Eat Blog Talk | Megan Porta

Renee is the blogger and podcaster behind Awesome on 20. She blogs about comforting recipes for witches who love junk food and she hosts a podcast about everyday spirituality and wellbeing. A strength that she carries into all aspects of her business and that has helped her to continue creating and delivering great content, is to never give up. Join us in the episode to hear Renee’s encouragement so that you continue moving forward on the path you’ve started on. - It’s ok to put on your blinders and block out the competition when needed. - Find those people who trigger you in a good way! Scroll back through their feed to discover the elements you’re most connecting with. - Follow your creative ideas to keep from getting bored. - Find supportive peers and make intentional time to discuss goals with them regularly. - Everything becomes possible and magical when you believe in yourself. - Remember that you have desires for a reason!

Stephanie is the food blogger behind StephaniesSweets.com. She went from hobby blogger to business woman after being furloughed from her job. After spending a year focusing on improving her photography skills, it only took 4 months to go from 5k to 50k page sessions and to be accepted into a major ad network. Join us in the episode to learn Stephanie’s growth secrets! - People eat with their eyes, so prioritize constantly improving your photography skills. - Show up consistently where it matters most. - Pinterest is not dead! Figure out how to gain traction on the platform for an extra traffic boost. - Optimize your site and your content. - Learn SEO strategies and dig into keyword research. RankIQ and Keysearch are Stephanie’s secret weapons. - Web stories are a great option to explore for extra traction. - Don’t forget that your mindset matters!

Gina is the recipe developer and party planner behind the food blog Intentional Hospitality. Inside this episode, she talks through her 5-year journey with cancer and how this coincided with being an empty nester and discovering her place in the world both inside and outside of being a blogger. Her creative journey has blossomed into a beautiful blog that has grown very quickly in a year’s time. Come learn from Gina and be inspired! - Connecting with your “why” will nudge you to keep going. - Eventually we need to put our learning into action and start doing. - The success trio that moved Gina from 18k to 112k page views in one year: Eat Blog Talk, RankIQ and web stories. - Community plays such a huge role in getting traction, so find your people!

In this episode, Megan talks through her top 10 takeaways after attending her first in-person blogging conference since the pandemic (over 2 years ago!). In-person gatherings are super valuable for entrepreneurs who “go it alone” most of the time. They are imperative for growth, connection and so much more. - Connecting with people in person is EVERYTHING. - Investing in yourself and your business needs to be a priority. - The amount of self-educating we’ve done collectively since the pandemic started is incredible and that was evident at the conference. - Collaboration is way cooler than competition. There’s room for every single person to shine in their unique way. - Doing scary things is scary, yes, but the rewards far outweigh the fears. - Join us in the episode for the remaining 5 takeaways!

Amy Katz is the creator of Veggies Save The Day where she shares easy vegan recipes inspired by a Mediterranean diet. She feels that so many bloggers discount the power of something that is sitting right in the hands of all of us: EMAIL. She has tapped into strategies to use her email subscriber list to grow her blogging business and in this episode, she shares 5 common mistakes food bloggers make with email marketing and how to fix them. - Stop making it hard for people to sign up! - Send those emails! - Find your voice and be consistent with showing up. - Repurpose your content. You have so much of it! - Use that list to generate revenue.

Amanda is the chef, writer and photographer behind Saporito Kitchen. As a mom of 4 kids, she runs her blogging business efficiently and stays organized by batching her content and her work schedule. In this episode, she gives tangible tips so you can accomplish your goals! - Batching is a power and underutilized resource for bloggers. - It may seem daunting, but with just a bit of planning you can tap into the magic of FLOW that comes from batching both your content and your schedule. - This is a process! Strive for progress, not perfection. - Providing consistent, quality content to your audience is the most important thing.

Shinta is the food blogger behind Caramel Tinted Life. In the last 2 years she has managed to make the blog a steady source of income while having a busy personal life. She has applied what she learned in her previous career as a marketing strategy consultant to her blogging business, and has a streamlined approach to getting results with an SEO focus. - There is a lot going on in the world of SEO, but if growing traffic is a goal for you it is worth learning on- and off-page SEO and implementing it on your blog. - It’s all about your user, all the time. - A focus on social media may lead to constant disappointment. - Invest your time and money in learning SEO in order to future-proof your business. - Create a 2x2 matrix for your business for clarity.

Mika and Dan have been running Joy to the Food since early 2020, while also working full-time jobs. In the process of building their brand, they have learned a ton about criticism, awareness and efficiency. In this episode they share what has worked for them to grow their business quickly! - If schedule freedom is an ultimate goal for you, working with a partner is a great way to accelerate your growth. - Content management tips. - Ways to accept criticism and how to critique gently. - Comedic relief should play a role in the process! - Play on one another’s strengths. - Establish processes, systems and always strive to be more efficient.

Casey Markee is the founder of digital consultancy company MediaWyse. He is a well-known SEO professional who helps bloggers take their businesses to the next level through his expertise and website audits. Listen to this episode to hear about the state of SEO in 2022 in the realm of food blogging. - There have never been more food bloggers than there are now and what this means for you. - Upcoming GDPR issues to have on your radar. - Deferred ad loading defaults and how to navigate what is right for your blog. - Casey addresses some recent inaccurate SEO advice given to food bloggers. - So much more gold inside the episode. See you there!

