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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
Bloggers and foodies everywhere will want this full-color book
The only thing better than cooking and eating is talking about it! Combine your two loves—food and blogging—with this ultimate guide for food bloggers everywhere. Food Blogging For Dummies shows you how to join the blogosphere with your own food blog. This unique guide covers everything: how to identify your niche, design your site, find your voice, and create mouthwatering visuals of your best recipes and menus using dazzling lighting and effects. You'll learn how to optimize your blog for search, connect with social media, take your blog mobile, add widgets, and much more.
- Walks you through the technicalities of starting your own food blog
- Explores what you need to consider before your first post ever goes public
- Shows you how to create lip-smacking food visuals using special lighting and clever effects
- Explains SEO and how to make sure your site and recipes are searchable
- Goes into social media and how to use it effectively with your blog
Here's everything you need to know about food blogging.
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Seitenzahl: 454
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012
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Food Blogging For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Food Blogging For Dummies®
by Kelly Senyei
Food Blogging For Dummies®
Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
All photos Copyright 2011 by Kelly Senyei, unless otherwise indicated.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012933619
ISBN 978-1-118-15769-5 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-22602-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-23938-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26399-0 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Author
Kelly Senyei is a multimedia food journalist, stylist, photographer, and chef. She joined the food blogosphere in 2008 with the launch of her blog, Just a Taste (www.justataste.com), which chronicles her culinary musings tied to everything from easy appetizers and creative cocktails, to quick-fix meals and endless desserts. Kelly is a big proponent of keeping things light in life (and she’s not talking about calories) and was motivated to launch her blog to share her family’s rich recipe history.
After receiving her master’s degree in broadcast television from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, she joined the editorial team at FoodNetwork.com as an intern, where she wrote features and blogged on Food2.com. Unable to quiet her longstanding desire to attend culinary school, she enrolled in the Culinary Arts diploma program at The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE), where she conceptualized and launched the school’s first official blog, DICED. For seven months, she photographed and blogged about every intricate detail of life as a culinary student, and in 2010, she received the People’s Choice Award for Food Photography by the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
Kelly graduated with highest honors from ICE and honed her culinary skills by externing in the Food Network Kitchens, where she cross-tested recipes, prepared food for photo shoots and TV productions, and had the lucky chance to cook in a practice battle of Iron Chef America (the secret ingredient was popcorn!). She was then invited to join Condé Nast in reimagining the iconic Gourmet magazine in digital form. Kelly presently works as the Associate Editor of Gourmet Live writing articles for the app and Gourmet.com, managing the brand’s blog and social media presence, and art directing and prop styling for photo shoots.
Through her work at Gourmet Live, Kelly has interviewed everyone from Eric Ripert and Tom Colicchio to Wolfgang Puck and Frank Bruni. She’s also written in depth about the topics of cooking in the 1800s, nocturnal sleep-related eating disorder, the frozen yogurt fallacy, extreme couponing, low-carb diets, kitchen traumas, and more.
Kelly makes regular, expert appearances in all types of food media and has spoken at BlogHer Food and Food Blog Forum. Her work is featured on Gourmet Live, NBC, FoodNetwork.com, Glamour.com, and Food2.com. When not busy keeping up with the latest food media news and trends, she can be found in her New York City apartment, experimenting with ingredients and creating recipes.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my family, who are the most loving, supportive, and hilarious people I know.
Author’s Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to acknowledge my family — Mom, Dad, Alison, Grant, Grandmom, and Julio. Thank you all for breathing life and inspiration into Just a Taste and into me. I cannot thank you enough for your patience over these past six months and for your constant encouragement to pursue my greatest passion. You are all my eternal support system on speed dial, and for that — and for keeping me well-caffeinated — I am forever grateful.
I also want to thank the entire team at John Wiley and Sons, Inc. who worked on the book, especially my acquisitions editor, Amy Fandrei, who sent me an e-mail on April 5, 2011 that turned a lifelong dream into an opportunity that has now become a reality. And not a single page of this book would exist in legible form without the tireless efforts of my editor, Nicole Sholly, whose inspiring ability to answer my 973 questions while embracing my incessant food puns continues to amaze me. I am honored and blessed to have worked with Amy, Nicole, and so many others at Wiley.
I owe much gratitude to my Condé Nast family, especially Tanya Steel, Juliana Stock, Jennifer Mason, Kemp Minifie, Kendra Vizcaino, Ma’ayan Rosenzweig, Patricia Reilly, Megan Steintrager, and Kerry Acker. It is an absolute pleasure to work and to laugh with each of you every day.
