Eat Blog Talk | Megan Porta

In episode 450, Rebecca Eisenberg teaches us practical and unique ways to repurpose our content on social media and on our blogs, including what to do if our content goes viral. Rebecca is a journalist turned food blogger who built a career at media and tech companies like Buzzfeed, Upworthy, Medium, and Headspace, before launching The Practical Kitchen in 2019. In 2020 she got her pastry certification at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, graduating as valedictorian of her class. The Practical Kitchen is a food blog geared toward ambitious beginner cooks and bakers, providing lots of in-depth tutorials and tips to give readers the confidence to try new things in the kitchen. The Practical Kitchen is known for unfussy, straightforward recipes, and is particularly well known for the viral mini focaccia recipe as well as other mini bread recipes that use just one cup of flour. In this episode, you’ll learn exactly what Rebecca does to repurpose her content, including how she films her recipes in order to use it

In episode 449, Megan chats to Kayla Burton about the hurdles she had to overcome in order to become a full-time blogger, quitting her corporate 9-5 job, and ways in which we can make our own blogging journeys easier. Kayla founded the baking blog, Broken Oven Baking Company, in May 2020 after a few months of sharing baked treats on Instagram. She didn’t know much about blogging when she started, but she got eager to dive in and learn as much and as fast as she could. At the end of April 2021, Kayla left a corporate job to pursue blogging full-time. A year later, Kayla was excited to be accepted into Mediavine. Today, you’ll find Kayla coaching other food bloggers to help them achieve their business goals.  In this episode, Kayla shares the details of how she transitioned seamlessly from her 9-5 job into a full-time blogging career, including learning how to shift her mindset to overcome fear, what she did before she quit her 9-5, how she dealt with her finances and picking the right website theme and host fr

In episode 448, Michelle Morey teaches us how to avoid getting discouraged while blogging, especially when we experience challenges like slow traffic or seeing other bloggers succeed faster. Born and raised as a Mainer, Michelle is a stay-at-home mom who started blogging right before the pandemic. She’s been working with food since graduating high school in 2004 and has successfully turned her love of food into a passionate business. Today, Michelle and her husband whom she met at the bakers they both worked at share a love of all baked goods and a love to entertain and explore beautiful Maine outdoors. In this episode, you’ll learn how to avoid becoming discouraged when you experience obstacles in your blogging journey, covering topics from finding an inspirational keyword research tool to the importance of time off and not comparing yourself to others. - Find a keyword research tool that takes the load off when it comes to SEO. - Rank IQ is great for planning content - use their keyword library when you jus

In episode 447, Dalia Escobar teaches us the Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR) method to find low-competition keywords that will increase our traffic by helping posts rank quickly. After bidding farewell to an engineering career, Dalia wholeheartedly embraced her blogging dreams and embarked on a new path. Cooking has always been a lifelong passion, which motivated her to open several restaurants, despite not achieving the financial success she had hoped for. However, this setback served as a catalyst for her transition into the world of blogging. Initially, Dalia began with a personal finance blog, dedicating three years to learning and refining her skills until finally, she felt confident enough to pursue her true passion and establish a food blog. In this episode, you'll learn how you can increase your traffic using the Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR) method and how to use it in combination with other keyword research tools. - How does the Keyword Golden Ratio (KGR) work?  - Why does it increase traffic to your blog?

In episode 446, Megan chats to Karin Collins about dealing with a chronic condition while building a food blog and how we can do the same by overcoming our own challenges. Karin started her blog with a severe disability. Even though she has MS, she turned her blog into a success so she knows anyone can do it. Karin is a blogger as well as a social media manager for bloggers with over 2 million followers. She is proud to also run a video business as well that shoots food videos. Karin added the title blog coach to her list of skills and offerings. She does it all from a wheelchair. In this episode, she shares how she was able to overcome her health challenges while growing a successful blog and still being able to spend time with her family and lead a balanced life. - Can you keep up with the food blogging industry while dealing with severe life challenges? - Should you be truthful to your audience about serious health issues? - How do you deal with negative comments? - Make the workload more manageable by out

In episode 445, Megan talks about how you can experience a transformation in your business in 2024 by joining the Eat Blog Talk mastermind experience. Inside the episode you will learn about: The definition of a successful mastermind group. How the EBT mastermind differs from other groups. Information about investment and discounts, including a value analysis. How to determine if you are a good fit for the group. Information about how to get started. Audio testimonials from previous and current members of the Eat Blog Talk mastermind groups. Head to the EBT mastermind page for more information and to read in-depth case studies and to apply to be in the group in 2024!

