Eat Blog Talk | Megan Porta

In episode 469, Megan chats to Callan Wenner about how she planned and executed a schedule and content calendar so that she could take 4 months off for maternity leave. Callan started her food blog, The Cozy Plum, in spring 2020 with a focus on elevating classic baked goods and savory appetizers and small bites. After quickly honing in on her photography and videography skills, as well as thorough recipe development techniques, she was able to quit her corporate job after a year and a half to pursue The Cozy Plum full-time. In this episode, you’ll learn how to stay efficient and organized, creating a month-to-month calendar for the year, outsourcing tasks and using project management software to stay on track. - Define the priorities and goals for the year, and for the months you are taking off. - Create a month-to-month calendar for the year with each week having a general focus. - Create weekly/daily tasks each week from there. - Build in buffers and scheduled time off, but keep to the schedule as closely a

In episode 468, Emily Rhodes teaches us the value of a hyper-niche blog and how to make an income from it. Emily started Steam & Bake a little over 10 years ago. Emily is now a journalist and nutritionist, but at that time, she was a home economist and demonstrator for a global appliances manufacturer. Clients kept complaining about the lack of steam oven recipes and resources after they'd bought these fancy new ovens. After a couple of years in the job, Emily realized no one was coming to save these people! The manufacturers were not much help and no one else was writing recipes specifically for these appliances, so she figured she’d put a few posts up and see what happened. Fast forward a decade and Steam & Bake is the number one source of steam oven recipes on the internet, earning her an income from home while raising three boys. It absolutely blows her mind that a tiny little website in Australia has taken her to this point. Emily is grateful every day for what she gets to do. In this episode, yo

In episode 467, Megan chats to Briana DeBolt and Chamere Orr about the importance of investing in our businesses instead of relying on free resources to make progress. Briana and Chamere of A Full Living are the husband and wife team behind the website! They have been blogging (a bit aimlessly at first) since 2016, and in the past 3 years, have really dug into strategizing to the next level by improving on their photography, SEO knowledge, and hiring contractors to help them manage the day to day of their growing business. Blogging has been their full-time job since mid-2020, and are always looking to improve. In this episode, you’ll learn why investing in aspects like SEO expertise, mentorship, photography skills and outsourcing in general is important to accelerate your blog’s growth. - Food bloggers tend to start blogging without understanding SEO and what their readers want. - ”Diy-ing" your blog by using free resources might slow down your blog’s growth. - Ask yourself, what do I want to improve first an

In episode 466, Mary Ellen Valverde teaches us how to nourish our bodies and look after ourselves so that we can handle stress and avoid burnout. Mary Ellen Valverde MS, CNS, LDN is a Licensed Nutritionist & Holistic Nourishment Coach who guides women to feel clear and confident about what is uniquely nourishing to them. She works with busy women who are frustrated and confused about wellness and helps them reframe their beliefs around food and movement, their inner wisdom, and their full potential. By using a combination of scientific research, embodiment practices, and intuition, Mary Ellen helps equip her clients with the tools they need to deeply understand their own body's unique cues, needs, and desires so they can experience true self-care free from rules and restrictions. In this episode, you’ll learn how to take care of yourself, including paying attention to your eating habits and stress levels, and how concepts like mindfulness and play can greatly benefit you while you’re building a business.

In episode 465, Megan chats to Liz Capozzoli about how to easily incorporate filming recipes into our business strategy. Liz is the creator behind OwlbBaking ("I'll be baking") which is a recipe blog focused on classic homemade desserts and sweet treats. Liz has been blogging as a business since 2019 and she also did recipe development, photography and video for Mashed.com, Tastingtable.com, and has created videos for other food bloggers. Liz runs a cookie decorating online course and also has an Etsy store with baking/food related merch! In this episode, you’ll learn how to overcome the overwhelm of creating video content for your blog, including what equipment you need, why you should write storyboards and other tips. - Video is a must for your blog and social media content. - You don’t have to show yourself on camera - there are ways around it. - Research different kinds of video styles and formats. - DIY expensive equipment like c-stand/overhead camera mounts and lighting. - Plan and prepare your scenes b

