- Publisher |
- Bjork Ostrom
- Media Type |
- audio
- Podknife tags |
- Business,
- Careers,
- Entrepreneurship,
- Food,
- Management & Marketing,
- Technology,
- Writing
- Categories Via RSS |
- Business,
- Entrepreneurship,
- Marketing
We interview successful food bloggers and industry experts in an effort to surface strategies that can help you more efficiently grow and monetize your site. You'll learn about recipe SEO, food photography, plugins, monetization, traffic, and more.
New episodes every Tuesday! Learn more at foodbloggerpro.com/podcast
- People |
- Country Of Origin |
- USA
- Produced In |
- St. Paul, MN
- Premiere Date |
- 2015-06-25
- Frequency |
- Weekly
- Explicit |
- No
This podcast currently has no reviews.
Submit ReviewFocusing on keyword research, creating a workflow, and monetizing your blog.
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Welcome to episode 405 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Casey Rooney from Get On My Plate.
Keyword Research, Resilience, and Resourcefulness
As food bloggers, it can be easy to feel like you need to be doing everything to succeed. If you’re not writing blog posts every day, killing it on social media, partnering with brands, etc., you won’t ever achieve your goals. But that is not true. And Casey Rooney is the perfect illustration of that!
She started her food blog, Get On My Plate, in 2021, and has had incredible success growing her site over the last two years. She has leaned into her passion for SEO and content creation and made a six-figure income in 2022.
In this episode, Casey shares more about her workflow, keyword research process, and why she doesn’t focus on social media. It’s a really refreshing and inspiring episode, and we’re excited to share it with you!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- More about Casey’s background as a teacher and her journey to starting her food blog in 2021.
- How she was able to grow her blog and monetize to make a six-figure income within two years.
- Why she stopped focusing on social media, and instead emphasized content creation and SEO.
- How her passion for content creation, teaching, and business shaped her approach to her blog.
- What she thinks the necessary skills are for any food blogger.
- All about her workflow for content creation.
- Her strategy for publishing Google Web Stories and what benefits she sees from them.
- What her process for keyword research looks like.
- How she optimizes and updates older blog posts.
- What the future of Get On My Plate looks like, and how Casey is diversifying her income.
Resources:
- Get On My Plate
- Xanga
- TopHatRank
- TED: Grit: the power of passion and perseverance - Angela Lee Duckworth
- Monday.com
- BiggerPockets
- A Better Life with Brandon Turner
- Canva
- KeySearch
- RankIQ
- 1:1 Blog Coaching with Casey
- Follow Casey on Instagram
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Incorporating gratitude into your routines, shielding yourself from the negative, and brainstorming what you're grateful for at work.
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Welcome to episode 404 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork is wrapping up his mini-series on habits with a discussion on the habit of gratitude.
A Gratitude Practice for Your Business
In this solo mini-series, Bjork has covered four habits that he recommends creators incorporate into their routines. So far, Bjork has covered the importance of a monthly review, the habit of continual learning, and the habit of who.
In today’s episode, Bjork chats about the habit of gratitude in both your personal, and professional life. If you don’t already have a gratitude practice in your life, this episode is just what you need to get started — practical tips, resources, and more.
We hope you enjoy the last episode of our habits mini-series. We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to build a habit of gratitude in your personal life.
- Why a gratitude practice can be beneficial for your business.
- Practical strategies for incorporating gratitude into your routines.
- How to focus on gratitude and shield yourself from the negative.
- Prompts for brainstorming what you’re grateful for in your work.
Resources:
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
- The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Episode 124: How to Level Up Your Life with UJ Ramdas
- The Five Minute Journal
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Creating a personal board of directors, determining who your experts are, and asking "who can help me with this?"
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Welcome to episode 403 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we have the third episode in our series on habits for creators, all about the habit of who.
Building the Habit of Who
Do you ever feel like you need to be an expert in everything you do, both in your personal and professional life? If so, you’re not alone, and today’s episode is for YOU.
In the third episode of Bjork’s mini-series on habits, he is chatting all about the importance of surrounding yourself with trusted experts who can help you with specific aspects of your life and business.
You’ll learn more about creating a personal board of directors, determining who your experts are, and why you need to be asking “who can help with this?”.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why you should ask yourself the question “who can help me with this?”
- How to introduce the filtering mechanism of “who” into your business.
- Why you should consider building out a personal board of directors.
- The kinds of experts to surround yourself with in the food blogging space.
- How to find a mix of advisors from the digital, personal, and paid consultant realms.
- How the ‘habit of who’ can help boost productivity.
- Why you should take time to reflect on the gains you’ve made in your business.
Resources:
- Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
- NerdPress
- Allea Grummert at Duett
- The Gap and the Gain: The High Achievers’ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Balancing quick and slow knowledge, using time blocks for continual learning, and pairing habits with Bjork Ostrom.
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Welcome to episode 402 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we have the second episode in our series on habits for creators, which is all about the habit of continual learning.
How to Prioritize Continual Learning
Do you currently set aside time in your schedule for continual learning? Or do you feel like you’re just too busy to make time for it?
Either way, we hope that today’s episode will help you to rethink continual learning, and give you inspiration for incorporating it into your life as an entrepreneur.
Bjork chats about the importance of continual learning as a business owner, time blocks, and habit pairing — you won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The difference between quick knowledge and slow knowledge, and why you need a balance of both.
- How to use time blocks to implement the habit of continual learning.
- How to incorporate continual learning into your life on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.
- Why using time blocks can lead to better building blocks for your business.
- How to pair the habit of continual learning with the habit of a monthly review.
Resources:
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
The importance of a monthly review of your business’s revenue, expenses, and profit, and how it can help you be more intentional about growing your business.
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Welcome to episode 401 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork is kicking off the Habits Series on the podcast with a discussion about monthly reviews.
Why You Should Start a Monthly Review of Your Business
This solo episode with Bjork is the first in our Habits Series, in which Bjork will dive into simple, but effective habits that you can (and should!) incorporate into your business.
Bjork explains the concept of a monthly review of your business’s finances and analytics, and how it can benefit your business and help you think more strategically about growth.
It’s a really informative listen, and we hope you’ll take away some helpful tips and tricks that you can incorporate into your business moving forward!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The importance of a monthly review of your revenue, expenses, and profit.
- How to get started tracking your business numbers with a spreadsheet.
- Why you should separate your personal and business expenses.
- How to think strategically about losses and expenses in your business.
- How your bookkeeping and monthly review process might evolve as your business grows.
- Why a monthly review can help you be more intentional about growing your business.
Resources:
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Prioritizing your time and talent, cultivating a bias toward action, and embracing the grind with Bjork Ostrom.
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Welcome to episode 400 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork is chatting about four takeaways that he has observed during his interviews with experts, food creators, and friends over the last 400 podcast episodes.
4 Takeaways from 400 Episodes
In this episode, Bjork reflects on conversations from the last few years and discusses four themes that came up time and time again in these interviews, and in some way contributed to the success of the guests.
Over the course of the episode, Bjork unpacks each of these themes and provides examples and takeaways to help listeners apply these themes to their own businesses.
As we celebrate 400 episodes, we wanted to thank YOU for listening to The Food Blogger Pro Podcast - we couldn’t do it without you!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The four themes that Bjork has noticed over the course of the 400 podcast episodes he has recorded
- The importance of leaning into time, talent, and learning in your business (and hoping for some luck, too!)
- Why you should cultivate a bias toward action
- How to prioritize the skills you’re naturally good at
- Why you might want to embrace your “grind”
- More details about our upcoming habits mini-series on the podcast
- And more!
Resources:
- User Controlled Analytics: The 3 Most Important Types of Analytics in Your First Year of Blogging
- Atomic Habits
- Connect with Bjork via email
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Five food blog SEO takeaways from our member Q&A with Casey Markee.
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Welcome to episode 399 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re sharing a few recipe SEO takeaways from a Q&A we had for our members with Casey Markee.
Internal Linking, Keywords, AI, and SEO for Food Bloggers
We host Live Q&As every month for our Food Blogger Pro members, and one of our most recent Q&As was with our SEO Expert, Casey Markee.
In today’s episode, we’re re-sharing five major takeaways from that conversation and giving you a bit more information about how you can implement his advice, where you can go to see examples, and where you can go to learn more.
It’s a new “style” of episode for us, and we hope you enjoy it! And if you’re interested in getting access to the full SEO Q&A with Casey and you’re not already a Food Blogger Pro member, listen to the end for a discount code to join!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What E-E-A-T means for food bloggers
- How AI may impact organic site traffic
- If there’s an ideal recipe post “template”
- What to include on a static food blog homepage
- A few things that we can do to set ourselves apart in 2023
Resources:
- Ologies
- Media Wyse
- The Ultimate Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies from Handle the Heat
- 294: Bake Offs – Producing a Different Kind of Recipe Content for a Food Blog with Erika Kwee
- The Bake Offs on The Pancake Princess
- Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines
- Our latest update to the quality rater guidelines: E-A-T gets an extra E for Experience
- ChatGPT
- Learn more about food trends
- Broken Link Checker
- Find Casey on Food Blogger Pro
- Save $25 on a new annual Food Blogger Pro membership!
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, email us at podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
Developing an email marketing strategy, serving your audience, and building brand loyalty with Allea Grummert from Duett.
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Welcome to episode 398 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Allea Grummert from Duett all about surveying your audience and email marketing.
Surveying Your Audience
There are many different reasons that email marketing is a valuable tool for food creators. Having an email list can help with SEO, provide a reliable means of communicating your content, and build relationships with your readers.
And that’s what Allea Grummert is talking about with Bjork on the podcast today! Allea is an email marketing strategist and conversion copywriter at Duett, and the Food Blogger Pro Email Marketing Expert!
In this episode, you’ll hear about developing a rock-solid email marketing strategy, surveying your readers, and building brand loyalty.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How to overcome the mental barriers of email marketing for your business.
- Why email marketing is so valuable for a food blog.
- How to use email to connect with and better understand your audience.
- How often you should email your subscribers.
- Why you might want to send a survey to your subscribers, what questions to ask, and how to use the survey data to serve your audience.
- How to tailor your emails (or blog posts) to better meet the needs of your readers.
- How to strategically develop your welcome sequence.
- About two email marketing case studies that illustrate the benefits of email marketing.
- How to work with Allea on your email marketing.
Resources:
- Duett
- ConvertKit
- Pinch of Yum
- Foureyes
- Typeform
- Clariti
- ProBlogger
- FinCon
- mom.com/conversion-emails/">The Permission Sandwich Formula: How to Write Emails That Actually Get You Sales
- She Loves Biscotti
- Recipe Teacher
- Allea’s Your First Welcome Sequence resource for The Food Blogger Pro community
- Follow Allea on Instagram and Facebook
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Strategies for effective bookkeeping, navigating business expenses, and confidently managing tax season as a creator with Amy Northard from Amy Northard, CPA.
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Welcome to episode 397 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Amy Northard from Amy Northard, CPA about accounting for food creators.
Demystifying Finances and Taxes
Taxes and bookkeeping can be a major source of anxiety for anyone, but especially anyone who is self-employed… like many food creators! It can be difficult to know where to get started with managing your business finances, or how you might be able to improve your accounting processes!
Luckily, that’s what Bjork is chatting with Amy Northard about in today’s podcast episode! Amy is a CPA and Partner at Amy Northard, CPA (“The Accountants for Creatives”) and is an expert at setting up bookkeeping systems and navigating taxes for business owners in the creative space.
In this episode, you’ll hear more about when and how to start bookkeeping for your business, the best ways to prepare for tax season, when you might want to outsource your accounting needs, and more.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How and why Amy found her niche and started her accounting firm for creatives
- The importance of separating personal and business transactions
- How to reconcile your business expenses
- Whether groceries can be considered a business expense (and why it matters)
- What the IRS audit process would look like for a food blogger
- Tips for storing and organizing your business receipts
- Amy’s recommendations for bookkeeping software
- Deductions that creatives might overlook
- The differences between sole proprietor, LLC, and S Corp, and how to choose which is the right fit for you
- How to manage payroll for your business
- When you should start to do bookkeeping for your business
- When you might want to consider outsourcing your bookkeeping or taxes
- How to manage losses when you’re starting your business
- How to be intentional about taxes as a more established food creator
- Strategies for effective bookkeeping to make tax season easier
Resources:
- Amy Northard, CPA
- Dropbox
- Shoboxed
- Quickbooks
- Xero
- Wave
- Justworks
- Gusto
- Follow Amy on Instagram and Facebook
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
The transition from blogging to owning a shop, how community drives brand awareness, and the importance of building an audience with Rosie Alyea.
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Welcome to episode 396 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Rosie Alyea from Sweetapolita about serving your audience and transitioning from blogger to shop owner.
The Business of Sprinkles
This episode with Rosie is full of inspiration, and we’re so excited to be talking to her this week about the way she transitioned from blogging to running a multi-million dollar product-based business!
A common theme in this episode is the importance of serving your audience, and you’ll learn how Rosie did that as a blogger and now as a sprinkle business owner.
It’s a super entertaining interview, and we hope the conversation opens you up to other ideas and ways that you can be supporting your audience where they need it most!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Rosie got into baking
- How she realized she wanted to start her own company
- What her transition from blog to shop was like
- How community content drives brand awareness
- Why building an audience is so important
- What she was looking for by going on Dragons’ Den
- How to work with the Sweetapolita team
Resources:
- Cake Beauty
- Elisa Strauss’ The Confetti Cakes Cookbook
- Sweetapolita
- The Sweetapolita Book
- Rosie on Dragons’ Den
- Connect with Sweetapolita on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
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This episode is sponsored by Duett. Jump on a free discovery call to see how the Duett team can help you with your email marketing needs at duett.co/call.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, email us at podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
Important questions to ask about your customers or audience, defining your H1, and why bloggers may want to sell products with Chad Cannon.
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Welcome to episode 395 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Chad Cannon to chat about strategically growing your business through understanding your audience and selling products.
Scaling Your Business (and Your Revenue)
This episode is all about the importance in having a deep understanding of what your business does and how it helps your audience in order to scale and grow.
Chad Cannon is from ScaleFactor, a company focused on building and scaling businesses through their 7 Factors of Scale. You’ll learn about three of the seven factors in this episode: Find Your Buyer, Align Your Brand, and Create Products.
Our hope is that you’ll be able to think through new ways to monetize as you’re listening to this interview!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How he got his start helping businesses grow and scale
- What the “Law of Thirds” means
- Why founders may want to replace themselves
- What he took away from helping other businesses and applied to his own business
- Important questions to ask about your customers or audience
- How to define your H1
- How to find a buyer or an audience
- Why product is important for food bloggers
- Why sponsors will appreciate your understanding of your brand and audience
- What the product creation process looks like
- How you can learn more from and work with Chad
Resources:
- Platform University
- Full Focus
- Full Focus Planner
- Business Accelerator
- factor.co/">ScaleFactor
- Kolbe Assessments
- Food Blogger Pro’s Coaching Calls
- factor.co/podcast">ScaleFactor Podcast
- 1000 True Fans
- Duluth
- 7 Factors of Scale
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, email us at podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
Being intentional with your social media use, navigating vulnerability in the online space, and launching a newsletter on Substack with Leslie Stephens from morning person newsletter.
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Welcome to episode 394 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Leslie Stephens from the morning person newsletter about social media addiction and launching her Substack newsletter.
Substack Newsletters and Social Media Use
As content creators, many of us have a love/hate relationship with social media, and know just how addicting it can be. And that’s what we’re chatting about today with Leslie Stephens!
Leslie is the writer behind morning person newsletter, and she joined Bjork on the podcast to talk about her decision to study social media addiction, and how her studies have influenced the choices she has made with her popular Substack newsletter.
In this episoide, you’ll learn about how to be more intentional with your social media use, how to navigate vulnerability in the online space, and why you might consider launching a newsletter on Substack.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
-
How Leslie started her career as an editor at Food52
-
What she learned while working as an online creator for a major lifestyle brand in LA
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Why she decided to pursue a Masters with a focus on Social Media Addiction
-
Why social media is so addictive and how to be more intentional when using it
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Why she started her morning person newsletter on Substack
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The pros/cons to the Substack platform
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How she found her newsletter niche and grew to thousands of paid subscribers in just one year
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How she navigates sharing her personal life and setting boundaries online
Resources:
-
Follow Leslie on Instagram
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How passion and growth are connected, how to reinvest in a website, and growing a loyal audience with Maurizio Leo.
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Welcome to episode 393 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Maurizio Leo from The Perfect Loaf about business growth through passion.
How Passion and Sourdough Feed a 9 Million Pageview Food Blog
From co-founding and running a popular phone app to starting a sourdough blog that now gets 9 million pageviews a year, Maurizio Leo is a busy guy.
But everything he does is deeply rooted in passion, and you’ll hear why forming businesses around that passion has been crucial for his business growth and consistency in this conversation today.
If you’re looking for ways to diversify your income, growth strategies, or simply some inspiration to help you work towards your goals, you’ll get it all in this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- About his background in computer science
- How he transitioned to working in the food space
- How the passion and growth are connected
- What his schedule looks like as an owner of two successful businesses
- At what point Maurizio knew The Perfect Loaf could be a business
- How the pandemic impacted The Perfect Loaf’s traffic
- How he reinvests in the site
- Why he decided to offer a membership
- What the process of writing a cookbook was like
- What Maurizio is anticipating in the next few years
Resources:
- SkyView
- The Perfect Loaf
- Businesses Do NOT Exist to Make Money | Simon Sinek
- Pinch of Yum’s Holiday Bucket List
- Ang’s Creamy Tortellini Soup
- The Perfect Loaf Membership
- Memberful
- Discord
- The Perfect Loaf Cookbook
- Follow Maurizio on Instagram
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, email us at podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
Dealing with hacked Instagram and Facebook accounts and tips for securing your own social media accounts with Bjork Ostrom.
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Welcome to episode 392 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork explains how the Pinch of Yum Instagram account got hacked and eventually recovered.
Pinch of Yum’s Hacked Instagram Account
Last month, Bjork and Lindsay went through something we all fear as content creators: they completely lost access to the Pinch of Yum Instagram account after Lindsay’s Facebook account got hacked. Talk about a scary situation!
They were eventually able to get the accounts recovered, but they went through a few very stressful days trying to get everything sorted out. In this episode, Bjork shares the entire story of how this happened, how they were able to recover the accounts, and what measures they’re taking to prevent this from happening in the future.
