Ann Handley

“In response to a dissatisfied crowd at one of his readings, counter-culture poet Charles Bukowski quipped: Writers write, we don’t speak. Equally dexterous with the pen and tongue (wowza!) Ann is the exception to Bukowski’s rule. She’s the rare writer whose words come come to life just a little more when she presents in front of a crowd. Her audience-raving secret seems to be her quirky way of blending substance (she knows her stuff, does her homework) with her patent-pending “self-effacing wiseguy” style. There’s only one Ann. (Thank God.)”
    Joe Chernov, VP of Marketing, Kinvey

“We were thrilled to have Ann as a keynote for our debut, sold-out Confab content strategy conference—her relaxed, humorous presentation was as informing as it was entertaining. She was so highly rated by our audience, we had her back to keynote our debut London conference, as well!”
    Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic

“When inviting Ann to Croatia for a workshop and keynote speech, we were wondering if the cultural and market differences would be a problem, and how well the content would fit to our audience. Ann proved up to the challenge and made a great connection with attendees, inspiring them and giving practical knowledge they can use from the moment they are back in their offices.”
    Ante Đorđević, Dani Komunikacija (Rovinj, Croatia)

“A great speaker can excite you to want to improve. A great thought leader can show you how to improve. Ann is the rare combination of both, which has motivated thousands of marketers to create success for their organizations. What creates this rare combination? I believe it is because of her strong marketing and business acumen mixed with a genuine desire to help others. If you are looking for a speaker who is going to truly enhance your event and will bring a positive feeling to your brand, than I highly recommend Ann Handley.”
    Maria Pergolino, Senior Director of Marketing, Marketo, Inc.

“If you’ve ever been invited to a dinner party where you don’t know anyone, and the hostess introduces you to a few folks…. Then, the next morning you’re trying to remember the last time you’ve had so much fun, and you receive a few encouraging notes from your new friends, including a few links to the precise resources you need to complete your project. Ann Handley has been that hostess for the B2B community, which is why Forbes ranked her the #2 social media influencer in 2012. As a conference speaker, she brings the audience together the same way, with a gift of connecting people through entertaining storytelling and the ability to make the complex simple and fun.”
    Tim Washer, VP of Social Media, Cisco

“Ann partnered with us at Bridgeline and was the headline speaker in a 10-city road show we executed on Content Marketing. She is a remarkable presenter and deftly conveyed her innate enthusiasm and clear expertise to the audiences.”
    Brian Bolton, SVP of Marketing, Bridgeline Digital

“The International Association of Business Communicators (Kansas City chapter) hired Ann to be a keynote speaker at our annual Business Communicators Summit conference in Feb. 2012. From the moment we first contacted Ann until the end of the event, Ann was a true pleasure to work with! I’d highly recommend Ann to other organizations and companies who need an engaging and energetic speaker.”
    Melanie Deardorff, VP of Digital Marketing, JP Morgan

As a public voice and keynote speaker, Ann Handley brings fantastic credibility, wit, and clarity of mind to her audience. She offers compelling expertise about the world of content and marketing. Ann goes far beyond sharing expertise though when she engages her audiences. She cares about earning their trust. I work with many keynote speakers; and her sense of ownership for the audience’s experience is tremendous; it’s high-calibre. To quote from one of her keynotes, she firmly believes in going beyond storytelling — to really studying how to tell a ‘true story well,’ especially in our era of hyper-publishing. This is what stands out about Ann’s impact as a speaker: it’s her ability to assert a unique, usable point of view as a writer and marketer (vs. merely generalizing from common knowledge already out there). I respect Ann’s expertise, care, and humor. It was a pleasure working with her, and being in her audience too. If I have the chance to retain her to keynote my events – I’ll take it.”
    Jill Foster, CEO, Live Your Talk

“MediaCat hosted Ann Handley last year at our Marketing Forum 2013.
Our Turkish crowd thought the information and ideas she offered was both valuable and remarkable, so much so that we’re hosting Ms. Handley again at our Digital Age Summit this year!”
    Hande Vatandost, Kapital Medya (Istanbul)