Eat Blog Talk

In episode 354, Megan chats to Kay Ratford about the benefits of SEO tools and how to use them to build organic traffic quickly. Kay runs the UK-based food blog Flawless Food with her partner Luke. They started over 2 years ago and, using SEO strategically, they've grown their blog to over 600k page views a month, of which 365k is organic traffic. Kay and Luke started off with doing brand work but soon discovered that it was possible to make money by posting your own recipes. The key was: Understand SEO and do keyword research. Kay unravels her SEO journey, explaining which tools she uses, which keyword statistics she pays attention to and other SEO tips to grow your traffic within a short timespan. - If you want to make a recipe, is it being searched for? - In which region should you try to rank for? - Could you rank for something that you shouldn't be ranking for? - If you add additional key words, your chances of ranking increase. - Batch cook recipes according to keywords for a food category. - You don't have to use all of the keywords you can find at once. - Photography is important to increase clickthrough rates too. Connect with Kay Ratford Website | Instagram

In episode 353, Megan chats to Melinda Keckler about how to establish a strong brand identity and why building brand affinity with our audience is so important in order to have a successful blog. Melinda is the founder and photographer behind the blog Crinkled Cookbook and has been blogging since 2019 while juggling a full-time marketing job. She is applying her vast experience working in marketing and brand strategy to help grow her food blog. Eager to share her expertise, she explains what is meant by brand identity and marketing, busting common false beliefs around both topics. She then lays out easy steps to build a strong brand identity using marketing effectively so we become a recognised, trusted and loved authority in the food blogging space. - Be ready to play the long game to build brand identity and affinity (your Google analytics won't change overnight). - How much do logos and fonts define your brand identity? - Brand lives in the experience our readers have - why will they remember your blog? - How can you establish brand affinity with your audience? - Marketing is meant to get people to do something. - Social media posts build and sustain brand affinity. - Steps for how to use a marketing funnel effectively - going from awareness to engagement to familiarity and loyal followers. - Video and audio are the most effective tools to build brand affinity. Connect with Melinda Keckler Website | Instagram

In episode 352, Lauren LeBlanc teaches us how to make money doing SEO-focused ghostwriting for other food bloggers. Lauren is the creator of the blog, Lauren from Scratch, where she focuses on how to make savory recipes from scratch using high-quality ingredients and teaches readers how to make restaurant-worthy dishes in their kitchens. Working as a physician assistant by day and food blogger by night, Lauren realized that initially while she was growing her blog, she could make money by doing SEO-focused ghostwriting for other food bloggers. In this episode, she walks us through the process in five steps to get started and flourish, earning additional income. - Understand what are reasonable blogging rates. - Increase your level of professionalism using templates and checklists. - What is the key to retain clients and grow your client base? - Tips to organize information for your clients for seamless interaction. - Balance your client's voice and keywords for SEO . - What are SOPs and why can this make all the difference to your workflow? - Track your time and save time for your own blog. Connect with Lauren LeBlanc Website | Instagram

In episode 351, Megan chats to Jessica Burgess about how to focus more on doing what is working and select blogging strategies that help us grow. Jessica is a lifestyle blogger whose mission is to add simplicity to our busy lives. She focuses on easy recipes for people on the go and, having started in 2011, she shares her passion for blogging and knowledge of the field by helping other bloggers grow too. In this episode, Jessica explains how to avoid getting caught in trying too many blogging strategies and how to focus on the ones that work, using analytics and other indicators as guide posts. - Be selective about trends. - Use real-time traffic to find out what works. - Which statistics should you pay attention to? - Be flexible to change when necessary. - Invest time in the social media platforms that work for you. - How to interpret blogging RPM (revenue per mile) - The impact of tracking your income - what's coming in and out? Connect with Jessica Burgess Website | Instagram

