Foodie
Want to create an amazing food blog? There is a perception that the world of food blogging is over-saturated. On some levels, this is quite accurate. On the other hand, food blogs are among the highest searched on Google. Clearly, there is an audience for food blogs. The challenge is finding a way to stand out among the competition, and create a food blog that really shines.
If you are a food fanatic and a passionate writer, keep reading. We have some great tips to help you create an amazing food blog. Soon, you will rise above the dreck and enjoy some well-earned foodie popularity.
Be Focused
You won’t be successful if your blog is simply a collection of random food posts. You have to have a theme and point of focus. Successful food bloggers have made their mark because they successfully created their own niche. Here are a few ideas:
Focus on Restaurants And Cuisine in The Area in Which You Live
Create a Blog About Cooking on a Budget
Write About Food From a Specific Country or Continent
Blog About Specific Dietary Needs/Preferences (Vegetarian, Gluten Free, etc.)
Chronicle Your Eating Adventures as You Travel
Write on Your Experiences With Unique And Exotic Foods
Of course, it isn’t enough to simply find an overall theme for your blog, you also must create a unique voice.
Make it Visual
Budget Bytes, Lime And Cilantro, Hello my Dumpling, and North Wild Kitchen are food blogs with two things in common. The first is that they were all recipients of Saveur’s 2016 food blog awards. Each of these blogs is also highly visual. In fact, every award-winning blog on the list is full of high-quality photographs and visuals. Remember that quality matters. It may be a good idea to invest in a decent camera and video editing equipment.
Be Responsive
It may take some time to generate any engagement, but when you do, it’s so important that you are responsive. When people comment, respond. Take advantage of your initially small audience to be as personal as possible. If someone shares your content, for example, send them a personalized message thanking them.
Make Following And Subscribing Easy
Don’t make your audience work to stay connected with you. Be sure your subscription and social media follow buttons are easily accessible on your posts and other pages on your website. If possible, give folks the option to sign up using Google or Facebook. Finally, if you use a subscription form, ask for the bare minimum of information.
Connect With Other Bloggers
You can seriously increase your audience share if you are able to connect with other bloggers and form positive relationships with them. Fortunately, the blogging community is pretty tight-knit. There is a lot of help and advice available for new bloggers. Consider reaching out to:
Other Bloggers Who Live in Your Area
More Established Food Bloggers
Bloggers Who Post Complementary Content (E.G. a Health Food Blogger Connecting With a Fitness Blogger)
As you develop these relationships, you can boost one another through guest blogging, linking to one another’s posts, even conducting giveaways together.
Set High Standards For Your Content
You don’t need the skills of a famous novelist to have a great blog. In fact, the best blogs or casual, conversational, and relatable. That doesn’t mean that writing quality doesn’t matter. It does. There’s just something about the internet that makes spelling and grammatical errors stand out. Worse, people can be quite unforgiving about these issues.
One thing to consider is hiring a service for editing and proofreading like getacademichelp.com. If you have a high volume content to get out, the extra cost could be worthwhile. Just be sure to select carefully. You can read reviews of companies that offer these services for more insight.
Get Social
You’ll want to gain as many followers as you can, as quickly as you can. To do this, you will need to create social media accounts for your blog. This will allow you to promote your latest blog posts, engage with your followers, and connect with other bloggers. You can use social media to share pictures, and provide teasers for upcoming posts as well,
Own Your Domain Name
This is an issue of credibility and trust. If you don’t own your domain name, you are essentially communicating to your audience that you don’t think to invest in your food blog is worthwhile. If you aren’t committed, why should your followers be?
On top of all of that, many internet users associate free, web hosting services with sites and blogs created for the purposes of spamming, or worse, simply ripping people off. Getting your own domain name is fast, inexpensive, and easy.
Be Accessible
Your recipes, exotic ingredients, foodie adventures, and restaurant reviews are all important. However, the truth is that you are the most important factor in drawing in and keeping an audience. Be genuine. Share your story. Let readers know what makes you so passionate about the food blog.
Be Honest
Many people use their blog to do a bit of affiliate marketing in addition to sharing their passions. Others may receive compensation from companies in exchange for recommendations and giveaways. That’s okay. It’s ok to make money doing what you love. And since most affiliate links are very targeted, most people will not bat an eye at that as long as you do two things. To learn more about backlinks and their value watch this video.
First, be upfront about it. Let readers know that your post contains affiliate links. Then, never allow the opportunity to earn a few bucks compromise your integrity. Think twice before endorsing a product or service that is sub-par.
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
You aren’t always obligated to give credit when you share content. For example, you can lift an entire recipe and post it word for word, and claim it as your own. Just be aware that doing so comes at a pretty large social cost if you get caught. In fact, there are few things that can draw the ire of other bloggers, and your audience than posting somebody else’s content as your own.
If you post a recipe, idea, or piece of advice that was wholly or partially influenced by the content you didn’t create, give credit. It’s not difficult to food blog. In many cases, you’ll be able to weave it into your own content through storytelling. For example, if you share a recipe that is highly influenced by a dish in ‘The Joy of Cooking’, tell readers how you found the cookbook, and why the recipe is so important to you.
Do It
In spite of the food blog market being so saturated, you can make your mark as a food blogger. Post foods of value. You just have to be unique, engaging, and genuine. You’ll start slowly, but if you keep at it you can build a sizeable audience. Consider an affiliate marketing strategy to grow your brands reach.