So, You Want to Organize a Conference

Dev o'Clock presentation given to co-workers at Paperless Post. I was asked to give a presentation about my work organizing the Write/Speak/Code International Conference 2015 and what happens behind the scenes.

Transcript

1. SO YOU WANT TO ORGANIZE A CONFERENCE RACHEL OBER — DEV O’CLOCK
2. WHAT IS WRITE/SPEAK/CODE?
3. 1. DECIDE TO ORGANIZE CONF 2. ??? 3. PROFIT!
4. WHY DO YOU WANT TO ORGANIZE A CONFERENCE?
5. increase professional network?
6. selling a product?
7. filling a community need?
8. is organizing a conf for you?
9. BUILD YOUR CONFERENCE ORGANIZER TEAM SURF YOUR NETWORK
10. who can you trust?
11. who has done this before?
12. great organizational skills?
13. friends with great networks?
14. WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE? ENVISION YOUR FUTURE CONFERENCE
15. who are you servicing?
16. and always stay true to that…
17. even when sponsors want something different.
18. DRAFT YOUR MISSION STATEMENT STAY ON TARGET AND
19. this way you’ll know if you succeeded.
20. any decision you make should be inline.
21. it’s a great way to tell others what your conference is about
22. …and why your conference is different!
23. REALIZE YOUR CODE OF CONDUCT DEAL WITH THE WORST CASE SCENARIO AND
24. –Ashe Dryden “A Code of Conduct is a public statement that sets the ground rules for participating in an event. Our conferences boast attendees from all over the world, coming from many different backgrounds and experiences; our expectations of what is appropriate are not always in line with one another. A policy like this ensures that everyone is on the same page without any gray areas and even better, that there will be less rules-lawyering.”
25. example.
26. everyone agrees to it.
27. must give actionable steps on how to address situations
28. OTHER TECH CONFERENCES WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM
29. what do you like?
30. what do you dislike?
31. COLLABORATION TOOLS CHOOSE WISELY
32. slack.
33. google docs.
34. dropbox.
35. google hangouts.
36. (task manager)
37. WORKING BACKWARDS FOCUS ON THE FULL PACKAGE AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET BY
38. 1 WEEK BEFORE • SPONSOR INFORMATION ON WEBSITE • DETAILS TO ALL ATTENDEES AND SPEAKERS • CUT OFF ALL SPONSORSHIPS
39. 2 WEEKS BEFORE • END TICKET SALES • SCHEDULE CATERING
40. 4 WEEKS BEFORE • CUT OFF SPONSORSHIPS THAT DEPEND ON SWAG • ORDER SWAG • ALL SPEAKERS FINALIZED • ROUGH SCHEDULES PREPARED FOR EACH DAY
41. 3 MONTHS BEFORE • ANNOUNCE SCHOLARSHIPS • TICKETS ON SALE
42. 4 MONTHS BEFORE • INVITE AND ANNOUNCE FIRST WAVE OF SPEAKERS • START MARKETING • START SPONSOR OUTREACH
43. 5 MONTHS BEFORE • CHOOSE DATE • BOOK VENUE
44. MARKETING FOR ANTI-SOCIAL PEOPLE
45. THE BARE MINIMUM • ABOUT • HOW TO BUY TICKETS • SPEAKERS • SPONSORSHIPS
46. ADDITIONAL • ABOUT • HOW TO BUY TICKETS • OFFER EARLY BIRD PRICING • SPEAKERS • OFFER COACHING FOR CFP • PAYING FOR HOTEL AND TRAVEL • SPONSORSHIPS • EXTRA PERKS FOR BIG SPENDERS • SCHOLARSHIPS
47. CALL FOR PROPOSALS STRESSIN’ ABOUT YOUR SPEAKERS
48. be honest.
49. offering coaching.
50. WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN SPEAKERS
51. experience but not over-saturation.
52. can clearly state thoughts.
53. why you’re the perfect one to give this talk.
54. give an outline of your main points.
55. (you don’t have to have the presentation slides yet)
56. ask for feedback.
57. SPONSORSHIPS OR: I SOLD MY SOUL TO HBO
58. sponsors want access to your attendees.
59. they really want emails.
60. THINGS TO OFFER • TWEETS • IMAGES ON WEBSITE • THEIR LOGO AT VENUE • MARKETING EMAILS TO YOUR ATTENDEES • THEIR LOGO ON YOUR SWAG • REPRESENTATIVES AT THE VENUE • THEIR SWAG
61. VENUES CHOOSING THE RIGHT SPACE FOR YOUR EVENT
62. price?
63. location in city.
64. comfortable?
65. FEEDING THE MASSES
66. vegetarian. vegan. gluten-free.
67. outsource it.
68. organize groups and forage.
69. DELEGATION THE SECRETS AND REWARDS OF
70. i still kinda suck at delegating…
71. SOME TIPS • FIND PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY EXCITED • ANYONE WHO IS TWEETING UP A STORM ABOUT YOUR CONF • WHEN 1 ON 1 BE OPEN ABOUT YOUR NEEDS • IT’S MORE COMPLICATED THAN JUST SAYING “HEY YOU, DO THIS”
72. • BE OPEN WITH YOUR WEAKNESSES • BE REALISTIC WITH YOUR TIME COMMITMENTS • IF YOU ADMIT THESE THINGS YOU FOSTER A COMMUNITY • THE PEOPLE YOU COLLABORATE WITH WILL DO THE SAME
73. if someone isn’t delivering, need to have an honest conversation…
74. GAME DAY THE COUNTDOWN TO
75. get a stage manager.
76. PROTIP RUNNING CONFERENCES IS NOT A WAY TO MAKE MONEY
77. GET FEEDBACK SEND OUT A FORM BEFORE YOUR AUDIENCE LEAVES