I just finished reading yet another speaker invitation email that someone sent me. They’re planning a telesummit and would love to have me speak.

I’m on the receiving end of many invitations to speak at telesummits and virtual events. I say “No” to far more than I say “Yes” and the criteria I use to accept a speaker invitation or not isn’t based on a scientific computation. The speaker invitation email needs to provide critical information that answers the following questions:

1. Do I know the person who’s sending the invitation?
If the invitation comes from someone I know, this makes me lean more towards saying “Yes.”

2. What are the dates of the virtual event?
Knowing when the virtual event will be hosted helps me determine whether I have room in my calendar to even speak at the event and if I can help out with promotions.

3. What’s the promotional committment?
In other words, can I simply send out a few tweets or are they requiring that I send out three (or more) solo emails to my email list? If I’m already committed to another marketing campaign – either my own or someone else’s – and I’m required to send 3 solo blasts as a requirement for speaking at the person’s virtual event, I’ll most likely say “No.” I can’t overwhelm my list with too many offers and I can’t flake out on commitments I’ve already made as that’ll reflect poorly on me.

4. Who’s the target market?
I’m very specific about who I target (this after 5-years of blowing in the breeze of niche uncertainty). I know who they are, what makes them tick and why they buy. If the person who sends me the invite doesn’t share who they believe is going to show up for their virtual event, then this is an obvious “No” for me.

5. Is this being hosted over the phone or via webinar?
Over the phone gets a “Yes” because I just dial a number and talk. I have to think long and hard about a web based virtual event because it means I’ll have to prepare slides, then spend a few minutes testing out my set up, then getting my team to set up the handout via a hidden link so only the participants can find it, etc., etc., etc. I won’t say “No” to web based virtual events, but I will analyze the hassle of preparing all that extra material against the target market, money earned and what time of year it’s being held.

6. Is the virtual event being offered for free?
This is a biggie. People are beginning to recognize my bold, outrageous and provocative statement (or B.O.P. as Andrea J. Lee calls it) which is to charge for your telesummit, video summit or virtual event. I simply cannot speak at telesummits or multi-speaker virtual events that are being offered for free because this would be a contradiction of what I believe.

At the end of the day, just sharing the name and dates of your telesummit or virtual event just isn’t enough. If I have to figure out what you need, what your telesummit is all about and who your target market is, I’ll take the easy route and just say “No.”

• If you invite speakers to present at your virtual or non-virtual events, what additional information do you provide so the speaker can make an informed decision?
• If you’ve been invited to speak at virtual or non-virtual events, what information do you need in the initial email to help you say “Yes?”

Please share your thoughts below.