confusingly different. So, what's the path forward? What do the current times mean for you, your business, and your customers?
In this presentation, you'll learn:
- How the notion of brand storytelling has shifted
- 7 non-negotiable things your storytelling MUST do
- The best tactics for connecting with customers right now