In episode 350, Megan chats to Alyssa Brantley about the process of writing a cookbook and how it can reenergize your creativity for blogging. Alyssa is the author of I Don't Want to Cook Book and her cooking philosophy is whole foods that take half the time, meaning just because you're busy doesn't mean you shouldn't eat great. She applies this philosophy to her popular food blog, Everyday Maven, where she shares seasonal whole food recipes that are packed with flavour made in minutes with easy shortcuts. Her work has been featured widely in magazines such as Gourmet and Real Simple. In this episode, Alyssa shares tips for making the process of writing a cookbook manageable and enjoyable. - Can you remove your biggest hurdle to writing a cookbook? - What elements can you change to make your cookbook unique? - If you do everything, you can't do anything to the best of your ability. - Which tasks can you hand over to someone else? - Think strategically about the ingredients and instructions for your recipes. - What extra value can you add to your readers' lives? - Be creative in a field other than blogging to spark your inspiration for food blogging. Connect with Alyssa Brantley Website | Instagram

In episode 349, Megan chats to Sam Adler about how she built a 6-figure food photography business in 4 years, touching on everything from finding clients to pricing and offering unforgettable value. Sam is a professionally trained pastry chef and creator of the baking blog, Frosting & Fettuccine. She is also a professional food photographer who, within a year of starting, got her first client. In addition to regular clients, she has a range of food photography courses to help photographers find their unique style. In this episode, discover how to find your first client, put yourself out there, negotiate valuable partnerships and develop a remarkable style to set you apart from other photographers. - Deal with the fear of a new venture. - Client-getting strategies - how to get the right clients. - Should you be persistent while reaching out? - What to do when brands approach you as potential clients. - Get paid what you're worth. - Tips for pitching and how to retain clients. Connect with Sam Adler Website | Instagram

If you are a food blogger who can relate to any of the following challenges, this episode is for you! You feel like you are spinning your wheels constantly. You're working harder than ever, but never seem to get anywhere. You feel isolated and alone and unsupported in the work you do as a blogger. That "next level" feels so hard to reach and you're not even remotely sure about how to get there. Either you don't have clearly defined goals or your current goals seem unattainable. You don't have a clue what projects are relevant and where your focus should be. The 2023 Eat Blog Talk Mastermind program is opening enrollment and could be the solution to your challenges! Inside this episode you will hear from current members who have seen transformations happen in their business after being in this impactful group. To achieve your goals faster than you ever thought possible, apply for the 2023 Eat Blog Talk mastermind program at: https://eatblogtalk.com/2021masterminds/

In episode 347, Megan chats to Aimee Pruett about time management tactics to help you grow your blog when you have limited time. Creator of Food Banjo, Aimee is a food blogger by night, marketing manager by day and a mother of 2 small kids. Regardless of her busy schedule, she has been able to scale her blog's sessions monthly, going from 10K to over 80K over the past year by using her time wisely. In this episode, she shares her top time management tips that have helped her grow her blog exponentially while still fulfilling her other commitments. - If you don't have a lot of time, what should you lean into? - Tips for optimizing old content. - Priotizing your responsibilities - Recipe testing tactics to save time. - Time efficient ways to do food photography. - How to find free hours to accomplish your goals. - Timely ways to learn new skills. Connect with Aimee Pruett Website | Instagram

In episode 346, Eric Samuelson teaches us how to rank for non-recipe posts and why this content is often easy to create and valuable as it attracts new readers to our blogs. Eric has been blogging since 2009 and, as the creator behind Eat Like No One Else, he teaches his readers how they can enhance the way they eat through specialty food and ingredients and how to use it to make the most amazing food at home. As someone who is passionate about finding the right ingredients, he talks about ways to write about your passion on your blog and why an experimental mindset is beneficial in the long-run. Find out how you can share your knowledge and expertise alongside recipes to help you rank on Google. - What expertise do you have that might generate interest? - Non-recipe posts take less time. - 'How to…' posts are a great way to share your knowledge. - Check which posts you rank for and create roundups for them. - Think of the problems people might encounter with popular recipes. - Keep a balance between writing for Google and writing because you enjoy it. Connect with Eric Samuelson Website | Instagram

