Last year’s experience at WordCamp Raleigh was in many ways a watershed moment for me. I was in the midst of a bunch of developers for the first time, and got a glimpse of what the community really looks like. The one thing I kept thinking was “most of these amazing people live near me!”
Shortly after WordCamp last year, I developed my second WordPress plugin, which took off in ways I was not altogether prepared for. I found myself adding features, writing power user guides, and getting a first-hand look at what it is like to support a product. I even fielded a call from someone looking to acquire my plugin (for not-enough-money, it turns out)!
While I still struggle with imposter syndrome from time to time, I have begun feeling like a real developer this year. My plugin has picked up (and retained) new users at a rate of about 500/month, and I’ve added new clients to monthly backup and maintenance plans.
This year, I’ve leveled-up my WordCamp involvement as well. This past week I met with Steve Mortiboy, one the organizers of WordCamp Raleigh, and he invited me to help as a speaker liaison this year, and in the process also invited me to speak at this year’s conference! I am very excited to talk to my fellow developers about how to get 5-star reviews, and turn support for free products into revenue.
The conference is October 10th and 11th, at the NCSU school of Engineering on the Centennial Campus. The great part about the conference (in addition to the low cost of $35 that includes a t-shirt and lunch on Saturday) is that no matter your tech skill level, there are tracks for you.
You can read about my session here, and get a ticket here!
*Update* I have now posted a promotional blog post about myself over at the WordCamp site. It was fun promoting myself. Gifs were involved. You can read that here.