In episode 444, Jessie-Sierra Ross teaches us how to book TV food segments and why this will help us grow our audience and expand our brand. Jessie-Sierra Ross is a former professional ballerina turned food blogger and home entertaining specialist. A self-taught cook and food stylist from Boston, Jessie is the personality behind her blog, Straight to the Hips, Baby. Known for her step-by-step recipes, easy elegance, and light and bright photography style. Working alongside her photographer husband, Jessie creates food and drink recipes for her blog, and features in magazines, as well as on TV, via cooking segments on NBC, PBS, and BloomTV Network. Jessie-Sierra is currently working on her latest creative project, a floral-inspired cookbook with Schiffer Publishing. In this episode, you’ll learn everything about appearing on TV to share your recipes as a food blogger, including how to find a producer and how to best prepare for your appearance on live TV. - Why is getting on TV important for food bloggers? - T

In episode 443, Megan chats to Michelle Hauck about copywriting for food bloggers, including how to become a copywriter and hiring tips if you’re looking to outsource your copywriting. Michelle is a copywriter for food bloggers so they can focus on their favorite part - creating, testing, and sharing their recipes. Michelle loves what she does because it helps overwhelmed foodies find joy in their business again. Many bloggers aren't aware that they can have someone write SEO packed and engaging blogs for them. That's where Michelle comes in. In this episode, you’ll learn how to start a career in copywriting and if you’re a food blogger looking to outsource, you’ll find out how the process works. - Should I become a copywriter? - What is the difference between copywriting and content writing? - What steps should you take to become a copywriter? - Is SEO important for copywriting? - What do copywriters charge? - If you’re looking to outsource, what should you look for in a copywriter?  - Effective copywriting

In episode 442, Megan chats to Geo Banks-Weston about using social media, specifically Instagram, to springboard the development of a blog and/or podcast. Geo Banks-Weston is a food and culture blogger, influencer, and recipe developer based in Philadelphia. In 2014, he launched his blog, Geo's Table, where he shares recipes rooted in the African diaspora, as well as highlights black-owned businesses, and explores food's connection to Black culture. In 2019, he started his podcast, Table 86 to showcase underrepresented creators transforming the food and beverage industry. His work has been featured in Food52, The Washington Post, The Spruce Eats, and Philadelphia Magazine and he currently serves on the boards of PA Eats and Eat the Culture, combating food insecurity and supporting Black culinary entrepreneurs, respectively. In this episode, you’ll learn how you can transfer the skills you gain by building a social media profile to grow your blog/podcast. - Instagram (and other social media platforms) can insp

In episode 441, Rob Finkelstein teaches us about supplier diversity and its importance in the recipe development/food photography marketplace. Rob is a lawyer, practicing for over 20 years in NYC. In 2017, Rob decided to pursue his passion of baking and went to culinary school for pastry arts. After graduating, not wanting to leave the law, Rob started blogging and found Cinnamon Schtick, which was also his entry into food photography. He worked with a number of brands and came to represent lots of food photographers in connection with their contracts and business set ups. Rob also spent more than 10 years as a volunteer with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) where he was Chair of Supplier Diversity for New York and also a Co-Chair of the National Legal Industry Council, facilitating opportunities for LGBT owned businesses with majority owned companies. In this episode, you’ll learn what is meant by supplier diversity and why it may be beneficial to your blog and business. - Does supplier diversit

