How to Discover Conferences To Speak At
When I first started with conference speaking, I wasn't really sure which places I should apply to. There were the conferences that I had attended myself already and that I knew I liked, but I also saw so many others pop up on Twitter and LinkedIn. I was overwhelmed by the number of conferences out there and often felt like I was missing out on amazing opportunities.
I quickly realised that as a conference speaker, I needed to actively seek out these opportunities rather than wait for them to come to me. Over the years, I’ve developed a strategy that has helped me discover various conferences that otherwise wouldn't have been on my radar.
First up, create accounts on Sessionize and PaperCall. These two platforms are great for managing your talk submissions. They make it easy to apply to multiple conferences and allow you to discover new events. You can keep track of what talks you submitted where and which ones get accepted. I check them regularly for new opportunities, and it’s always exciting to see what’s out there.
Next, consider subscribing to SeeCFP. This weekly newsletter is brilliant for keeping you in the loop about CFP deadlines that are closing soon, as well which CFPs are new this week. It’s a quick way to stay updated on open proposals and serves as an excellent weekly reminder as to which ones you should submit to this week.
