Okay! I'll give it a try because this has been on my mind lately. First up, a little background on me for context: I've been speaking for a few years off and on and really kicked it into high gear last year. I attended ~20 different conferences, most of them as a speaker.
I've volunteered for some conferences (notably @codemash and @strangeloop_stl) and co-organize @selfconference and @WordCampDetroit. I'm starting a musical tech conference called @TitleOfConf. I've participated in tech conferences in most of the ways it's possible to do so!
I've taught courses, workshops, and bootcamps online and in person. This gets into slightly different territory, so I'll restrict my comments to running workshops at conferences. If you've got a company asking you to teach or come to them to speak, you choose your speaker fee.
So. For most people, when we talk about "speaker pay" in terms of a tech conference, we're not discussing a rate that you negotiate. Usually, the conference will determine ahead of time what they're willing to offer to speakers. The absolute bare minimum here is a free ticket.
If a tech conference still wants their speakers to pay for a ticket, RUN FOR THE HILLS.
Other common speaker benefits include money for travel and hotel accommodations. The conference might book these for you or, more often, they'll reimburse you for these costs after the conference. If you can't front that kind of money, it's worth asking the organizers to do so.
Some events will have you sign a performance agreement. For @selfconference, the main reason we do this is to have some sort of written agreement that says you'll pay us back the money we spend on your hotel if you don't show up. Read this carefully if you receive one!
Look for specifics when reading through a CFP. Is there an upper limit to how much the conference will reimburse? This will sometimes be different depending on your distance from the venue. They may offer sponsorship benefits if your company pays for you.
Less commonly, conferences offer honorariums for giving workshops or for all speakers. Expect $100-300. If folks need to sign up for a particular workshop ahead of time, you may get a percentage of the income specific to your session. Rarely, you may get a per diem for food.
If you're more established and/or well known, you can expect a little more in the way of compensation. Especially if you've been invited to speak as opposed to submitting via a call for proposals, you have some leverage. You might receive an additional speaker fee.
If you're asked to speak or give a workshop outside of a conference, that's a whole other beast. You need to consider the resources it'll take to prepare and deliver that talk and then probably double or triple whatever you're thinking about charging. 😂
Consider how much time and effort it'll take you to research, write, design, and prepare this talk. It's helpful if you already have an hourly rate for freelancing because you can use that to estimate. Make sure to bake any travel-related costs in.
The wonderful @LRW3bb recently shared these resources with me to help gauge what you should consider charging for these types of speaking engagements.
grantbaldwin.typeform.com/to/mKgF8q
speakerlauncher.com/understanding-…
grantbaldwin.typeform.com/to/mKgF8q
speakerlauncher.com/understanding-…
I hope that's helpful! I'm always happy to talk about this sort of thing. If you have questions or want feedback on anything (what to charge, talk abstracts, how to choose conferences), please reach out!
I should add that you should always communicate with the organizers of an event if you're interested in speaking but something they've published doesn't work for you. Can't wait for reimbursement? Need to bring a plus one for emotional support? Got laid off? Send them an email.
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