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Dannie Lynn Fountain is in her mid-twenties but she’s been a professional marketer for more than 11 years. When she discovered professional speaking, she knew she had found her calling, but did her age disqualify her from having something valuable to share? On this week’s episode of the SimplyBe. Podcast, Jessica sits down with Dannie to discuss overcoming imposter syndrome as well as actionable steps you can take to become a confident professional speaker.

Speaking engagements are a great way to expand the reach of your brand. If you’ve been wanting to get started on the speaking circuit but weren’t sure how, Dannie is here to take you step by step through the process. She shares how she’s become an in-demand speaker at more than 100 conferences a year, how to cold pitch a conference, how to workshop talks and topics, how to handle fees and topic negotiation, and her tips for dealing with stage fright.
Tune in to this week’s episode for actionable steps you can take toward your speaking career.

• [01:21] - This week's guest: Dannie Lynn Fountain
• [02:29] - Happy October!
• [06:03] - Support staff for your life
• [08:01] - Listener review of the week
• [10:12] - Welcoming Dannie Lynn Fountain
  • [13:54] - How Dannie and Jessica met at a speaking event
  • [15:19] - What excites Dannie about public speaking
  • [17:47] - Dannie's method for booking over 100 stages per year
  • [20:53] - Approaching a conference booker with a cold pitch email
  • [25:22] - Why Dannie is motivated to speak so often
  • [29:06] - Negotiating fees for a speaking engagement
  • [37:19] - Turning down an opportunity to speak at Google
  • [46:41] - Preparing to step on stage
  • [51:13] - A quick & dirty way to test your signature talk
  • [53:05] - The Ultimate Pitching Database tool
  • [55:19] - Dannie on Instagram
  • [55:26] - What SimplyBe. means to Dannie

Dannie Lynn Fountain is a marketing and business strategist via her company of more than 11 years, DNE MKTG. She keeps a day job at Google and spends the rest of her time traveling to speak at 100 to 150 conferences a year.

Jessica Zweig is an international award-winning entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of SimplyBe. In 2018, she won the Gold Stevie® Award for “Female Entrepreneur of the Year,” was previously named a Top Digital Marketer To Watch by INC. and a “Personal Branding Expert” by Forbes. As a thought leader with over ten years of experience in digital marketing and social media, Jessica frequently speaks and facilitates workshops and masterminds, teaching the power of personal branding to corporations. 

Jessica has been featured as a leading entrepreneur and personal branding expert in Forbes, Crain’s, MarketWatch, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Refinery 29, Tasty Trade, BizTech Magazine, Today’s Chicago Woman, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX News 32, and more.

She is currently writing her first book, Be. A No-Bullshit Guide to Creating Self-Worth and Net Worth Just by Being Yourself. Follow her on Instagram @jessicazweig or send her a note at jessica@simplybeagency.com.

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This podcast episode was produced by Dante32.