Episode #049: 2020 Food Blogging Conferences – Interviews with Megan Porta

About This Episode: Megan interviews the 4 event organizers for the 4 food blogging conferences you can attend in 2020. Get the inside scoop on what the conference is about, how much it costs and where they will be held. Find out which conference is perfect for you so you can be an attendee, grow your business and spend time networking and speaking with Brands!

Notes from Episode #049 Food Blogging Conferences in 2020

INSPIRED HOME INFLUENCER CONFERENCE (with Leana Salamah)

• A 1 day educational and networking conference for Influencers in the home and houseware space. 

• March 13, 2020 – all day at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. March 14-17 is the full Inspired Home Show and with your ticket you can stay for one or all 4 days at the Inspired Home Show that begins March 14.

• Cost is $249 which includes meals and a reception + badge for the following 4 days. After December 31 it’ll increase to $349.

• The show is organized over 800,000 sq ft so it can take awhile to get around and meet with everyone.

• On their site, you can take advantage of hotel block and discount codes for airlines and car rentals to make travel plans easy for your stay. 

• 2200 brands are there to meet with Influencers. 

• The goal of this conference is to welcome Influencers into the industry by bringing them to their largest event of the year, to the Inspired Home Show

• The Brands and Influencers are both benefited in this forum.

• How does this stand apart from other conference?

  • They are working to educate Influencers on a specific industry, empower them to increase their value to the members (Brands).

  • Also, the availability of brands themselves is immense. The Inspired Home Show takes place 4 days after the Influencer Conference. 

• Topics to expect: 

• What consumer issues Brands want to address with Influencers help

• Sessions will include Brand reps and Influencers speaking on developing lines of products together. 

• Licensing name and Brand

• Keynote speaker will be Trend Bible who will talk about trends they expect to see in the next year. They’ll go over what Influencers should be keeping an eye on. It’ll help to set up the Influencers up as experts after this conference. 

• The conference just signed opening keynote speaker Sabrina Soto from HGTV’s Trading Spaces, a lifestyle expert.

EVERYTHING FOOD CONFERENCE (Kami Kilgore)

• Kami’s goal is to create a place for food entrepreneurs to feel encouraged, understood and then find clearly the next steps of what to do to fulfill their business needs when they leave the conference. She wants bloggers to network and connect with other influencers and brands and have a clear game plan to move forward. 

• April 30 – May 2 at the Davis Conference Center – Layton, UT

• Cost: $500 Bloggers/Influencers per person, $900 Brands

• Can find more info on the website, on Facebook (Official Everything Food Conference Group) and Instagram + a newsletter 

• 4 tracks offered:

  • social media/photography, video, business growth/expansion and digital marketing. 

  • Offer recorded sessions for sale and will continue to offer these

• 30% of attendees are identified as beginners and they get a lot out of the conference but the conference is geared towards more experienced bloggers. 

• EFC is the largest conference and there is about 1000 attendees coming this next year. EFC is usually geared towards bloggers that have a team or husband/wife . You can network with each other, network with brand representatives

• 20+ brands are already confirmed for sponsorships and more send their marketing teams to network the conference as well. 

• “EFC is there to serve and give back. They are there to be the one place to constantly remind and prove that you absolutely can achieve that vision you have for yourself.”

INTERNATIONAL FOOD BLOGGERS CONFERENCE (Allan Wright)

• Started in 2009 by Allan Wright

• Wine, food and adventure go together! The conference is small so they often put together fun excursions for participants to attend outside the conference, related to the area and what it offers to visit.

• IFBC wants this conference to be important for new and small blogs as well as large blogs and seasoned bloggers. They are hoping to be a resource to all. They want you to feel welcomed and find something that will be valuable to your business. 

• November 12-15, 2020 the IFBC will be El Paso, Texas

  • 13th and 14th is two full days of learning. 

• Cost: $545 through December 31

  • The IFBC recognizes that it’s a large cost for many small businesses. So food bloggers can write an article about the conference and Brands attending – they are requested to share on their blog and on social media, and then can earn a discount towards the conference. 

  • This assures brands that they are getting something for their sponsorship fees.

• 3 benefits for bloggers – 

  • Educate – serious content assistance. 

  • Allow them to meet each other and connect with Brands that visit too. 

  • Move around each year to showcase a local food scene to participants

• Topics haven’t been set yet but typical tracks are:

  • SEO, Google Analytics

  • Writing, How to write for pay

  • Career growth, monetization

  • Social media

• For more information check out the agenda on the website and provide your email address to get updates on the conference too. 

• IFBC isn’t in the same venue each year. Foodista is where IFBC started. While they like Seattle, they don’t want to burn out the local community. Zephyr conferences likes to move around and visit unique locations and get local support for the conferences. One example of how this is beneficial is a signature dish can be provided by local businesses to the conference attendees – that’s an amazing opportunity. It’s social and it’s inspiring and educates you about local food culture. They’ll invite a wine or beer or tequila vendor too and it’s just a great way to enjoy the whole experience. 

• Because the conference size is smaller it’s also a benefit because you can meet more people and enjoy more activities. 

TASTEMAKER CONFERENCE (Abbey Rodriguez)

• In 2016 she’d made a declaration – her goal was to make her blog her business. Then she kept thinking of this conference as something she needed to start. 

• She noticed a gap in the food blogging space so her goal was to build a conference where deep connections could be made in an intimate place that allowed people to get to know each other and learn from one another. 

• September 24-25, 2020 and excursions are offered on the 26th if you choose in Brooklyn, NY. The night of the 23rd there will be a pre-conference party to get to know each other. 

• Sold out of the early bird pricing within 48 hours. General admission tickets will be available in January. Check their website to be updated and they are on Instagram. 

• Cost: $479

• The values of Tastemaker

  • Community – connections and relationships, finding your tribe 

  • Education – cutting edge information in the food blogging world

  • Experience – inspiring space, be refreshed with others to connect with and aesthetically pleasing and there’s energy for you to rise together!

• Topics for the next Tastemaker – the think tank is working on this now! They will include something for new bloggers and stuff for advanced bloggers: 

  • SEO/Technology

  • Content Creation

  • Social Media/Marketing

  • Business Building Skills

  • Revenue Building

• How the day works:

  • 3 simultaneous break out sessions/day

  • They make a high quality recorded digital copy a month after the conference for attendees. It includes the live video, power points, notes from the class so you don’t miss out on anything. 

• How Tastemaker stands out: they cap the attendance at 250 participants. This is a safe space for each attendee and intimacy and connection is built with this smaller scale event. They travel to a different location each year so a theme is built on a vibe the city offers. High level details creates a magical experience for everyone.