Submission Deadline:December 31st!
So you want to speak at Blogging While Brown 2014? Here are some observations and suggestions from the folks who make the conference programming decisions. As always if you have questions about your submission, you can use our contact form to email us.
1. The session needs to be related to social media. Blogging While Brown is a blogger-centric conference. There are lots of great conferences about self improvement, entrepreneurship, journalism, writing, and technology in general. Many of our attendees attend those conferences. For many people this is the one time of year where they get to focus on continuing education related to social media. If the social-media focus of your presentation is not clear from the title, make sure the description of your session makes clear that the session is tailored towards bloggers.
2. If you're pitching a monetization/brand-related panel, numbers help. The most popular topic with session submitters is monetization. If you've had success with monetizing, describe what that looks like in objective terms. If whole numbers make you uncomfortable, then use percentages or benchmarks such as "I went from paying my phone bill to paying my mortgage."
3. Pitch something technical. We've listed a laundry list of topics attendees want to learn about that have nothing to do with brands or monetization. We program a balanced schedule that touches on monetization, technical mastery, activism, writing, and the proper care and feeding of bloggers. That leaves lots of room on the schedule for non-monetization panels.
4. Pitch something about the proper care and feeding of bloggers / community management. Blogging ain't easy. Everyone isn't blogging for money or to impress brands. Many attendees want suggestions about managing a life that includes blogging.
5. BRAG! If you have a history of success, include that in your submission. Let the Programming Committee know why you are the right person to present - especially if your submission involves monetization or brands.
