Sponsorship Prospectus¶
Sections
Introduction¶
Welcome to the Write the Docs Portland 2023 sponsorship prospectus. We’re excited to work with the organizations in our community to build the best documentation event in 2023.
We expanded the offerings and introduced a lot of new things, but please let us know if there are other points of interaction with our community that would be valuable for you.
Concept¶
Write the Docs (https://www.writethedocs.org/) is a three day conference focusing on documentation systems, tech writing theory, and information delivery.
Writing and maintaining documentation involves a multidisciplinary community of technical writers, designers, librarians, typesetters, developers, support teams, marketers and many others. This group of people can be collectively referred to as “documentarians”.
Write the Docs creates a time and a place for this community to share information, discuss ideas, and work together to improve the art and science of documentation.
Demographics¶
Our audience is primary from companies in the software industry.
Each conference we sell:
- 80% Corporate tickets
- 15% Independent tickets
- 5% Student tickets
For those people, they have a range of job titles. The most common job title is Technical Writer, but we have many other people who attend our conferences:
- Technical Writers (60%)
- Developers (10%)
- Support Staff (10%)
- Managers (10%)
- Community Contributors, Enthusiasts & Other Folks (10%)
Why Sponsor¶
By supporting a Write the Docs event, your company will gain not only visibility and credibility with front-line documentarians, but also valuable insights that will help you get the most out of your own documentation efforts. If you’re hiring for docs positions, Write the Docs is also an excellent opportunity to meet top-notch talent.
We work hard to keep ticket prices affordable for a broad range of attendees. Your sponsorship makes it possible for all sorts of documentarians to attend our events, whether they’re a freelancer, a student or out of work. Becoming a sponsor demonstrates your commitment to and support of good documentation, and the people who build it.
Sponsorship Packages¶
We have separated our sponsorships into two primary audiences, each one helping you achieve one of the following specific goals:
- Hiring
- Product promotion
Our largest sponsorship packages offer different benefits based on this. We can also customize sponsorships are required, so let us know what you need!
Second Draft¶
The Second Draft package gives you visibility on the conference website and communications. It’s great for sending folks to the conference, and showing support for the community.
Benefits¶
- Three (3) tickets
- A small logo & short text content (250 characters) on the conference website
- Name included in welcome announcement in email newsletters and social media
- Display promotional (“Swag”) items on the conference swag table (provided by sponsor)
The Second Draft package costs $3,500.
Publisher¶
The Publisher package gets you a larger website presence and a visible on-site presence at our Sponsor Expo.
Benefits¶
- Seven (7) tickets
- A medium logo & short text content (250 characters) on the conference website
- Name included in welcome announcement in email newsletters and social media
- Display promotional (“Swag”) items on the conference swag table (provided by sponsor)
- Benefits from either the Hiring or Product package
Hiring Package¶
- A table at our sponsor expo
- Three (3) featured job postings on our Job Board, also promoted in our newsletter (10,000 subscribers)
Product Package¶
- Removed: A sponsored tutorial at the conference that you deliver, up to 1 hour in length. (Removed due to venue limitation)
- Added: A 3-hour booth space to demo your products and discuss with attendees.
- One product promotion highlight in our conference mailing list. Includes logo and 2 paragraphs of copy.
The Publisher package costs $5,500.
Patron¶
Limit 3
The Patron package gives you a full-time on-site booth at the conference, and one additional interaction point for hiring or product promotion.
Benefits¶
- Seven (7) tickets
- A sponsorship booth
- Small logo included in intermission slides and on talk videos
- A large logo and long description (750 characters) on the conference website
- Name included in welcome announcement in email newsletters and social media
- Benefits from either the Hiring or Product package
Hiring Package¶
- A table at our sponsor expo
- Three (3) featured job postings on our Job Board, also promoted in our newsletter (10,000 subscribers)
Product Package¶
- A sponsored tutorial at the conference that you deliver, up to 1 hour in length.
- One product promotion highlight in our conference mailing list. Includes logo and 2 paragraphs of copy.
The Patron package costs $9,500.
Keystone¶
The Keystone sponsorship highlights you as the primary sponsor of the conference. You get all in-person benefits, and the best placement for all physical spaces.
Benefits¶
- Ten (10) tickets
- The most visible sponsorship booth
- Large logo included in intermission slides and on talk videos
- A large logo and long description (750 characters) on the conference website
- Name included in welcome announcement in email newsletters and social media
- A table at our sponsor expo
- Five (5) featured job postings on our Job Board, also promoted in our newsletter (10,000 subscribers)
- A 1 hour sponsored tutorial at the conference
- One product promotion highlight in our conference mailing list. Includes logo and 2 paragraphs of copy.
The Keystone package costs $17,500.
Other Sponsorship Opportunities¶
The following a la carte offerings are available either independently or combined with one of the previous packages to increase visibility at the event.
Opportunity Grants¶
Provide additional money for our Opportunity Grant program, which provides funding for people to attend the conference.
$3,500
This sponsorship helps people attend the conference that couldn’t otherwise attend. It’s great to show your support to the community.
Benefits¶
- Your sponsor logo will be shown on the stage during all staff presentations as a grant sponsor (opening, closing).
