Looking to Speak at BlogWorld East? BlogWorld West? Gather Round…

By now you are aware that there will be (w00t!) two BlogWorld events. BlogWorld East, which will co-locate with Book Expo in New York City and will take place from May 24th through 26th, and BlogWorld West which will take place in…well you’ll just have to wait until Tuesday for THAT announcement.

Honestly, haven’t you had enough excitement for one day?

Since making the announcement, the email floodgates have opened, and most of those have to do with speaking opportunities. Hopefully, this post will answer your questions and simplify the process for you.

As some of you have mentioned, May is right around the corner and this means we’re looking for speakers NOW. As some of you have also noticed, there’s no speaker proposal form on the website. There is a long sad story as to why this is so, but we don’t have time to overshare today. Suffice it to say, that I will accept proposals via email just this once – and just until we have the online form up and working.

A Few Things You Should Know

• We’re accepting proposals for both “East” and “West” at the same time. If you would prefer to speak at one over the other, please state this in your email. And yes, you can submit different proposals for both, but if that’s the case please wait for the online form to become available before submitting for BlogWorld WEST.
• Usually when we use a form, we request specific information. The more info you share with us, the less we’ll bug you for more info later. So if you can include a name, bio, where you work, where you blog, your Twitter handle,  a proposal and the intended takeaways, we’d be forever grateful. Also, please know that if you do submit an email proposal, we will be after you before you speak to fill in any blanks and to sign your speaker agreement. We don’t want to be pests, but it’s a compromise we all have to make if we’re to start accepting speaker proposals right away. When the form is up and running,this info will be included.
• Just because a proposal isn’t a good fit for our “East” event, doesn’t mean we won’t want it for our “West” event. If we don’t accept your proposal for “East,” we may be in touch with you to ask if we can keep it in the running for “West.”
• We will do our best to keep you posted here, on the Facebook page, on the @BlogWorld and @BlogWorld Expo Twitter accounts and even via email so you know how the proposal process is going.
• Feel free to include links to videos of past speaking gigs so we can see you rock it in person. And, also, we’re open to video proposals if you want to send one in – just be sure we receive the above mentioned info as well.
• We will not accept huge, convoluted panels this year. The max is three panelists and one moderator. We know plenty of excellent moderators, so if you need for us to suggest one, we’re happy to help. Please don’t make up a panel of friends simply because you all want to get into BlogWorld for free. Make sure all panelists are a good fit.
• Please don’t submit a panel proposal unless all panelists have absolutely, positively, 100% agreed to be on said panel.
• If your proposal is a sales pitch in disguise it’s going to be rejected outright. Please don’t waste both our time. The exhibit floor is for selling. The conference rooms are for learning.

Have I missed anything?

BlogWorld East v. BlogWorld West: Is there a difference?

There will be some slight differences between the two conferences. Both will include the quality content and speakers you’ve come to expect from BlogWorld. However, as BlogWorld East will be located with Book Expo, we’re hoping to have more publishing and media oriented sessions. We’ll also have different smaller community tracks at each event. I’m working out a schedule as we speak and we’ll have an idea of which events will host which tracks in another week or so.

Please be patient…

As soon as the announcement was made today my email in box became inundated with queries, proposals and good wishes. I’m not complaining and I will respond to them all. I’m just asking for your patience as there are so many to go through – in addition to handling other aspects of this frickin’ awesome job.

If you would like to submit a proposal or have any questions or suggestions, feel free to send them to me at deb@blogworldexpo.com.

Thanks – 2011 is going to be the best year ever!!!

– Deb Ng
Conference Director
BlogWorld & New Media Expo
Follow me on Twitter for updates at @blogworldexpo.com