Finally, I want to thank all those who lent their wisdom, guidance, and inspiration, especially Elise Bauer, Jaden Hair, Diane Cu, Todd Porter, Elaine Wu, and the entire BlogHer team, Paul Grimes, William Carr-Hartley, Brian Aronowitz, and my agent, David Larabell. And last, but definitely not least, the countless food bloggers who took part in the nationwide The State of the Food Blogosphere survey and who serve as the centerfold and true heart of the book.
Without each and every one of you, Food Blogging For Dummies would not be a reality. I raise a glass to toast to you, that you all may enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial
Senior Project Editor: Nicole Sholly
Acquisitions Editor: Amy Fandrei
Copy Editor: Jennifer Riggs
Technical Editor: A.J. Rathbun (www.ajrathbun.com)
Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner
Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham
Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case
Cover Photos: ©iStockphoto.com / mattjeacock (computer and hand, utensils); ©iStockphoto.com / Megan Tamaccio (background)
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Composition Services
Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery
Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Timothy C. Detrick, Corrie Niehaus, Mark Pinto
Proofreaders: Rebecca Denoncour, Tricia Liebig
Indexer: Slivoskey Indexing Services
Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies
Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director
Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies
Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Introduction
Food blogging. Five years ago those words carried little weight in both the culinary and digital worlds. There were plenty of food writers, and even more bloggers, but there were very few who actually combined the two crafts. What began as a handful of tastemakers who took their ideas to the web has since evolved into an epicurean explosion whereby food enthusiasts of every age and every skill set can lend their voice in text and visuals (or should I say victuals?) to a community growing at an unforeseen pace.
Where would anyone be without the invention of food blogs? A few things are certain: You’d never have witnessed the proliferation of cake pops. You’d never have read the first blog-to-book cookbook. You’d never have experienced food porn in all its hi-res digital glory.
This book is for anyone who has a love of food, and an even bigger love of sharing their food experiences with others. I designed this book as a resource that’s hopefully entertaining. After all, you’re blogging about food, not nuclear fission. I’ll warn you that I’m not afraid of a good food pun to help convey a point (and luckily — or unluckily — for you, I’m not short on them either).
About Food Blogging For Dummies
I’m the type of person who eats breakfast while daydreaming about lunch, and who digs in at dinner while strategizing about dessert. If you love food as much as I do, chances are you also love sharing that passion with others.
Food Blogging For Dummies is the ultimate recipe for taking your passion from your kitchen to the World Wide Web. From strategizing your blog’s name and designing an effective home page to editing your photos and making the most of social media, this book addresses all of the essential ingredients for creating and maintaining a successful food blog.
I begin by whetting your appetite with a look at the current state of the food blogosphere, which provides an insider’s perspective of the robust online food blogging community bubbling with complementary and contrasting voices, visuals, opinions, and passions. Discover your place in the greater food blogosphere as you get your creative juices flowing.
Here’s a sample of the tools and information included in the book, which will help you
Set up the technical elements of your blog.
Find your food niche while making the most of your layout and design.
Determine your mix of content by evaluating a variety of post topics.
Join the food community through online and offline interactions.
Master the ins and outs of social media, marketing, and earning an income.
Style, prop, and photograph food using resources you own already.
Foolish Assumptions
Everyone knows making assumptions is a bad idea. But because I’m writing a book on a topic as expansive as food blogging, I inevitably have to assume a few things about you, dear reader:
You are interested in not only creating food-centric content, but also sharing that content with an online audience.
You know what a blog is, but not how it is set up or maintained.
You have access to the Internet and know how to surf the web.
You like to eat (a lot).
Conventions Used in This Book
Conventions are a fancy way of saying that information presented to you in this book is done so consistently. When you see a term italicized, for example, look for its definition, which is provided so you can understand the meaning of the term in the context of food blogging. If step-by-step instructions are required to complete a process, they appear numbered with the actionable items designated in bold. And finally, all references to website addresses (or URLs) and e-mail addresses are in monofont so they’re easily distinguished from plain text.
What You Don’t Have to Read
I have written this book so that each chapter stands independent of the others, meaning you can scan and flip through to whichever topics interest you the most. You can also skip over any sidebars and stick to the main material, which provides insight for completing the task at hand or points you toward the next steps in a process.
How This Book Is Organized
Food Blogging For Dummies is divided into six parts. Although you don’t have to read the chapters, or even the individual sections, in order, I advise you to stick to the chronological layout if you’re really looking to build the ultimate food blog from the ground up.
Use the Table of Contents and the index for quick references to locate information about specific topics, and make sure you spend some time studying (or drooling over) all the colorful visuals in the book. In this section, I provide you with an appetizer-size version of each of the main parts.
