Keynote Direct is like a matchmaker for like-minded event planners and speakers
Rising speakers struggle to book consistent gigs.
Meeting professionals struggle to find speakers.
Keynote Direct removes the struggle for everyone.
At Keynote Direct, we’re obsessed with making the speaker booking process transparent, inclusive and enjoyable—for both speakers and planners.
We believe in giving emerging speakers the tools, visibility and community they need to grow, while making it easy for planners to book great talent without the runaround.
We help remove the legwork from making trusted matches happen, so the right voices are heard, great events deliver real impact, and everyone wins.
Keynote Direct was founded by Danielle Sweeney, a creative director, entrepreneur, and speaker manager. After years of working behind the scenes matching top-tier speakers with global audiences for a boutique speakers bureau, Danielle saw an opportunity to do things differently.
She created Keynote Direct as a space where emerging speakers could grow their visibility, build their confidence, and get booked. And where self-directed event planners with high expectations and real-life budgets could get a single access point to experienced rising speakers in the $1,000 to $10,000 fee range. With a deep understanding of both the speaker and planner experiences, Danielle designed the first all-in-one book platform that puts accessibility, creativity, and community front and center.
Danielle is also founder of The Keynote Collective, a speaker management company representing a select group of established keynote speakers. As a behind-the-scenes strategic partner, she helps inspiring speakers accelerate their impact among new industries and partners.
Whether you’re a speaker with something to say or a planner looking for the right keynote speaker, Keynote Direct is here to support you with.
Questions?
FOR EVENT PLANNERS
With Keynote Direct, finding your next speaker doesn’t have to be a guessing game. Every speaker is vetted. Every profile gives you the information you need to make confident decisions. And every step, from searching to booking, happens in one place.
Search: Filter by topic, fee, location, availability and speaker type (motivational or content)—and no unsolicited pitches jamming your inbox.
Shortlist: Save and compare speakers with all the details at a glance.
Connect: DM speakers or book a call—no middleperson required—to confirm logistics and fit.
Book: Lock in your choice with built-in contracts, payment and confirmations.
Found your next great speaker? Great news! From the speaker’s profile, you have the option to either:
Keynote Direct has found great speakers across a wide range of topics, from leadership to health & wellness, workplace culture to innovation and everything in between, all ranging from $1-10k USD. Can’t find someone just right? Drop us a line so we can help.
FOR SPEAKERS
First, welcome to Keynote Direct! Thank you for your interest in joining us to be one of our inspiring keynote speakers.
Keynote Direct was built for emerging keynote speakers who want real visibility and opportunities without wasting time, effort or resources. Our curated directory helps event planners find credible, confident voices like yours, with the tools and support to help you grow along the way. No more gatekeepers, no more guesswork.
Who we’re looking for:
How Keynote Direct works for speakers
Apply to join
Tell us who you are and how you deliver. Submit your bio, topics, fees and a live talk video to show how you hold a room. Your application is reviewed by speaking industry pros—not bots—to ensure every speaker on the platform is credible and bookable.
Build a profile that books
Once accepted, your profile is your storefront. Keep your calendar, fees, topics and speaker reels current. Add strong talk titles, takeaways and testimonials. Clarity gets booked. Planners are skimming between meetings: make it easy to choose you.
Tap into the community
Gain access to insider intel, behind-the-scenes knowledge, feedback from experts and a peer community that shares what’s working—without the noise. From planner trends to speaker tips, this is the stuff you won’t find on LinkedIn.
The best way to make sure you are getting booked is to make sure your profile is up to date and you respond to enquiries as quickly as possible when they come in. Meeting and event planners are busy people, so the faster you can get back to them, the more likely they are to make a booking. Not getting much traction? Check out your keynote topics. Do they need tweaking to get them up to date? Could your bio use a refresh? Are you clearly articulating what you do and how you do it? All of these elements impact your brand and how easy it is to book you.
Also, make sure your fees are aligned with your skill set. If you are not getting booked at your current fee, think about lowering your fee to get some runs on the board and then, once you are consistently getting booked at that fee, you can move up.
Interested in one-to-one speaker support and coaching? Get in touch to learn from our speaking industry experts.
Keynote Direct is a curated platform that does charge an annual fee of $1,897 USD to be listed. This fee includes your membership into the Keynote Direct community, a beautiful profile for you on our website, all the resources you need to get up and running, or to keep booking great gigs. We handle all of the admin with done-for-you contracts and invoicing, as well as a calendar and call scheduler to keep your business running in the background while you receive applause from your audiences!
Plus, we are actively marketing our speakers to the people who are booking them: meeting and event planners across North America and around the world, with our extensive network of clients and outreach.