In episode 464, Liz Thomson teaches us what to expect if we buy a second blog and how to get on to a premium ad network quickly. Liz Thomson is a full-time content creator who has been running the blog I Heart Vegetables since 2010. She loves chatting about influencer marketing, food photography, and why everyone needs an air fryer. In this episode, you’ll learn if buying a second blog is right for you, what are the challenges and what does the process look like and to get on to an ad network quickly. - Buying another domain can be a seamless process. - Be prepared to update old content to make it SEO optimized. - Find very specific niche groups on Facebook to share recipes to. - Visual graphics like ingredient lists perform well in Facebook groups. - Use web stories to boost traffic to a new domain. - Don’t reinvent the wheel, find a template that works and duplicate it. - For a quick boost, submit a recipe to Foodtalk - a site that will share your content. - Use Flipboard for a surprisingly quick and easy s

In episode 463, Megan chats to Sonila Zarate about how food bloggers can make extra revenue through the Amazon Influencer Program. Sonila is a mom, wife, engineer and food blogger. Sonila was born in Albania and came to the US to study engineering. She met her husband (who was born in Bolivia) while studying at University of Miami. Her everyday cooking is influenced by both Albanian and Bolivian cuisines as well as the fusion of Miami's food scene. In this episode, you’ll learn how to apply to be an Amazon Influencer, how it works and what you can potentially earn through the program. - Amazon is looking for influencers to post review videos of products. - How is the Amazon Influencer program different to the Amazon affiliate program? - Follow the rules on the Amazon page to get accepted - the exact criteria is not disclosed.  - For the review videos, pick items that are easy to demonstrate. - Horizontal videos tend to bring in more commission. - Keep videos simple and short. Shoot them as you use the product

In episode 462, Christine McMichael teaches us how to balance being a blogger with taking care of our families without getting stuck in burnout. Christine is the recipe creator and food blogger at Jar of Lemons. Jar of Lemons is a healthy recipe website focused on easy-to-find ingredients that are flavorful and creative. From comforting dinners that can be made in 30 minutes or less, to healthier takes on classic favorites, Jar Of Lemons is here to help with inspired recipes and a refreshing, relatable community. In this episode, you’ll learn productivity and time management strategies geared towards being a full-time parent while running your own business. - When you experience burnout as a parent and blogger, shift your focus back to what you love doing. - Should you remove SEO and other blogging tools to revive your passion for blogging? - Plan your content out in advance and hire help to make it easier. - Outsource where you can because it can be a game changer long-term. - Find the parenting approach tha

In episode 461, Megan chats to Brandon Gaille about why food bloggers should regularly update old content and how to do it so that you increase your Google traffic. Brandon Gaille is an entrepreneur who founded multiple 7 figure businesses in his 20s before becoming disabled by a rare disorder for nearly a decade. He eventually regained his health and started a blog. He grew his blog to over 1 million visitors in just 18 months after his first blog post. Today, he gets 5 million monthly visitors from over 100,000 first-page Google rankings. Brandon has taught his SEO growth hacks to over 20,000 bloggers through his podcast (The Blogging Millionaire). This past year he launched RankIQ, an AI-powered SEO toolset tailored for bloggers and small businesses that have a blog. This year RankIQ was ranked #1 out of all 333 SEO tools by G2 for customer satisfaction and ease of use. In this episode, you’ll learn about the best strategy for updating old content, including identifying posts that need updating, how often

In episode 460, Laura Rike teaches us the latest Pinterest strategies for food bloggers to help us grow and monetize our blogs. Laura Rike is a Pinterest Strategist who helps high-performing business owners implement content growth plans, outsource their visibility and steadily grow their monthly revenue through her signature growth to greatness framework with done for you services and course packages. She has helped clients and students bring in over 50k+ in monthly revenue. Her clients have become industry leaders with 6-figure businesses and are growing sustainably by ranking on the first page of Google and getting targeted email leads daily. Laura has been featured on Social Media Examiner, Tailwind, MeetEdgar, and Ecamm Network. If you need a place to start, she offers a Pinterest foundation jumpstart here so that you can start getting more visible online & grow sustainably by ranking on the first page of Google and getting targeted email leads daily. In this episode, you’ll learn new strategies for