Part I: Whetting Your Appetite
From preserving your family’s food legacy on the web to kick-starting your culinary empire online, the motivations and goals for launching a food blog are vast and varied. Although some may be in search of fame, fortune, or even a cookbook deal, others strive to simply establish their voice and create an online community of food-loving enthusiasts. Regardless of your aspirations, knowing who already dominates the digital space, finding your niche, and strategically setting up the backend of your blog are all critical aspects that should be thought about well before your first post ever goes from private to public.
Part II: Finding Your Voice
Just because photography plays such a critical role in the digital culinary scene doesn’t mean good old, plain text should be pushed to the back-burner. Establishing your voice and fine-tuning the tone of your blog is an evolving process that includes setting your content menu while paying particular attention to consistency and frequency. Discover the power of going public with your content, plus get a primer in food blog legalese as you discover the sticky world of recipe copyright law.
Part III: The Soup to Nuts of Design
Where is the search bar? Who is this person? Why can’t I leave a comment? If you want to lose readers, just leave them asking any of those questions. Although the content you publish is undoubtedly an important aspect of your food blog, the bottom line is this: The superficial stuff matters. Enter the fabulous world of layout and design, from polishing your blog’s first impression to crafting a confusion-free roadmap for your readers. Get ready to get your garnish on.
Part IV: Eating with Your Eyes
One of the biggest draws to any popular food blog is the photographs. Although a recipe for a sour cream chocolate chip bundt cake can make a reader reach for the Preheat button, what’s really going to lead them from his couch to his kitchen is the drool-worthy photo of a cake that looks so moist he can almost taste the half-melted chunks of bittersweet chocolate and tender morsels of cake while scrolling down the page. But not everyone has the resources, space, or time to splurge on a professional photography setup. Find out about the power of the point-and-shoot, the insider’s guide to Food Styling 101, and how you can create your very own in-home studio without blowing your budget.
Part V: Marketing & Monetization
After the creative stuff is under control, focus on promoting and distributing your content while entertaining the options for making bank from your blog. Discover the strategic steps for maximizing your blog’s rank in search engines, extending your brand, tracking your progress, and diversifying your sources of online income.
Part VI: The Part of Tens
It wouldn’t be an iconic For Dummies book without the inclusion of the Part of Tens. In this part, I serve up two essential ten-tip guides. Chapter 15 discusses the ten things I wish I had known before starting my food blog (with the eleventh tip obviously being that someone had written a guide to prevent me from making those mistakes). Don’t miss that chapter! Chapter 16 introduces you to ten of the hardest foods to photograph. Go face-to-face with the divas of the food world and figure out how to prevent them from having meltdowns while maximizing their charm on set.
Icons Used in This Book
What’s a For Dummies book without icons pointing out useful tips, interesting facts, and potentially dangerous pitfalls? Familiarize yourself with the three icons here and their identifying qualities to make sure you don’t miss out on the meatiest parts of the book.
The Tip icon points out helpful information designed to make your job easier.
The Remember icon marks an interesting and useful fact — something you might want to keep in mind for later use.
The Warning icon highlights lurking danger. When you see this icon, I’m waving at you from the sidelines telling you to pay attention and proceed with caution.
Where to Go from Here
Hungry yet? Grab a fork and start digging in to any chapter you choose. Start by scanning the Table of Contents to discover which sections pique your interest and head straight to the source for the information — for example, head to Part III for the lowdown on setting up your blog’s technical framework — or start with page one and devour the whole book from the beginning, savoring each section as if it were the next decadent dish in an irresistible six-course meal.
I want to be the first to welcome you to the expansive food blogging community! I hope Food Blogging For Dummies provides answers to all your questions and needs, but if you’re ever stumped or are just looking to chat with an equally as passionate food lover (who once wrote a 750-word article entirely about parsley), please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Part I
Whetting Your Appetite
In this part . . .
Get your first taste of the food blogosphere by taking a careful look at how past moments in culinary media have shaped the present-day community. As you meet your fellow food bloggers, you’ll discover that the motivations for launching a food blog are vast and varied, from perfecting your slicing and dicing to kick-starting your culinary empire online.
Although some bloggers may be in search of fame, fortune, or even a cookbook deal, others strive to simply establish their voice and create a network of food-loving enthusiasts.
In Part I, you begin to zone in on your own aspirations as you discover the key factors to think about before your first post ever goes from private to public.
1
The Many, The Proud
In This Chapter
Assessing the current state of the food blogosphere
Understanding the many roles of food bloggers
Finding your voice in text and visuals
Meeting other food bloggers
Setting yourself up for the sweet taste of success
Creating, launching, and maintaining a food blog can be a casual hobby or a serious business. Regardless whether you’re a home cook and amateur writer, or a professional chef and James Beard award-winning author, managing your food blog will lend you a spatula to help shape the growing culinary scene.