Last but not least, Bjork also provides some tips for how you can secure your own social media accounts to hopefully avoid a situation like this.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Lindsay’s Facebook and Instagram accounts got hacked
- How two-factor authentication works
- How they were able to get the accounts recovered
- Tips for securing your own social media accounts
- How phishing works
Resources:
- Pinch of Yum
- Meta
- Authy
- Google Authenticator
- 1Password
- Connect with Bjork via email
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Working with a literary agent, writing a cookbook proposal, and going through the cookbook publishing process from start to finish with Sally Ekus from The Ekus Group.
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Welcome to episode 391 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sally Ekus from The Ekus Group about what the cookbook publishing process looks like.
Behind the Scenes of the Cookbook Publishing Process
As food bloggers and food creators, many of us dream about writing our own cookbooks one day. But what does it take to get a cookbook deal, and what does the cookbook publishing process actually look like?
That’s what we’re chatting about in this interview with Sally Ekus! She’s a literary agent at The Ekus Group and has brokered over 300 book deals with top publishers across the country.
In this episode, you’ll learn what she does as a literary agent, what steps are involved in the cookbook publishing process, how to set yourself up for success to potentially write a cookbook in the future, and more.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Sally became a literary agent
- What she does at The Ekus Group
- Why cookbook proposals are so important
- How to set yourself up for success to potentially write a cookbook
- Why the topic for a first cookbook is so important
- How advances and royalties work for cookbooks
- What the differences are between frontlist and backlist titles
- What cookbook marketing and publicity look like
- What steps are involved in the cookbook publishing process
- How long it typically takes to write a cookbook
- What she teaches in her How to Write a Cookbook course
- Why writing a cookbook can lead to many other opportunities
Resources:
- The Ekus Group
- How to Write a Cookbook course — The Ekus Group
- How to Be a Cookbook Author Facebook Group
- Everything Cookbooks Podcast
- Publishers Marketplace
- Follow Sally on Instagram and Facebook
- Connect with Sally via email
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Overcoming feelings of burnout, becoming a full-time content creator, and creating multiple revenue streams with Karishma Pradhan from Home Cooking Collective.
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Welcome to episode 390 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Karishma Pradhan from Home Cooking Collective about how she overcame burnout and built a successful career as a food creator.
Overcoming Burnout and Building a Successful Career as a Food Creator
Today, we’re really excited to share this conversation with Karishma Pradhan! She runs the site Home Cooking Collective, and she has a really unique story to share about how she became a full-time food creator.
In this episode, you’ll hear what her career used to look like as a data analyst, why she transitioned to working for herself, how she overcame feelings of burnout, and how she earns an income now by sharing food content online.
It’s a really inspiring interview that emphasizes the importance of finding work that serves you and empowers your physical and mental health. We hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Karishma learned working in data analytics
- How she transitioned to working for herself
- How she overcame feelings of burnout
- How she got into sharing food content online
- How she analyzes user behavior as a blogger and content creator
- Why she decided to start hosting cooking workshops
- How she got into doing freelance recipe development and food writing
- How she prioritizes her time and manages her work
Resources:
- Home Cooking Collective
- 323: Understanding the Numbers – Optimizing Your Blog’s Financials with Ansley Beutler
- The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
- Wellfound
- Karishma’s Workshops and Classes
- Simply Recipes
- The Bite Shot
- Follow Karishma on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter
- Submit a Coaching Call Application <– for Food Blogger Pro members only
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Investing money into your business, deleting posts to encourage growth, and the importance of having accountability partners with Sarah Cook from Sustainable Cooks.
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Welcome to episode 389 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to our episode with Sarah Cook from Sustainable Cooks where she talks about what specific strategies she implemented to grow her blog’s traffic and increase her revenue.
Going From 17k to 600k Monthly Pageviews
For today’s FBP Rewind episode, we’re rewinding back to our September 2021 interview with Sarah Cook from Sustainable Cooks!
Sarah’s story is so inspiring, and in this episode, she shares everything she did to go from 17k to 600k monthly pageviews with her blog. She explains some of the unique ways she has invested in her blog, why she decided to delete hundreds of posts, why she loves having a blogging accountability partner, and more.
It’s a great interview, and we hope you can apply some of these tips and skills to grow your own traffic. Let’s rewind!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Sarah decided to go all in with her blog
- How she struggled to define her identity as a full-time blogger
- Where she started investing money into her business
- How she shifted her content strategy
- Why she deleted hundreds of posts on her blog
- How she categorized her content into specific buckets
- Why ad earnings are typically lower in Q1
- How her blog’s success has helped her support causes she cares about
- How she fits work into the margins of her day
- What tasks she decided to hire out
- Why she loves having a blogging accountability partner
Resources:
- Sustainable Cooks
- 170: What’s Working and What’s Not with the FBP Community
- Media Wyse
- Find Casey Markee on FBP
- Purr Design
- The Simple Pin Podcast
- Find Kate Ahl on FBP
- Mediavine
- Keysearch
- AdThrive
- Hey Nutrition Lady
- Cook It Real Good
- Follow Sarah on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Improving your food photography skills, getting a cookbook deal, and focusing on SEO with Emma Duckworth from Emma Duckworth Bakes.
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Welcome to episode 388 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to our episode with Emma Duckworth from Emma Duckworth Bakes where she talks about how she’s grown her blog by focusing on SEO.
Doubling Pageviews by Focusing on SEO
It’s another FBP Rewind episode today, and we’re so excited to revisit our November 2021 interview with Emma Duckworth from Emma Duckworth Bakes!
After growing her business for a few years, Emma decided to double down on her blog and hired a mentor to help her out with SEO. You’ll hear how she used the avatar exercise to understand her audience, how she optimized her homepage and recipe categories, and what she’s doing to focus on SEO moving forward.
If SEO is a focus for you at the moment, you won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Emma got into food photography and food blogging
- How she grew her food photography skills
- What steps she took to strategically grow her Instagram account
- How she started getting her first sponsored work
- What she learned from the cookbook writing process
- Why she decided to double down on her blog
- How she hired a mentor to help her out with SEO
- How she used the avatar exercise to understand her audience
- How she optimized her blog’s homepage and categories
- How she identified and optimized her top-performing posts
- How she has started doing keyword research
- Why she and her husband decided to launch a street coffee business
- What she’s focusing her attention on moving forward
Resources:
- Emma Duckworth Bakes
- Order Emma’s cookbook, Simply Sweet Nostalgic Bakes
- Dear Coco Street Coffee
- Foodtography School
- This American Life
- Well Seasoned Studio
- Foolproof Living
- The Feast Plugin
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Keysearch
- Clariti
- Growth University
- Follow Emma on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Running a web design studio, conveying your brand's voice and messaging, and optimizing the user experience on your blog with Madison Wetherill from Grace + Vine Studios.
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Welcome to episode 387 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Madison Wetherill from Grace + Vine Studios about optimizing your website design as a food blogger.
Optimizing Your Website Design as a Food Blogger
When it comes down to it, website design is so much more than just your website layout and logo; a large component of it is how you convey your brand’s messaging and voice throughout all the pages on your site.
Madison Wetherill is the web designer behind Grace + Vine Studios, and she’s here on the podcast today to share all her best tips for optimizing your website design as a food blogger!
In this episode, you’ll hear how she works with food bloggers, how she helps her clients develop and showcase their brand’s voice, and her best tips for enhancing the user experience on your site. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Madison became a web designer
- How she works with food bloggers at her web design studio
- Why brand voice is so important
- How to stand out in the crowd as a food blogger
- How to convey your brand’s messaging on your blog’s homepage and blog posts
- How to optimize the user experience on your site
- Why she decided to expand her team
- What topics she covers on her podcast
Resources:
- Grace + Vine Studios
- The Vine Podcast
- The Clean Eating Couple
- Follow Madison on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Getting started with email marketing, encouraging people to sign up for your list, and creating a strong email marketing strategy with Matt Ragland.
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Welcome to episode 386 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Matt Ragland about getting the most out of your email marketing strategy.
Getting the Most Out of Your Email Marketing Strategy
If you’re already creating content for your blog or social media, another great place to share that content is via email. And that’s what we’re chatting about today with Matt Ragland!
Matt has years of experience in the world of email marketing, and in this interview, you’ll hear what he learned working at ConvertKit, why email marketing is so powerful, his best tips for getting more people to sign up for your email list, and how he helps creators develop high-converting weekly email newsletters.
Whether you’re looking to get started with email marketing or take your current email marketing strategy to the next level, we know you’ll have so many takeaways from this conversation!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Matt learned working at ConvertKit
- Why he recommends leaning into a niche
- How he helps creators with email marketing
- Why email marketing is so powerful
- How to effectively share blog posts via email
- How to get more people to sign up for your email list
- Why he recommends creating a welcome series
- How broadcasts and newsletters differ from sequences
- His best tips for getting started with email marketing
Resources:
- Matt’s website
- Learn more about Matt’s email marketing service, Automatic Evergreen
- Connect the Dots Podcast
- Story Signals Podcast
- Copyblogger
- ProBlogger
- Michael Hyatt’s website
- Corbett Barr
- Chris Guillebeau
- ConvertKit
- Smart Passive Income
- Podia
- Teachable
- Kajabi
- Quora
- Medium
- Follow Matt on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Getting comfortable on camera, running online cooking classes, and maximizing your productivity with Ashley Covelli from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen.
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Welcome to episode 385 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ashley Covelli from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen about teaching cooking classes as a food creator.
Teaching Cooking Classes
Have you ever wanted to teach your own cooking classes but are not sure how to get started? Then you won’t want to miss this episode with Ashley!
In addition to sharing recipes on her blog, Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen, Ashley also runs online cooking classes in partnership with local libraries. You’ll hear how she started doing these classes, how she got comfortable being on camera, what equipment she uses to run the classes, and more.
If you’re looking to add a new revenue stream to your business, cooking classes might be a fun option to look into!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Ashley started sharing food content online
- How she started teaching in-person cooking classes
- Why she switched to teaching virtual cooking classes
- How her cooking classes work
- What equipment she uses to run her classes
- How she got comfortable being on camera
- How she uses time blocking to maximize her productivity
- Why she recommends documenting your processes
Resources:
- Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
- Ashley’s Upcoming Cooking Classes
- LiveJournal
- Blogger
- Zoom
- Aputure Amaran P60X Panel Light
- Alvoxocon USB Lavalier Microphone
- Gumroad
- Food Blogger Pro Video Courses <– for Food Blogger Pro members only
- Duett
- CoSchedule
- Mailchimp
- MailerLite
- The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
- GoodNotes
- Follow Ashley on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Running two food blogs, building a team, and rapidly growing an email list with Toni Okamoto from Plant-Based on a Budget.
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Welcome to episode 384 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Toni Okamoto from Plant-Based on a Budget about how she runs her two food blogs and how she’s grown her email list to over 80,000 subscribers.
Running Two Food Blogs and Growing an Email List
Today, we’re really excited to share this conversation with Toni Okamoto! She’s the creator behind not one, but two, successful food blogs: Plant-Based on a Budget and Food Sharing Vegan.
In this episode, you’ll hear what she’s done to get both blogs accepted into Mediavine, why she decided to expand her team, how she’s grown her email list to over 80,000 subscribers, and more.
Toni’s passion for her work shines through in this interview, and we know you’ll have so many takeaways after learning her story and content creation strategy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Toni started sharing food content online
- How she has strategically grown her two food blogs
- Why she believes so strongly in investing in her business
- Why she decided to expand her team
- What tools she uses to stay in contact with her team
- What the primary revenue sources are for her business
- How she works with sponsors on her blog, social media, podcast, and email newsletter
- How she has grown her email list to over 80,000 subscribers
- Why she places so much emphasis on social media
Resources:
- Plant-Based on a Budget
- Food Sharing Vegan
- The Plant-Powered People Podcast
- BigScoots
- Mediavine
- What the Health
- Kate Kordsmeier
- The E Myth Revisited
- Voxer
- World of Vegan
- Matt Molen
- Mediavine Spotlight
- 201: Email Marketing for Bloggers with Matt Molen
- Sign up for the FBP Cyber Monday Waitlist!
- Follow Toni on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Creating viral food videos, sharing videos on TikTok, and editing your videos for different platforms with Julie Tran Deily.
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Welcome to episode 383 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Julie Tran Deily about how food creators can use Whisk when sharing videos on TikTok.
TikTok, Whisk, and the Importance of Leaning into Video
Note: Since the recording of this interview, TikTok decided to sunset their Jump program, which Bjork and Julie mention during this interview. Therefore, Whisk Jump is no longer available as of December 1, 2022. As an alternative, creators can link directly to Whisk using their TikTok profile link.
When sharing recipe videos on social media, it can be hard to direct your followers to the actual recipe on your blog. Social media platforms just really don’t make it easy for us, do they?
Enter: Whisk! You can use this handy app to add a recipe link directly to your TikTok videos, and it’s what we’re chatting about today with Julie Tran Deily.
Julie used to work for Whisk, and she’s also been running her food blog, The Little Kitchen, for over 12 years. Video is a huge part of her strategy, and in this episode, she’s sharing her process for creating viral food videos, as well as a peek into how she uses tools like Whisk to grow her social media following and increase her blog’s pageviews.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Julie decided to launch her food blog
- How she had a video go viral on several different social platforms
- Why she really likes sharing videos on TikTok
- What her role looked like at Whisk
- How Whisk lets you link to your recipes on TikTok
- How she edits her videos
- How she converts vertical videos to horizontal videos to share on her blog
- Why she recommends experimenting and sharing on different social platforms
Resources:
- The Little Kitchen
- Julie's Crab Rangoon Facebook Reel
- Download a Free Content Strategy Guide from Julie Tran Deily
- Whisk
- Mediavine
- Final Cut Pro
- Info About the Whisk Creator Fund
- rush.html">Adobe Premiere Rush
- Adobe Express
- InShot
- Follow Julie on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Reaching out to brands, negotiating sponsored content contracts, and determining your rates with Jenny Meassick from Chocolate & Lace.
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Welcome to episode 382 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jenny Meassick from Chocolate & Lace about how she works with brands and negotiates sponsored content contracts.
Tips for Negotiating Sponsored Content Contracts
There are so many ways you can earn money as a food creator, one of which is by working with brands and creating sponsored content. And that’s what we’re talking about today with Jenny from Chocolate & Lace!
Jenny’s been blogging for over ten years, and she currently earns the majority of her blogging income by working with brands. She has a very strategic approach when it comes to sponsored content, and we’re really excited to share her process with you in this episode.
You’ll hear her best tips for negotiating sponsored content contracts, how she sets her rates, how she nurtures strong relationships with the brands she works with, and more. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Jenny started sharing content online
- Why she doesn’t want to become a full-time blogger
- Why she decided to start sharing both food and lifestyle content
- How she approaches doing sponsored content
- Her best tips for negotiating sponsored content contracts
- How exclusivity works
- Her best tips for setting your rates for sponsored content
- What ‘in perpetuity’ means
- How she approaches pitching to brands
- Why she recommends following up with brands you’re working with frequently
Resources:
- usa.com/">Chocolate & Lace
- usa.com/exactly-how-i-set-my-rates-as-a-content-creator/"> Exactly How I Set My Rates as a Content Creator
- Mediavine
- Things That Matter: Overcoming Distraction to Pursue a More Meaningful Life
- Substack
- FBP Live – September 15, 2022 – Earning Money with a Side Hustle — available for FBP members only
- Paved
- Ford
- ALDI
- STAUB
- Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media
- LISS Legal
- Find Danielle Liss on FBP
- Follow Jenny on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
-----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Knowing a recipe is ready to publish, why recipe testing starts at the grocery store, and starting with a Hypothesis Draft with Katie Webster.
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Welcome to episode 381 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Katie Webster from Healthy Seasonal Recipes about the process of developing rock-solid recipes for your readers.
Developing Foolproof Recipes
As food bloggers and business owners, the “product” we’re creating for our readers or “customers” are our recipes, so it’s important for them to be as comprehensive as possible.
Katie Webster from Healthy Seasonal Recipes has a unique and reliable process for testing the recipes she publishes on her site, and she’s here today to talk you through the whole thing!
You’ll hear about how she starts the process, why she develops a hypothesis draft, and how she ultimately decides that a recipe is at its final stage.
This episode is a must-listen for any and all recipe developers!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What she did as a personal chef
- What her personal chef business taught her about freelancing
- How to know a recipe is done
- Her process for developing recipes
- The difference between prep time and active time
- At what point Katie finalized a recipe
- Why she doesn’t shoot photos or video when she’s testing recipes
- Why recipe testing starts at the grocery store
- How she keeps track of recipe ideas
- How she works with recipe testers
- Her advice for those in the early stages of recipe development
Resources:
- Healthy Seasonal Recipes
- EatingWell
- Katie’s cookbook
- 374: From Blogger to Cookbook Author – How Adrianna Adarme Sold 110,000 Copies of Her Cookbook
- 375: From Blogger to Cookbook Author (Part Two) – Preserving Family Recipes Through Cookbooks with Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack
- The Recipe Writer’s Handbook
- Follow Katie on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, email us at podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
How to understand high-ranking content on Google, how to tell when Google updates its algorithm, and the importance of user intent with Arsen Rabinovich.
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Welcome to episode 380 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Arsen Rabinovich from TopHatRank about how content ranks with the Google Algorithm.
What Google is Expecting from Food Creators
Us, to Google Search: Why are you the way that you are?
If you’ve ever had similar feelings towards the world’s most popular search engine, you’re not alone! And luckily, Arsen Rabinovich is here to talk all about content that performs well in Google search results.
And while the way that the Google Algorithm works isn’t 100% understood, we can learn from other pieces of content within search engine results to understand what Google looks for in “good content.”