In episode 459, Allison Ferraro teaches us the importance of not making excuses when it comes to reaching our goals, and other easy mindset hacks to grow our blogs while keeping a healthy work-life balance. Allison is the recipe developer and food photographer behind the baking blog, Always Eat Dessert. What began as a fun hobby back in 2014 while she pursued a career in advertising became a much-needed creative outlet when she left her job to be a stay at home mom and is now a full-fledged business sharing scratch baking recipes and baking tips. Allison lives in Philadelphia, PA with her husband, Alex, and their two children. In this episode, you’ll learn how to cultivate the right mindset to build a successful blog while staying sane amidst various responsibilities, including goal-setting tips and focusing on a lucrative income stream before you diversify. - Stop making excuses. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to make your dreams come true. - Prioritize your goals and focus on just one at a time. - Go ahe

In this bonus episode, Megan chats to Melissa Erdelac about why advanced food bloggers are falling through the cracks and how to access the info we actually need. In particular, they explain how their new initiative, The Flavor Media Summit, can help. It is a two day workshop-style event taking place May, 2nd and 3rd of 2024 in Denver. Their goal is to ensure that attendees actually walk away with a TON of value information. Given that food blogging has made quite the transformation over the past decade, going from narrative, creative, fun hobby sites to a massive income-driven industry, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, and sometimes stagnant, as you progress along your journey. While content creation can be a solo-preuneuer endeavor, conferences have been the catalyst for countless collaborative connections. Plus, attending an in-person event causes a major trajectory shift in mindset. Inspiration from others’ success unleashes our own personal brands’ potential! However, once Megan and Melissa’s businesses

In episode 458, Megan chats to Laura Scherb about how Substack can be used as a replacement for a blog to monetize our recipes or as an additional tool to drive traffic. Laura is a food photographer, stylist, and writer based in Chicago, IL. Since 2017, she’s been taking pictures of food. Laura has created imagery for food blogs, restaurants, CPG brands, and cookbooks. Laura’s photography and styling have been featured on The FeedFeed, The TODAY Show, Esquire, The Spruce Eats, Eater, and FoodGawker. Aside from food photography, she’s passionate about travel, reading, writing, her cats, natural wine, and her nieces and nephew. Laura also runs a newsletter over on Substack where she enjoys talking about all of those things. In this episode, you’ll learn how to get started on Substack, how much money can you expect to make and who will benefit most from using the platform. - What is the difference between an email list and a Substack? - Share recipes, stories and opinions with your audience without worrying abou

In episode 457, Andrea Mut explains why she sold her bakery to become a food blogger and how to deal with being overwhelmed as we manage Google updates and other unexpected factors that affect our blog’s traffic. Andrea's culinary journey began at age 14 when she worked in her grandparents' three restaurants. She later received formal Chef's training, and later specialized in Baking & Pastry Arts. Throughout her career, Andrea gained experience in various restaurants and bakeries, as well as teaching cooking and baking classes at both recreational and college level. Her most significant achievement was owning a successful bakery in Toronto, which she sold in 2018. In 2019, she launched her blog, My Pocket Kitchen. A few months later Andrea's blog shifted its focus when she embarked on a one-year weight loss journey. Today, Andrea shares her culinary expertise and commitment to a healthier lifestyle, offering easy-to-make, nutritious recipes with a touch of restaurant quality. In this episode, you’ll learn

In episode 456, Megan chats to Nick Minnick about how Chicory’s seamless, contextual shopping experience can help new and veteran bloggers monetize their blogs. As the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Chicory, the leading contextual commerce advertising platform, Nick Minnick strategically builds, fosters, and oversees relationships with key recipe publishers, grocery retailers, and retail media networks. His purview spans 5,200+ recipe sites, including the Food Network, Delish, and Food52, as well as *70+ leading retailers, such as Kroger, Walmart, and Ahold Delhaize. Minnick is hyper-focused on developing partnerships that fuel synergies between Chicory’s audiences and enhance the impact of Chicory’s contextual commerce advertising solutions for retailers and CPG brands. Minnick brings over 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the retail, CPG, shopper marketing and digital advertising sectors to his role at Chicory. Prior to joining Chicory, Nick advised retailers on their digital coupon

