So you are passionate about food and you want to start a food blog. This is great since there are millions of people that want to hear from you but you might want to read the food blogging tips below.
The truth is that food blogging is so competitive that you can easily just get lost in the ocean. It does take a lot of work to develop the truly successful food blog so get ready for a long road. We are sure that you are happy after you succeed though since the satisfaction of helping many with your food posts is always high.
The following food blogging tips are meant to help beginners. The food bloggers that are successful most likely know them or at least should know them.
Do Not Give Up
In food blogging success does not come over night. All blog growth is slow and eventually gains momentum. The trick is to do what you do best and keep blogging. Keep improving the content that you offer and take it slow. Never give up since you will surely get where you want to in time.
Authenticity First
Always focus on what you like and what you enjoy. You want to be authentic. It does not matter what SEO keywords are more popular and what most people look for. Are you vegan? This is what you should write about. Are you a foodie that does not like cooking but loves eating? This is what you should write about. Try to produce the very best content possible and remain authentic.
Clean Website Design
Did you ever visit a food blog and simply get frustrated by the fact that you did not find what you were looking for, even if you knew that the content was there? The best food blogs have a clean site design and are really easy to navigate.
Speaking about design, make sure that you also focus on the following facts:
- Make it easy for people to follow you – Have social media, email subscription and RSS subscription accessible on all pages.
- Easy blog commenting – You want to make it as easy as possible for people to comment on your blog. Avoid required logins at all costs and do not use CAPTCHAs. If you have problems with spam, there are many ways to avoid this on a blog.
- Social media sharing – People should be able to easily share content from your blog. Encourage people to share and thank them when they do. If you are tagged on social media, respond and say thank you for the share.
You Need Original Content
Copying recipes is not going to help as much as you might think. Sure, it helps you to get more content and a good food blog always has numerous articles. However, the problem with copying what others do, even if you avoid the duplicate content problem, People want to see original content. What is YOUR twist to the popular recipe? How do YOU cook something? Where do YOU go to eat the best pizza in the city? This is what people want to see.
Showcase Your Personality
Speaking about what people want to see, your visitors want to see you. Your personality will be a huge part of the success of your blog. Remember that enthusiasm is infectious. You want to show it. In blogging you can easily connect with people that share the things you love, like strawberries.
Meet Other Food Bloggers
Networking is great for growing any blog. You want to cultivate friendships in the blogging world. Everything starts with connecting with other food bloggers that have similar interests. You want to leave comments on other blogs, talk with the food bloggers you love on social media and even promote their content on your pages. Tag them when you do and just keep interacting.
The important part of networking is establishing genuine connections with other food bloggers. In time, you will find yourself invited to guest post, participate in videos and more. Return the favor and actually make the first step since you are the one that starts out.
Be Accessible
Social media is simply a necessity. You do not want to just have a profile somewhere. You want to be active. This means you should also be responsive. Respond to comments and try to answer relevant emails as soon as possible. You never know when an opportunity appears or when you make a new friend.
Cite Sources
This should always be done. It is unethical to repost recipes and photos from other food bloggers without their permission. You should focus on original recipes and share links to what inspired you. Then, you want to link to what you use.
Do Not Sell Out
Once again, ethics count. People will follow you because of you. This is why you should never align yourself with the projects or brands that are a bad fit. Build the audience and new opportunities are going to come your way.
It is normal to want to make money with the food blog but if you sell out, your followers will figure it out pretty fast. As a result, you will lose them.
Learn SEO
When you first start blogging, focusing on SEO is not something you should do. However, as time passes, you need to learn search engine optimization. You start with SEO basics and then you move on to more advanced topics. The internet is filled with blogs that teach SEO. Take it slow and keep implementing what you learn. For you as a food blogger, SEO is all about making that great content you develop findable.
Learn How To Take Photos
When you visit the most successful food blogs out there, one thing becomes obvious: the images are incredible. When videos are presented, they are stunning, HD format, everything that you would imagine. Food bloggers quickly figure out how important it is to have visuals in blog posts. You need to learn how to take food photos.
Conclusions
Food blogging will be intimidating. You will have to work hard and you will need to write a lot. You will have to cook a lot and take thousands of pictures. It all takes time but if you do not give up and you keep learning and networking, success will surely come.