Bjork and Arsen have a great, approachable conversation in this episode, and career bloggers and newbies alike will definitely learn a thing or two that they can apply to their own content creation endeavors!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How he helps recipe bloggers at TopHatRank
- What White Hat and Black Hat SEO are
- How Google understands user intent
- How to tell when Google updates its algorithm
- Who names the Google Algorithm changes and how you can know what’s included
- If Google could make an update that only updates the food and recipe space
- Who John Mueller is
- How Google understands the content of a web page
- Whether or not schema is a ranking factor
- If should creators should create content in service of the algorithm
- How to understand what ranks well on Google
- What domain authority and authoritativeness are
- How plural search terms are understood by Google
Resources:
- TopHatRank
- Casey Markee
- Media Wyse
- TopHatContent
- TopHatSocial
- SEO for Bloggers Webinars
- 367: Brainstorming Content Ideas with Ranking Potential and Writing Great Blog Posts with Ashley Segura
- Semrush Sensor
- MozCast
- What creators should know about Google’s helpful content update
- Google’s Medic Update
- List of Google Search ranking updates
- Yoast SEO
- TopHatRank for Bloggers
- How to Update Seasonal Content – SEO For Bloggers Episode #26
- Pinterest Organic: Recap of SEO For Bloggers Episode #25
- Follow TopHatRank on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
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This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn how you can organize your blog content for maximum growth by going to clariti.com/food.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, email us at podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
Managing your time as a blogger, investing in your business, and building connections with other food bloggers with Shweta Garg from Masala and Chai.
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Welcome to episode 379 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Shweta Garg from Masala and Chai about how she’s grown her blog while working a full-time job.
Growing Your Blog with a Full-Time Job
Are you growing your blog while also working a full-time job? Do you struggle to find enough hours in the day to get everything done? If so, you’re not alone!
Today, we’re chatting with Shweta, the blogger behind the site Masala and Chai. Since launching her blog, she has been growing it while also working a full-time job, and she’s been very strategic about maximizing her time and resources to grow and monetize her site.
In this episode, you’ll hear her five best tips for growing your blog while also working a full-time job, as well as what she’s done to earn $9,000 in one month from her blog. We hope you enjoy hearing Shweta’s story and advice in this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Shweta started sharing food content online
- What she does for her full-time job
- Why she moved away from doing restaurant reviews
- How she improved her food photography
- Why she recommends setting business hours for your blog
- Why content batching can help you maximize your time as a blogger
- Why it’s so important to invest in yourself and your business
- What courses and masterminds she went through to grow her blog
- Why she recommends planning your quitting criteria
- Why it’s so helpful to build connections within the food blogging community
Resources:
- Masala and Chai
- The Feast Plugin
- Media Wyse
- TopHatRank
- Frosting and Fettuccine’s Food Photography Classes and Workshops
- Style Me Creatively
- 021: How to Manage Your Schedule So You Can Live Free with Amy Lynn Andrews
- Mediavine
- with-keywords.teachable.com/">Cooking with Keywords
- The Food Blogging Mastermind - Sweet Tea + Thyme
- MrBeast’s YouTube channel
- Why Jim Carrey Wrote Himself a $10-Million Check Before He Had $10 Million
- Follow Shweta on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Diversifying your revenue streams, selling digital products, and finding your niche as a food creator with Tessa Arias from Handle the Heat.
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Welcome to episode 378 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Tessa Arias from Handle the Heat about the unique ways she monetizes her business as a food creator.
Monetizing as a Food Creator
Today, we’re really excited to share this conversation with Tessa! She’s a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and blogger behind the site Handle the Heat, and she is a big proponent of diversifying your income streams as a food creator.
In this episode, you’ll hear how she sells both physical and digital products on her blog, her best tips for those who want to start selling digital products like courses, why she doesn’t want to rely entirely on ad revenue, and more.
Tessa’s story is so inspiring, and she offers some really insightful advice for other food creators in this conversation. If you’ve been looking for some unique ways to monetize your business, you won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Tessa decided to launch her food blog
- How she narrowed down her content focus and landed on her niche
- Why she focuses so much on diversifying her income streams
- How she sells physical and digital products
- Her best tip for those who want to start offering digital products
- What tools she uses to run her online course
- Why she decided to expand her team
- How she manages her weeks and optimizes her time
Resources:
- Handle the Heat
- Shop Handle the Heat
- The Magic of Baking course
- Angelfire
- StumbleUpon
- Sur La Table
- BlogHer
- AdThrive
- Mediavine
- LearnDash
- Kajabi
- Teachable
- Thinkific
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
- Run Like Clockwork
- Loom
- Follow Tessa on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Creating a content plan for Q4 and maximizing your revenue as a food creator with advice from the Food Blogger Pro Experts.
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Welcome to episode 377 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, the Food Blogger Pro Experts share their best advice for getting the most out of Q4 as a food creator.
Q4 Advice
Let’s talk about Q4! The last three months of the year (also known as Q4) are a very important time for food creators for a few reasons. More people will be searching for recipes as the holidays roll around, and advertisers are spending more money, which can impact creators who are monetizing through display ads or sponsored content.
So, what should we be doing as food creators to maximize our earning potential during Q4? That’s what we’re chatting about today!
In this episode, a few of the Food Blogger Pro Experts share their best tips for approaching Q4. From adjusting your content strategy to pitching yourself to brands to sharing more on Pinterest, there are so many different ways you can make the most of this season as a content creator.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Who the Food Blogger Pro Experts are
- How you can use Google Trends as a food creator
- Why it’s important to look at your RPMs during Q4
- How to get your site ready for increased visitors during Q4
- What a strong Q4 email marketing strategy might look like
- How to get the most out of Pinterest during Q4
- Tips to stay on top of your sponsored content agreements
- How to optimize your top posts for Q4
- Why you might want to pitch yourself to brands this time of year
- Why you might want to install Google Analytics 4 if you haven’t yet
- How to approach sharing seasonal content on YouTube
- Tips for sharing seasonal content as a vegan content creator
Resources:
- Meet the Food Blogger Pro Experts
- Google Trends
- AdThrive
- Mediavine
- NerdPress
- Duett
- Simple Pin Media
- LISS Legal
- Businessese
- Pinch of Yum
- Republishing Content course <– for Food Blogger Pro members only
- ade.com/">Digital-ade
- Google Analytics
- MonsterInsights
- Google Tag Manager
- Rainbow Plant Life
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Running virtual events, getting brands involved, and promoting the events to creators with Stefani Pollack from The Bake Fest.
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Welcome to episode 376 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Stefani Pollack from The Bake Fest about organizing and running virtual events.
Organizing and Running Large-Scale Virtual Events
As food bloggers, we spend a lot of our time working by ourselves, and it can often feel isolating. So how can we connect with other bloggers and build relationships with brands we love?
Enter: The Bake Fest! This virtual event for bakers features online baking and business classes, product demos, and more, and it’s a great place to build those connections with other creators and companies. In today’s episode, we’re chatting with Stefani, the founder of The Bake Fest, all about why she decided to start running these virtual events, how they work, and more.
Her next event, The Bake Fest Holiday Edition, will be on Saturday, October 8, 2022, so be sure to check it out and get registered if you’re interested in attending!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Stefani became a food blogger
- Her best tips for growing on Instagram in 2022
- How she helps creators grow their Instagram accounts
- Why she decided to launch The Bake Fest
- What to expect at The Bake Fest Holiday Edition
- What tools and apps she uses to run The Bake Fest
- How she promotes The Bake Fest and encourages signups
- What lessons she has learned running virtual events
Resources:
- The Bake Fest
- Get registered for The Bake Fest Holiday Edition!
- Cupcake Project
- GrillinFools
- Build Digital Marketing
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
- Bob’s Red Mill
- Airmeet
- AppSumo
- Eventbrite
- Mailchimp
- Zapier
- Slack
- The Life Of A Project from Steal Like An Artist
- Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
- Follow Stefani on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Follow The Bake Fest on Instagram and Facebook
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Writing a cookbook proposal, finding a literary agent, and writing a cookbook with a co-author with Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack from Muy Bueno.
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Welcome to episode 375 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack from Muy Bueno in Part Two of our From Blogger to Cookbook Author series.
From Blogger to Cookbook Author
Welcome back to our From Blogger to Cookbook Author series! In this two-part series, we’re interviewing a few bloggers who have landed cookbook deals to learn more about how the cookbook writing process works.
And in this final installment of this series, we’re chatting with Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack! In addition to running her blog, Muy Bueno, she has also written two cookbooks, and she’s currently working on a third. Suffice it to say she knows a thing or two about the cookbook process!
In this episode, you’ll hear how she wrote her cookbook proposals, what it was like writing a cookbook with a co-author, and her best tips for creators who want to write a cookbook one day. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Yvette decided to launch her food blog
- How she wrote her first cookbook proposal
- Why she decided to do the graphic design for her first cookbook
- What lessons she learned from writing her first cookbook
- What she did differently with her second cookbook
- What it was like writing a cookbook with a co-author
- How she found her literary agent
- How she’s approaching writing her third cookbook
- Her best tips for those who want to write a cookbook
Resources:
- Muy Bueno
- Muy Bueno: Three Generations of Authentic Mexican Flavor
- Latin Twist: Traditional and Modern Cocktails
- Shutterfly
- Hippocrene Books
- Sweet Life
- FoodieCrush
- Sally Ekus - The Ekus Group
- Yvette’s Emmy award-winning video: Celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) with a sugar skull decorating party
- Follow Yvette on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Getting two cookbook deals, choosing a cookbook topic, and navigating the cookbook writing process as a food blogger with Adrianna Adarme from A Cozy Kitchen.
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Welcome to episode 374 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Adrianna Adarme from A Cozy Kitchen in Part One of our From Blogger to Cookbook Author series.
From Blogger to Cookbook Author
We’re excited to officially launch a two-part series called From Blogger to Cookbook Author! In this series, we’re interviewing a few bloggers who have landed cookbook deals to learn more about how the cookbook writing process works.
And today, we’re kicking things off with Adrianna Adarme! Since launching her blog in 2011, she has published two cookbooks, and her second cookbook has sold over 110,000 copies.
You’ll hear how she got both her cookbook deals, how much her advances were for her cookbooks, how royalties work, and more. If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a cookbook, we know you’ll have a lot of takeaways from this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Adrianna decided to launch her food blog
- How she got her first cookbook deal
- Her best recommendations for choosing a cookbook topic
- How much her advances were for her cookbooks
- What expenses she didn’t expect from writing a cookbook
- What lessons she learned from writing her first cookbook
- How royalties work
- How she approached writing her second cookbook
- What success she’s had with her second cookbook
Resources:
- A Cozy Kitchen
- Pancakes: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack
- The Year of Cozy: 125 Recipes, Crafts & Other Homemade Adventures
- Joy the Baker
- Smitten Kitchen
- Levine Greenberg Literary Agency
- The Pioneer Woman
- St. Martin’s Press
- Twitter thread about NHL contracts
- Pinch of Yum — The Failed Recipes of 2015
- Follow Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Finding your purpose as a business owner and teaching engaging online cooking classes with Cynthia Samanian from Culinary Creator Business School.
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Welcome to episode 373 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Cynthia Samanian from Culinary Creator Business School about teaching online cooking classes.
Teaching Online Cooking Classes
Have you ever wanted to teach online cooking classes but you’re not sure how to get started? Well, Cynthia is here to help you out!
She’s the creator of Culinary Creator Business School, a program that teaches culinary business owners how to teach their first online cooking class in 90 days or less, and she’s here on the podcast today to share her best advice with our listeners.
In this episode, you’ll hear what her business journey has looked like, why she decided to launch her program, her best tip for those wanting to teach online classes, and more. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Cynthia’s entrepreneurial journey has looked like
- What she learned working as a product manager
- Why she decided to launch Culinary Creator Business School
- What she teaches her students in her program
- Her best tip for those wanting to teach online cooking classes
- Why it’s so important to know your purpose as a business owner
Resources:
- Culinary Creator Business School
- The Culinary Creator Business School Podcast
- Brit + Co
- 328: Hosting Events – How Liz Della Croce Plans and Runs Successful Food Blogger Retreats
- Bumble
- Expo West
- Alt Summit
- Digital Course Academy
- 308: Virtual Events – Earn an Income by Teaching Classes Online with Tomas Hoyos
- Moment
- All-In Podcast
- From Market to Table
- Follow Cynthia on Instagram and Facebook
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Getting accepted into Mediavine, running in-person cooking classes, and selling products as a content creator with Elena Davis from Cucina by Elena.
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Welcome to episode 372 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Elena Davis from Cucina by Elena about how she grew her traffic and got accepted into Mediavine.
From 20k to 100k+ Monthly Pageviews
Today, we’re really excited to share this inspiring conversation with Elena! Since launching her blog in 2020, she has grown her traffic to over 100k monthly pageviews, gotten accepted into Mediavine, and become a full-time content creator.
Aside from that, Elena’s also sharing how she found unique ways to earn an income while waiting to get accepted into Mediavine, such as running in-person cooking classes and selling physical products.
No matter where you are in your blogging journey, we know that you’ll find Elena’s story and insights encouraging. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Elena decided to launch her blog
- Why she focused on building connections within the blogging community
- How she strategically optimized her site
- How she grew her traffic and got accepted into Mediavine
- Why she decided to rename her blog
- How she earns money as a content creator
- What her in-person cooking classes look like
- How she sells physical products on her blog
Resources:
- Cucina by Elena
- MacBreak Weekly Podcast
- Tasty Recipes
- Elena’s Italian Stories
- Salt & Lavender
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Mediavine
- AdThrive
- The Feast Plugin
- NerdPress
- with-keywords.teachable.com/">Cooking with Keywords
- TopHatRank
- Harmons Grocery
- Culinary Creator Business School
- Duett
- The Happiness Lab Podcast
- Shop Elena’s products
- Follow Elena on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Becoming full-time entrepreneurs, building a team, and growing multiple businesses with Bjork and Lindsay Ostrom.
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Welcome to episode 371 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re sharing Bjork and Lindsay’s episode from the Simple Pin Podcast with Kate Ahl.
Growing Multiple Businesses
Today’s episode is a bit unusual because Bjork and Lindsay are actually the ones being interviewed! We’re really excited to be featuring an episode of the Simple Pin Podcast.
Kate recently interviewed Bjork and Lindsay about their entrepreneurial journey, and we knew we wanted to share this inspiring conversation with our listeners. You’ll hear how they grew Pinch of Yum while working full-time jobs, what they’ve learned as they’ve grown their various businesses, what they’ve found surprising about being entrepreneurs, and more.
If you’ve ever wanted to hear more about Bjork and Lindsay’s story, you won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The quick story behind Pinch of Yum
- What Bjork and Lindsay learned growing Pinch of Yum while also working full-time jobs
- Why they decided to expand their team
- Why they decided to launch Food Blogger Pro, WP Tasty, Nutrifox, Clariti, and TinyBit
- The difference between being a maker and a manager
- What they’ve found surprising about being entrepreneurs
- Their best advice for fellow entrepreneurs
Resources:
- Simple Pin Podcast
- Simple Pin Media
- Pinch of Yum
- TinyBit
- Kolbe A Index Test
- 361: Earning $2,500 in One Day and Traveling Full-Time as a Food Blogger with Eric Samuelson
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Becoming a full-time content creator, growing a YouTube channel, and repurposing content across different platforms with Caitlin Shoemaker from From My Bowl.
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Welcome to episode 370 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Caitlin Shoemaker about how she became a full-time food creator and grew her YouTube channel.
778K YouTube Subscribers
YouTube is a great place to share your food videos, and there’s undoubtedly a lot of opportunity on the platform for food creators. And it’s what we’re focusing on in today’s episode with Caitlin!
In this interview, she shares how she grew her YouTube channel to over 778k subscribers. You’ll hear how she got comfortable being on camera, how she earns money sharing videos on YouTube, what her current video strategy looks like, and more.
If you want to start creating YouTube videos, or maybe you already post on YouTube and want to take your channel to the next level, we think you’ll have a lot of takeaways from this conversation. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Caitlin started sharing food content online
- Why she decided to launch her food blog
- How she became a full-time content creator
- What her different revenue streams look like
- How she got more comfortable being on camera
- How you can earn money sharing videos on YouTube
- How she repurposes content across different social media platforms
- What her YouTube content strategy looks like
- What equipment she uses to film her videos
- What tasks she outsources for her business
Resources:
- From My Bowl
- Caitlin’s YouTube channel
- AdThrive
- 365: How to Find Your Zone of Genius and Hire the Right People with Emily Perron
- YouTube Partner Program Overview & Eligibility
- Canon 5D Mark III
- Canon 70D
- The Bite Shot
- Follow Caitlin on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Writing compelling blog posts, developing your voice, and connecting with your readers with Jessica Holmes from Sweetest Menu.
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Welcome to episode 369 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jessica Holmes about how to develop your voice and connect with your readers through your writing.
Developing Your Voice
From recipe testing to sharing content on social media, so much goes into being a food blogger. But without a doubt, one of the most important skills to focus on as a blogger is your writing, and that’s what we’re chatting about today with Jess!
Before becoming a full-time blogger, Jess worked as a copywriter, and she’s sharing all of her best writing advice in this episode. You’ll hear her tips on how to develop your voice as a writer, how to share your personality while also writing for SEO, and more.
If you’re looking to level up your writing and connect with your readers on a deeper level, you won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Jess became a food blogger
- What she learned working as a copywriter
- Why it’s important to be really clear when writing recipes
- What readability is
- How to develop your voice as a writer
- How to share your personality while also writing for SEO
- How to write eye-catching captions for social media
- The biggest mistakes she sees bloggers make when writing
Resources:
- Sweetest Menu
- Hemingway App
- Grammarly
- 1000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly
- Baron Fig
- Will Write for Food
- Download the free Starter Kit ebook here!
- Follow Jessica on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Booking TV appearances, working with brands, and growing a food and lifestyle brand with Rosalynn Daniels.
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Welcome to episode 368 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Rosalynn Daniels about how she grew her brand and became a TV personality.
Becoming a TV Personality
Have you ever wanted to share your recipes on TV… but you’re not sure how to actually book TV appearances as a content creator?
That’s what we’re chatting about in this episode with Rosalynn! She’s a lifestyle personality, content creator, and photographer, and in addition to running her blog, she has been featured on national television networks.
You’ll hear how she broke into this industry, how she works with brands while appearing on TV, how she determines her rates for her TV appearances, and more.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Rosalynn became a content creator
- What mindset shifts she made to further her career
- How she booked her first TV appearance
- Her best tips for booking TV appearances
- What her team looks like
- What her overall goals are for her brand and business
- How she monetizes her business
- How she works with brands for TV appearances
- How she determines her rates for TV appearances
- Why she decided to launch her production company, Brown Hands Media
Resources:
- Rosalynn’s website
- Brown Hands Media
- Follow Rosalynn on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Developing a content strategy and writing blog posts that will get traffic to your blog with Ashley Segura from TopHatContent.