Alison delivers whole-food plant-based recipes on her blog Keeping the Peas. She has streamlined her business and figured out a way to work much more efficiently by using a handful of tools. Inside the episode she shares what has helped her work smarter, so come learn from her so you can work smarter, too! - Keysearch: A robust and affordable comprehensive keyword research tool. - RankIQ: A super powerful keyword research tool, helping you to save time and get a page 1 ranking on Google quickly. - Canva: Optimize your images and graphics most effectively by upgrading to the Pro package. - Convertkit/Convertpro: A powerful email marketing and pop-up creation tool combo.

Cate is the founder International Desserts Blog, a side hustle she turned into a full-time income in late 2020. She enjoys challenging herself, sharing joy, and being a lifelong learner and has figured out a fun way to grow email subscribers quickly and drastically. She shares all her secrets inside the episode. - Learn the logistics of hosting a free content bundle. - Use the summer slump as a time to host a bundle and grow your email subscribers. - Don’t overcomplicate things. A few simple tools are all you need to get started. - Streamlining tips included, such as making sure you test every contributor’s sales page before releasing it to the public.

Lauren started her food blog Pinch of Parsley in March 2021 as a side hobby. She took the leap to pursue blogging as her full-time job in September 2021. Since then, she has mastered mindset, money management, pitching and landing clients. Inside the episode she shares her secrets! - Invest in yourself and learn as much as humanly possible. - Mindset mindset MINDSET. - Get comfortable with pitching yourself. - Learn how to manage your money. - Diversify revenue streams. - Making connections with peers is a necessity.

Julie Tran Deily is the blogger behind The Little Kitchen and has recently begun working part-time as a Community Growth Manager at Whisk. Inside the episode, she talks about the TikTok-Whisk integration and how food bloggers can benefit from using these tools. - Links can now be shared through TikTok via the Whisk integration and it is easier than you might think. - The power of Whisk communities and how to get started with your own. - What’s on deck for these tools in 2022 and what should be on your radar as a content creator.

Chellie has been food blogging for 12 years at Art From My Table. She learned to supplement her blog income by launching a photography business and believes in working smarter, not harder. Inside this episode, Chellie encourages bloggers to offer up photography services as a way to accelerate blog growth. - Invest time in learning about photography. - Utilize the Facebook groups dedicated to selling food photography. - Raise your prices to match your value when you begin feeling stretched. - Many tips included so you can work smarter instead of harder!

Lyn is the food blogger behind Cook Eat Live Love. She uses lifelong learning as a way to accelerate her business growth and to make a bigger impact. Inside this episode Lyn shares about ways you can make a greater impact through learning, whether you consider yourself to be a lifelong learner or not! - There are many different ways to learn, so explore the different avenues available to you. - You don’t need to learn it all at once. Start somewhere and allow yourself to learn as you go. - Learning doesn’t have to mean taking courses or classes. It can entail connecting with peers and learning from one another. - Hire out the things you have no desire to learn about.

Andrew Wilder is the founder and CEO of NerdPress, a digital agency that provides WordPress maintenance and support for hundreds of food blogs, placing an emphasis on site speed, stability, and security. Inside this episode he provides food bloggers with five things to focus on as we head into a fresh new year. - Site speed/core web vitals. - Invest in good web hosting. - Look at your site from your user’s perspective. - Diversify revenue beyond display ads and diversify traffic beyond Google. - Start building your team today!

Casey grew her food blog Get On My Plate from 0 to 55k monthly sessions by following a few simple strategies. She shares her secrets inside this episode, not only for quick growth but also for setting yourself up for a long game by shifting your mindset. - Lean into SEO and keyword research. - Don’t discount social media (but don’t obsess about it, either). - Publish non-recipe content with a focus on modifiers and low competition keywords. - You MUST be willing to adapt and stick with blogging, no matter what comes your way if you want to find success.

Megan is a freelance food photographer and the blogger behind The Oregon Dietician. She decided that instead of waiting around to qualify for an ad network, she'd take things into her own hands by starting a freelance photography business. Learn more about how to freelance during that dreaded “ad network wait.” - Focusing on other projects and revenue streams is a great distraction while waiting to get enough page views to join an ad network. - Find what you love doing and pursue it in a freelance role. Separate yourself from being a “blogger” if needed. - Use the wait time to improve skills that need sharpening. - Focus on building traffic and before you know it, you will have the page views you’ve been yearning for!

Emily is the author of the book titled Growth Junkies Unite. She helps other business leaders find success by helping them implement Entrepreneurial Operating System® businesses so they can find life balance. In this episode she provides actionable tips bloggers can take to stop the “busy-ness” and find the balance they deserve. - You can achieve MORE by doing LESS. - Proactive work allows you to minimize chaos. - Self-awareness is key! - Tips about how to outsource as well as how to be a great leader, minimizing stress and urgency throughout your entire business.

2021 was an epic year for both the food blogging community and for the Eat Blog Talk podcast. Join us in this episode to hear what the stats say about the most popular content on this podcast, as well as what the fan favorites and Megan’s personal picks were. We also dig into what is in store for 2022! - Common themes for favorite podcast episodes: SEO, quick growth stories, sponsored work. - We want to know what YOU want more of in 2022!