The 2021 International Food Bloggers Conference will take place September 30 – October 3, 2021, in El Paso, Texas. The agenda below will change as we continue to plan a fun and safe conference in 2021. Please take a few minutes to read our new Safety Procedures with COVID-19.
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Thursday, September 30
5:30 PM – 11:00 PM: Welcome Reception in Juárez, Mexico at Viva México Please see our Welcome Reception page for complete details.
Friday, October 1
Breakfast On Your Own
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Registration & Expo
9:00 – 9:15 AM Conference Welcome by Allan Wright of the IFBC
9:15 – 10:05 AM Food Writing in 2021 and Beyond Panel: Description coming soon
10:05 – 10:15 AM Sponsor Announcement with Lulu: Learn about our sponsor Lulu, which provides a service to authors that allows you to create, print, and sell your book through all major retail channels at no charge to you.
10:15 – 10:30 AM Break
10:30 – 11:00 AM How to Pitch Like a Pro: So you want to partner with brands to create sponsored content that you get paid for, but do you know what to say in order to make this happen? Jenny Melrose will walk you through her proven formula for the perfect pitch every time. She’ll teach you how to stand out from everyone else and make sure you get paid what you’re worth.
11:00 – 11:05 AM Sponsor Announcement with Apogee: Hear from Apogee, an affiliate management program which is is proactive with recruitment, activation and education, key requirements to the success of every affiliate program.
11:05 – 11:35 AM Story on a Plate: Food Styling Tips: Whether you’re a foodie, food blogger, or chef…If you’re looking to elevate your food styling skills, this workshop is for you. Learn simple food styling tips and transform the way you style food and how to photograph food with your Smartphone using simple techniques with Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack. This is not a camera technical class. This will be a hands-on workshop and together we will set up scenes with stories behind the food.
11:35 AM – 12:05 PM How To Create a Successful YouTube Presence: Join JP Lambiase & Julia Goolia, of the comedy cooking show HellthyJunkFood, as they tell the story of how they built a presence on social media through content creation. Topics covered will include how to start up, how to build, and maintain discussing Content Ideas/Titles, Thumbnails, Editing, and Posting.
12:05 – 1:35 PM Lunch
1:35 – 2:05 PM Sponsored Session
2:05 – 2:35 PM Session: Description Coming Soon
2:35 – 3:05 PM Session: Description Coming Soon
3:05 – 3:35 PM Session: Description Coming Soon
3:35 – 4:00 PM Break
4:00 – 5:00 PM Small Group Discussions in the Park
5:00 – 6:30 PM Taste of El Paso: The Taste of El Paso is for many the highlight of the conference. Our friends at Destination El Paso are inviting in a dozen local restaurants who come in to serve you small bites of their signature dishes. Where else can you sit in one outdoor space and have the best restaurants of a city come to you?
7:00 PM Evening Happy Hours (Tentative): Still being planned our several options to engage with the nightlife of El Paso, including a brewery tour and drinks crawl.
Saturday, October 2
Breakfast On Your Own
8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Registration
9:00 – 9:30 AM How to Monetize Your Live Videos: We all know that making videos and going live with them is the best way to create an authentic connection with your audience. But did you know you can also make money from live videos? In this session, Kathy Hester, established cookbook author and live video expert will show you how she’s used this medium to build her Healthy Slow Cooking Facebook group up to almost 30,000 followers and how she is now monetizing her live videos through virtual cooking classes. Get over your fear of live video with tips & tricks from Kathy and learn how to plan, execute, and price your virtual cooking sessions.
9:30 – 10:00 AM Best Practices for Recipe Writing: Having worked on dozens of cookbooks, and tested over 3,000 recipes, Cynthia Nims knows a trick or two for elevating your recipes! There is no “right” way to write recipes. Recipes should reflect the personality and expertise of the writer, and be tailored to their audience and the platform where they’re being shared. At the same time, however, there are important best practices to follow to help ensure success in the reader’s kitchen. This session will cover both standard building-block elements that ensure all necessary bases are covered in the recipe, while also covering equally valuable ways in which writers can–and should–infuse recipes with their own personality, style and creativity.
10:00 – 10:30 AM How To Negotiate Sponsored Posts (And Get What You Deserve!): Many food bloggers are already negotiating with brands for sponsored posts. As a talent manager and agent for close to 15 female clients, Johanna B. Voss has successfully closed over $800k in business, in 18 months, on behalf of her clients. In this session, she will share her tips on first impressions and building relationships. You’ll learn exactly what to ask, how to keep the door open for future opportunities, how to navigate tricky situations, how to say no with grace, and how to upsell yourself. Johanna will share real-life scenarios that have helped her create a series of negotiating mottos that will serve you at your next brand partnership. She will also share some industry benchmarks that you can use to determine how to price your services as an influencer.
10:30 – 10:45 AM Break
10:45 – 11:15 AM Session: Description Coming Soon
11:15 – 11:45 AM Session: Description Coming Soon
11:45 AM – 1:15 PM Lunch On Your Own
1:15 – 1:45 PM Discovery Sessions: Discovery Sessions are your opportunity to learn about (and taste) new food trends. Details coming soon.
1:45 – 2:25 PM From Food Blogger to Food Journalist – How to Make the Leap: Are you ready to take your portfolio as a food blogger and make the leap into paid food writing and journalism? Elizabeth Smith, a professional travel writer with the Napa Valley Register, will share her experience in positioning her brand, pitching restaurants and travel destinations, and managing her freelance business. Some of the questions you will find answers to in this session include: What kind of prior experience do you need before you can secure paid work? How do you approach an editor, restaurateur, or tourism brand? Which writing pieces should be included in your portfolio? How do you learn what to charge in your market area? What are the best practices for capturing the story behind a chef, restaurant, brand, or our tourism location?
2:25 – 3:00 PM Session: Description Coming Soon
3:00 – 3:15 PM Break
3:15 – 4:00 PM Session: Description Coming Soon
4:00- 4:45 PM Lightning Talks: Following on the success of the 2018 event, we will have 10 of your fellow attendees get up on stage to deliver five-minute, Ignite-style “Lightning Talks”. With 20 slides each advancing automatically on 15-second intervals, speakers have to be on the top of their game to deliver fun, informative, often hilarious talks. We’ll do a call for speakers 6 weeks before the Conference.
4:45 – 5:00 PM Conference Close by Allan Wright of the IFBC
6:00 PM El Paso Dinner Excursions (Pending): Our friends at Destination El Paso are working to set up small-group dinner excursions to some of the hot dinner establishments in town. More info coming soon.
Sunday, October 3
Breakfast on Your Own
8:00 AM – 3:00 PM Post-Conference Excursion the Samalayuca Dunes: See our post-conference excursion page for complete details.