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Welcome to episode 367 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ashley Segura from TopHatContent about brainstorming content ideas and writing great blog posts.
Writing Great Blog Posts
As bloggers, our goal is to create content that our readers find valuable. But even more, we want to create content that people are actually searching for. And that’s what we’re chatting about today with Ashley from TopHatRank and TopHatContent!
She’s an expert when it comes to content marketing, and she’s sharing some of her best advice for creators in this episode — everything from how to come up with great content ideas to what an ideal blog post structure looks like.
It’s a really great interview, and we know you’ll have so many takeaways to apply to your own content strategy after listening. We hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Ashley got into content marketing
- What she does at TopHatRank and TopHatContent
- What’s involved in a content audit
- Why she recommends republishing old content
- When you might want to delete a blog post
- What it means to noindex a post
- What user journey means
- How backlinks work
- How to come up with content ideas with ranking potential
- How she recommends structuring a blog post
Resources:
- TopHatRank
- TopHatContent
- TopHatSocial
- Tastemaker Conference
- Semrush
- BuzzSumo
- Slickstream
- 231: A Better Experience – Building Engagement, Not Just Traffic with Kingston Duffie
- Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You
- SEO for Bloggers Webinars
- Semrush’s Topic Research Tool
- AnswerThePublic
- Yoast SEO
- Follow Ashley on Twitter
- Follow TopHatRank on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Starting a small business academy and teaching others how to start a successful bakery business with Rob and Jen Morris.
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Welcome to episode 366 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Rob and Jen Morris about how they teach home bakers how to start a bakery business.
How to Start a Successful Bakery Business
We’re really excited to welcome Rob and Jen back to the podcast after three years!
When they last came on the show, Jen and Rob were running their bakery, Cupcakeology, but since then, they have closed up shop and started sharing their expertise as baking business coaches.
Through their Start Small Win Big Academy, they teach home bakers how to start a profitable and successful bakery business — just like they did! You’ll hear why they decided to make this switch, how they’re grown their new business, what success their students have had, and more.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Rob and Jen decided to shut down their bakery
- Why they decided to launch the Start Small Win Big Academy
- How they approach marketing for their new business
- How they use paid advertising to grow their business
- How they attract students who are motivated and excited
- Why they encourage their students to smart small and grow over time
Resources:
- Start Small Win Big Academy
- 192: Bootstrapped Cupcakes: How Rob and Jen Built a Successful Business
- Lovin’ from the Oven
- Jess Sims
- Food Blogger Pro Directory
- Follow Rob and Jen on Instagram and Facebook
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Finding your Zone of Genius, knowing when to hire, and writing a compelling job listing with Emily Perron.
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Welcome to episode 365 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Emily Perron about the Zone of Genius and hiring.
Finding Your Zone of Genius and Hiring the Right People
Have you ever heard of the Zone of Genius?
When working in this zone, you capitalize on your innate abilities and interests to do work that truly fulfills you. And a great way to do this is by delegating tasks and building a team!
In this episode, Emily explains how to find your Zone of Genius, how to decide what to outsource first, how to write a compelling job list, and more.
If you’ve been thinking about hiring out some tasks and potentially growing your team, you won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Emily works with food bloggers
- Why job listings should be as specific as possible
- The difference between freelancers and employees
- How to find your Zone of Genius
- How to decide what to outsource first
- How food bloggers should approach writing job listings
- How to know how much to pay freelancers
- Where to post your job listings
- How to know when you’re ready to hire
- How to avoid feelings of burnout
Resources:
- Emily’s Website
- Work with Emily
- Download the Zone of Genius workbook
- 286: Build Your Team – How to Write an Eye-Catching Job Listing and Hire the Right People with Emily Perron
- The Big Leap
- Open: An Autobiography
- The Hero’s Journey
- How To Use Your Zone Of Genius To Hire The Best Freelancers
- 3 Mistakes To Avoid When Writing A Job Posting
- 3 Things to Write About in Your Journal to Live Your Best Life
- Upwork
- The War of Art
- Follow Emily on Instagram and Facebook
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Self-publishing two cookbooks, staying organized when writing a cookbook, and tips for writing a cookbook with Chelsea Cole from A Duck’s Oven.
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Welcome to episode 364 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Chelsea Cole from A Duck’s Oven about self-publishing a cookbook.
Self-Publishing a Cookbook
We’re so excited to welcome Chelsea back to the podcast after three years!
When we last chatted with Chelsea, she had just self-published her first cookbook, and since then, she’s been busy: she has become a full-time blogger and self-published another cookbook.
And in this episode, she’s sharing everything she has learned when it comes to planning, writing, designing, self-publishing, and marketing your own cookbook. If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a cookbook one day, you won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Chelsea learned self-publishing her first cookbook
- What sous vide is
- How she earns money as a freelancer
- How she keeps track of her income and expenses
- Why she decided to lean into a niche
- How her cookbooks have created so many opportunities for her
- How she stayed organized when writing her cookbooks
- What tools she recommends using to self-publish a cookbook
- Why she decided to launch her Sous Vide School
- How she prints her cookbooks and fulfills orders
- How much she earns per cookbook sale
- How she teaches others how to self-publish cookbooks
Resources:
- A Duck’s Oven
- The Cookbook Lab
- How to Determine Your Cookbook Topic
- Chelsea’s Income Streams as a Food Blogger
- 187: How to Self-Publish Your Own Cookbook with Chelsea Cole
- Pinch of Yum Traffic and Income Reports
- QuickBooks Self-Employed
- 097: How to Create a Full-Time Income from Blogging Using The Egg Carton Method with Bjork Ostrom
- Asana
- Google Drive
- Airtable
- InDesign
- Canva
- Sous Vide School
- Kindle Direct Publishing
- IngramSpark
- Follow Chelsea on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Installing Google Analytics 4 and understanding the difference between GA4 and Universal Analytics with Alison Bechdol from Digital-ade.
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Welcome to episode 363 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Alison Bechdol, our Google Analytics Expert, about Google Analytics 4 and how it will affect bloggers.
Google Analytics 4
If you haven’t heard, Google will be sunsetting Universal Analytics in July 2023, and it’s being replaced by Google Analytics 4.
But what does that mean for bloggers? At what point should we make the switch to GA4? And what do we need to do to actually make that transition?
That’s what we’re chatting about in this episode with Alison, our FBP Google Analytics Expert! She’s sharing how GA4 differs from Universal Analytics, when bloggers should make the switch, how to correctly install GA4, and more.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Alison decided to launch her business
- What Google Tag Manager is and how it works
- How Google Analytics 4 differs from Universal Analytics
- What events are in GA4
- When she advises website owners to install GA4
- How to install GA4
- How reports work in GA4
- How to strategically look at your analytics
Resources:
- ade.com/">Digital-ade
- Find Alison on FBP
- Google Analytics
- Google Tag Manager
- Introducing Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
- Google Data Studio
- Tableau
- Microsoft Power BI
- Google Analytics Support Center
- Google Skillshop
- Analytics Mania
- Simo Ahava
- Semrush
- Ahrefs
- Moz
- Google Ads
- Follow Alison on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Getting started with keyword research, finding the right keyword research tool, and tracking your keywords with Aleka Shunk from Cooking With Keywords.
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Welcome to episode 362 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Aleka Shunk from Cooking With Keywords about how to increase your organic traffic through keyword research.
Keyword Research
Today, we’re really excited to be chatting all about keyword research with Aleka Shunk, the creator of Cooking With Keywords!
Since launching her course, Aleka has taught over 900 students about the ins and outs of keyword research, and she’s sharing her best tips to develop a strong keyword research strategy in this episode.
You’ll learn what keywords and modifiers are, how to get started with keyword research, what tools you should use, and more. Whether you’re just diving into keyword research for the first time or you’re a seasoned pro, we know you’ll have so many takeaways from this conversation. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Aleka started focusing on keyword search
- What keywords and modifiers are
- How keyword research works
- What the different phases of keyword research look like
- What keyword research tools she recommends
- How to balance passion versus performance publishing
- Why user intent matters
- How to get started with keyword research
- Why it’s important to analyze and track your keywords
Resources:
- with-keywords.teachable.com/">Cooking With Keywords
- Get 10% off any Cooking With Keywords course or coaching service (available for FBP members only)
- Aleka’s Get-Together
- Keysearch
- Semrush
- Ahrefs
- Keywords Everywhere
- Keyword Surfer
- Substack
- Follow Aleka on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Earning money through an ad network, traveling full-time as a blogger, and updating old content with Eric Samuelson from Eat Like No One Else.
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Welcome to episode 361 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Eric Samuelson from Eat Like No One Else about how he monetizes his site and travels full-time with his family as a food blogger.
Earning $2,500 in One Day and Traveling Full-Time as a Food Blogger
Can you imagine growing your food blog while also traveling full-time? Well, that’s what Eric does!
He runs the food blog Eat Like No One Else, and in this episode, you’ll hear how his blog has opened the door to so many new opportunities in his life, from traveling the country full-time with his family to earning $2,500 in ad revenue in a single day.
Eric’s story is so incredible, and no matter where you are in your blogging journey, we know you’ll have so many great takeaways from this conversation!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Eric got into food blogging
- How he shares non-recipe content on his site
- How he became a full-time food blogger
- How he monetizes his site
- Why his traffic skyrockets in Q4
- How he travels the country full-time with his family of six
- Why he decided to launch a podcast
- Why he focuses so much on updating old content
- Why he doesn’t compare himself to other bloggers
Resources:
- Eat Like No One Else
- Pinch of Yum Income and Traffic Reports
- crab-apples.htm">Best Crab Apple for Eating - Chestnut Crab
- Mediavine
- The Feast Plugin
- beef-prices-search-result.png"> Costco Meat Prices 2022 Screenshot
- Advanced “Jump To” Links
- Follow Eric on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Shifting your mindset, finding your niche, and becoming a full-time food blogger with Eden Westbrook from Sweet Tea and Thyme.
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Welcome to episode 360 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Eden Westbrook from Sweet Tea and Thyme about how she shifted her mindset and became a full-time food blogger.
Shifting Your Mindset
Today, we’re really excited to share this great conversation with Eden! She’s the recipe developer, photographer, and writer behind the blog, Sweet Tea and Thyme.
From joining the military to attending culinary school and working in the restaurant industry, Eden has had quite the journey, and she’s sharing it all in this episode.
You’ll hear why she decided to start her blog, where she found the motivation and drive to work towards her blogging goals, how she decided what kind of content to share with her readers, and more.
This is such an encouraging interview, and we know you’ll love hearing Eden’s story. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Eden’s career looked like in the military
- How she got into food blogging
- How she decided what niche to focus on
- How she identified what her ideal reader looks like
- How she shifted her mindset and went all in with her blog
- What she teaches in The Food Blogging Mastermind
Resources:
- Sweet Tea and Thyme
- Pinch of Yum Income Reports
- Cookie and Kate
- Mediavine
- food-blogging-mastermind.teachable.com/p/food-blogging-mastermind-1"> The Food Blogging Mastermind
- Follow Eden on Instagram and Facebook
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Growing your email list, increasing your open rate, and earning revenue through email marketing with Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day.
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Welcome to episode 359 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day about mistakes food creators make with email marketing.
Email Marketing Mistakes
As content creators, we’ve all heard about the importance of having an email list. But… how do we get readers to sign up for our list? And once they’ve subscribed, how do we entice them to actually open our emails?
Amy is here on the podcast to discuss it all!
In today’s episode, she’s sharing five common mistakes that food creators make when it comes to email marketing. You’ll also hear what her current email marketing strategy looks like and how she consistently has a 45–50% open rate for her emails.
It’s an inspiring conversation that shows just how powerful an email list can be. We hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Amy became a full-time food blogger
- Why she started focusing on email marketing
- How she entices readers to join her email list
- Why it’s important to email your list on a regular basis
- How to increase your email open rate
- How to make money through email marketing
- What Amy’s weekly emails to her list look like
Resources:
- Veggies Save The Day
- ConvertKit
- AdThrive
- Follow Amy on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Becoming a full-time creator and building a subscription-based membership community with Anela Malik from Feed The Malik and Magic at the Margins.
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Welcome to episode 358 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Anela Malik from Feed The Malik and Magic at the Margins about how she built a subscription-based membership community.
Growing a Successful Subscription-Based Membership Community
We’re really excited to share this episode with Anela Malik with you today! In addition to her blog Feed The Malik, Anela also runs Magic at the Margins, a subscription-based membership community. And unlike most content creators, her subscription community is actually her primary focus for revenue.
In this episode, she shares why she decided to launch her own subscription community, how she structures her pricing, how she promotes her community on social media, and more.
It’s a really inspiring interview that will encourage you to explore all the unique ways you can earn money as a creator!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Anela became a content creator
- What she learned after going viral on Instagram
- What type of content she shares online
- Why she decided to launch her own subscription community
- How she promotes her subscription community
- How she structures the pricing for her subscription community
- How she measures the success of her business
- Why she views herself as a video-first creator
- Tips to make short-form videos more engaging
- How she focuses on identity issues with her content
Resources:
- Feed The Malik
- Magic at the Margins
- Patreon
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Canva
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- 315: Decolonizing the Food Industry – Sharing African Food, Breaking Down Stereotypes, and Combating Cultural Appropriation with Zoe Adjonyoh
- Follow Anela on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Batching content, investing in your business, and strategically planning out your content with Amanda Scarlati from Saporito Kitchen.
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Welcome to episode 357 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Amanda Scarlati from Saporito Kitchen about how content batching helped grow her blog’s traffic.
Content Batching
From testing recipes to shooting photos to writing blog posts, a lot of work goes into running a food blog. So how can we stay on top of everything that needs to get done each week?
Enter: content batching! Instead of jumping from one task to another, try grouping similar tasks in one work period to stay focused and even increase your productivity.
In this episode, you’ll hear how Amanda started batching her content, how she plans out her blog posts for the upcoming quarter, and how content batching has dramatically increased her blog’s traffic.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Amanda got into food blogging
- How she invested in her business and hired certain tasks out
- How she started batching content
- How she plans out her blog posts for each quarter
- How she divides up her tasks throughout the week
- What her prep sheets for each photoshoot look like
- What task management tools she uses
- How content batching impacted her blog’s traffic
Resources:
- Saporito Kitchen
- Tastemaker Conference
- Eat Blog Talk Podcast
- NerdPress
- Find Casey Markee on FBP
- The Feast Plugin
- Airtable
- Keysearch
- Keyword Surfer
- with-keywords.teachable.com/">Cooking With Keywords
- Google Calendar
- Google Search Console
- Asana
- Mediavine
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Achieving financial independence, overcoming imposter syndrome, and sharing content confidently with Jillian Johnsrud.
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Welcome to episode 356 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jillian Johnsrud about achieving financial independence and sharing content confidently.
Achieving Financial Independence
We’re so excited we had a chance to talk to Jillian in today’s episode!
She is the author of the book, “Fire the Haters: Finding Courage to Create Online in a Critical World,” and she is on a mission to help others build a life that perfectly lines up with their values, passion, and purpose.
And in this episode, she’s doing just that! She shares some of her best tips for achieving financial independence, overcoming imposter syndrome, dealing with negative comments, and cultivating a healthy relationship with your work.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Jillian achieved financial independence
- What her income sources currently look like
- How she did mini retirements throughout her career
- What she covers in her book
- How to not take negative comments about your business personally
- How to overcome imposter syndrome
Resources:
- Jillian Johnsrud
- Fire the Haters: Finding Courage to Create Online in a Critical World
- Mr. Money Mustache
- The Simple Path to Wealth
- The 4-Hour Workweek
- 6 Simple Steps to Taking a Mini Retirement PDF
- Follow Jillian on Instagram and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Shooting in manual mode, understanding lighting, and other photography tips with Joanie Simon from The Bite Shot.
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Welcome to episode 355 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Joanie Simon about ways to improve your food photography.
5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Food Photography
We’ve all heard the phrase, “We eat with our eyes first,” right? So it should come as no surprise that food content creators place so much emphasis on growing their photography skills!
Today, we are talking with one of the biggest names in the food photography space: Joanie Simon from The Bite Shot. She originally came on the podcast three years ago, and it’s been so incredible to see how her business has grown since then.
Through her courses, videos, and book, Joanie has taught students all around the world how to improve their food photography. And in this episode, she’s sharing some of her best tips with our listeners!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Joanie got into food photography
- What her current goals are for her business
- Easy ways to improve your food photography
- Why she recommends shooting in manual mode
- Why lighting is so important for photography
- Why she loves shooting with artificial light
- How to get started with tripods and tethering
- What software she likes to use to edit her photos
- Why she decided to take a social media break
Resources:
- The Bite Shot
- The Bite Shot YouTube channel
- 185: Darkness and Light: A Photographer’s Journey from Addiction to Success with Joanie Simon
- Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life
- Tasty Food Photography eBook
- Sally’s Baking Addiction
- Pinch of Yum Income and Traffic Reports
- Clubhouse
- The Bite Shot Photography Resources
- The Bite Shot Photography and Video Gear Guide
- The Modern Proper
- Half Baked Harvest
- lightroom.html">Adobe Lightroom
- Capture One
- Tether Tools
- CamRanger
- Follow Joanie on Instagram and YouTube
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Growing a freelance photography business, developing your photography skills, and sharing Zambian food with the world with Clara Kapelembe Bwali from Black Garlic.
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Welcome to episode 354 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Clara Kapelembe Bwali from Black Garlic about how she’s using her business to share Zambian food with the world.
Sharing Zambian Food
Welcome to episode 354 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Clara Kapelembe Bwali from Black Garlic about how she’s using her business to share Zambian food with the world.
Last week on the podcast, Bjork chatted with Jane Ko from A Taste of Koko about her Pinterest strategy as a content creator. To go back and listen to that episode, click here.
Sharing Zambian Food
We’re really excited to share this episode with Clara from Black Garlic with you today! She’s a freelance food photographer, food stylist, and blogger based in Zambia.
Clara has built her business from the ground up, and in this episode, you’ll hear how she has grown her photography skills, booked her first clients, and used social media to share both her photography and Zambian food with the world.