Whether your goal is preserving your family’s legacy through food or becoming the next Pioneer Woman of the digital Wild West, the reach, popularity, and influence of food blogs is a rapidly expanding sector of the online realm that’s impossible to ignore.
In this chapter, I introduce you to the wide world of food blogging by providing context in terms of its size, scope, and robust growth over the past five years. As you look to the past, you can find your food blogging place in the present while planning for a beautifully designed, easily navigated, one-of-a-kind online journal. Understanding the many roles of a food blogger helps you in crafting a strategic and realistic approach to success, no matter how you measure it.
Assessing the Food Blogosphere
The field of food blogging represents an explosion of popular culture, and in this case, popular cuisine. From Bakerella’s cake pops to Hungry Girl’s Fiber One chicken strips, food blogs have cultivated some of the culinary industry’s biggest trends.
Where else can you discover the current craze — in the form of Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies or the latest incarnation of bacon — than the thriving world of food blogging? Every day a new tastemaker launches a blog and joins the growing throngs of impassioned, dedicated, and driven food enthusiasts who are ditching the ketchup-stained 3x5 cards and taking to the web to publish and share content.
Food blogging on the rise
Five years ago, Smitten Kitchen, Orangette, Homesick Texan, and Simply Recipes could very well have been the names of my favorite local hangouts — the corner café I go to for my morning coffee, the downtown diner with the key lime pie, the steakhouse with the famous filet, or the bakery with the unbeatable sticky buns. And the names Deb Perelman, Molly Wizenberg, Lisa Fain, and Elise Bauer might as well have been the names of my favorite singers, or painters, or even childhood friends.
But if you ask any food blogger in 2012 whether they’ve ever heard of Smitten Kitchen, you might as well be asking them whether they’ve ever heard of a guy named Elvis.
A few of my personal heroes — Deb, Molly, Lisa, and Elise — are among those who have helped usher the field of food blogging from a quiet corner of the web to one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the modern digital era. Elise, for example, launched her wildly popular food blog, Simply Recipes, in 2003 as a way to document her family’s rich recipe history. Since, she has inspired countless readers whose eyes graze her page to do the same. Elise’s clear and concise policy regarding comments on her blog has set the tone for transparency and accountability in food blogging, and her generosity in advising less-experienced bloggers has advocated for a supportive community surrounding the creation and sharing of content online.
Food blogging has become a phenomenon whereby impassioned foodies have come to know these bloggers’ names, and countless others, through every typed word, every calculated recipe, every comment, every photo, every single thought — blogged publicly for the rest of the world to read, enjoy, react to, and most importantly, draw inspiration from.
So just how far-reaching is this epicurean explosion?
Technorati, an online search engine that tracks blogs, estimated in a Times Online article from February 2009 that there were roughly 33,000 food blogs on the web. That number has gone nowhere but up in the past three years.
BlogHer, one of the most expansive and robust communities of bloggers across every niche, reported a 70 percent increase in unique visitors — specifically to its Food Channel — from October 2010 to October 2011. As a result, the Food Channel has become BlogHer’s largest category of blogs in the entire network.
Aside from dominance in the digital realm, food bloggers have extended their reach by making the reverse trek to the world of print via cookbook deals. Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zucchini was the first food blogger to go from blog-to-book, and many others followed suit, including Adam Roberts of Amateur Gourmet, Amy Sherman of Cooking with Amy, Angie Dudley of Bakerella, and the list just keeps on growing.
If the cookbook craze isn’t enough to demonstrate the power and proliferation of food blogging, just tune in to the Television Food Network for a look at the Pioneer Woman in action as food blogger extraordinaire Ree Drummond hosts her own cooking show.
The number of food blogs is growing, and so too are appetites — not only for food, but also for content that is entertaining, engaging, useful, and inspiring. Bloggers are following their passions to fill every niche, from budget-conscious meals on $5 Dinners, to gluten-free recipes on Celiac Teen, as shown in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1: Food bloggers follow their passions.
Over the past 15 years, food blogs have helped usher food from dinner tables to mainstream media channels by championing every topic from specialized diets and restaurant reviews to video tutorials and original recipes. The following timeline shows some of the most influential moments, and although not all-inclusive, it highlights turning points that represent moments of progress in the digital sphere. I’ve also noted the launch dates of a handful of the most popular blogs still in existence to this day so that you get a sense of the timing and evolution of the food blogging industry.
