60 Second Communications
Jamie Turner's journey began with 60 Second Marketer, a blog he initially created as a lead generation tool for another business called BKV. When BKV gave him permission to spin it off independently while remaining in their office space, he recognized an opportunity to build personal thought leadership that could eventually lead to paid opportunities.
Turner strategically used 60 Second Marketer as a platform to establish himself as a marketing authority before content marketing was even a widely recognized concept. He began by reaching out to local universities, offering free guest speaking gigs to professors who were happy to offload the teaching burden. His first paid speaking engagement came about 15 years ago at Emory University, where he collaborated with Dr. Reshma Shah on a book. After that initial free gig, Dr. Shah turned to him and asked if he did speaking professionally—a question that helped him realize this could be a viable revenue stream.
His first paid speaking gig was with a large Atlanta-based company with red in their logo, which paid him $5,000. However, Turner emphasizes that speaking was ancillary revenue, not his primary income source. Over the subsequent five years, he systematically built his thought leadership by progressing from university gigs to trade show appearances to larger conferences, each time leveraging his previous credentials to move up the ladder.
Turner identified a critical success factor: having published a book was essential to command premium speaking fees. Whether self-published or traditionally published, the book provided differentiation and authority that mere expertise couldn't convey. He positioned himself alongside major thought leaders like Seth Godin ($40-50k per speech), noting that most speakers fall into the $5-10k range, with best-selling authors commanding $15-20k. For thought leaders still building their platform, he noted some would accept $2-3k just to cover travel and build national awareness.
Today, Jamie Turner commands speaking fees well above his initial $5,000, with annual speaking revenue exceeding $100,000. However, he stresses this represents only about 25% of his total business revenue. His agency work, combined with speaking, podcast appearances on CNN and HLN, and his published books, creates a diversified income stream. He operates the Jamie Turner Show podcast and maintains 60 Second Marketer as ongoing platforms for thought leadership, demonstrating that sustainable success comes from building multiple revenue streams rather than relying solely on speaking.
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