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> I sometimes get a feeling that some speakers due to their history get invited to give talks over and over. Running a conference is a financial risk. You have

> I sometimes get a feeling that some speakers due to their history get invited to give talks over and over. Running a conference is a financial risk. You have to bring in enough attendees to ensure that you'll break even on costs. Because of that, organizers often bring in presenters with a known reputation for putting butts in seats. To break into the circuit, find a conference with lower financial risks. For example, in the Microsoft database space, that's SQLSaturday, a free regional conference typically held at colleges. Those organizers don't have a lot of money on the line, so they can work on promoting their local speakers. Even better, speak at local user groups and build up a reputation.

Touche 9y ago
Not saying you're wrong, but I've done 6 conferences and the 6th wasn't any easier for me to get than the 1st.
- pc86 9y ago
  I think his point wasn't that doing conferences makes it easier to do more conferences, but that doing a big, headlining conference, and doing a great job, makes it easier to do that conference again another year.
ghaff 9y ago
>bring in presenters with a known reputation for putting butts in seats And, whether or not they're a direct draw, a reputation for giving good talks, not giving a sales pitch, not flaking out at the last minute, etc. For better or worse, it's just a lot safer for conference organizers to accept talks from known quantities. Unfortunately, this makes it harder for unknown quantities to break in and (often) means that there is less variety of topics and perspectives than might otherwise be the case. Building up a portfolio at user groups and other local events helps to some degree--especially if you've never spoken before. However, in my experience, just about every conference at its in crowd. In my case, there are some conferences where I get accepted to speak regularly, some where I have a middle of the road batting average, and some where I mostly don't even bother to put in proposals any longer. And it's got very little to do with the topic area or the prestige/popularity of the event.

Touche 9y ago

Not saying you're wrong, but I've done 6 conferences and the 6th wasn't any easier for me to get than the 1st.

pc86 9y ago
I think his point wasn't that doing conferences makes it easier to do more conferences, but that doing a big, headlining conference, and doing a great job, makes it easier to do that conference again another year.

ghaff 9y ago

>bring in presenters with a known reputation for putting butts in seats And, whether or not they're a direct draw, a reputation for giving good talks, not giving a sales pitch, not flaking out at the last minute, etc. For better or worse, it's just a lot safer for conference organizers to accept talks from known quantities. Unfortunately, this makes it harder for unknown quantities to break in and (often) means that there is less variety of topics and perspectives than might otherwise be the case. Building up a portfolio at user groups and other local events helps to some degree--especially if you've never spoken before. However, in my experience, just about every conference at its in crowd. In my case, there are some conferences where I get accepted to speak regularly, some where I have a middle of the road batting average, and some where I mostly don't even bother to put in proposals any longer. And it's got very little to do with the topic area or the prestige/popularity of the event.