a single source, nothing corroborates it · contested
Reuse one talk across as many stages as you can
Write the talk once and submit it everywhere, accepting that most conferences will reject you, and take the local meetup slot as a cheap way to promote a product you have neglected. The catch is measured: signing up for a second conference on the assumption of zero extra work consumed the largest block of one month, because opinions move on, the abstract is locked in and a pre-recorded format invites endless retakes. An unprepared fireside format costs nothing at all.
What both sides agree on
- Volunteer to give a local talk about a product you have neglected, as a low-cost way to promote it in your own city.
Where this splits
The same builder recommends reusing one prepared talk across events and separately found that recycling a talk cost far more time than writing it fresh.
2 claims against 1
Cory Zue
Reuse one prepared talk across every event possible
- 01Reuse one prepared talk across multiple events instead of writing a new one each time.
- 02When you have almost no time, spend it on cheap audience bets: book a podcast appearance and submit the same talk to several conferences, accepting that most will reject you.
Recycling a talk costs more than writing fresh
Recycling a conference talk costs far more than you expect: your opinions will have moved on, the abstract is already locked in, and a pre-recorded format invites endless retakes.
What it returned
Zue repurposed his solopreneurship meetup talk into a PyCon South Africa keynote, and noted the unprepped fireside chat format cost him nothing.
In a month lost to contract work Zue booked a Django Chat episode and submitted his JavaScript talk to several conferences, getting rejected by PyCon US while awaiting DjangoCon EU.
Zue signed up to speak about his Google Photos Chrome extension for local promotion after adding a history feature
Zue signed up for a second conference assuming zero extra work, then spent his largest block of the month reworking it and judged the more nuanced result possibly worse than the original.
Sources
- Solopreneurship: Year 8Cory Zue · coryzue.com · In-person events · 2024-12-20 · dissenting
- The Lost MonthCory Zue · coryzue.com · Start at least one new marketing effort · 2021-04-01 · dissenting
- It's time to buildCory Zue · coryzue.com · Recycling conference talks: easier said than done · 2021-06-01 · dissenting
- The New NormalCory Zue · coryzue.com · Output · 2018-12-03 · dissenting
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
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