In episode 440, Megan chats to Tara Smithson about why going viral is often bad for your business and 6 tips that will help you stay motivated as you set healthy, long-term goals. Tara enjoys creating quick and easy recipes for busy people, who love the flavor, but lack time. Tara’s intention is to make cooking less intimidating by sharing easy recipes that will begin to help people get inspired to cook delicious food. In this episode, you’ll find out why setting long-term goals instead of focusing on immediate income and short-term success hacks, like going viral, is important for a fulfilling food blogging career.  - Focus on a few activities instead of being all over the place. - Take pleasure in watching your growth over time. - Should you expect to make money from blogging at the start? - Are you passionate enough about food content creation? - Find your own path to success and enjoy the process. - Learn how to deal with people who struggle to understand what you do. - Should you get involved in the food

In episode 439, Tammy Spencer teaches us about being open to learn about all different aspects that go into successful food blogging. Tammy started Scotch & Scones in 2017 as a way to keep track of her whisky-tasting notes and share her experiences of having fun baking. In 2019, she devoted herself full-time to developing her site for commercial success, learning about the business of growing a blog from the ground up. Since then, she's applied her culinary school training by sharing recipes and tips for desserts, bread, and other goodies that home cooks will feel confident creating. In this episode, Tammy shares common blogging mistakes she made when she started and what she would’ve done differently. - Choose your blog theme wisely. - Play with recipes and think outside the box. - Take food photographs that attract readers. - SEO is essential and why you should get your site audited. - Why it’s worth getting help with the tech side of your blog. - Accept that you’ll always be learning. Connect with Tamm

In episode 438, Megan chats to Breanna about how to land paid brand deals as a small creator. Breanna started on Instagram in January 2023 and then followed with a food blog in February 2023. She always had a passion for writing and cooking but never thought that she would be able to do something like this. Breanna loves sharing easy meals that are family-friendly and perfect for those with busy schedules. She has been doing this full-time as of last month and wants to share how she was able to land a brand deal with less than 2k followers on Instagram. In this episode, you’ll learn Breanna’s strategy for landing attractive brand deals that align with your expertise and values. - You don’t need 10k followers to land brand deals. - What are the essentials of a successful pitch? - What is the difference between email and DM pitches? - Make sure you are an expert in your proposed service(s). - How many brands should you pitch per day? - Stand firm on your rates. - Does the proposed deal align with your brand val

In episode 437, Megan chats to Jessica Scully about dealing with the uphill battles in blogging, especially when you see a dramatic, instant drop in traffic. Jessica began her journey into food blogging after her family had a house fire and had to move out for 11 months. Blogging became a hobby to distract her mind that then grew into a business. A former gym owner, personal trainer, and homeschool mom to her 5-year-old, Jessica has been running the food blog since 2015 and has seen her fair share of ups and downs. In this episode, you’ll learn about potential reasons why your website traffic suddenly drops and what steps you can take to get your traffic back. - What to do when your blog traffic plummets. - How not to get discouraged. - How to diversify your site traffic. - Consider getting help from the outside. - How to re-motivate yourself when you feel defeated. - Where to focus your efforts for the most impact. Connect with Jessica Scully Website | Instagram

In episode 436, Megan chats to Candice Ward about how to convert 75% of cold pitches to closed opportunities using a tried and tested sales process. Candice is the Founder of Eat More Cake Dessert Blog, Food Photographer, Educator and Sales Expert. Candice spent over a decade in corporate sales and translated that experience to help other food content creators monetize and scale their business. She has coached hundreds of food content creators inside her business course, The Confident Pitch Program. She is passionate about helping other food bloggers reach their full potential. In this episode, you’ll learn how to find the right brands at the right time and how to pitch confidently to close most of your sales opportunities. - What is the sales process and how will it help our businesses? - Streamline your workflow and take away the guesswork when it comes to pitching. - What is prospecting and how can you find the right brands? - Research brands that you are interested in to assess their budget and needs. - S