Clara’s story is so inspiring, and her passion for her work really shines through in the interview. We hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Clara started a catering business
- Why she decided to rebrand and launch a freelance photography business
- How she pitched herself to clients
- How she grew her photography skills
- How she is working to share Zambian food with the world
- What business advice she has for food creators
- How she has made friendships with other creators online
Resources:
- Black Garlic
- The Bite Shot
- 185: Darkness and Light: A Photographer’s Journey from Addiction to Success with Joanie Simon
- Picture Perfect Food: Master the Art of Food Photography with 52 Bite-Sized Tutorials
- Chikanda recipe
- Lumanda with Pounded Groundnuts recipe
- TinyBit
- Wood Kitchen ZM
- Clariti
- Follow Clara on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Creating a strong Pinterest strategy, leaning into the new features on Pinterest, and repurposing content for different platforms with Jane Ko from A Taste of Koko.
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Welcome to episode 353 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jane Ko from A Taste of Koko about her Pinterest strategy as a content creator.
Getting the Most Out of Pinterest
Today, we’re really excited to be chatting all about Pinterest with Jane Ko!
She runs A Taste of Koko, a food and travel blog focused specifically on Austin, Texas. And since she has been blogging since 2010, her content and social media strategy has definitely evolved over the years.
In this episode, you’ll hear what her revenue streams are as a content creator, what her current Pinterest strategy looks like, how she repurposes content across different social media platforms, and more. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What type of content Jane shares on her blog
- What her revenue streams look like as a content creator
- How she works with brands
- What her Pinterest strategy looks like
- How she uses static pins, idea pins, and video pins
- What it’s like working with a Pinterest marketing agency
- How she repurposes content for different social media platforms
- What it’s like running a personal brand
Resources:
- A Taste of Koko
- Koko’s Guide To Austin
- FBP Live Q&A: The State of Pinterest – available for FBP members only
- Simple Pin Media
- Mediavine
- Blippi
- Follow Jane on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Focusing on quality content, optimizing your ad revenue, and understanding how the cookieless future will affect ad networks and publishers with Paul Bannister and Courtney Kahn from AdThrive.
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Welcome to episode 352 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Paul Bannister and Courtney Kahn from AdThrive about optimizing ad revenue.
How to Optimize Your Ad Revenue
Today, we’re really excited to be chatting about all things advertising with two members of the AdThrive team, Paul Bannister and Courtney Kahn!
Ads are one of the best ways to earn passive income from a blog, so it’s not surprising that many food bloggers place a lot of emphasis on increasing their ad revenue.
And in this episode, Paul and Courtney are sharing all their expert advice on just that topic: how to optimize your ads and increase your earnings. You’ll also hear what changes will be coming soon to the ad industry, how the ad industry works behind the scenes, and more.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Google is planning to phase out third-party cookies on Chrome
- How the cookieless future will affect ad networks and publishers
- Why quality content and engagement is so important
- How to create the optimal ad experience on your site
- How to increase your ad revenue
- Why advertisers have started focusing more on video
- Why you should set up a video sitemap
- How programmatic advertising works
- What’s coming next for the ad industry
- Why it’s so important to diversify your revenue streams
Resources:
- AdThrive
- AdThrive Blog
- What Your Favorite Sad Dad Band Says About You
- Ira Glass quote
- Pinch of Yum January Meal Planning Bootcamp
- Frederick Buechner quote
- Follow AdThrive on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
- Register for the Keyword Research Live Q&A
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Diversifying your revenue streams as an influencer, understanding GDPR and CCPA, and protecting your business with Danielle Liss from Businessese and LISS Legal.
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Welcome to episode 351 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Danielle Liss from Businessese and LISS Legal about understanding data collection, GDPR, and CCPA.
Understanding Data Collection, GDPR, and CCPA
We’ve probably all heard the terms GDPR and CCPA at one point or another… but what do they actually mean? And how do they impact us as content creators?
That’s what we’re discussing in this episode with Danielle Liss! She’s our Legal Expert here at Food Blogger Pro, and she’s coming back on the podcast today to chat all about data collection and important legal considerations to keep in mind as influencers.
It’s a great episode, and Danielle is fantastic at communicating complex legal topics in an easy-to-understand manner. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Danielle helps digital creators
- Unique ways you can earn money as an influencer
- Some important legal considerations to keep in mind when monetizing your business
- What GDPR is and why it’s important for influencers
- How you might be collecting data on your visitors
- What CCPA is and how to become compliant
- How you can work with Danielle
Resources:
- LISS Legal
- Businessese
- 273: Protecting Your Content – Policies and Trademarks and Disclaimers…oh my! with Danielle Liss
- 218: Monetization – Display Ad Strategy, Finding Your Sponsored Content Rate, and Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers
- 216: Content – Are Recipes Copyrightable, Layers in Food Photography, and New Resources for Food Bloggers
- 147: GDPR for Influencers with Danielle Liss
- 116: Answering Questions about Sponsored Content with Danielle Liss and the Pinch of Yum Team
- 099: Sponsored Content and Getting Paid What Your Work is Worth with Danielle Liss
- info.eu/">General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR)
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
- Check out our Businessese Deals! – available for FBP members only
- Pinch of Yum Privacy Policy
- Reach out to Danielle via email and follow her on Instagram
- Meet the other Food Blogger Pro Experts
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Setting actionable goals, working through common struggles as a food creator, and more takeaways from the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Listener Survey.
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Welcome to episode 350 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork shares some of the main takeaways from our recent Podcast Listener Survey.
Podcast Listener Survey Results
We recently asked our podcast listeners to participate in a Food Blogger Pro Podcast Listener Survey, and we’re so excited to share the results with you today!
In this episode, you’ll learn more about our podcast listeners — how they’re sharing content in the world, how they’re monetizing their businesses, and what social media platforms they find the most useful in helping them grow their following.
Aside from that, you’ll also hear about some of their current traffic and monetization goals, struggles they’re facing as content creators, and tools they’re using to level up their businesses.
We hope you enjoy learning more about our audience in this survey recap episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Some of the key takeaways from our recent Food Blogger Pro Podcast Listener Survey
- Some monetization, traffic, and business goals that survey participants have
- Tips for making your goals more achievable
- Some struggles that survey participants are currently experiencing
- Tips for building community and connecting with other creators
- Some tools that survey participants are using to grow their businesses
Resources:
- Google Workspace
- Airtable
- Asana
- Clariti
- Canva
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Trello
- Notion
- Evernote
- Grammarly
- CoSchedule
- Microsoft Excel
- WP Recipe Maker
- Yoast SEO
- rocket.me/">WP Rocket
- WP Tasty
- The Feast Plugin
- ShortPixel
- WPZOOM
- Create by Mediavine
- Grow Social by Mediavine
- Jetpack
- Akismet
- Imagify
- Google Web Stories
- Rank Math
- WP-Optimize
- Nutrifox
- ConvertKit
- Creating Content courses – available for FBP members!
- Instagram for Food Bloggers course – available for FBP members!
- Keyword Research Live Q&A – available for everyone
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Making conscious decisions about food, living more sustainably, and avoiding food waste as a food blogger with Marley Goldin from Marley's Menu.
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Welcome to episode 349 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Marley Goldin from Marley’s Menu about how to live sustainably and avoid food waste as a food blogger.
How to Live More Sustainably and Avoid Food Waste
On average, over 40% of food gets tossed annually in the United States, and a large majority of that food waste happens at home. So as both individuals and food bloggers, it’s important that we make conscious decisions about our food.
But what are some easy changes we can implement to live and eat more sustainably? And as food bloggers, when we’re testing lots of recipes, how can we limit food waste?
We’re answering all of those questions (and more) in this episode with Marley Goldin! As a food blogger with a background in environmental science, she is an advocate for making sustainable food choices, and she’s sharing her best tips and advice to show how small changes to our daily lives can make a big impact over time.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Marley got interested in sustainability
- How she shares sustainability tips on her blog
- How to avoid food waste as a food blogger
- What topic clusters are
- Tips to live a bit more sustainably
Resources:
- Marley’s Menu
- Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
- Flume Water
- alliance.org/insights/what-does-rainforest-alliance-certified-mean/"> What Does “Rainforest Alliance Certified” Mean?
- Nest Thermostat
- Goodwill
- Rent the Runway
- Nuuly
- Do Our Food Choices Matter?
- Advantages of Composting
- Follow Marley on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Narrowing your content focus, growing traffic by focusing on SEO and Pinterest, and blogging as a creative outlet with Camila Hurst from Pies and Tacos.
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Welcome to episode 348 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Camila Hurst from Pies and Tacos about leaning into a niche and blogging as a creative outlet.
Leaning into a Niche
Today, we’re so excited to be chatting with Camila Hurst from Pies and Tacos! She has been blogging since 2017, and while she originally started out posting both savory and sweet recipes, she has now shifted her focus to primarily sharing content about macarons.
In this episode, you’ll hear why she decided to narrow her content focus, how blogging has been such an important creative outlet for her over the years, and how she’s been leveling up her business by growing her team.
No matter where you are in your blogging journey, we know that you’ll find Camila’s story and insights both inspiring and encouraging. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Camila started sharing recipes online and launched her blog
- How cooking and meditation helped get her through a difficult season in life
- How she narrowed her content focus and leaned into a niche
- How she grew her traffic by focusing on SEO and Pinterest
- What tasks she decided to outsource for her business
- What she shares in her Macaron School
- What her different revenue streams look like
- Why she’s hoping to create a course soon
- How she works with a video editor
Resources:
- Pies and Tacos
- No Diets Allowed
- Everything Food Conference
- Meditate - Marisa Peer
- Julie Ela Grace - Insight Timer
- Clariti
- Ezoic
- Pinch of Yum Income and Traffic Reports
- Mediavine
- Simple Pin Media
- Email on Autopilot
- Macaron School
- Macaron School Cookbook
- Fantastic Filled Cupcakes Cookbook
- AdThrive
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- lightroom.html">Adobe Lightroom
- Tailwind
- Upwork
- Follow Camila on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Identifying accessibility issues, writing accessibility policies, and writing good alt text with Bet Hannon from Bet Hannon Business Websites.
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Welcome to episode 347 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Bet Hannon from Bet Hannon Business Websites about how to build an accessible website.
Building Accessible Websites
As food bloggers, it’s so important that we make our websites accessible and that we share content with the world that everyone can enjoy, including those with disabilities.
But how exactly do you create an accessible website? How do you know if your site has accessibility issues?
That’s what Bet is here to talk about today! In this episode, we dive deep into the world of accessibility, from writing alt text correctly to identifying issues that you should consider fixing on your site to ensure that everyone can enjoy the content you’re publishing.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Bet helps build accessible websites
- What screen readers do
- Why alt text is so important
- Why it’s important to properly nest headers
- How to identify accessibility issues on your website
- Why accessibility lawsuits happen
- How to include an accessibility policy on your website
- How to make your videos accessible
- How to get a tax credit for accessibility expenses
- How website insurance works
- How Bet’s website accessibility audits work
Resources:
- Bet Hannon Business Websites
- TinyBit
- Curbly
- Google Search Console
- WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- Form 8826, Disabled Access Credit
- Nebula Media Group
- AAAtraq
- Clariti
- Follow Bet on Facebook and Twitter
- Complete the Podcast Listener Survey for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card!
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Growing on different social platforms, transitioning businesses, and building a team with Jenné Claiborne from Sweet Potato Soul.
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Welcome to episode 346 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jenné Claiborne from Sweet Potato Soul about how she has built her business as a content creator and gained over 600k subscribers on YouTube.
600K YouTube Subscribers
We’re really excited to be chatting with Jenné from Sweet Potato Soul today! She’s a vegan chef, cookbook author, food blogger, and successful YouTuber with over 600k subscribers.
From working as an actor to offering personal chef services to becoming a full-time content creator, Jenné has had quite the entrepreneurial journey. In this episode, you’ll hear what she’s learned along the way, how she has been growing her team, why she focuses so much on video, and what the revenue streams currently look like for her business.
It’s a really great episode, and Jenné is just such an inspiring, hard-working creator. We know you’ll have lots of takeaways from this conversation!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Jenné launched her blog
- How she started offering personal chef services
- How she got her first cookbook deal
- Why she started sharing videos on YouTube
- Why she shifted her focus to content creation full-time
- Why she focuses so much on video
- Why she struggled with growing her team
- What her team looks like now
- Why she hired a personal assistant
- What the revenue streams look like for her business
- How she manages her finances both personally and professionally
Resources:
- Sweet Potato Soul
- Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes for the Southern Flavors of Smoke, Sugar, Spice, and Soul: A Cookbook
- Victoria Moran
- Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
- Your World-Class Assistant
- Follow Jenné on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook
- Complete the Podcast Listener Survey for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card!
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Starting a creative production agency, using social media to book clients, and nurturing long-term relationships with brands with Alisha Cohen from LISH Creative.
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Welcome to episode 345 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Alisha Cohen from LISH Creative about running a production agency and shooting content for brands.
Building Long-Term Relationships with Brands
As content creators, a great way to earn an income doing what we love is to partner with brands that we love. But how do we find those brands, and more importantly, how do we work with them on a long-term basis?
That’s what we’re chatting about today with Alisha Cohen!
Alisha is the founder of LISH Creative, a creative production agency that produces colorful, eye-catching photography, video, and stop motion for some of the world’s most distinguished brands.
In this episode, you’ll hear how she launched her business, what it’s like running a production agency, how expanding her social media presence has helped her book clients, and what some of her best tips are for nurturing long-term relationships with brands.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Alisha launched LISH Creative
- How she grew her photography skills
- Why she recommends shooting in manual mode
- How she decides on the color palettes for her shoots
- Why she likes using strobe lights for her shoots
- How creators and brands can use stop motion
- How to shoot a stop motion video
- What she teaches in her course Slay the Flatlay
- What it’s like running a production agency
- How she grew her TikTok to over 400k followers
- How her social media presence helps her book clients
- How to build long-lasting relationships with brands
- What tools she uses to run her business
Resources:
- LISH Creative
- Girl Versus Dough
- GODOX
- Life Lapse App
- Slay the Flatlay
- Bath & Body Works
- Airtable
- Canva
- Asana
- Plann
- lightroom.html">Adobe Lightroom
- Adobe Photoshop
- Follow LISH Creative on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok
- Follow Alisha on Instagram
- Apply for the FBP Content Specialist position!
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Leaning into a niche, blogging as a partnership, and focusing on short-term goals with Sara Mohr and Louisa Williams from Real Meals Modified.
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Welcome to episode 344 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sara Mohr and Louisa Williams from Real Meals Modified in Part Three of our Blogging with a Full-Time Job series.
Blogging with a Full-Time Job (Part Three)
Can you believe we’ve reached the last episode in our Blogging with a Full-Time Job series? In this three-part series, we’ve been interviewing a few Food Blogger Pro members about what’s working (and what’s not) when it comes to balancing a full-time job with blogging.
And in this final installment of this series, we’re chatting with Sara Mohr and Louisa Williams! In addition to working full-time as licensed speech pathologists, they also run Real Meals Modified, a food blog featuring dysphagia-friendly recipes.
You’ll hear how they started their blog, how they determined their niche, what it’s like to run a blog with a partner, and how they find time to work on their blog with their busy schedules.
Whether you’re a solo blogger or you run your blog with a partner like Sara and Louisa, we know you’ll have lots of takeaways from this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Sara and Louisa met and started their blog
- What speech pathologists do
- What dysphagia is
- What they find challenging about running a blog together
- How they juggle blogging with their full-time jobs
- What tools they use to run their blog
- Why they’ve been focusing more on short-term goals lately
- What they’ve learned blogging in such a specific niche
Resources:
- Real Meals Modified
- The IDDSI Framework
- Get Started With Real Meals Modified
- Asana
- Voxer
- EOS
- Follow Sara and Louisa on Facebook and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Focusing on SEO rather than social media, implementing keyword research, and sharing content authentically with Cree Carraway from Cooking With Bliss.
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Welcome to episode 343 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Cree Carraway from Cooking With Bliss in Part Two of our Blogging with a Full-Time Job series.
Blogging with a Full-Time Job (Part Two)
Welcome back to our Blogging with a Full-Time Job series! In this three-part series, we’re interviewing a few Food Blogger Pro members about what’s working (and what’s not) when it comes to balancing a full-time job with blogging.
And today, Bjork is chatting with Cree Carraway from Cooking With Bliss. From sharing content on her blog to working her full-time job to raising her family, Cree has a lot on her plate (both literally and figuratively!) all the time.
In this episode, you’ll hear how she strategically focused on SEO to increase her traffic and join an ad network, how she started doing keyword research, and what the impact of earning an income from her blog has been on her life.
It’s an inspiring conversation that will encourage you to reflect and make progress on your own goals. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Cree decided to launch her blog
- When she decided to really focus on growing her blog’s traffic
- What business lessons she has learned over the years
- Why she decided to focus on SEO rather than social media
- What it felt like to start earning money from her blog
- How she started doing keyword research
- How she balances her blog with her full-time job
- How she narrowed her blog’s focus and started sharing content more authentically
- How she’s been strategically growing her email list
Resources:
- Cooking With Bliss
- Mediavine
- SEO for Food Blogs course – available for FBP members!
- FBP Podcast Episodes with Casey Markee
- Keysearch
- Semrush
- with-keywords.teachable.com/">Cooking With Keywords
- The Defined Dish
- Follow Cree on Instagram and Pinterest
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Connecting with your community, being strategic with your time when blogging, and hiring the right people with David Crowley from Cooking Chat.
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Welcome to episode 342 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews David Crowley from Cooking Chat in Part One of our Blogging with a Full-Time Job series.
Blogging with a Full-Time Job
We're excited to officially launch our Blogging with a Full-Time Job series! In this three-part series, we’re interviewing a few Food Blogger Pro members about what’s working (and what’s not) when it comes to balancing a full-time job with blogging.
And up first, we’re chatting with David Crowley! In addition to sharing hundreds of recipes with wine pairings on his blog Cooking Chat, David also runs Social Capital Inc., a non-profit organization that strengthens communities by connecting diverse individuals through civic engagement initiatives.
In this episode, you’ll hear how David has found balance with his work over time, why he’s been focusing so much on republishing old content recently, and what he’s looking forward to next with his blog.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What David does for his full-time job
- How he got into food blogging
- How he’s found balance with his work over time
- Why he’s been focusing on republishing old content recently
- What specifically he updates when republishing content
- What he’s currently struggling with when it comes to blogging
- Why it’s so important to document your processes
- How to find the right people to hire
Resources:
- Social Capital Inc.
- Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
- Cooking Chat
- 261: Managing Sponsored Content – How to Work With Brands with Bruno Bornsztein
- 159: Different Ways to Create an Income Online with Mark Daoust
- Gentleman’s Gazette
- Wayback Machine
- Tasty Food Photography eBook
- Curbly
- Clariti
- NerdPress
- Foodie Pro Theme
- Mediavine
- Your World-Class Assistant
- Loom
- Google Drive
- Delegate-and-Elevate.pdf">Delegate and Elevate Exercise
- Updating Blog Posts and Other Food Blog Strategies
- Follow David on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
- Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Building community, empowering Black culinary creators, and building a bridge for equity and representation in food media with Meiko Temple from Eat the Culture.
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Welcome to episode 341 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Meiko Temple about how she’s empowering Black culinary creators through Eat the Culture.
Eat the Culture
Meiko Temple is the writer, chef, photographer, and recipe developer behind the popular food blog Meiko and the Dish. But beyond her own blog, Meiko also runs Eat the Culture, a community-centered space that nurtures, supports, and amplifies Black culinary creators.
Through collaborations like recipe roundups for Black History Month and a Holiday E-Cookbook featuring mouthwatering recipes from across the African diaspora, Eat the Culture empowers Black creatives through a celebration of Black food and culture.
In this episode, you’ll hear how Eat the Culture started, how it has evolved over the years, and how it is building a bridge for equity and representation in food media.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Meiko got into food blogging
- What mistakes she made when she first started blogging
- How her blog helped her get freelance work
- Why and how she launched Eat the Culture
- How Eat the Culture empowers Black content creators
- What it looks like to run Eat the Culture
Resources:
- Meiko and the Dish
- Eat the Culture
- Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less
- Plant-Powered January
- Children’s Shelter Of Cebu
- Follow Eat the Culture on Instagram and Facebook
- Follow Meiko on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Leaning into a niche on TikTok, repurposing videos across different platforms, and working with brands on TikTok with Benjamin Delwiche from Benjamin the Baker.
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Welcome to episode 340 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Benjamin Delwiche from Benjamin the Baker about how he has grown his TikTok account to over 500k followers.
TikTok Strategy
During the day, you can find Benjamin Delwiche working full-time as a math teacher, but on nights and weekends, you’ll find him sharing TikTok videos about the science of baking!
Over the past year, he has grown his TikTok from the ground up, and he just recently surpassed 500k followers on the platform. In this episode, you’ll hear how he intentionally leaned into a niche on TikTok, how he works with brands on the platform, and his best advice for creators looking to grow on TikTok.
It’s an incredible interview that will leave you feeling inspired and motivated to get the most out of TikTok as a content creator. We hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Benjamin started posting on TikTok
- How his TikTok content strategy evolved over time
- What types of content he shares on TikTok
- What he uses to record his videos
- How he repurposes his TikTok videos on Instagram
- His advice for creators who want to start posting on TikTok
- How he works with brands on TikTok
Resources:
- Mark Rober
- Tasty
- Made In Cookware
- Plugra Premium Butter
- Benjamin’s website
- Follow Benjamin on TikTok and Instagram
- The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Understanding what's new with Core Web Vitals, using the best plugins as a food blogger, and diversifying your revenue streams with Andrew Wilder from NerdPress.
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Welcome to episode 339 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Andrew Wilder from NerdPress about the current state of tech for food bloggers.
Tech Check-In
Today on the podcast, we’re really excited to be chatting again with our WordPress Support Expert, Andrew Wilder!
Through his company, NerdPress, Andrew and his team do maintenance and support for WordPress websites, and 95% of their clients are food bloggers. Suffice to say, he knows his stuff when it comes to WordPress food and recipe sites.
In this episode, you’ll hear Andrew’s thoughts on the current state of tech for food bloggers. From an update on what’s new with Core Web Vitals to his current list of go-to plugins for food bloggers, this episode is jam-packed with information that will help you set your blog up for success in 2022. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Andrew does at NerdPress
- Why documentation is so important when it comes to building a business
- What bloggers need to know about Core Web Vitals
- Why it’s important to use a recipe plugin
- What caching plugins do
- What types of plugins he doesn’t recommend using
- What his thoughts are about Google Web Stories
- Why he recommends diversifying your revenue streams as a blogger
Resources:
- NerdPress
- Eating Rules
- WordCamp
- Ramshackle Pantry
- Process Street
- Loom
- Guru
- 306: Core Web Vitals – What Food Bloggers Need to Know About User Experience and Google with Andrew Wilder
- Core Web Vitals
- PageSpeed Insights
- rocket.me/">WP Rocket
- Tasty Recipes
- WP Recipe Maker
- Create by Mediavine
- Curbly
- Yoast SEO
- Cloudflare
- The Feast Plugin
- Google’s Feature of a Pinch of Yum Web Story
- Food52
- Leaf Group
- 99designs
- LogoTournament
- Find Andrew on Food Blogger Pro
- Connect with Andrew via email
- The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Creating valuable content, delegating and elevating tasks, and setting business and life goals with Bjork Ostrom.
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Welcome to episode 338 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks about five themes that he’s noticed when reflecting back on the past year.
Reflecting and Looking Forward
As we enter into the new year, it can be really helpful to look back on the previous year and reflect on some of the lessons learned. So we’re doing just that in this episode!
You’ll hear five themes that Bjork has identified when reflecting on 2021 and how he’s going to use that knowledge to his advantage in 2022. From insight on creating valuable content to delegating tasks to defining your life goals, this episode is packed full of great advice to help you start the year off strong.
Plus! As a bonus in this episode, you’ll hear about The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group that we just launched for podcast listeners. Within this brand-new Facebook Group, you’ll be able to chat about recent episodes, submit questions for future interviews, and more. Be sure to check it out to continue the conversation!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group will work
- How to create really valuable content
- What the difference is between makers and managers
- Why it’s so important to delegate and elevate tasks
- Why you should set both business and life goals
- How to practice 1% infinity
Resources:
- The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
- FBP Live Q&A: The State of Pinterest – available for FBP members!
- EOS
- Delegate-and-Elevate.pdf">Delegate and Elevate Exercise
- Superhuman
- Mailman
- Zapier
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Focusing on SEO, diversifying your revenue streams, and developing a consistent email marketing strategy with Ali Stafford from Alexandra’s Kitchen.
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Welcome to episode 337 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ali Stafford from Alexandra’s Kitchen about how she’s grown her traffic by leaning into SEO and learning from industry experts.
Shifting Your Mindset
We’re really excited to be chatting with Ali from Alexandra’s Kitchen in today’s episode! She’s a seasoned food blogger who has been sharing her recipes online since 2006.
But over the past few years, she has been shifting her mindset to focus on growing her traffic and leveling up her content strategy. In this episode, you’ll hear what changes she’s been implementing to focus on SEO, how she has strategically worked with consultants to grow her business, and more.
Whether you just launched your blog or you’ve been blogging for years, we know you will have a lot of great takeaways from this episode. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Ali launched her blog
- How she has shifted her social media strategy over the years
- Why she has been focusing on diversifying her revenue streams
- How she started focusing more on SEO
- How she optimizes her meta descriptions
- How her traffic has been affected by algorithm changes
- How she has developed a consistent email marketing strategy
- What she updates when republishing old posts
- Her best tips for growing an email list
Resources:
- Alexandra’s Kitchen
- The Definitive List of Ways to Create an Income From Your Food Blog
- Foodie Digital
- Yoast SEO Plugin
- TinyBit
- Curbly
- InfluenceKit
- Allea Grummert, the FBP Email Marketing Expert
- Duett
- Matt Molen
- ConvertKit
- InShot
- Clariti
- Nathan Barry’s Newsletter
- 334: Crafting the Perfect Pitch – How to Build and Nurture Strong Relationships with Brands with Chandice Probst
- Follow Ali on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Rebranding a food blog, leaning into a niche, and Keep-Delegate-Delete lists with Isabel Orozco-Moore from Isabel Eats.
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Welcome to episode 336 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to our episode with Isabel Orozco-Moore from Isabel Eats where she talks about leaning into a niche, delegating tasks, and more.
The Freedom of a Niche
It’s another FBP Rewind episode today, and we’re so excited to revisit our November 2019 interview with Isabel Orozco-Moore from Isabel Eats!
After blogging for a year, Isabel decided to completely rebrand her site and lean into sharing just Mexican recipes. By narrowing down her focus, she was able to strengthen her brand and solidify her content strategy.
But that’s not all that Isabel and Bjork cover in this episode! You’ll also hear how she made her first hire, how she decided what tasks to delegate, how she monetizes her blog, and more.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How she was nominated for a Saveur Award
- How and why she rebranded her blog
- Why she decided to focus on her niche
- How she monetizes her blog
- How she hired a virtual assistant
- How to make a Keep-Delegate-Delete list
- How to get better at specific tasks
Resources:
- Isabel Eats
- Designing Your Life
- Loom
- Follow Isabel on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Building a baking business, knowing how to price what you're offering, and strategically using tools and processes to grow your business with Amanda Schonberg from Baking for Business.
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Welcome to episode 335 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Amanda Schonberg about how to build a successful baking business.
Baking for Business
As food creators, when we think about earning an income doing what we love, we oftentimes focus on areas like affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and ads. But what about earning money actually selling the food that we’re creating?
That’s what we’re chatting about with Amanda Schonberg today! She runs Chef Schonberg’s Sweets, a licensed e-commerce bakery, as well as Baking for Business, an online platform that teaches home bakers how to build their brands and confidently sell their baked goods.
In this episode, you’ll hear how she got her own baking business off the ground, what she teaches her students at Baking for Business, and what her best advice is for those looking to enter into this space. It’s a jam-packed, inspiring episode, and we really hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Amanda launched her baking business
- What she learned working in corporate retail management
- How she determined the SOPs and pricing for her business
- What food liability insurance is
- The tools that she uses to run her business
- Her best advice for those looking to launch a baking business
- How she has grown her email list
- What cottage bakers are
- How she launched Baking for Business
- What she teaches her students at Baking for Business
- Why she loves sharing her story
Resources:
- Baking for Business
- Chef Schonberg’s Sweets
- The E Myth Revisited
- Food Liability Insurance Program
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- Square
- Wix
- Bake Diary
- EOS
- Instacart
- Shipt
- The Profit
- The Psychology of Sales
- Learn From Daymond John
- Digital Course Academy
- Follow Amanda on Instagram
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Focusing on your strengths, creating a strong media kit, and crafting enticing pitches for brands with Chandice Probst from This Vivacious Life.
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Welcome to episode 334 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Chandice Probst about how to craft the perfect pitch when reaching out to brands.
Crafting the Perfect Pitch
While Chandice runs the popular food and entertaining blog This Vivacious Life, she’s also the Sponsor Director for Tastemaker Conference. And that means that she has learned a lot about pitching to brands and getting sponsorship opportunities over the years!
Today on the podcast, she’s sharing all her tips and tricks for food bloggers looking to create the perfect pitch. From focusing on mindset and building confidence in yourself to writing enticing emails that brands won’t be able to resist, this episode will give you all the information you need to confidently reach out to brands.
It’s a thought-provoking conversation that will leave you feeling inspired and motivated to reflect on your own pitching strategy. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Chandice has learned throughout her entrepreneurial journey
- Why mindset is so important when it comes to pitching
- How to figure out what your strengths are
- How to create a strong media kit and rate sheet
- How to determine your rates when working with brands
- How to build relationships with other food bloggers
- How to create enticing pitches that will capture the attention of brands
- Tips for nurturing long-term relationships with brands
Resources:
- This Vivacious Life
- Tastemaker Conference Pricing + Pitching Workshop – say the FBP Podcast sent you for $50 off!
- Chandice’s cookbook, Gluten-Free on a Budget
- Find Me Gluten Free
- Shark Tank
- Tastemaker Conference
- EOS
- Delegate-and-Elevate.pdf">Delegate and Elevate
- Creating a Media Kit course – available for FBP members!
- Meaningful Eats
- Frosting and Fettuccine
- 331: Building Community – How Abbey Rodriguez Founded and Grew Tastemaker Conference
- The Foreign Fork
- Marco Polo
- Growth University
- Mediavine
- InfluenceKit
- Follow Chandice on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Improving your food photography skills, getting a cookbook deal, and focusing on SEO with Emma Duckworth from Emma Duckworth Bakes.
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Welcome to episode 333 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Emma Duckworth from Emma Duckworth Bakes about how she’s grown her blog by focusing on SEO.
Serving Your Audience
SEO: love it or hate it, it’s undoubtedly an important area for food bloggers to focus their time and energy on. And that’s why we’re chatting about it with Emma Duckworth in this episode!
This year, Emma decided to double down on her blog and hired a mentor to help her out with SEO. You’ll hear how she used the avatar exercise to understand her audience, how she optimized her homepage and recipe categories, and what she’s doing to focus on SEO moving forward.
It’s a fantastic interview that will encourage you to reflect on your own SEO strategy. We hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Emma got into food photography and food blogging
- How she grew her food photography skills
- What steps she took to strategically grow her Instagram account
- How she started getting her first sponsored work
- What she learned from the cookbook writing process
- Why she decided to double down on her blog
- How she hired a mentor to help her out with SEO
- How she used the avatar exercise to understand her audience
- How she optimized her blog’s homepage and categories
- How she identified and optimized her top-performing posts
- How she has started doing keyword research
- Why she and her husband decided to launch a street coffee business
- What she’s focusing her attention on moving forward
Resources:
- Emma Duckworth Bakes
- Order Emma’s cookbook, Simply Sweet Nostalgic Bakes
- Dear Coco Street Coffee
- Foodtography School
- This American Life
- Well Seasoned Studio
- Foolproof Living
- The Feast Plugin
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- Keysearch
- Clariti
- Growth University
- Follow Emma on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Transitioning to full-time blogging, leaning into your strengths, and following your own path as an entrepreneur with Bjork Ostrom.
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Welcome to episode 332 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re sharing Bjork’s episode from the Eat, Capture, Share podcast with Kimberly Espinel.
Featured Podcast
In today’s episode, we’re switching things up because it’s actually Bjork in the interview seat! We’re really excited to be featuring an episode of the Eat, Capture, Share Podcast.
Kimberly recently interviewed Bjork about his journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur and online business owner. You’ll hear what the first streams of revenue were for Pinch of Yum, Bjork’s advice for those wanting to make a living through food blogging, and why he believes in the idea of 1% infinity.
It’s a really inspiring conversation, and we know you’ll enjoy hearing more about Bjork’s story. We hope you enjoy this featured podcast episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The quick story behind Pinch of Yum, Food Blogger Pro, WP Tasty, Nutrifox, Clariti, and TinyBit
- How Bjork and Lindsay leaned into their strengths when building Pinch of Yum
- What the first streams of revenue were for Pinch of Yum
- His advice for how to transition to making a living through food blogging
- Why he launched the Food Blogger Pro Podcast
- His top tips to quickly monetize doing what you love
- The biggest mistakes that he sees creators making when trying to grow their businesses
Resources:
- Eat, Capture, Share Podcast
- Pinch of Yum
- WP Tasty
- Nutrifox
- Clariti
- TinyBit
- Crush It!: Why Now Is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion
- Pinch of Yum Income and Traffic Reports
- 324: Building Strong Partnerships – How Bob’s Red Mill Works with Content Creators on Sponsored Content
- MicroAcquire
- FE International
- Quiet Light Brokerage
- 032: Buying & Selling Websites with Mark Daoust from Quiet Light
- Flippa
- Eat, Capture, Share Episode #67: Your Pathway to Success
- 322: Going All In – How Sarah Cook Went From 17k to 600k Monthly Pageviews
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Founding a food blogging conference, getting brands involved with a conference, and building community around events with Abbey Rodriguez, founder of Tastemaker Conference.
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Welcome to episode 331 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Abbey Rodriguez about how she founded and grew Tastemaker Conference.
Building Community
From developing recipes to writing posts to creating content for social media, we can find ourselves spending a lot of time alone as food creators. So how can we foster community and build relationships with others in this industry?
Enter: Tastemaker Conference! It’s one of the most popular food blogger conferences, and it’s a great place to connect with fellow food creators and brands and learn from industry experts.
In this episode, you’ll hear why Abbey Rodriguez founded Tastemaker Conference, as well as what to expect at the 2022 Tastemaker Conference in Chicago. Plus, she even shares a limited-time offer on tickets for podcast listeners that you won’t want to miss, so be sure to check out the episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Abbey founded Tastemaker Conference
- How she has shifted her focus from blogging to event planning
- How she funded the conference when launching
- How the pandemic has affected her business
- Why brands like to get involved with Tastemaker Conference
- How the revenue streams for the conference change from year to year
- Her advice for those who want to start hosting events
- What tools she recommends using when planning events
- What the marketing strategy looks like for Tastemaker Conference
- Why they focus so much on retention rate
- How they started hosting masterminds and workshops
- What to expect at the 2022 Tastemaker Conference
Resources:
- Tastemaker Conference
- Tastemaker Conference 2022 Chicago tickets – use code FOODBLOGGERPRO50 for $50 off (valid for seven days after the episode airs)
- The Butter Half
- Big Magic
- Root & Nourish: An Herbal Cookbook for Women’s Wellness
- 328: Hosting Events – How Liz Della Croce Plans and Runs Successful Food Blogger Retreats
- Pilot
- Pinch of Yum
- Asana
- Eventbrite
- Attendify
- The Minne Stuga
- Zillow SNL Skit
- The Inspired Home Show
- Follow Tastemaker Conference on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Growing a blog with a full-time job, taking photography courses, and getting a cookbook deal with Ana Zelić from Ana's Baking Chronicles.
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Welcome to episode 330 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ana Zelić from Ana’s Baking Chronicles about how she strategically improved her food photography skills over time and got her first cookbook deal.
Honing Your Craft
Ana is a food blogger, food photographer, and soon-to-be author, and she’s here on the podcast today to talk about her food photography journey!
Her debut cookbook “The Cake Chronicles” comes out November 30th, and in this episode, she shares why she doubled down on improving her photography skills, what tools she uses when shooting photos, how she got her cookbook deal, and what she learned going through the cookbook writing process.
It’s a really great interview, and we know you’ll feel so inspired after hearing Ana’s story!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Ana started sharing food content online
- Why she decided to blog in English
- Why she shifted her focus to blogging rather than just sharing on Instagram
- How she grew her blog while working a full-time job
- How she got a cookbook deal
- How she developed her food photography skills
- What artificial lighting tools she uses for her photography
- Why she loves shooting tethered
- What she learned going through the cookbook writing process
Resources:
- Ana’s Baking Chronicles
- Preorder Ana’s book, The Cake Chronicles!
