Eat Blog Talk | Megan Porta

As food bloggers we want an audience who CRAVES our content. Having followers is not the same thing as having an engaged audience. - Once you get serious about your business, creating an audience is important. - It is never too early to create a raving audience! - Define your area of expertise and tap into it. - Put a focus on your email list! - Diversify sources of revenue. - FAIL FORWARD!

Focusing on two aspects of working with brands - how to price your work and building long-term relationships: - Find a price range that speaks your worth as a blogger. - Consider your time, expenses and reach. - Don't work for free! - Always be kind when working with brands. Place value on those relationships. - Under promise and over deliver! - Know your audience and don't be afraid to dig into your stats.

Revitalize old content for a nice blog boost! - See your old content with new eyes and give photos/copy a facelift. - Get organized - determine which posts to delete, redo and no index. - Make sure all recipe cards have schema markup. - Utilize online tools to analyze content and make improvements. - Consider getting a site audit. - Set up a schedule for incorporating older content into your editorial calendar.

Learn strategies for growing your Instagram following, no matter what your following is now! - Be consistent! - Find your voice and brand. - Ways to connect with your audience. - Consider ditching scheduling tools for Instagram. - Make the most of your IG stories. And so much more!

Sarah takes us through some mistakes she made early in her blogging journey in hopes of keeping other bloggers from making the same mistakes. - Get professional help if you want to change the permalink structure of your urls. - Keep old content fresh by revising and revisiting it periodically. - Have a schema recipe card in place for every recipe post. - Keep your audience in mind when producing content. - Focus on SEO. - Build a good foundation and BE YODA. :)

Jessica shares about her incredible journey from having a very part-time food blog into a full-time, focused and cherished job. - Have patience in your journey! - Attend conferences to know which aspects of food blogging you should be focusing on and also to connect with others in the field. - Invest in yourself - treat yourself like the boss of your business! - Be consistent and take your job seriously. - Consult a financial advisor before taking the leap.

Learn how Karli gained MEGA traction on her food blog in a very short period of time. There are so many great nuggets in this episode. You are not going to want to miss this one. - Utilize Facebook groups that are connected to your niche. - Connecting with other food bloggers is hugely important. Find a trusted accountability partner! - Lifting other bloggers up is a big part of this game. - Focusing on SEO is critical. - Use Instagram to your advantage. - If you really want to do something, you are going to find the time for it.

Taking photos for your food blog does not have to be expensive! Learn how to be budget-minded while capturing pretty pictures. - Affordable options for cameras and lenses. - Cheap artificial lighting, diffusers and reflectors. - Make your own backdrops in a variety of ways to save a ton of money. - Where to find affordable dishes and props and tips for what to look for (and what to avoid). - Streamline your photography processes in order to be more efficient.

Learn WHY you should be growing your email list and how to do it effectively: - The importance of an email list. - How to nurture your list. - How you can make money with it. - Selecting an email service provider. - Optimize your site and social media to ensure you are getting as many sign-ups as possible.

Eat Blog Talk is nearing its 2-month birthday! This episode briefly recaps each of the 21 episodes that have been published and main take-aways from each. Going forward, EBT will publish episodes twice weekly - every Monday and Thursday. Let us know what your biggest struggle is as a food blogger so we can help to improve your blogs, businesses and lives!

Great discussion about the importance of connecting with other food bloggers and also a lesson in real-life, imperfect distractions (listen on to hear for yourself!): - Networking both on and offline is critical. - Attend conferences, be sincere and be supportive. - Make friends with food bloggers. - Reach out when you need help because we all need help at one point or another!

Overcome your perfectionism by learning when and how to embrace "good enough" so you can move forward in your business and life. - Establish criteria for your blog so you know when it's time to click publish. - Grow your blog and enhance your life by having a growth mindset. - Remember that everyone started somewhere. - Understand that you are in the GAP. Keep striving, working hard and also have tons of grace for yourself!

As food bloggers it is so important to keep our eyes on our own work. Danielle shares her insight on this topic and gives us a lot to chew on in this episode! - Someone else's success is NOT your failure. - Understand that every blogger's journey is totally unique. - Innovation over mimicry. - Self-competition over competition with others. - Focus on your talents and strengths to get past the envies. - Always strive to improve. And so much more!

Learn side-hustling tips from a pro! Becca is a food blogger AND a first grade teacher, making her a master. - Be purposeful and intentional with your time - Set time limits for social media - Use a calendar - Block out time for family and friends - Self care is SO important - Make time to learn skills that will add value to your blog - Fill your mind with encouraging, inspiring information

Understanding black hat SEO vs white hat SEO is an important part of food blogging. - Defining black hat SEO, white hat SEO and grey hat SEO - Avoid falling into the trap - Stick to reliable sources and services - Important SEO strategies to focus on - Transform the bad, old tactics into something valuable and good

We all know that we eat first with our eyes, but what we don't realize is that having a specific style can actually help us cultivate our audience and attract clients. Laura shares her knowledge on the topic of HOW IMPORTANT visual branding is for food bloggers! - What is visual branding? - Why does it matter? - HOW to visually brand your blog. - How to use visual branding to attract clients. - Top tips to leave listeners with a stronger visual brand.

Megan imparts her tricks for reaching an optimal level of productivity as a food blogger: - Be laser focused. - Implement the "little" things that will make a big impact! - Consider your environment. - Work CONCENTRATED. - Do not infringe on work times. - Learn to say NO. - Eliminate distractions. - Fill your mind with quality information. - Plan and schedule as much as you possibly can. - Make the most of every minute of your work day. - Schedule aggressively. - Have backup and mindless tasks ready for down times. - Push yourself to accomplish more because it is POSSIBLE. - Commit to finishing everything you start. - Reward yourself for reaching daily and weekly goals. - Focus on self-care daily, weekly and monthly.

Sophia talks about how to authentically engage on Instagram and how that can help you grow your food blog. - Learn what Instagram wants from its users and also what it has to offer! - Look beyond driving traffic! Instagram has a simple social media personality, so get to know how to effectively interact with other users while understanding what its strengths are. - Learn how to create authentic engagement. - Understand how Instagram can grow your business in a huge and unique way!

Taryn from Hot Pan Kitchen has been a food blogger for a handful of years and shares things she WISHES she would not have focused on when she started out: - Logo/Colors/Website: Define your brand, but don't spend a bunch of money or time on it initially. - Diary-style writing: Include your personality in your writing, but don't make it all about you. Focus on your audience and SEO strategies when writing. - Spending a lot of money on equipment: Use what you have and build from there! Don't let limited equipment keep you from starting. - Backdrops: Go cheap to start until you figure out what you really like. There are a ton of affordable DIY backdrop options! - Choose your courses wisely: Do some research, find out which ones are the most talked about/trusted/recommended. Then pick ONE. To start, focus on photography, Pinterest and SEO.

Alida is one of two creative and brilliant forces behind the popular food blog Simply Delicious. She has figured out a way to plan content six months in advance. This have given her freedom in her personal life and it is has helped her put a system in place that allows her to get content up on the blog 7 days/week (yes, you read that right!). Listen to this incredible chat where we talk about all of the planning and scheduling secrets that will open up a TON of time for food bloggers. Here are few teasers: - Start out small, if needed, but work toward saving up a "bank" of content. - Use scheduling tools and online calendars to plan ahead and stay on track. - Push yourself to create more, but allow space for grace when you don't quite live up to what your calendar asks of you. - Set goals and work backwards, figuring out the smaller steps you'll need to accomplish to get to those goals.