Surveying the scene
I could think of no better way to discover the who, what, why, when, and where of the current food blogging scenes than by going straight to the source with an exhaustive The State of the Food Blogosphere survey. I wrote this survey and then posted a link to it on Facebook and Twitter, asking food bloggers across the country and across the world to weigh in with their thoughts. Fellow food bloggers and food media industry professionals re-tweeted and re-posted the survey link, encouraging their followers to do the same.
Over a three-month period, more than 135 veteran and beginner food bloggers alike participated in the survey, which featured 20 questions tied to every aspect of food blogging, including the motivations for joining the community, the frequency and consistency of posting, the average monthly ad revenue earned, the preferred type of camera, and more. I’ve sprinkled the results throughout the relevant chapters to provide perspective on the thriving and inviting community you’re joining.
Although respondents were required to provide their name and blog information to participate, all published results from the multiple-choice survey remain anonymous.
Making your move
Start preheating your oven because there’s no time like the present to kick your food passion into action by launching your blog. Don’t let the tens of thousands of food bloggers already in the online space prevent you from wanting to dive right in. The sheer number of impassioned foodies may be overwhelming, but it’s also even more reason to not waste another minute getting started.
1www.wordpress.com; 2 Published by Clarkson Potter; 3 http://www.jamesbeard.org/files/2009_JBFAwards_Entry_ Press_Release.pdf; 4 The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com); 5 http://www.jamesbeard.org/files/2009_JBF_ Award_Winners.pdf
The State of the Food Blogosphere survey produced some surprising and encouraging findings for first-time food bloggers. As the results in Figure 1-2 show, roughly 30 percent of respondents reported launching their food blog less than one year ago. Translation: You did not miss the boom. You’re living (and eating) in it!
Figure 1-2: Roughly one-third of survey respondents reported launching their blog in the past year.
Beginner bloggers often face barriers with the technical aspects of setting up a blog. But lucky for you, this book walks you through the technical requirements that could block the path to publishing success. But there is one intangible roadblock with the potential to leave you more frozen than a Lean Cuisine: perfection.
Countless food bloggers with talents in recipe development, food writing, photography, food styling, and beyond wow me on a daily basis. And most of them have no formal training in their craft. Their work is inspiring, but I also realize it can be paralyzing, which is why you have to approach the start of your food blogging journey with the following mindset: Your blog does not have to be perfect on the day you launch.
There’s no day like today to dive into the necessary prep work required prior to launching your blog. Like all new endeavors, there will always be elements to adjust days, months, and even years after you launch. That’s what blogging is all about — growing, evolving, and constantly improving.
Understanding the Varied Roles of Food Bloggers
Maintaining a food blog is very similar to owning and running a restaurant. Countless tasks require attention each day to ensure your haute hangout stays up and running and customers stay satisfied. But imagine if you are the only person responsible for every task at your restaurant. You take on the roles of owner, chef, waiter, manager, accountant, bartender, and yes, even dishwasher. Welcome to the realistic life of a multi-tasking food blogger.
Regardless of your blog’s niche, every food blogger has duties extending beyond the basics of cooking and writing. Here is a list of 13 possible roles tied to the creation and maintenance of an average food blog. Your blog may not require you to take on the entire dozen, but it’s important to understand running a food blog involves much more than simply cooking, writing, and consuming calories:
Cook: Shopping for ingredients and preparing dishes featured on your blog
Recipe developer: Creating original recipes by drawing inspiration from the people and places surrounding you
Recipe tester: Verifying the accuracy and reproducibility of recipes to ensure your readers will have success in the kitchen
Food stylist: Plating and styling food so it’s visually appealing and an accurate representation of the accompanying recipe
Prop stylist: Selecting the appropriate props to create a mood and establish a space around your food
Photographer/videographer: Taking photos and/or video of your culinary creations and finishing any required touch-ups with a few tweaks using photo-editing software
Writer: Writing succinct copy that is inspiring, entertaining, and engaging
Editor: Editing the copy you write to ensure it’s free of spelling and grammatical errors and follows your established style guide
Managing editor: Creating an editorial calendar to ensure consistency and frequency in your posting and managing all business-related decisions
Technical director: Overlooking the technical maintenance of your blog, whether that means you troubleshoot issues yourself or you find (and possibly pay) the right expert to make the fix for you
Chief Financial Officer: Overseeing all financial decisions and requirements tied to your blog, such as purchasing groceries, paying for restaurant meals, and exploring options for earning revenue from your blog
Social media strategist: Establishing and maintaining a presence in all social media platforms tied to your blog
Publicist: Promoting your content online and offline
Although this list of roles is geared more toward bloggers who are cooking and styling recipes at home, a majority of the roles still apply to bloggers who are reviewing restaurants or writing about their culinary travels. All food bloggers take on the roles of photographer, writer, editor, managing editor, technical director, Chief Financial Officer, social media strategist, and publicist — regardless of what topic they’re blogging about.
