Scientists, in particular, receive dubious invitations in their inboxes almost daily. These often concern supposedly new congresses that are heavily promoted, where the organizers are primarily interested in collecting high participation fees. If they can show that well-known people have agreed to attend, they will likely trick a few more interested parties, as names are always strong arguments. As long as the bottom line is right, the organizer hardly cares whether the supposed world congress takes place with or without the grandiosely announced speakers.
Although this topic is being discussed more and more frequently, it seems no one in the scientific community is immune to it – anyone who has experienced this once will likely not pay attention to conference invitations from unknown senders again anytime soon.
The more word gets around, the more difficult it becomes for organizers whose conference cannot yet look back on a twenty-year history. Nevertheless, the invitations you send out have a good chance of success if you manage to distinguish yourself from those of disreputable organizers. We have compiled some important points for drafting conference invitations below:
1. Who is behind it?
Dubious invitations often lack concrete contact information and it is difficult to find further details about the event. Apart from a rather generic email address and an anonymous contact form, there is rarely anything that would give the event a face. Therefore, do not use email addresses with Gmail or Yahoo suffixes, which anyone can set up in a few seconds. Securing an address like exampleconference2019@yahoo.com requires minimal effort and seems unprofessional compared to max.muster@exampleconference.de. Furthermore, always name a contact person whom invitees can turn to if they have further questions.
2. No pay to play
Scientists who occasionally receive an invitation to a fake conference in their inbox often report in discussions that they are asked to pay for their participation as an invited session chair or speaker. This makes little sense; after all, it is the organizer who relies on chairs and speakers to fill their program. They are the ones requesting a service with an invitation, not the other way around. Nevertheless, many give in and pay – in the hope that the presentation will help their own reputation. Once the money reaches the organizer, it usually stays there – even if the conference happens to be canceled shortly before and no one responds to messages anymore. However, the decision of whether to accept or decline is often also a financial question. Of course, not every organizer has enough money to pay an honorarium. By announcing that you will cover travel expenses or offer special speaker discounts, you clearly distinguish yourself from less honest invitations.
3. Be personal
When addressing the recipient, make sure to spell names correctly. Does the person have a title? Do not omit it. A complete salutation increases the chance that your message will be read to the end. In general, you should not send messages to a (potential) speaker without a personal salutation. The American Dairy Science Association, for example, avoids this in its communication with speakers. The messages instead begin with "Dear ADSA Discover Conference Invited Speaker." Now, the ADSA is, of course, anything but a shady organization of scammers, yet the start of the letter seems impersonal and conveys the feeling that one's own presentation is just one of many and therefore interchangeable. This contradicts the letter, which is actually intended to highlight the value of the contribution to the conference program.
4. The reason for the invitation
Put the most important thing right at the beginning: Why did you choose this particular person? Dubious invitations often lay it on too thick at this point and try to persuade a speaker candidate to accept with overly flattering words. A good approach here would be to briefly describe how you became aware of the person. Perhaps they were recommended to you by someone? This can have a positive effect on the decision, as a mutual acquaintance is always a good basis and builds trust.
5. The conference basics
In addition to the date and location of the event, this section should include everything worth knowing about the conference. Even if some of the invitees are already familiar with the event, a few basic facts are not a bad idea. Who is hosting the conference? What is the thematic focus? How many visitors were there last time? How many are you expecting this time? What is unique and does not exist in this form at similar conferences? You should only mention other invited persons if they have already firmly confirmed their participation. As mentioned at the beginning, such name-dropping is common practice at fake conferences. Sometimes the people do not even know that their name is being used to promote an event.
6. The role of the speaker
Keynote speaker? Session chair? Workshop leader? What task awaits the invitees at the conference? This determines what needs to be done before the event begins. Paul Kei Matsuda, Professor of English at Arizona State University and experienced in organizing conferences, advises listing right away what speakers still need to provide in advance – abstracts, portrait photos for the website, presentations, handouts. Also, make it clear here whether it is sufficient for the individuals to be present only for their presentation, or if you would like them to be on-site for the duration of the entire conference. It is also helpful to mention whether livestreams or recordings of the presentation are planned.
7. Confirmations by click
If everything goes well, you will receive the confirmation from the invited persons in the final step. Organizers who simplify the process as much as possible will have the best chances of success. At best, the invitee only needs to click a button instead of picking up the phone or writing a reply email. Such a procedure becomes reality with conference software. Converia, for example, includes a speaker portal that lists all presentations with dates and durations for which you want to invite someone. Invitees receive access to the portal via a link that is part of the invitation email. Your preferred speakers then only need to decide whether to click the button to accept or decline. Optionally, you can include a speaker agreement that must be confirmed before any acceptance. Afterward, the speaker portal leads directly to the conference registration. There, everyone can also book their discounted speaker package right away.
Since you are usually inviting more than just one or two people, you will hardly remember every sent invitation in detail after a few weeks, or which ones you have already received a response to. Instead of digging through the "Sent" folder in your email inbox, it is enough to filter the list of invitees in the software according to the desired criteria. The system automatically records every new response, making checking off a self-created list just as superfluous as the list itself. If you want to avoid taking any risks in advance, you can also add substitute speakers to your list of favorites, who can be invited in the same way as soon as the originally intended person declines. Have you considered all points? If so, your invitation will not raise any suspicions at all. You can counter opaque and cumbersome invitation letters with transparent information, a simple procedure, and the option to contact you directly – and that is guaranteed to be in the interest of your preferred speakers.
