How I Get Into Conferences for Free (and how you can too)

I used to get SO frustrated watching people post from these exclusive industry conferences they got free access to and think... how are they getting in for free??

So once I figured it out, I decided.. screw the gatekeeping. I'm sharing EVERYTHING. 💯

Today I'm literally showing you the exact system, pitch template, and tracker I use to get free passes, exclusive invites, and even PAID partnerships.

This is my Shoot Your Shot strategy that's gotten me into:

• 🎟️ Sold out events and exclusive creator meetups

• 📰 Event partnerships with my favorite brands

• ...and honestly, so many more

🗓️ How I Recently Used This With Notion

• 2022: Started using Notion for literally everything (personal + business)

• 2025: Kept using Notion, kept sharing about it naturally

• 2024: Created my Shoot Your Shot Tracker (scroll down to see it)

• 2025: Applied to Notion's Creators Program and got in!

• 2025: Pitched my contact directly with a hyper-personal angle → FREE pass + exclusive creator meetup invite

• Plot twist: That relationship turned into a paid partnership with Notion on LinkedIn

✅ The System: My "Shoot Your Shot" Tracker

I made this tracker in Notion where I log:

• Events I want to attend

• Key contacts (emails, marketing managers - ALL OF IT)

• Date I pitched + follow-up dates

• My personalization angle (why it makes sense for BOTH of us)

• The outcome (free pass? invite? paid collab? nada?)

This turns "shooting your shot" into an actual repeatable system. Not just hoping or waiting.

💌 The Exact Script (Yes, You Can Steal This)

Here's my full cold pitch example that ACTUALLY works:

Subject: Creator Partner Proposal: Make with Notion 2025

Hi Notion Team,

I'm Adriene Bueno, a Notion for Creators Program creator, and I've been plugging Notion to my 65K+ community of founders, creators, and professionals for the past 3 years.

As someone who's helped 500+ creators optimize their workflows at LinkedIn and now runs a tech startup entirely on Notion, I'd love to partner with you for Make with Notion 2025 to show attendees how to build smarter, work faster, and scale their impact.

Why I'm the right creator partner for Make with Notion 2025:

I speak to your target audience daily. My community consists of:

• Multi-hyphenate professionals juggling multiple projects

• Early-stage founders building their operations

• Creators managing content across platforms

• Marketers seeking better systems

• Even sports, media & entertainment industry leaders

I’m a Notion Power user with LOTS of receipts. I've built my entire business on Notion:

• Scaled Arena (my startup) to 6,000+ users and 20K LinkedIn followers with Notion as our operational backbone

• Built my personal community to 65K+ followers across LinkedIn and TikTok using Notion's content calendar

• Manage 2 weekly newsletters reaching 18K subscribers with my Notion newsletter review system

• My "Shoot Your Shot" tracker for creator partnership pitches (yep, including this one!) with my Notion tracker

I’m a creator who delivers impact.

• Former LinkedIn Creator Manager who knows how to create conference content that converts

• Recent posts about systems and workflows mentioning Notion consistently generate strong engagement

• Experience collabing with brands like Meta, LinkedIn, Fanatics, Morning Brew, and more

Content ideas I’d love to explore together:

Pre-Conference Series:

• “Making My Conference Command Center" - Walk through my complete conference planning template including: session scheduler, speaker research database, networking hit list with LinkedIn URLs, real-time notes system, and follow-up tracker. I'll build this and share the template.

• "Making My Creator Shot List in Notion" - Behind-the-scenes of planning conference content like a pro where I’m planning out keynote moments to capture, tracking B-roll opportunities, making scripts, and creating a content calendar that balances real-time posts with thoughtful recaps. I'll share my exact template.

Live Conference Coverage:

• Real-time takeaways from keynotes using my POV content approach

• Session recaps focused on practical applications where I immediately apply the insights on the spot in Notion to show how fast/effective it is with real-time reactions.

Post-Conference Series:

• "3 Notion Workflows I'm Stealing from Make with Notion 2025"

What makes me different: I hate corporate jargon. I aim to make tech tools easy to understand for the everyday non-tech professional who can benefit from products that make their work (and even life) easier by connecting it with my personal experiences that I know my audience can relate/resonate with.

Recent Examples of my content:

• Content Playbook workflow/productivity post

• BizBash Sports Innovation Forum

• The Best Brand Activations at Fanatics Fest

• SaaS Social Media Video Editing Tool

• Meta Ray-Bans vs. Oakleys

tl'dr: I'm genuinely obsessed with Notion and would love to help more professionals discover how it can change their workflow forever. Plus as someone who just relocated to the Bay Area, I'm excited to connect with the local builder community!

I'd love to explore how we can work together as a creator partner that aligns with your goals for the conference. Happy to chat about what would be most valuable for your team and attendees.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Talk soon,

Adriene Bueno

Peep how I used my Notion Shoot Your Shot Tracker to secure a Notion partnership too?? 😏 Couldn’t make this up even if I wanted to.

The KEY here is personalization.

For Notion, I talked about using their product since 2022, what I'd built with it, and why I'd be perfect for their creator community. (Not just "I love your brand!")

📈 What This Actually Led To

Results from this approach:

• Multiple FREE conference passes (we're talking thousands saved)

• Invites to exclusive side events and creator meetups

• Legit PAID partnerships as a creator (directly from my pitches!)

🎯 Why This Works (The Real Tea)

1. Brands want creators who ACTUALLY use their stuff. You don't need 100K followers. You need authenticity and proof you're already a fan.

2. Events need reach. Your creator post can be worth more than traditional PR coverage. (They KNOW this.)

3. Generic pitches go to die in the inbox graveyard. But "I've been using your product since 2022 and here's what I built"? That gets opened.

🟢 Your Turn

Here's what you can do with this info now…

1. Create your own Shoot Your Shot tracker (steal my format, that’s why I’m sharing it!)

2. Make your pitch PERSONAL (show receipts 🧾). Offer real value (your audience, your credibility, your network).

3. Follow up (persistence > perfection).

Worst case? They don't reply. Best case? You're attending your dream events. 💫

Stop waiting for permission. Start shooting your shot.

Want to chat with me 1:1 about your personal brand strategy, content creation, or securing paid partnerships?

You got this,

P.S. If you’ve been curious where I’ve been lately, I’ve been beta testing Arena’s new PowerMatch platform where professionals in sports, media & entertainment can network more strategically and intentionally (see below).

Note: Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links - if you use them, I may earn a commission (no extra cost to you). I only share tools I actually use and love.