In episode 345, Megan talks to Jenna about which trends to look out for in Q4, 2022. They explore topics like maximizing Web Stories for explosive traffic, gaining extra revenue from Pinterest and buidling rewarding communities with Facebook Groups. Jenna is the creator behind The Urben Life, a food and lifestyle blog where she shares allergy-friendly recipes and travel guides. She started blogging in 2016 and, as someone who is eager to help others, she was drawn to the community aspect of it. She realized there's a need for more transparency in the creator space and went on to provide bloggers and influencers with resources and tools they can use to thrive. Use this episode to decide which trends to spend time on and how you can accelerate your blog growth and earn more in Q4. - Be strategic (i.e. seasonally relevant) about what you are posting in Web Stories. - Explosive traffic comes from what is most likely to be viral. - PinTV creates a space to share your recipes directly with your audience. - Repurpose your content and be flexible with Creator Rewards. - Look at your analytics to guide whether you should invest time in a platform or not. - Facebook's new page experience gives you a more curated feed. - If you're trying to grow your FB page, consistency plays a huge role. - Create a true community with Facebook Groups. - What generates interest? Connect with Jenna Urben Website | Instagram

In episode 344, Megan chats to Cheryl Norris, creator of Bakes by Brown Sugar, about why we should treat our blog as a business from the beginning, the importance of SEO and investing in yourself. Engineer by day, baker by night, Cheryl has been a food blogger since 2018. Passionate about the science of baking and eager to share delicious recipes of our favorite desserts, she launched her blog not realizing how much work it takes. What started as a hobby, she quickly decided to treat it as a business and invest in herself, always learning something to improve her content for her readers. In this episode, you'll hear Cheryl's key tips on where to focus and what to do to grow your blog quickly from the start. - Ask yourself: What is your audience looking for? - Prioritize SEO and keywords - it's a crucial element of success. - Once you start creating for the user, you start caring for the user. - If it's a really popular recipe, post it anyway. - Invest in courses, conferences and other additional learning. - Pay attention to how you configure your website from the start. - You don't have to do everything at once. Connect with Cheryl Norris Website | Instagram

In episode 343, Tyanne Johnson teaches us how to self-publish a cookbook in 45 days. She walks us through every step she took from what's essential during market research to how a book launch team can help you and tips for book promotion. Tyanne is food blogger and recipe developer at Cooking with Tyanne, specializing in easy, flavourful recipes using basic ingredients anyone can find no matter where they live. She started food blogging in 2019 and after switching from Wix to Wordpress, she decided she needed a product to go with her new website. In this episode, she shares how she published a cookbook, Deliciously Fresh Freezer Meals, in under 45 days right after graduating from college in 2021. - Use a database of recipes that work. - Survey your audience to check if your product resonates. - Have an ebook and hardcopy version. - Create a publishing schedule. - Find the right publisher from the start. - Gather a launch team to help with feedback and promotion before your book launch. - Don't aim for perfection. Getting it done is an accomplishment in itself. - Pay attention to details, like fonts. Connect with Tyanne Johnson Website | Instagram

In episode 342, Megan chats to Madison Wetherill about how to get the most out of Gutenberg blocks in order to streamline our blogs and make them fast and easy to navigate. Madison is a food blogger turned web designer at Grace & Vine Studios. She helps clients' make their website and brand stand out from the crowded food blogging space. She also hosts the Vine podcast for food bloggers looking to increase their impact and connect with their dream audience. In this episode she demystifies Gutenberg blocks and explains why it allows you to customize different pieces and sections of your content. In turn this simplifies how you build your website to streamline updates and make it noticeable and easy to navigate. - Use the Gutenberg editor to have certain sections of your blog pop out. - Create a template or blogging outline to give you a head start. - Reusable blocks are templates that contain information that you want to reuse. - When used well, reusable blocks can educate your reader and provide helpful content in a clear way. - Color can be a great way to guide readers to information they want. - The Classic editor may get outdated. Switching to Gutenberg will be beneficial in the long-run. Connect with Madison Wetherill Website | Instagram

