1. Introduction
GreatGardenSpeakers.com is the brainchild of a group of garden communicators whose goal is to make it easier for garden clubs, botanical gardens, and other venues to find us. Debra Prinzing, Scott Calhoun, Amy Stewart, Nan Sterman, and Mary Ann Newcomer make up the steering committee for Great Garden Speakers.
The purpose of this survey is to tell you about GGS.com and to gauge your interest in being listed on our website.
Ultimately, GGS.com will include garden writers, horticulture professionals, floral designers, landscape designers, nature and conservation experts, and others of interest to gardening audiences - both consumer and professional.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact Amy Stewart at Amy at Amy Stewart dot com.
About GreatGardenSpeakers.com
While some publishers and associations have speaker bureaus, GGS takes a broader approach, including:
-- Membership available to garden and horticulture communicators, regardless of their organizational or publisher affiliations.
-- A one-stop-shop for busy program chairs and event organizers looking for speakers.
-- Active and ongoing marketing and outreach to raise your visibility to garden clubs and other venues.
-- An on-line 'Ratings” feature so audience members can rate the speakers they have seen. Ratings are of tremendous value to event organizers who tell us that they currently rely on word-of-mouth for speaker recommendations. (This feature includes controls to prevent spam and abusive comments)
-- A “Coming to a City Near You” feature where you can post upcoming talks. Program and event organizers can search that information to see who is already coming to town. That gives you the opportunity for multiple talks in a region, which reduces travel costs and helps use your time more efficiently. It also gives you the option of offering discounts, another way to increasing bookings in a region.
--A “Featured Listings” option where you can highlight a new book or a seasonal topic. “Featured Listings” might also be used by groups of speakers marketing themselves as a package for themed symposia and other multiple-speaker events.
All of this costs money, but we are keeping costs low by customizing an off-the-shelf on-line directory listing service rather than starting from scratch. Still, there are monthly costs for hosting fees, advertising, outreach, and other expenses as we spread the word.
To cover those costs speakers will pay a monthly fee to be listed. We feel so strongly about this endeavor that we are contributing our time on a voluntary basis. Our hope is that member speakers will also volunteer to help with GSS.com outreach as they travel the world.
Please note that GGS.com will not negotiate fees or act as an agent. Venues will contact members directly to make their own arrangements.
Click "Next" to take the survey. Thanks for your time!