Building a CFP Process

Write CFPs

Ok, so you’ve written one CFP. Congrats! You’re not done.

Watch this 12 Minute Video of How I Write CFPs explaining my process below.

It’s a number game

As you’ve probably heard, due to selectivity and randomness, CFP submission is a numbers game. So, it’s more important that you build a sustainable CFP process than have any particular CFP be accepted. You’ll be submitting between two and five CFP’s per conference, and there are probably dozens of conferences each year that you are a good fit for.

Have a bank of topics

To avoid accidentally becoming a full-time CFP writer, you’ll want to have a bank of topics and title/abstract samples that you can reuse. I tend to run with five to ten of these, of varying readiness to present (remember, you don’t have to be a world expert in these topics to talk about them). Tweak each submission to the conference’s target audience as appropriate, like you would a cover letter in a mass job search. In a way, you’re kind of looking for a job or at least a short-term gig.

Get a good photo

Get a good photo; use the same photo everywhere. People recognize faces faster than names.