In episode 341, Allea Grummert teaches us how to segment our email list so that we can send tailored content to our subscribers and get higher conversion rates and earn more revenue. Allea is the founder of Duett where she works as an email marketing strategist and conversion copywriter. She helps online business owners make a killer first impression through automated welcome and nurture sequences that engage readers, build brand loyalty and optimize conversions for sales and site traffic. In this episode, find out which strategies to use to segment your email subscriber list and why this will help you sell your product or service more easily by identifying the different interests of your subscribers. She highlights clever ways of approaching our mailing list for maximum benefit to our online businesses. - With the right email subscriber strategy we can achieve our business goals. - Serve your readers better, send them more relevant content using segmentation. - Increase the chances of them engaging with your content. - Divide your readers into different categories by using a welcome email sequence to get to know them better. - Reduce inbox noise and streamline the emails you send by using tags. - Use opt-ins and opt-outs. - Personalized content performs higher than generalized content. Guest Details Connect with Allea Grummert Website | Instagram

In episode 340, Megan chats to Courtney Paige about how to turn your blog and the community you build into a full-time job. She explores different sources of revenue and shares her strategy for social media growth and negotiating brand sponsorships. Courtney is a freelance food photographer and founder of A Page of Positivity, a healthy delicious food blog. She used to work full-time as an interior designer while dedicating the rest of her time to blogging. She started on Instagram sharing beautiful pictures of food as part of a recovery process from an eating disorder. In 2020, she discovered food blogging as a way to create a space to call her own. Now she is able to make most of her income from Instagram in a positive way, leveraging her online audience as she collaborates with brands. In this episode, find out how she transitioned into blogging and built a large, engaged community on Instagram, enabling her to become a full-time food creator. - Be transparent about your pricing. - Explore different sources of revenue. - The sooner you start doing video (or another trend), the less regret you'll have later. - Do different things consistently to help evolve your brand. - Outsource from the get-go. - Is what I am doing right now making me money? If yes, continue. If not, move on. - It's okay to change your mind about which platforms can help you grow. Connect with Courtney Paige Website | Instagram

In episode 339, Dalya Rubin, creator of It's Raining Flour, teaches us how we can attract potential clients from the blogging community, helping other bloggers grow. This can in turn provide us with a rewarding additional source of income from the start of our blogging journey. Dalya runs a gluten-free blog and works as a recipe developer, food photographer and trained chef in New York City. She creates food content for brands and bloggers while exploring everything the Big Apple has to offer for foodie creators. Dalya is especially passionate about recipe development for other food bloggers and in this episode she shares how she markets her passion to generate additional revenue for her business. Find out how to market yourself, attract clients and what to focus on first to stop yourself from feeling discouraged. - What are you really confident in or do you have a niche speciality? - Make sure you know who you are reaching out to. - Narrow down the search (i.e. look up recipes that you're interested in and approach the top bloggers ranking for it). - Have a contract and communicate regularly. - Be transparent when you do recipe development. Credit your sources. - When one door closes, another opens. Don't lose motivation. Connect with Dalya Rubin Website | Instagram

In episode 338, Megan chats to Kathleen Pope about starting a food blog late in life, a mindset for a new, exciting and successful career and how to keep motivated. Kathleen especially encourages us not to give up until we start reaping the fruit from our hard work. Kathleen transitioned into food blogging after running her own product marketing and development business for non-profit organizations. Since 2017, she shifted her focus to her passions of cooking and hospitality and runs the blog, The Fresh Cooky, which now has over 500 recipes. She encourages families to get together, make healthier food choices and invite others to the table. In this episode, she explains the advantage of becoming a food blogger later in life, including having less inhibitions to try something new and more resilience to keep going. - Find a career that allows you to schedule your life the way you want. - The older we are ,the less inhibited we are to try and fail until we succeed. - If you say you can't, it really means you won't. - Don't do it all by yourself, find a community and make connections. - Narrow down your expertise. - Use key words to your advantage using your expertise. - Use SEO tools to do content analysis (i.e. like RankIQ). - See what is doing well on your blog and how can you use the information to tweak future content? Connect with Kathleen Pope Website | Instagram

