You Didn’t Write to Light Up the Speaker Circuit: 4 Ways to Still Make an Impact

Recently, we got an email that read:

“I love public speaking, but I have no grand visions of lighting up the speaker circuit. I’m not on Facebook or Instagram. My LinkedIn is out of date. Yet I feel foolish not doing something to introduce my book via social media. I’m curious what your ideas might be for someone who wants to fly under the radar yet at the same time have a big impact.”

He called it a “huge dichotomy.”

At ShareYourStory, we tend to work with two kinds of authors: those who want to build a platform, and those who don’t.

If you are in that second group, we promise — we hear you.

A book is not just a way to speak on stages.

If you want to influence people and fly under the radar, here are some strategies.

1. Utilize pre-existing networks.

If you don’t have a large social media presence — and no desire to build one — ask your spouse, friend, or relative to post about your book for you. Don’t underestimate the power of a good shoutout.

2. Reach out to local businesses.

Once you know your audience, think about the places they already are. If you’re writing for public school teachers, reach out to local schools, district offices, and teacher development coordinators. Tell them you wrote a book to help prevent teacher burnout. Ask what opportunities they might have available. You’d be surprised how often people say yes when someone asks with a specific, genuine purpose.

That could look like an administrator sending an email to their staff, a department head recommending it at a faculty meeting, the district purchasing copies for a professional development book club, or you being invited to speak at a teacher in-service day. Writing for HR professionals? Reach out to local SHRM chapters and corporate L&D teams. Are you writing for small business owners? Contact your chamber of commerce. What about writing for people navigating grief? Reach out to hospice organizations, grief counselors, and local churches. You don’t need a platform. You need to know who your reader is and go find the room they’re already in.

3. Podcasts.

Your eyes may have glazed over this one because it seems like a bigger lift, but rest assured, it’s easier than you think. Services like Podmatch can help match you with hosts who are actively looking for guests in your topic area. You create a profile, describe what you talk about, and the platform surfaces opportunities. Most podcast interviews are 30 to 45 minutes, done over Zoom, from wherever you are. For someone who already loves public speaking, it’s one of the most natural fits there is. You show up once, have a real conversation, and that episode lives online indefinitely. The host’s audience already trusts them, and that trust transfers to you.

4. Choose one platform and show up there.

We know many of you don’t love social media, but in our experience, that resistance usually comes from one of two places: overwhelm or the fear of putting yourself out there. If it’s overwhelming, the fix is simple. Don’t try to be everywhere. Pick one platform where your reader actually spends time and do that one thing reasonably well. For most of the authors we work with, that’s LinkedIn. It’s professional, it’s low-pressure, and it’s where credibility lives for the kind of reader who picks up a nonfiction thought leadership book.

Flying under the radar doesn’t mean flying blind. A massive platform, a polished personal brand, or a packed speaking calendar are not requirements for making your book matter. Just know who you wrote it for. Then, you can find them where they already are.