The 2020 International Food Bloggers Conference will take place November 12-15, 2020 in El Paso, Texas. This agenda will be updated as events and sessions are confirmed. Please add your email address to the Stay Updated box to the right and find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Previous years’ agendas and speakers can be found in our Archives.
Friday, November 13
Breakfast On Your Own
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Registration & Expo
9:00 – 9:20 AM Conference Welcome by Allan Wright of the IFBC
9:20 – 10:10 AM All Group Session Panel
10:10 – 10:20 AM Sponsor Announcement: 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.
10:20 – 10:35 AM Break
10:35 – 11:00 AM The Top 10 Food Trends You Are Going to See Everywhere in 2021: Looking to get a head start on planning search engine friendly content for 2021? Food industry expert Gail Barnes will share the top 10 food trends she expects to see in the media, grocery stores, and meal planning guides in the coming year. Gail will first review the trends we’ve seen in the US and overseas in 2020 and then take a look forward into what we can expect in 2021. You can expect to leave this session with a bank of ideas for 2021 content. Imagine knowing what your readers will be searching for on Pinterest and Google months before they do! That is the code that Gail will help us crack in her session.
11:00 – 11:05 AM Sponsor Announcement: 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 – 11:30 AM All Group Session: Coming Soon
11:30 – 11:35 AM Sponsor Announcement
11:35 AM – 12:00 PM Advanced SEO: Description coming soon
12:00 – 12:05 PM Sponsor Announcement
12:05 – 2:05 PM Lunch hosted by the National Barbecue & Grilling Association: This lunch will be at a nearby off-site venue and include food from association members. Stay tuned for more information.
2:05 – 3:05 PM Discovery Sessions: Discovery Sessions are your opportunity to learn about (and taste) new food trends. Details coming soon.
3:05 – 3:20 PM Break
3:20 – 4:20 PM Food Styling & Food Photography: Details coming soon.
4:20 – 5:05 PM Keynote: Details coming soon.
5:05 – 6:45 PM Taste of El Paso, Gift Suite, and Expo: 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 room and have the best restaurants of a city come to you? Coupled with the Taste of El Paso is the Gift Suite, full of local Texas products, and Expo where you can meet and mingle with our sponsors.
6:45 – 7:45 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.
Saturday, November 14
Breakfast On Your Own
8:30 AM – 5:45 PM Registration
9:00 – 9:45 AM Breakout Sessions: Choose one of two
- How to Make 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.
- 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, 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?
9:45 – 10:00 AM Break
10:00 – 10:45 AM Breakout Sessions: Choose one of two
- 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.
- 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.
10:45 – 11:00 AM Break
11:00 – 11:45 PM Breakout Sessions: Choose one of two
- Email Marketing for Food Bloggers: Details coming soon.
- Culinary Storytelling: Details coming soon.
11:45 AM – 1:15 PM Lunch On Your Own
1:15 – 2:15 PM Discovery Sessions:Discovery Sessions are your opportunity to learn about (and taste) new food trends. Details coming soon.
2:15 – 2:30 PM Break
2:30 – 3:30 PM All Group Session: Details coming soon
3:30 – 3:45 PM Announcement of 2021 Location and Conference Close
Sunday, November 15
Breakfast on Your Own
Post-Conference Excursion to Juarez, Mexico (more info coming soon)