In episode 337, Megan talks to Sue Ringsdorf about starting a food blog as a second chapter in life and seeing blogging from a different perspective. It is not only about making money but also the legacy you leave behind. Sue started Sue Bee Homemaker on her 50th birthday after wondering for several months what her next phase in life would be. With a soon-to-be empty nest, she wanted to find a new passion to invest her time in and was encouraged by several friends' to start a blog. Sue's cooking is inspired by her mother and now she helps make other people feel comfortable in the kitchen, learning new recipes to nourish and treat their families without breaking the bank. In this episode, she unpacks common feelings that hold us back from starting something new, regardless of our age (e.g. imposter syndrome) and why despite those obstacles you can succeed. - We are often held back by comparing ourselves to others. - Can you succeed doing your blog your way? - Define your primary goal for your blog. - Recognise what your shortcomings are and get help in those areas. - Life-long learning through free information on the internet. - Direct interaction with your audience can have a big impact. - Approach your business and those involved with kindness. Connect with Sue Ringsdorf Website | Instagram

In episode 336, Megan chats with Johanna Voss, about the benefits of hiring a talent manager, especially how and why this can land you groundbreaking deals for your business. Johanna is a talent manager for social media influencers who want clarity for their brands, their businesses and plan strategically for the future. She has closed up to $3.5 million in brand deals and speaking engagements on behalf of her clients. In this episode, she delves into the process of when and why you would need a talent manager for brand deal negotiations. Find out how you can make more money by getting the best partnerships and save time by having a talent manager take care of communication and project management involved in partnerships. - First decide: Why do you want a talent manager? - Talent managers only get paid through commission so if they land a deal for you. - The brand agrees to work with the talent because of their portfolio of work; the manager negotiates the best deals. - It is not a manager's responsibility to build your business. - Managers focus on what you do well and find the right partnerships for your brand. - They have strategic discussions with brands to make sure it is beneficial for you, their client. Connect with Johanna Voss Website | Instagram

In episode 335, Michelle Boulé teaches us how to bring universal laws into our businesses and apply them to our processes so that we can boost our confidence in the decisions we want to make and reach our goals more easily. Michelle is a transformational life and business coach who helps compassionate business owners and creative entrepreneurs all over the world clarify their goals and make their visions a reality with confidence. She has a multi six-figure coaching business that offers different coaching programmes, speaking engagements, in-person retreats and teaching. Drawing from 20 years of practice in somatic therapy, energy medicine, mindset psychology, spirituality and her award-winning career in dance, she explains how to identify our innate wisdom and authentic self. In this episode, find out why this will help you clarify next steps in your business and optimize your processes to fulfill your vision. - You have an innate wisdom guiding you towards your most ideal life. - Learn to be present with your body and listen to your innate wisdom. - Analyze your self-consciousness - What are you thinking? - If you recognise the patterns, you can change them to experience more energy, freedom and joy. - This energy can transfer to your business and boost your confidence. - Law of polarity: if there is a problem, there is a solution. - Law of perpetual transmutation: think in terms of solutions, not problems. - Law of sacrifice: if you want to go to a higher level, you need to release (i.e. sacrifice) something of a lower nature. - Law of vibration: Consciously decide what kind of vibration do you want to hold? Connect with Michelle Boulé Website | Instagram

In episode 334, Megan chats to Katie Jasiewicz, author and owner of Katie's Cucina, about mistakes made by veteran bloggers and how to avoid them in order to let your business flourish with the times. Katie has been blogging for 12 years. For the first couple of years she shared her recipes with family and friends as a way to fill up her time. She never imagined that she would be able to make this her full-time job. In 2014, she quit her marketing job to become a full-time blogger. It became an increasingly flourishing business the more she learned about the industry. In this episode, she shares what she has learned and compiles a list of recommendations for us based on her experience. - Don't underestimate the importance of SEO. - An SEO audit can point out technical mistakes and help you write optimal blog posts. - Expect slow and steady growth. - Regularly update your About and Home page with relevant information (i.e. seasonal recipes and credentials). - Maximize video content and related social platforms (i.e. YouTube, Instagram, TikTok). - What are useful tools that lessen the workload? - Good areas to hire out and optimize your time. - Consider using interns if you enjoy teaching. - Email is your direct channel of communication with your audience. - Create easy to follow checklists and processes for people who help you with your business. Connect with Katie Jasiewicz Website | Instagram

