Anyone who wants to apply to speak at a WordCamp wants to know what makes a successful submission. We don’t have an answer: we feel that what stands out about all our successful submissions is that they have nothing in common. 

We want speakers who will entertain, educate, inform and delight our attendees; below is a successful submission to our call for papers from WordCamp London 2015 designed to inspire you and encourage you to apply with your idea.

Please do remember that we have a slightly different submission format this year, so you may see different questions; however, this example gives you a general idea of what we are looking for, and helps guide your own submission. We’ve omitted some of the questions and answers to ensure Jo’s personal information isn’t made public; but we’ve included everything else which is relevant to submitting a paper.

Talk Format:

Presentation

Who is your intended audience?

Designers

Developers

Users/Bloggers

Please provide a description of the talk you’re proposing.

So you are itching to leave your job and make your living using your WordPress skills. But what do you need to consider?

Jo Waltham isn’t a lawyer nor an accountant but someone who has been successfully freelancing for the last 3 years. We’ll look at the options of being a sole trader or limited company, being VAT registered or not. We’ll assess just how much time you will really be doing billable work and what time you’ll need to spend on sales, marketing and admin. Will cover how to get to grips with your costs and how to calculate your minimum hourly rate.

Tell us about you:

Jo Waltham is a WordPress developer at Callia Web. She specialises in building websites with the Genesis Framework for individuals and small businesses. Jo has a passion for helping people to get to grips with their website, giving them the support and confidence to manage it themselves. When not in front of the computer, Jo can typically be found on the school run in Wiltshire.

What public speaking experience do you have?

I haven’t done much public speaking but I did present a talk on WordPress to the Food Blogger Connect 2012.

Have you given this talk before?

No.

Would you be interested in us sharing your proposal with your local user group? 

Yes.

Are you interested in participating in peer mentoring?

Yes please. I’ve never spoken before.

Feeling inspired?

Watch Jo’s presentation on WordCamp TV to see what her submission looks like as a presentation.

Ready to submit? We can’t wait to see you on stage!