In episode 435, Carmen Spillette teaches us the latest strategies to grow our blogs and gain success in the food blogging industry, especially if we’re just starting out. Carmen is a food blogger and stay-at-home mom from Canada. Carmen started her food blog in the spring of 2022. It has always been her dream to share her recipes and once she started she has never looked back. Last year, Carmen gained 106,000 followers on Instagram in 5 months and she’s excited to have recently qualified for Mediavine. In this episode, you’ll learn the latest strategies to grow your blog if you’re a new blogger. - What does it mean to treat your blog like a business? - Why should you treat your website like you built a store? - Is videography really important for food blogging these days? - The importance of posting EVERY DAY. - Use project-management software and AI to your advantage. - Expect to put in long hours at the start to make your business work. - Learn time-management strategies like batching, from successful peopl

In episode 434, Megan chats to Amy Reid about imposter syndrome, what causes it, how it affects our businesses and how to overcome it. Amy started her blog, Baking with Granny in 2015, as a way to document her mother's (her kids Granny) recipes. Within a couple of years, Amy gave up full-time employment to make money blogging. She then became a single mum and the pressure was on to make it work. 8 years later and Baking with Granny has excelled past any expectations she could have ever had for it. In this episode, Amy shares her journey of dealing with imposter syndrome while trying to make a success out of her blog, including why we may feel like we don’t deserve success and tips to overcome imposter syndrome and embrace our full potential. - What is imposter syndrome? - Why do we feel like we don’t deserve success? - It may feel like our achievements mean nothing. - How do we overcome feeling like a fraud? - Community is essential in overcoming imposter syndrome. - Recognize the work that goes into blogging

In episode 433, Megan chats to Alexis Leonhardt about different ways to use RankIQ to grow your blog. Alexis is founder of the blog, Fancy Apron, which shares upscale recipes that everyone can make. She cooks lots of Traeger recipes, weeknight dinners, and shares tips for shopping at Costco. She started the blog 3 years ago and has had a slow start, but 2023 is bringing big growth. In this episode, Alexis explains how she uses RankIQ for keyword research to help her write blog posts that rank quickly. - Make keyword research faster. - What to do for new posts and how to optimize old content. - Why it’s important to find your niche. - Write blog posts faster. - How to incorporate round-ups and non-recipe posts into your blog. - RankIQ is a guide for finding non-recipe posts. - Use as a guide for scheduling content and batch working. Connect with Alexis Leonhardt Website | Instagram

In episode 432, Adam Sobel teaches us how to monetize and market online cooking classes as well as the technical details of running such classes. Adam Sobel is the chef and owner of The Cinnamon Snail, an award-winning vegan food truck, restaurant, and catering company serving New York and New Jersey. Adam has cooked at the James Beard House, represented the USA at the World Street Food Congress in the Philippines, and teaches cooking at the Institute for Culinary Education, De Gustibus Cooking School, and independently online. Adam has appeared on the food network, Cooking Channel, PBS, and several networks, and is the author of the popular cookbook Street Vegan. He has had a lot of success with The Cinnamon Snail, which has rose to become one of the country’s most sought-after food trucks. In 2014 The Cinnamon Snail was the #1 highest-rated place of any kind to eat in NYC and the #4 highest place of any kind to eat in the entire USA on yelp.com. In this episode, you’ll learn 3 ways in which you can monetize

In episode 431, Megan chats to Shanika Graham-White about how to incorporate videography into our businesses and why it is essential in today’s video-focused social media world. Content creator and recipe developer, Shanika, is part kitchen ‘ninja’ and connoisseur of interior decorating (hence her passion for beautifully staged food photos and videos). She is a self-taught cook and baker, who has partnered with top brands like Ripple Foods, So Delicious Dairy-Free, Vitamix and California Olive Ranch, to be the source for comfort food and sweets, with a healthy twist. She desires to help others turn the ‘little’ that they have into something magical - great food. On her blog, Orchids + Sweet Tea, you will find traditional dishes using organic ingredients as well as dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan versions of your old and new favorites. In this episode, Shanika talks through her videography workflow, equipment and tips for creating captivating videos. - How to best transition to videography in a video focuse