- Mediavine
- The Bite Shot
- Foodtography School
- Broma Bakery
- Growth University
- Artificial Academy
- lightroom.html">Adobe Lightroom
- Capture One
- Follow Ana on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Repurposing content for different social media platforms, growing your email list, and using systems and tools to grow your business with Andrea Balogun from Balogun Strategy & Design.
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Welcome to episode 329 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Andrea Balogun from Balogun Strategy & Design about how to craft an effective social media strategy.
Social Media Strategy
Have you ever wanted to pick the brain of a social media consultant? Here’s your chance!
Andrea is a content strategy and design consultant, and she’s here on the podcast today to talk about how to effectively market your brand and grow your following on social media.
In this episode, she shares her advice on a lot of different topics, including how to repurpose your content across various social media outlets, how to lean into a particular topic or series on social media, why it’s important to diversify your platforms, and more.
Andrea’s advice will be a great reminder of why it’s important to really think about your goals and purpose when sharing on social media. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Andrea became a social media consultant
- Some systems and tools she uses to run her business
- What services she offers to her clients
- Tips for crafting your profile on Instagram
- How food bloggers can make the most of the different content types on Instagram
- How Instagram is offering bonuses and badges to creators
- How you can effectively repurpose your content
- Why it can be helpful to focus on a particular topic or series on social media
- Why it’s so important to diversify your platforms
- How to grow your email list
- Her advice for transitioning a side hustle into a full-time business
Resources:
- Balogun Strategy & Design
- 165: Getting Things Done with David Allen
- Notion
- Airtable
- Dubsado
- Later
- Candles 4 the Culture
- Follow Candles 4 the Culture on Instagram
- Follow Andrea on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Hosting food blogger retreats, diversifying your income streams, and capitalizing on your strengths with Liz Della Croce from The Lemon Bowl.
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Welcome to episode 328 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Liz Della Croce from The Lemon Bowl about how she plans and runs food blogger retreats.
Hosting Events
When it comes to earning money as food creators, we usually think of the classic revenue streams like ads and sponsored content. But what about hosting events? That’s what we’re focusing on today!
In this episode, Bjork chats with Liz about how she runs events and food blogger retreats in addition to her own food blog. You’ll hear how she plans her events based on the desires of her attendees, how she gets brands involved with retreats, how she plans out her attendee lists, and more.
It’s a fantastic interview that will inspire you to think about how you can diversify your income streams and capitalize on your own strengths to grow your business. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Liz shares on the Passion to Profit Podcast
- Some powerful mindset shifts that help her run her business
- What her team looks like
- How EOS works
- What implementers, integrators, and visionaries are
- How she diversifies her income
- How she gets the most out of her brand partnerships
- What kinds of events she holds
- Why she loves hosting food blogger retreats
- How she curates her retreats based on the wishes of her attendees
- How to get brands involved with retreats
- What tools she uses when planning her retreats
- How she determines the attendee list for her retreats
Resources:
- The Lemon Bowl
- Get on the waitlist for the Passion to Profit Mastermind!
- Passion to Profit Podcast
- 276: Featured Podcast – Scaling Your Business & Providing Massive Value with Bjork on the Irie Lemon Podcast
- The Five Minute Journal
- EOS
- Traction
- Rocket Fuel
- AdThrive
- InfluenceKit
- Kolbe A Index
- Bob’s Red Mill
- Skinnytaste
- Lexi’s Clean Kitchen
- Microsoft Teams
- Handle the Heat
- The Food in my Beard
- Fresh Air Retreat Video 2021
- Follow Liz on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Understanding Google updates, effectively using Google Search Console, and getting the most out of ads on a food blog with Casey Markee from Media Wyse.
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Welcome to episode 327 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Casey Markee, our FBP SEO Expert, about understanding the Google algorithm.
Understanding the Google Algorithm
We’re so excited to welcome Food Blogger Pro expert Casey Markee back to the podcast today!
As our resident SEO wizard, he has helped countless FBP members out by answering their toughest SEO questions over the years. And at his company Media Wyse, Casey handles site audits for algorithm and rank issues, spammy structured markup actions, unnatural link issues for food blogs, and more.
In this episode, he’s chatting with Bjork all about what food bloggers need to know about the Google algorithm. You’ll hear Casey’s insights on how to understand Google updates, how to effectively use Google Search Console, how to get the most out of your ads, and more.
If you’re looking to increase your traffic, or you’re just curious and want to learn more about the Google algorithm, we know you’ll enjoy this interview!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Casey got into the food blogging SEO space
- What Google’s Webmaster Guidelines are
- What Google Patents are
- How he learns about updates to the Google algorithm
- How updates to the algorithm help publishers
- What core updates are
- Why a recipe card can only be used for one individual recipe
- What manual actions are
- Why it’s so important to use Google Search Console
- What makes warnings and errors different
- How to analyze and understand traffic drops
- How the pandemic has affected traffic for food bloggers
- Why he thinks you shouldn’t put recipes in your recipe cards
- His advice for running ads on a food blog
- What teaser text is on food blogs
Resources:
- Media Wyse
- Learn more about Casey’s audits at Media Wyse
- SearchEngineNews
- 322: Going All In – How Sarah Cook Went From 17k to 600k Monthly Pageviews
- Google Webmaster Guidelines
- SEO by the Sea
- Google Patents
- Google’s blog, The Keyword
- Google IO
- TopHatRank
- Yoast SEO
- Slickstream
- Tasty Recipes
- WP Recipe Maker
- Create by Mediavine
- Google Search Console
- Analyzing Google Search Traffic Drops
- Dotdash
- SEO for Publishers series
- SEO For Publishers Webinar Episode #15: Most Common WordPress Issues and Solutions
- Contact Casey on his website, Media Wyse, and on Facebook
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Batch producing content, choosing a niche, and strategically delegating tasks with Karli Bitner from Cooking with Karli.
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Welcome to episode 326 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Karli Bitner from Cooking with Karli about how she batch produces content.
Content Batching
As food bloggers, it can sometimes feel like we’re stuck in this never-ending cycle of producing more and more content. To avoid burnout, how do we develop strategies for content creation that are sustainable over a long period of time?
That’s what we’re discussing with Karli in today’s episode! To maximize her time with her family this year, she batch produced all of her blog posts for 2021 before 2020 ended. In this episode, she shares why she likes content batching, how she plans and schedules her content, and how she has expanded her team to maximize her productivity.
It’s a really great interview that will inspire you to reflect on your own content creation strategy. We hope you enjoy it!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why she started blogging
- How she chose a niche when launching her blog
- How she used Facebook Groups to grow her traffic
- Why she expanded her niche and changed her focus
- What copycat recipes are
- What tools she uses to grow her business
- How she batch produces content ahead of time
- How she strategically plans her shoot days
- How she organizes her content and photos
- How she adjusts her content plan as needed
- How she works with a writer on her blog posts
- What tasks she has strategically delegated for her blog
- How she found the right people to hire
- How she expects to create content in the future
Resources:
- Cooking with Karli
- Lauren’s Latest
- Mediavine
- Crumbl Cookies
- Semrush
- The HOTH
- AnswerThePublic
- Trello
- Google Calendar
- Tastemaker Conference
- Alfred
- Google Drive
- Backupify
- The Mom Project
- Follow Karli on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Using a plugin to blog in multiple languages, strategically growing your team, and maximizing your productivity with Alejandra Graf from BrownSugar&Vanilla.
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Welcome to episode 325 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Alejandra Graf from BrownSugar&Vanilla about how she shares recipes on her blog in both English and Spanish.
Bilingual Blogging
We’re so excited to share this episode with Alejandra with you today! Her story is really fascinating, and the way that she shares content is a bit unique compared to other content creators.
After immigrating to the United States from Mexico, she launched her food blog, BrownSugar&Vanilla, where she shares family-friendly vegan recipes. But she also has another version of her site called Piloncillo&Vainilla where she shares all the same recipes — but in Spanish!
In this episode, you’ll learn how she uses a plugin to share content in both languages, how the traffic compares on the two versions of her blog, and more. It’s a really fascinating, inspiring interview that demonstrates the unique ways you can share content with different audiences.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Alejandra immigrated to the United States
- What led her to launch her blog
- How she started sharing recipes in both Spanish and English
- How she determines what content will resonate with which part of her audience
- How the traffic compares on the English vs. the Spanish side of her blog
- How she runs ads on her site
- Which plugin she uses to share content in both languages
- How she strategically grew her team
- How she earns revenue from her site
- How she gets sponsored content work
- How she uses the Pomodoro Method to maximize her productivity
Resources:
- BrownSugar&Vanilla
- Piloncillo&Vainilla
- The Fire Starter Sessions
- The WordPress Multilingual Plugin
- Google Translate
- Grammarly
- AdThrive
- Pinch of Yum Income and Traffic Reports
- BlogHer
- Johanna B. Voss Agency
- 322: Going All In – How Sarah Cook Went From 17k to 600k Monthly Pageviews
- Follow Alejandra on Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How Bob's Red Mill works with content creators, how creators can effectively reach out to brands, and how to secure ongoing brand partnerships with Cassidy Stockton.
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Welcome to episode 324 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Cassidy Stockton about how Bob’s Red Mill works with content creators on sponsored content.
Building Strong Partnerships
When we chat about sponsored content here on the podcast, we usually talk to creators and publishers about how they secure partnerships with brands. But today, we’re flipping the script and hearing things directly from a brand’s perspective!
In this episode, Bjork interviews Cassidy Stockton, the Senior Content Marketing Manager at Bob’s Red Mill, about how her team works with content creators, what she wishes creators knew about working with brands, and more.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about how to reach out to brands, how to negotiate your rates, or how to secure ongoing brand partnerships, this episode with Cassidy is for you!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Cassidy does at Bob’s Red Mill
- Why they invest so much into influencer marketing
- What kinds of campaigns they find successful
- What an employee-owned company is
- What metrics they look at when working with influencers
- What influencers can do to maintain a strong relationship with a brand
- How they handle invoices and payments
- How they initiate partnerships at Bob’s Red Mill
- Why they consider video to be essential right now
- How they’ve been experimenting on TikTok
- How they negotiate rates with influencers
- How Bob’s Red Mill works with various agencies
- What you should include in your media kit
- What she wishes creators knew about working with brands
Resources:
- Bob’s Red Mill
- InfluenceKit
- Connect with Cassidy on LinkedIn
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Tracking your expenses, optimizing your business for tax season, and setting yourself up for success financially with Ansley Beutler from Peach Perfect Financials.
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Welcome to episode 323 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ansley Beutler from Peach Perfect Financials about optimizing your blog’s financials to set your business up for success.
Understanding the Numbers
While Ansley Beutler is well-known for sharing delicious and healthy recipes on The Fit Peach, she’s also a CPA and an expert when it comes to the financial side of running a food blog!
Through her consultancy business Peach Perfect Financials, she helps bloggers level up their business and gain control and clarity over their finances.
In this episode, she shares why you should have a business bank account, how to keep track of your expenses, how to structure your business to optimize your taxes, and more.
Whether you just launched your blog or if you’ve been blogging for years, we think you’ll have a lot of great takeaways from this episode. Enjoy!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why Ansley started her food blog
- What she does at Peach Perfect Financials
- How she balances working on her blog and her client work
- Why she recommends having a business bank account and credit card
- What business expenses and startup expenses are
- Why it’s so important to track your expenses
- What happens if you get audited
- How you get taxed when you run your own business
- When you might consider making an S election
- What an EIN is
- How you can keep track of your receipts digitally
- How to determine what your salary should be as a business owner
- How to set yourself up your success in the future financially
Resources:
- The Fit Peach
- Peach Perfect Financials
- Form 2553
- Shoeboxed
- Quickbooks
- Blogger MBA School
- 321: The EXITpreneur’s Playbook – Maximizing Your Profits When Selling a Business with Joe Valley
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Investing money into your business, deleting posts to encourage growth, and the importance of having accountability partners with Sarah Cook from Sustainable Cooks.
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Welcome to episode 322 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sarah Cook from Sustainable Cooks about what specific strategies she implemented to grow her blog’s traffic and increase her revenue.
Going All In
A few years ago, Sarah Cook was feeling burnt out and ready to call it quits on her blog. But after listening to some food blogging podcasts, she decided to switch up her blogging strategy and see if she could turn it into a thriving business.
And today on the podcast, she’s sharing everything she’s done along the way to go from 17k to 600k monthly pageviews with her blog, Sustainable Cooks! She explains some of the unique ways she has invested in her blog, why she decided to delete hundreds of posts, why she loves having a blogging accountability partner, and more.
It’s a really inspiring interview, and we know it’ll leave you feeling motivated and excited to make progress on your blogging goals.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Sarah decided to go all in with her blog
- How she struggled to define her identity as a full-time blogger
- Where she started investing money into her business
- How she shifted her content strategy
- Why she deleted hundreds of posts on her blog
- How she categorized her content into specific buckets
- Why ad earnings are typically lower in Q1
- How her blog’s success has helped her support causes she cares about
- How she fits work into the margins of her day
- What tasks she decided to hire out
- Why she loves having a blogging accountability partner
Resources:
- Sustainable Cooks
- 170: What’s Working and What’s Not with the FBP Community
- MediaWyse
- Casey Markee
- Purr Design
- The Simple Pin Podcast
- Kate Ahl
- Mediavine
- Keysearch
- AdThrive
- Hey Nutrition Lady
- Cook It Real Good
- Follow Sarah on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
What an exitpreneur is, why we're not able to run our businesses forever, and what factors to keep in mind when deciding to sell your business with Joe Valley.
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Welcome to episode 321 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Joe Valley about making a great exit and maximizing your profits when selling a business.
The EXITpreneur’s Playbook
When it comes down to it, we’re not able to run our businesses forever. And most business owners wait to sell until they’re exhausted and emotionally rundown, and by that time, it’s too late to have a great exit.
Enter: Joe Valley! After facilitating nearly half a billion dollars in exits, Joe has written the bestselling book, “The EXITpreneur’s Playbook” to help online business owners get the maximum value and best deal structure possible when selling their businesses.
Even if you’re not quite ready to sell your own business, this interview will show you what areas to focus on to create a successful pathway to your own eventual exit.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What an exitpreneur is
- Why it’s important to be on top of your financials
- What the difference is between a CPA and a bookkeeper
- Why it’s important to consider risk, transferability, documentation, and growth when deciding to sell
- Why you need to have specific goals in mind when it comes to selling your business
- What SKUs are
- What the transition period looks like after selling a business
- What most people do after selling a business
Resources:
- The EXITpreneur’s Playbook
- Read the first three chapters of The EXITpreneur’s Playbook for free!
- Quiet Light
- The Quiet Light Podcast
- 32: Buying & Selling Websites with Mark Daoust from Quiet Light
- Quickbooks
- Xero
- Pilot
- EOS
- TinyBit
- Puerto Rico’s Tax Incentive Code
- 176: Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers with Chris Guthrie
- Follow Joe on Twitter and LinkedIn
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Succeeding on different social media platforms, managing partnerships with brands, and shifting content strategies over time with Chelsey White from Chelsweets.
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Welcome to episode 320 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Chelsey White from Chelsweets about how she’s grown her various social media platforms and how her content strategy has evolved over time.
Learning By Doing
Today on the podcast, we’re talking to the cake queen herself: Chelsey White from Chelsweets!
While she originally started by just baking cakes for her coworkers, Chelsey has since built up a massive social media following sharing her elaborate cakes and baking creations online. With over 1.2 million followers on Instagram and 2 million followers on TikTok, she has established herself as one of the top names in the food space.
In this episode, she shares how she started sharing content online, how she likes to approach sponsored content, and how she adapts her content for different social media platforms.
It’s a super fun, inspiring interview, and we hope you enjoy hearing Chelsey’s story!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- When Chelsey started sharing baking content online
- How her content strategy has evolved over time
- Why posting on her blog is her number one priority
- Which social media platforms she enjoys using the most
- Why she oftentimes likes waiting for brands to approach her first
- How to figure out your rates for sponsored content
- How she has created sponsored content for TV shows and movies
- How she maximizes her efficiency when creating content for different platforms
- What she would focus on if she had to start over again from scratch
- How she balances passion publishing with performance publishing
- How she manages her content calendar with Google Calendar
Resources:
- Chelsweets
- Captive8
- Canva
- Keysearch
- Follow Chelsey on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
The daily schedule of a full-time food blogger, how Mike Johnson generates revenue for his blog, and what it was like to change content strategies on Mike Bakes NYC.
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Welcome to episode 319 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Mike Johnson from Mike Bakes NYC about how he managed to transition to full-time blogging after running his successful Instagram account.
From Attorney to Food Blogger
We’re so excited we had a chance to talk to Mike in today’s episode! He has a super interesting story; he went from attorney to full-time blogger after running an incredibly successful New York City food-focused Instagram account.
He’s on the show today to talk about what the process of transitioning to full-time blogger looked like, as well as how he runs his business and creates revenue for himself.
If you’re curious about what a day in the life of a full-time blogger looks like, or you’re interested in figuring out how to maximize your blog revenue, we know you’ll find some helpful nuggets of inspiration in this interview!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Mike transitioned from attorney to online content creator
- What it was like to work with restaurants in New York City
- How he shifted the content focus on his blog and on social media
- When he knew he could create an income from his blog and social channels
- How he’s getting traffic to his blog
- How he shares his recipes on social media
- Why he’s happier working for himself and how his background has helped with his sponsor negotiations
- What his full-time blogging schedule looks like
- What it’s like working with an agency
- What roles Mike will hire for next
- What it’s like using Airsubs to host cooking classes to his audience
- How authenticity contributed to his growth
Resources:
- Mike Bakes NYC
- Broma Bakery
- Mike’s cookbook, Even Better Brownies
- Mediavine
- Airsubs
- 308: Virtual Events – Earn an Income by Teaching Classes Online with Tomas Hoyos
- Smith and Saint
- EOS
- Follow Mike on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest
- Read Food Blogger Pro member stories!
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Maximizing your Q4 revenue, how to keep the Q4 momentum, and republishing content with Bjork Ostrom and Jenna Arend.
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Welcome to episode 318 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to a Q&A we held last year where Food Blogger Pro members asked Bjork and Pinch of Yum’s General Manager, Jenna, questions about preparing for Q4.