In episode 455, Megan chats to Alessandra Macaluso about following our intuition and why she chose her niche of seasonal eating and the impact it has had on her blog and life.  Alessandra Macaluso is the author of What a Good Eater!, Lucy the Bee and the Healing Honey, and The Real-Deal Bridal Bible. She’s also a Qigong and Tai Chi instructor, and overall wellness advocate. Her work has been featured in several anthologies which can all be found on her Amazon author page, and she has contributed to The Huffington Post, Scary Mommy, TODAY Parents, and many other online publications. Alessandra is a northerner-turned-southerner, enjoying the south with her children, Penelope and Ciro, and her husband, Greg. In this episode, you’ll learn more about Alessandra’s niche of seasonal eating and its positive effects on her blog and life as well as tips for finding your own direction, following your intuition and the importance of niching down into yourself. - Find a direction you'd like to take in food blogging (i.e.

In episode 454, Brooke Burks teaches us tangible strategies to manage a full-time job while growing a successful blog. Brooke Burks is the owner and head dishwasher at TheButteredHome.com. She started her blog in 2018 at the urging of a friend. In the last 5 years, she has juggled this HUGE learning curve all while working full time, being a mother to two girls and now a grandmother to a new grandson. She is an expert in consistency and planning for steady growth all while managing another career. In this episode, you’ll learn the most important strategies for growing a blog while managing a full-time job, including how to stay consistent, plan content effectively and schedule time off. - When you just start blogging, Google looks for consistency.  - Commit to a posting schedule that fits in with your full-time job. - Content planning can help you publish consistently. - A plan only works if you stick to it. - Take time off to avoid burn out. - Be ALL IN. If you decide to commit to this, be patient and ask fo

In episode 453, Megan chats to Danielle Wolter about how to recognize and deal with burnout by learning how to manage your time and priorities. Danielle has been a food blogger for almost 7 years at Went Here 8 This. She spent the first 2.5 years struggling not knowing anything about blogging. Then Danielle dove into learning about keyword research and grew her blog to about 175K visitors/month (currently) while starting and growing 2 other businesses and working full-time. The blog focuses on creating internationally inspired recipes as well as a strong focus on sous vide cooking as a niche.  In this episode, Danielle shares how she manages her priorities and time, including the importance of quality business coaching and hiring out, so that she can take care of herself and avoid burnout. - Stop scrambling to try and do everything yourself to "save" money. - Working non-stop with no freedom can lead to burnout. - Learn to prioritize what is working and cut out unnecessary tasks. - Hire out some areas so you

In episode 452, Megan Johnson teaches us about the importance of mindset in the growth and success of our blogs and businesses. Megan took a big leap in 2021 and quit her job to become a full-time food blogger. Megan was super optimistic and excited, but then, in her first year, she failed... hard. Megan realized she had the wrong strategy. On top of that, when she didn't see success, she took that very personally. Megan has made it a priority in 2023 to fix her mindset and start pushing the limits for success with her food blog. In this episode, you’ll learn why business success is not only dependent on your SEO strategy, how you drive traffic to your website or your email marketing campaigns, but also on your outlook on life and business mindset. - Make a list of everything you want to change and how you can make it happen. - Books and podcasts can teach you how to think positively.  - When things don’t go according to plan, give yourself grace. - Be grateful for what you have. - Acknowledge your accomplish

In episode 451, Megan chats to Wan Na Chun about how we can develop more nutrient dense recipes, giving our readers healthier options without specific diet talk. Wan Na Chun is a registered dietitian and personal trainer. Her blog, One Pot Wellness, is focused on prioritizing self-care through nutrition, physical health, and mental health for the busy working professional. In this episode, you’ll learn more about adding nutrient dense ingredients to your recipes as well as other important aspects to consider when developing healthier meals for your blog. - Why is it important to create more nutrient forward recipes? - What to consider when using words such as ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’. - Make recipes more nutrient-dense by using easy swaps, for example coconut sugar or dried fruits for a natural sweetener or oat flour instead of refined flour. - Add cultural recipes (e.g. Mediterranean, Indian, Japanese) that focus on nutrient density such as fiber, olive oil, omega 3s. - Should you claim cultural recipes are