- We will mention your company as a grant sponsor on Twitter from the official Write the Docs account
Writing Day¶
Sponsor the Writing Day on Sunday, where we get together to help improve the documentation of many projects. This is great for any company that is looking for contributors to their open source projects.
$3,500
- Logistics: The Writing Day is during the day Sunday.
Payment¶
Invoices must be paid within 30 days of invoice receipt, or no later than one (1) week before the conference.
Run of Show¶
This Run of Show provides more context about the event and answers some common questions you may have. Please let us know if there is any information missing that would be useful for you.
Quick tips¶
- Arrive early: The conference venue opens at 8am, so we recommend arriving around this time to get the most interaction with attendees.
- Bring swag (especially stickers): We recommend bringing a variety of swag to give away. Stickers are by far the most popular item for our attendees.
- Engage with folks as both a sponsor and attendee: This is a great opportunity to meet folks in the community, so we recommend engaging with folks in an official capacity, but also as a regular attendee.
- Use QR codes: QR codes are a great way to get people a website quickly. We recommend using a service like https://www.qr-code-generator.com/ to create these.
Sponsorship schedule¶
- SUNDAY: The conference venue is open. You are welcome to attend the Writing Day, but no formal sponsorship events are happening. You’re also encouraged to lead a Writing Day table if you have ways for our attendees to engage with your product or contribute to your documentation.
- MONDAY: The conference venue is open all day, so we recommend arriving early to get the most interaction with attendees. The unconference is open all day, but generally attended more heavily in the afternoon.
- TUESDAY: The Sponsor Expo will be on Tuesday morning in the sponsor area. We recommend arriving around 8:30am to set up your table if you’re attending. The unconference will continue on Tuesday as well, and is well attended.
See the full schedule for exact timing details.
Sponsorship spaces¶
A quick overview of the spaces in the venue that are important:
- The main stage is where talks happen.
- The stage hallway is where registration, sponsor booths, and swag tables are set up. This is where the Sponsor Expo will happen.
- The unconference room is downstairs from the main stage. This is where unconference sessions will be happening.
Sponsorship events¶
Sponsor Expo¶
On Tuesday morning we hold our Sponsor Expo, which is a wonderful place to connect with our attendees. This gives you a chance to discuss whatever you’d like to with our attendees.
Many attendees are looking for jobs now or will be in the near future, so it’s a great chance to talk more about your company culture and open positions. Similarly, they are always looking for great products to use in their day to day workflows.
Logistics: You will be assigned a booth where you can engage with attendees and answer questions. We recommend that you answer general questions in the main session and schedule follow up discussions with folks later in the day or after the conference if they have deeper interest. We recommend having handouts or a QR code where folks can learn more. The booth will be an 8 foot table, without table cloth, and include 2 chairs.
Unconference¶
The unconference is a great place to talk with attendees about your company and products. If your sponsorship package includes Product promotion, you can use this time to talk about your product and how it can help the community.
We recommend having a few discussion topics ready to go, so that you can post your unconference session about them early in the conference. This allows people to see the sessions, and plan to attend!
Logistics: You will be given a number of slots at the unconference, and you can sign up with your official company as the host. Other attendees will be able to sign up for sessions, but under their names instead of a specific company.
Writing day¶
On Sunday we hold our Writing Day. This is a place where the community gathers to get actual work done. This generally involved communities and organizations hosting a documentation sprint on some piece of documentation that is open source and needs improvements.
If you want to participate in the Writing Day, it helps to do a bit of work up front. The best way to prepare is to have a set of issues that you’ve already picked as “easy for beginners”. Starting with these issues will make it much easier for people to start, and feel productive. Make sure you also have good installation instructions and other helpful beginners content as well.
Logistics: We will send a signup sheet to the general attendee list before the conference, where you can sign up for a table. You can introduce your project to attendees on Sunday morning during the Writing Day Introduction, and then engage with attendees during the day of the event.
Frequently Asked Questions¶
How do I get the most out of my sponsorship?¶
Come prepared to engage with our community, and to learn just as much as you teach. Engage with our event as attendees as well as sponsors. Send technical staff who can chat with people on the interesting things your company is doing, and get value from the vast amount of insight in the room. We do have some decision makers in the room, but soft sells will work better than hard sales in the environment we strive for.
Who is my primary contact?¶
Eric Holscher will be your primary contact, but our team is available at sponsorship@writethedocs.org. If you have a time sensitive inquiry, please email the entire team to ensure a timely response.
During the conference itself, we will also have a help desk available at registration. You can find staff members there to ask any additional questions you might have.
How do I use my sponsorship tickets?¶
You should have received a unique URL with a discount code for your sponsorship tickets. We are happy to send it over again, just ask!
How do I use my job postings?¶
You can post your jobs to our job board. You will be given a discount code that will let you post them for free, please ask us for this if you don’t have it! They will be published in our Newsletter every month, and displayed on our website as well.
What do I need for the Sponsor Expo?¶
The Sponsor Expo will be a low key event. Generally we recommend having links available to resources, and ways for attendees to engage with you online after the event.
In general we recommend:
- A table cloth with your company logo
- Stickers and other swag items to give away
- A laptop or tablet to show off your product
You can of course do more than this, but the event is generally pretty low key, so don’t worry as much about presentation as the conversations you’re having.