It may seem like a tall order to take on the responsibilities of 12 roles, but believe me, it can be done. Just take Marla Meridith from Family Fresh Cooking, as shown in Figure 1-3, for example.
Figure 1-3: Marla Meridith of Family Fresh Cooking takes on multiple roles to maintain a successful blog.
Marla is a one-woman team (with a few pint-sized taste testers) that develops original recipes, tests those recipes, styles food, provides suggestions for tabletop setups and décor, photographs food, writes inspiring posts, publishes inspiring posts, and runs a robust social media campaign. So she may admit to waking up at 4 a.m. every day, but still, Marla is a prime example of a food blogger who successfully wears many toques to maintain the flourishing community centered on her popular blog.
Marla is a prime example of how food bloggers in the current digital age have to be willing and able to take on multiple roles, from creating content to engaging with the larger food community and beyond. By planning ahead and instituting a few tips for time-management success, you’ll be wearing multiple toques in no time flat. (See Chapter 5 for more on devising a strategy to keep up with your blog.)
Meeting Your Fellow Food Bloggers
They’ve been blogging for days, weeks, months, or years. They’re professionally trained chefs, amateur cooks, award-winning authors, and spell check-averse writers. They blog for a living, and they blog without earning a dollar. Regardless of their skills, experience, and goals, every food blogger serves as inspiration to one another, helping an already thriving community continue to produce and share food-centric content tied to every topic and every medium.
Why get to know them? Because your fellow food bloggers are skilled advisors on every topic from blog-hosting software and food styling to social media marketing and photo editing. Turn to them for guidance, and if you’re lucky, you may even find a lifelong mentor. But even if you aren’t in the market for advice, you’ll still have the chance to cultivate new friendships online as you bond over your mutual love of doughnuts, tartar sauce, fried ravioli, and any other foods that light your fire.
As you tour the current food blogosphere, notice a handful of common characteristics apparent on many of the more well-known blogs:
A passion for their defined niche
A unique voice in text and visuals
An ability to inspire through words and photos
A presence in social media
An active community on their blogs
A closer look at three popular food blogs reveals these five characteristics in addition to countless other identifying elements that not only make their food blogs successful, but also make them uniquely theirs.
Kalyn Denny launched Kalyn’s Kitchen, as shown in Figure 1-4, in 2005 to chronicle her healthy, lower-glycemic approach to cooking and eating after she lost 40 pounds on the South Beach Diet. By streamlining her passion into the healthy cooking niche, Kalyn has built her blog into a reliable online destination for food lovers in search of lighter recipes, practical cooking tips, and personal advice about weight loss and diets. Her blog is packed with lightened up versions of comforting classics, such as ham and cauliflower casserole au gratin, grilled zucchini pizza slices, and pesto pasta salad, all of which are paired with colorful step-by-step photos. Kalyn’s vast recipe archives and honest approach to healthy eating has attracted more than 10,000 fans on Facebook and has led to an active and engaged blog community in which readers post comments, pose questions, and find support among fellow healthy food advocates.
Figure 1-4: Kalyn Denny’s passion for healthy, lower-glycemic cuisine shines through on her popular blog.
Two years after Kalyn joined the food blogging community, Annie M. launched Annie’s Eats, as shown in Figure 1-5. Food lovers flock to her blog’s drool-worthy photographs, engaging text, and creative recipes that aim to encourage readers to stick to the homemade take on everything from baby food and barbecue sauce to chocolate ice cream and Ranch dressing. Detailed explanations on cooking techniques and ingredients help readers remain fearless in the kitchen as Annie guides them to step outside their culinary comfort zones. A self-taught cook and photographer, Annie’s DIY approach to food has gained her a strong, 20,000-plus following on Facebook, where she attracts fans with humorous cooking anecdotes, fun food finds, and endearing photos of her children helping out in the kitchen.
Figure 1-5: Annie M. built a strong community of DIY’ers around her popular blog Annie’s Eats.
In 2008, Kevin and Amanda Bottoms joined the online community of food lovers with their blog, Kevin & Amanda, as shown in Figure 1-6. In the three short years since their launch, their blog has become a rich resource for in-depth food photography tutorials that cover every topic from the best lens for your digital single-lens reflex (dSLR) camera to basic and advanced tips for editing images. In addition to instructive how-to’s for photo buffs, Kevin & Amanda is also home to the couple’s collection of free custom fonts, a majority of which are hand-drawn replicas of text samples submitted by their blog readers.
