Deg Ng and the rest of the team are busy bees getting the schedule for BlogWorld 2010 squared away, but as she’s noted earlier this week that some of the best speaker proposals weren’t accepted simply because there aren’t enough hours in the day. Good proposals also weren’t accepted due to duplicate panel ideas, ideas that were too generalized, late entries, etc. In short, most of the the people who received (or will receive) rejection letters don’t suck.
If that’s the case, we’re missing out on a lot of great content simply because BlogWorld can’t be a 24/7 event every single day of the year.
That is, we’re missing out…unless you, as the rejected speaker, do not let your proposal go to waste!
Sure, you can shelf the idea, work through the concept more or tweak it, and resubmit next year, but if your content really was good enough for a slot at BlogeWorld, there’s no reason you have to wait for another chance to get the concept out there to the masses. We want to learn from you! Here are a few things you can do with the idea and any content you’ve already created:
- Host a webinar.
Earlier today, I went to a free webinar hosted by Sean Malarkey, Chris Garrett, and Lewis Howes about their new training product, Magnetic Webinars. It was actually a webinar about webinars, which is kind of like reading a blog about blogging, but they made a good point – if you market a webinar correctly, you can make a lot of money. If you were proposing a panel with other bloggers, but didn’t get accepted, there’s no reason you can’t come together to do a panel anyway – just do it on your own time as a webinar. You can also do a webinar solo for your market. Post it online for free to help promote your blog or products, or consider putting together a more comprehensive class-type set of webinars about your topic that you charge people to attend.
- Create a video series.
Like webinars, a video series can be used to promote a blog or product, or you can charge people to view in more of an in-depth class-type session. Videos aren’t live, so you don’t have the same level of interaction with views, but if you’re new to public speaking, this is a great way to get out there the first time, eventually working your way up to doing webinars.
- Sell an ebook.
You already went to the trouble of writing up a speaking proposal; use that as the source material for an ebook. Ebooks don’t have to be 100 pages to sell. Sure, if you’re going to charge a grand for it, there better be a ton of content, but you can easily create a short, informative ebook that sells for $20 or so a pop.
- Offer to speak elsewhere.
BlogWorld isn’t the only blogging and social media event out there. It might be the best (cue sucking up to the people who sign my checks), but bloggers at networking events about as often as fat kids gather at McDonalds. Which, in case you’re not big-boned like some of us, is often. Don’t think of it as “this wasn’t good enough for BlogWorld.” Think of it as “this is a proposal that was heavily considered by BlogWorld.” Propose it for another event, be it something equally large or a smaller local event. Remember, sometimes with a little modification, you can make the idea work for a non-blogging crowd. For example, Amy Parmenter is presenting “How to Get Media Coverage for Your Blog.” If she wasn’t chosen, she could have tweaked that idea and presented “How to Get Media Coverage for Your Business” at a local business association meeting.
- Break up the idea for blog posts.
If you can only create a single post from your speaker topic, chances are you were rejected because the team didn’t think you could fill an hour or your idea wasn’t fleshed out well enough. Chances are, however, that you can create an entire series of blog posts about your topic. Heck, your topic might even be launch pad for you to start an entirely new blog/business about the topic.
We, the readers, want to hear from you. Don’t get caught up in the mindset that you are not good enough. You are and we want to hear about your speaking topic even if there wasn’t enough room for your topic at BlogWorld this year. Don’t let it collect dust.
In fact, if your proposal was rejected and you create something awesome from it anyway, be it a short series of blog posts or a year-long intensive training course, contact me (allison-at-abcontentonline-dot-com or @allison_boyer) and let me know. Not only will I considering watching/buying/reading/attending/etc, I am more than happy to promote what you’ve created and would even love to write a post about it to share with other BlogWorld attendees.
Allison Boyer is a writer for BWE’s blog and the owner/manager of After Graduation. She feels like she may have just opened herself up for a giant wave of emails…but that’s a good thing if it means quality content to share and promote. Bring on the flood!
Allison!! Great thoughts! Although probably easier for me to say, because my proposal wasn’t rejected, but there are many additional alternatives – even for those of us who will be speaking.
I do have one small request — and it’s not your fault!! But if you could please spell my name right — I notice it is spelled wrong on the announcement of speakers as well. I have let Deb Ng know. It’s Parmenter. Parm. As in ParmFarm. As in my blog. Just want to make sure it’s right for the THOUSANDS of googles I’ll be getting! :0)
Thanks in advance.
Amy
Amy – I changed it in both places, sorry for the confusion and can’t wait to attend your session!
Thx Nikki! I can’t wait to attend my session either. ;0) And, many others of course!
Lots of cool ideas for repurposing the speaker proposal.