How Food Bloggers Can Make the Most Out of Q4
It’s another FBP Rewind episode today, and we’re so excited to revisit our October 2020 Q&A with Jenna Arend from the Pinch of Yum team!
We hold these live Q&As every single month for our Food Blogger Pro members. Sometimes we focus on a specific topic (like this one), and other times it’s an excuse to pick Bjork’s brain on any blogging topic under the sun. It’s so fun to connect, answer our members’ toughest questions, and have an hour to intentionally work on getting a tiny bit better.
And in this Q&A, we focused on all the ways that food bloggers can make the most out of Q4!
Q4 is made up of the last three months of the year (October, November, and December), and it’s a big deal for food bloggers. Not only are people hungry for recipes, but advertising spending also goes up during these three months, and sponsors are looking for bloggers and content creators who can create seasonal content.
We hope that you enjoy this Q&A and that it leaves you feeling inspired and motivated as we get closer and closer to Q4.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Jenna’s role looks like on the Pinch of Yum team
- How the Pinch of Yum team is preparing for Q4
- Tips for Q4 if your blog is new
- How to maximize affiliate earnings in Q4
- Alternatives to the Amazon affiliate program
- How Q4 differs from Q1 and how to keep the momentum into the new year
- How to choose whether to create a new recipe or republish existing content
- What Pinch of Yum’s current email strategy looks like
Resources:
- Pinch of Yum
- October Coffee Date post on Pinch of Yum
- Republishing Content course <– for members only
- Google Search Console course <– for members only
- How to include the equipment section on a Tasty Recipes recipe card
- Tasty Links
- Tasty Recipes
- ShareASale
- ShopStyle
- program.amazon.com/resource-center/onelink-launch"> Amazon OneLink
- Simple Pin Media
- Whisk
- Prepear
- ConvertKit
- Duett
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Creating content you're passionate about, choosing the right tools for success, and finding a work-life balance with Nisha Melvani.
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Welcome to episode 317 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Nisha Melvani from about her journey of growing her brand while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Optimizing for Growth
Nisha is a Food Blogger Pro member, nutritionist, and registered dietitian, and she’s here on the podcast today to talk about her journey growing her blog, CookingForPeanuts.com!
While she originally started just by sharing her vegan dinner recipes on Instagram, Nisha has evolved her brand by shifting some of her focus to her blog and upcoming cookbook.
In this episode, she shares some of the mistakes she’s made along the way, some tools that have been instrumental to her success, and some tips she has for finding a healthy work-life balance.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How she started sharing content on Instagram
- Why she adopted a vegan diet
- How she decided to only share vegan dinner recipes
- Why she ultimately decided to launch a blog
- Some mistakes she made when building her site
- What tools she used to optimize and grow her blog
- How she developed her unique video strategy
- How she balances her blog and personal life
- Why authenticity and patience are so important
- How to stay tuned for her upcoming cookbook
Resources:
- Cooking for Peanuts
- Levels Glucose Monitor
- Forks Over Knives
- The Game Changers
- Feast Design Co.
- EOS
- EOS Accountability Chart
- BigScoots
- Tasty Recipes
- Yoast Video SEO for WordPress
- Tailwind
- Tasty Pins
- Nutrifox
- Clariti
- Best of Vegan - Cooking for Peanuts
- Preorder Nisha’s book, Practically Vegan
- Follow Nisha on Instagram and Facebook
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How to invest in yourself, how to make your money work for you, and other key takeaways from Rich Dad Poor Dad.
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Welcome to episode 316 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we have another episode in our Book Nook series where Bjork identifies five different takeaways from the book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad.”
Five Takeaways from Rich Dad Poor Dad
This week on the podcast, we’re sharing another episode in our new Book Nook series! In this series, Bjork reviews one of his favorite business books and outlines some key takeaways that you can apply to your blog or business.
In this episode, we’re focusing on “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” a powerful personal finance book that explains how you can make your money work for you. Bjork shares some of his main takeaways from the book and shares how bloggers and content creators can implement this advice to grow their own businesses.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why it’s important to invest in yourself
- What a personal board of directors is
- Why it’s important to buy assets, not liabilities
- Why you should learn through experiences
- How you can have your money work for you
- Why mindset is so important
Resources:
- Rich Dad Poor Dad
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How to combat food stereotypes, understand cultural appropriation, and support an African food revolution with Zoe Adjonyoh.
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Welcome to episode 315 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Zoe Adjonyoh about her journey with Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, as well as her fight against the cultural appropriation of food.
Decolonizing the Food Industry
While Zoe Adjonyoh initially started out by just cooking Ghanaian food for her community, she quickly took on a larger role with her brand, Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen. Through her blog, cookbook, supper clubs, and more, she has been actively working to foster an African Food Revolution and bring African food to the masses.
And in recent years, she has shifted her focus from just pioneering West African food to decolonizing the food industry and helping people understand what cultural appropriation is.
It’s a really powerful interview that will make you consider your role as both a consumer and a content creator, and we hope you enjoy hearing more about Zoe’s story.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How she started Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen
- How her supper clubs worked
- How she worked to start an African food revolution
- How she shifted her focus to work on decolonizing the food industry
- What the difference is between cultural appropriation and appreciation
- How we have power as consumers to support the culture where food comes from
- Why activism is ingrained in her identity
- What she covers in her book, as well as what she has updated in this new edition
Resources:
- Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen
- Preorder Zoe’s book here!
- 289: The Rise – How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Affected the Restaurant Industry and Celebrating Black Culture in American Food with Marcus Samuelsson
- Airbnb Experience — Chocolate Origins & Create with a Maker
- Diaspora Co.
- Burlap & Barrel
- Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen playlist on Spotify
- Zoe’s podcast, Cooking Up Consciousness
- Follow Zoe on Instagram and Facebook
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How to find your unique photography style, create content for your audience, and grow a successful business with Kimberly Espinel.
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Welcome to episode 314 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Kimberly Espinel about how she has grown her business teaching food photographers how to find their unique style.
Creative Food Photography
When you’re just starting out as a food blogger, it can be hard to find your personal style. You might find yourself emulating the style of other creatives and struggle to find a rhythm that works best for you. And that’s where Kimberly comes in!
Kimberly is an award-winning food photographer, blogger, teacher, and author who helps food photographers find their unique style. She talks about how she grew her business, how she is able to create content that serves her community, and why she thinks focusing on your mindset is so important when working as a creative.
Her passion for her work shines through in this episode, and her story will leave you feeling inspired and motivated to continue creating meaningful content for your audience.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why she launched her podcast Eat, Capture, Share
- Why she thinks creatives can be incredible businesspeople
- What prompted her to launch her food blog
- Why she decided to shift her content to food photography
- What ikigai means
- How she checks in on her business daily
- Why she loves positive self-talk
- Why focusing on your mindset is so important as a creative
- How she teaches students to find their unique photography style
- What a color story is
- How she reaches out to brands
- Why she thinks it’s important to create photos that your ideal customer is looking for
- Why she loves creating online courses
- How her Instagram Food Photography challenge works
Resources:
- Eat, Capture, Share Podcast
- Ikigai
- Kimberly’s favorite planner
- Gabriel Cabrera
- Luisa Brimble
- Aran Goyoaga
- Kimberly’s site
- Kimberly’s online courses
- Kimberly’s book — Creative Food Photography
- Instagram Food Photography challenge
- Follow Kimberly on Instagram and Pinterest
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How to make business branding decisions, what it means to be authentically vulnerable, and diversifying income with Charli Prangley.
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Welcome to episode 313 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Charli Prangley about how she grows her business, builds her team, and does the work she loves.
Side Hustle Income
Charli is the Creative Director at ConvertKit, but she also does a ton of work on her side hustle. So much so, she was actually able to double her side hustle income in just a year!
This episode is jam-packed with advice for people who are trying to grow their businesses while working full-time jobs. Charli talks about how she views branding, how she hires help for the things she doesn’t like to do, and how she has diversified her income.
Charli’s advice will be a great reminder of why it’s important to really hone in on what you’re actually trying to accomplish when you’re creating content online and what it takes to get there. We hope you enjoy this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What marketing design means
- Why she doesn’t like pop-ups
- How to make decisions based on your branding
- Which of her platforms is her favorite
- How she doubled her side hustle income in a year
- How she works with a channel sponsor on YouTube
- Why Twitter is a great place to connect with people
- How she makes decisions about what she works on
- Why investing in help has been key for her business growth
- Tips for hiring email help
- How to work with designers on your blog’s branding
- Common traits of successful brands
- How to be authentically vulnerable
Resources:
- ConvertKit
- Charli’s YouTube channel
- Design Life Podcast
- Inside Marketing Design Podcast
- The Future Belongs to Creators Podcast
- Charli’s site
- Charli’s Twitch channel
- Pinch of Yum
- Pallet
- Doubling My Side Hustle Earnings - 2020/21 Income Report
- Figma
- Webflow
- Folk
- 309: Create with Intention – $130,000 in the First Week by Creating Premium Offerings for Your Audience with Shawn Blanc
- 097: How to Create a Full-Time Income from Blogging Using The Egg Carton Method with Bjork Ostrom
- Black and White Studios
- Dianne Jacob
About This Week's Sponsor
We're excited to announce that this week's episode is sponsored by our sister site, Clariti!
With Clariti, you can easily organize your blog content for maximum growth. Create campaigns to add alt text to your posts, fix broken images, remove any broken links, and more, all within the Clariti app.
Sign up for the Clariti waitlist today to receive:
- Early access to their $25/Month Forever pricing
- Optimization ideas for your site content
- An invitation to join their exclusive Slack community
- And more!
You can learn more and sign up here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How to communicate with brands, work with a brand's goals in mind, and manage sponsored content work with Pinch of Yum's Jenna Arend.
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Welcome to episode 312 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to our episode with Jenna Arend from the Pinch of Yum where she talks about some of the systems they use to manage their sponsored content work.
How Pinch of Yum Works with Brands
It’s another FBP Rewind episode today, and we’re so excited to revisit our July 2020 interview with Jenna Arend from the Pinch of Yum team today!
Jenna is the General Manager at Pinch of Yum and in this episode, she gives you a behind-the-scenes tour of how the Pinch of Yum team uses processes to handle their sponsored content work.
Between establishing a system for initial conversations with brands to contract review, we’re hoping that you’re able to take some of the systems that the Pinch of Yum team relies on and use them to streamline your own sponsored content efforts.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Jenna does for Team Pinch of Yum
- What it was like when Pinch of Yum worked with an agency on sponsored content
- How they decided to bring the management of sponsored content in-house
- The kinds of systems the Pinch of Yum uses to manage sponsored content
- How to communicate with brands
- Tips for negotiating
- What’s included in Pinch of Yum’s media kit and rate sheet
- How contract review works
- How the Pinch of Yum team works with a lawyer
- How you can report on sponsored content campaigns
- What it means to offer a la carte items to brands
Resources:
- Pinch of Yum
- Sway
- Questions on the Pinch of Yum Intake Form <– for members only!
- Typeform
- LISS Legal
- Meet the Food Blogger Pro Experts
- InfluenceKit
- Bar La Grassa
- Estelle
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Blogging as a creative outlet, balancing a blog with a full-time job, and creating intentional content with Katie Olsen from Katiebird Bakes.
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Welcome to episode 311 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Katie Olsen.
Finding Your Why
Katie is a full-time attorney and food blogger, and she’s here on the podcast today to talk about her blogging journey and philosophy when it comes to sharing content online.
She talks about how starting a blog is inherently vulnerable, why she likes balancing both her blog and her full-time job, and how she has shifted her content strategy over the years.
As her blog Katiebird Bakes has grown over time, Katie has found a sense of purpose and enjoyment in blogging as a creative outlet, and you’ll learn more about her mindset in this episode.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- Why she initially felt nervous to launch her blog
- How she deals with negative comments on her blog
- Why she enjoys having both her blog and a full-time job
- Why she’s really picky about the kind of content she posts online
- How to adjust to the ever-changing environment of social media
- How to not fall into the comparison trap as a content creator
- What kinds of recipes she shares on her blog
- Why it’s so important to remember your ‘why’
- How leaning into her niche helped her find success
- What metrics she used to track her blog’s growth along the way
- What philosophy she follows when planning future content
Resources:
- Katiebird Bakes
- The Oatmeal - What it’s like to make things for the web
- Jimmy Fallon explains the meaning of his life
- Mediavine
- Follow Katie on Instagram and Facebook
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Finding the right clients, strategies for creating a media kit, and making money from freelance food photography with Candice Ward.
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Welcome to episode 310 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Candice Ward about pitching brands and monetizing food photography.
The Confident Pitch
Working with brands can be a great way to monetize a blog or food business, but the process of pitching brands and fostering a relationship with those brands can be a bit intimidating.
Enter: Candice! She’s on the podcast today to talk about working with clients, getting paid, and reaching a successful stage in her business in a short period of time. In this interview, Candice talks about how she pitches brands, monetizes her food photography skills, and finds the right brands to work with.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How she transitioned her business
- How she improved her food photography skills
- How she found her first client
- How to start collaborating with brands
- Her strategies for creating a media kit
- How she evaluates brands
- How much you can expect to make from freelance photography
- How she finds contacts
- How she hosts coaching calls
Resources:
- Foodtography
- Eat More Cake by Candice
- HoneyBook
- Vimeo
- Folk
- Campfire –– note: this tool has merged into Basecamp
- 3 Secrets to Build a Sustainable Food Photography Business
- The Confident Pitch Program
- Follow Candice on Instagram
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Charging for content, creating an online course, and going from indie blogger to multi-business owner with Shawn Blanc.
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Welcome to episode 309 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Shawn Blanc about the way he produces products for his audience.
Create with Intention
Today we’re talking to Shawn Blanc about his story of going from indie blogger to successful entrepreneur. He’ll talk about productivity, starting new things, serving your audience, and how to build a strong company without sacrificing every hour to your work.
His business ideas are very much aligned towards helping his audience get the best possible outcome, and his story will leave you feeling inspired and motivated to continue creating and serving your readers.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How Shawn started working as an indie blogger
- How he started blogging full-time
- How he incorporated a membership into his blog
- What “thump value” means
- How he made money with his blog
- How and why he built more sites
- How his earnings changed when he hired more people
- How he decided to create an online course
- What it was like to start working with a team
- His #1 productivity tip
Resources:
- Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook
- John Gruber
- Shawn’s site
- Substack
- Patreon
- Ghost
- Barrett Brooks
- Think Again
- Delight is in the Details
- Shawn’s other projects
- Things
- 165: Getting Things Done with David Allen
- 305: Non-Traditional Success – Optimizing for Happiness with Jason Glaspey
- Soul Savvy
- The Focus Course
- Check out the Food Blogger Pro YouTube channel (and subscribe while you’re there!)
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
How to host a successful live event, monetize live cooking classes, and promote your classes with Tomas Hoyos.
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Welcome to episode 308 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Tomas Hoyos about hosting paid classes online with Airsubs.
Selling Cooking Classes to Your Audience
You know how a lot of classes are held online these days? Have you ever thought about teaching one yourself?
Tomas is here on the podcast today to chat about how you can use his product, Airsubs, to develop a direct relationship with your audience by hosting live cooking events. Not only will he talk about how one creator made $50,000 in just one week by hosting classes on Airsubs, he unpacks why online events like this can be so lucrative for creators, especially in 2021.
It’s a great interview that will give you a ton of insights into promoting, hosting, and selling online classes of your own!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How he changed his business model because of the pandemic
- How a creator made $50,000 in one week on Airsubs
- How Airsubs makes it easy to host virtual events
- Common themes Tomas is seeing in virtual cooking classes
- How virtual cooking classes can be lucrative for creators
- How to craft your set-up
- How to get people to sign up for your classes
- How Airsubs helps you build your email list
- What a successful live event looks like
- How introverts can host live events
Resources:
- Airsubs
- Email Tomas at tomas@airsubs.com
- Follow Airsubs on Instagram
- Check out Airsubs’ summits
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
Working with publishers, earning an income through food writing, and paid newsletters with Dianne Jacob.
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Welcome to episode 307 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Dianne Jacob about food writing as a profession and the re-release of her book, “Will Write for Food.”
Will Write for Food
Food writing is both an art and a science, and Dianne Jacob is back on the podcast today to talk about best practices for writing cookbooks, working with publishers, and making an income as a food writer.
You can find the latest version of Dianne’s book, “Will Write for Food,” wherever books are sold, and in it you’ll find even more strategies that can help you get paid for writing about food online or in print. Leave a comment at foodbloggerpro.com/307 about one major takeaway you had from this episode for a chance to win a copy of her book!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How creating recipe content online has changed
- Considerations for working with publishers
- How much you can expect to make from writing a cookbook
- If you can get a cookbook deal without a following
- How food writers can create income
- Why you don’t always need to monetize hobbies
- How paid newsletters work
- Where you can find Dianne’s book
Resources:
- 015: How to Find Your Voice and be Heard in a Noisy World with Dianne Jacob
- Will Write for Food
- Alison Roman
- Substack
- Connect with Dianne on her site and sign up for her free newsletter
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
What Core Web Vitals are, how they impact Google search rankings, and when they'll impact the Google search algorithm with Andrew Wilder.
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Welcome to episode 306 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re sharing part of our most recent member Q&A with Andrew Wilder from NerdPress where he talks about Core Web Vitals.
Core Web Vitals
Google has already started using things like mobile friendliness, security, and intrusive popups to impact search rankings, and the big news on the block is that Core Web Vitals, a way to quantify user experience on a website, will impact rankings soon as well.
There are three signals that measure “good” user experience:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- First input Delay (FID)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Google wants readers to have a good experience on the sites that are ranking in the first few spots in search results, and Core Web Vitals are one of the ways they’re tracking that.
If this all sounds confusing, don’t worry –– you’ve come to the right place! In this episode, we’re sharing part of our most recent member Q&A with our incredible WordPress and Site Speed Expert, Andrew Wilder, where he covered the ins and outs of page experience and Core Web Vitals.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What Core Web Vitals are
- When Core Web Vitals are launching
- How and when Core Web Vitals will impact the Google search algorithm
- What other search ranking factors are
- What Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift are
Resources:
- NerdPress
- Ember Mug
- Core Web Vitals
- Core Web Vitals and Page Experience FAQ
- Web Vitals Extension
- PageSpeed Insights
- Google Search Console
- Find Andrew on Food Blogger Pro
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
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