The talented duo shares their skills and their love of food through informative, easy-to-read posts complete with stunning images, which can be clicked to reveal technical information about the photo, such as the type of camera used, the lens, and the aperture and focal length. Amanda’s personal reflections on weight loss and health have also attracted a devoted following not only on Facebook and Twitter, but on the blog itself, where her heartfelt post about losing 30 pounds has more than 330 comments from readers.
Kalyn’s Kitchen, Annie’s Eats, and Kevin & Amanda are all popular blogs with dedicated followings as a result of not only their abilities to produce and share original, inspiring, and informative content, but also their willingness to encourage and promote others in the surrounding community. This give and take of knowledge and resources is what makes the food blogosphere such a prosperous place for generating ideas and friendships.
Figure 1-6: Kevin and Amanda share their tips for cooking, photography, scrapbooking, and more.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
Achieving success in the world of food blogging requires a strong blend of passion, creativity, determination, and patience as you find your place in the melting pot of online talents ranging from self-taught cooks to full-time photographers and every skill level in between.
Looking to your fellow food bloggers and dreaming of all that’s in store may serve as motivation to fire up the burners and get your blog in motion, but your best chance for success is to first lay down a strong foundation consisting of your streamlined interests and original voice.
Finding your niche
The food blogosphere is just like an all-you-can-eat buffet in that the sheer quantity of blogs means the online audience has options with what they put on their plates. Streamlining your blog’s niche sets you up for the best chance of success because by publishing content in a more specialized area, you satisfy the specific cravings of your readers as a go-to expert in a designated field. The goal is to be the Jack of all tasks, master of one niche.
Finding your niche involves a careful mix of homing in on your passions while identifying your weaknesses and strengths related to culinary and technical skills. Regardless of where your individual interests and abilities lie, to be successful in your niche, your first step is to get in touch with your inner detail-oriented self by embracing the specifics and narrowing the focus of your blog.
For example, rather than launch a blog centered on original recipes, dig a bit deeper into what topics really make you tick by further zooming in on your niche. Your blog’s original recipes could be tied to specific dietary considerations, such as vegan or gluten-free, or they could all utilize the same cooking technique, such as braising or stir-frying.
In Chapter 2, I provide tips for streamlining your interests and inspirations, and in Chapter 5, I help you determine your full content menu. However, why not seize this moment to kick off your culinary brainstorm? Make a list of your food-centric passions, as well as the types of posts — reviews, top-ten lists, and interviews are just a few — you’re interested in writing.
You may already know what your niche is, or you may just be starting the search for your true food passions. Zone in on your interests by scanning the blogosphere for inspiration from your fellow food bloggers. For example, Heidi Swanson, creator of 101 Cookbooks (see Figure 1-7), has clearly and effectively established her blog as an authoritative resource on cooking with natural ingredients and on vegetarian and vegan cuisine.
Figure 1-7: Heidi Swanson zoned in on her passion and niche by launching a blog focused on cooking with natural ingredients.
Heidi has parlayed her popular blog into three successful cookbooks, and her work as a photographer and writer has appeared in Food & Wine, Glamour, and The Washington Post.
Another example of a food blogger who’s carved out a well-defined niche is Adam Roberts, creator of The Amateur Gourmet, as shown in Figure 1-8. Adam launched his blog in 2004 and quickly shot to food blog fame after his recipe post about cupcakes resembling Janet Jackson’s infamous Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” landed him on CNN. Adam has since developed his blog into a witty, resource-packed online destination for food lovers of every skill level. His personality and knowledge shine through every post, making for easy reading and inspiration for stress-free feasting.
Figure 1-8: The Amateur Gourmet has attracted a devoted following of beginner and advanced cooks.
Owning your voice
After you decide the niche for your blog, the next step before setting up your online space is to focus on your voice, both in text and in visuals. Every food blogger starts their journey at a different place. You may be a passionate foodie keen on polishing your photography skills, or you may be a professional photographer looking to strengthen your skills as an artist of words. No matter where you start, you will grow and evolve in every role you play in your food blogging journey.
Developing your voice: Words
Finding and fine tuning your voice as a food writer involves developing your personal style and tone, both of which help make your voice uniquely yours. Your style addresses elements such as punctuation and length; your tone relays your feelings about a given topic. Although blogging is much more casual and conversational in style than other forms of published work (think newspapers and magazines), the same rules for proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation still apply. (See Chapter 6 for more on establishing your own style guide.)
The more you write, the more you will home in on the defining elements of your voice. Authenticity is critical. Looking to fellow food bloggers is a great way to get inspired, but you don’t want to sound like anyone but yourself. If you try to tweak your tone or shape your style based on another writer, you lose the element that makes your voice uniquely your own. In Chapter 4, you’ll discover that the best way to remain authentic is to allow your current mood to steer your tone, whether it be playful or pensive, humorous or serious.
Take, for example, Monica Bhide of A Life of Spice (shown in Figure 1-9), who has spent years cultivating a strong, authentic voice to share her passion for Indian cuisine. Monica’s blog features recipes for dishes such as hot curry leaf potatoes and saffron salmon bites, but it is in her longer posts about the intersection of her Indian heritage and food that she shines in the role of storyteller.
Figure 1-9: Monica Bhide writes about the intersection of her Indian heritage and food on A Life of Spice.
In one of her most popular posts, Monica asks the question, “Does a recipe need to be complicated to be good?” Her answer that follows is a passionate, personal response detailing the importance of simplicity in ingredients and in preparation. Her style is direct, and her tone is opinionated, yet intimate, as she recalls her parents teaching her to cook with a focus on the freshness and purity of foods. The heartfelt, authentic writing earned her a nomination for Best Culinary Essay in the 2011 SAVEUR Food Blog Awards.
Developing your voice: Photos
Just as you develop your voice as a writer, you’ll also develop your visual voice as a photographer. It’s no secret that photographs are one of the leading elements of a successful food blog. Without a single written word, an image of piping hot artichoke and Parmesan cheese dip slathered atop toasted baguette slices can invigorate an appetite (and an attraction).
Turn to your fellow bloggers for inspiration and to gain a sense of the variety of visual approaches to food. Take, for example, Béatrice Peltre of La Tartine Gourmand, as shown in Figure 1-10. Her photography style is light, effortless, and almost angelic in tone. Her work reinforces the fact that lighting is the most important element of shaping your photography style and your visual identity.
Figure 1-10: Developing your visual style as a photographer is just as critical as developing your voice as a food writer.
Every food blogger has a different style and approach to the visual representation of food. Some prefer a simple setup focusing solely on the food, whereas others prefer an extravagant spread highlighting an entire meal within the context of a scene.
Six tips for sweet success
Finding your niche and owning your voice puts you well on your way to finding success in food blogging, no matter how you measure it. From reaching your goal for monthly unique visitors to mastering the art of making puff pastry, you can evaluate the success of your blog in countless ways.
Regardless of how you define success, give yourself the best chance for it by remembering these six tips as you get your first taste of the world of food blogging:
Set goals: Now is the perfect time to set a goal for where you want your blog to be in one week, in one month, and in one year. Seize the fact that you’re fresh to the scene by setting realistic aspirations for every element of your blog, such as unique visitors, ad revenue, or total number of posts. (See Chapter 2 where I discuss defining your interests, setting goals, and taking the plunge into the food blogosphere.)
Embrace technology: Technology can be your best friend or biggest enemy. Regardless of how comfortable you are with setting up and running your blog, vow to stay calm through any technological storms that pass. (See Chapter 3 for assembling the mechanics of your blog.)
Contemplate design: Give some serious thought to the layout and design of your blog. Although the digital format means changes can be made in seconds, save yourself the back-and-forth struggle by setting a definitive strategy for the look and feel of your blog before you start publishing posts. (See Chapter 7 for strategizing your blog’s design and layout.)
Socialize: It’s never too soon to start getting involved in the social media spheres by claiming your blog’s Twitter handle, setting up a Facebook brand page, and electronically introducing yourself to your fellow food lovers. (See Chapter 3 for getting a handle on your social media space.)
Commit: Keep the dozen roles of a food blogger in mind as you contemplate the amount of time you can realistically dedicate to your blog. Commit to a routine posting frequency to start establishing consistency on your blog. (See Chapter 6 for devising a strategy to keep up with your blog.)
Get hungry: Literally.
2
Finding Your Niche
In This Chapter
Streamlining your interests and inspirations
Becoming a member of the food blogging community
Getting to know your audience
Defining success through different perspectives
Brainstorming the perfect blog title
Cake decorating disasters. Teenage restaurant critics. Recipes for triathletes. Vegan sous-vide desserts. You name the topic, there’s likely a food blog dedicated to it.
But just because every ingredient, concept, technique, and cuisine seems like it’s being covered by 2 or 2,000 food blogs doesn’t mean you can’t join the conversation. In fact, it doesn’t even mean you can’t eventually become an expert voice within the conversation. It just means you need to identify your niche — that unique angle that’s going to make you and your blog stick out among the rest.