In episode 333, Sarah Barnes teaches us how to grow our Instagram and TikTok to more than 70K in an organic and enjoyable way. She explains how she has done this for her own brand, Taming Twins, in 90 days by focusing on what her audience really needed and not trying to win the algorithm. As a food blogger and a twin mom, Sarah is driven by the question, "What's for dinner?". She is inspired to help other busy parents with the answer by providing quick, affordable recipes. Her blog has 8 million views a year and she has been featured in publications such as The Times, The BBC and The Daily Mail. Her success on Instagram and TikTok came after the traffic she got on Pinterest slowed down. She decided to reinvest her time in something that would make a difference in her business again. In this episode, she explains the strategy she used to succeed on these platforms in a short amount of time and without having to 'play the algorithm', which made it an enjoyable, meaningful experience for her and her followers. - Shift what you can do to win the algorithm to how you can truly help your audience. - Engage your audience directly to find out what they're struggling with. - Create accessible reels that provide a solution. - Consider the pace of the video - what keeps people's attention? - Think of short videos as something between inspiration and entertainment. - Follow up on the expectations of your followers and ask yourself if it aligns with business growth. Connect with Sarah Barnes Website | Instagram

Peter Taunton founded one of the largest wellness brands in the world with over 6,000 franchises or licenses across 3 brands in 28 countries- LIFT Brands. He's also the 2010 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Peter is currently a Forbes Master Class instructor at the Forbes School of Business. Peter's business accomplishments have been well-recognized by the business community. He and his companies have been featured in many business and industry publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur 500, Inc 5000, Top Global and Franchise 500. Peter also wrote a #1 best selling book sold on Amazon called "Impossible Hill"... which shares 30 years of real life stories laying out the mindset that helped Peter build his business empire. Peter is ever-committed to coaching and inspiring people in both their business and personal lives as they navigate through life striving to light the fire with-in and make their impossible dreams… possible! Go into being an entrepreneur with your eyes open - it costs more than you thought and takes more time than you thought. Going into business is one thing, winning in business is another. You need discipline, accountability and perspective to be an entrepreneur. Always be willing to learn from your mistakes. Have a strategic plan for your business. Create a lofty goal and then benchmarks along the way.

In episode 332, Barbara Curry teaches us about why it's essential to collaborate and build community as food bloggers and why this will help build and sustain our blogs. Barbara is an attorney who started a food blog, Butter & Baggage, as a hobby when her children moved out of the house. In 2018, she turned it into a business sharing her special recipes for comfort food with a Southern flair and obsession with butter. As someone who came to food blogging at a later age and having to manage an intense full-time job, Barbara soon found that seeking out help from her blogging community would propel her business in the right direction quicker. Tune in to find out about the different ways she met and collaborated with other bloggers and how this has lessened frustration and uncertainty. - Mastermind groups provide a great support structure. - Everyone has something valuable to add to these groups. - Having a coach gives you more concentrated personal attention. - Receive objective perspectives on different aspects of your business. - Find a judgment-free zone to get your questions answered quickly. - Quick answers to your questions can help increase your page views. - Experience less frustration and uncertainty, have more confidence. Connect with Barbara Curry Website | Instagram

In episode 331, Megan chats to Jen Wooster, founder of Peal with Zeal, about how to set up your business so that you can take extended periods of time off worry-free and how to future-proof your business. Previously a COO, managing organisations of 2000 people or more, Jen retired at a young age and started her gluten-free food blog, Peal with Zeal. At first a hobby, she has built it into a full-time business sharing her easy, gluten-free recipes. In this episode, she explains how she is able to take 2 to 6 months off a year by using pre-planning, batching and other productivity techniques. Tune in to find out more about how to maximise the flexibility you have as a content creator so that you too can live the life you want. - Work out how much content you need to release. - Plan how you can produce it effectively in the months you're working. - Think through everything you need for social media, email etc. - Can you innovate your productivity techniques? - Maintain traffic by combining seasonal and evergreen content. - Maximize content through small tweaks to recipes. - Hire out tasks to free-up your time and schedule ahead. Connect with Jen Wooster Website | Instagram

In episode 330, Jessica Holmes teaches us how to use words to connect with our readers more deeply. This encourages them to consume our content eagerly, which leads to them staying longer on our food blogs. Jessica has worked as UX copywriter and digital strategist for more than 10 years while also creating her own food blog: Sweetest Menu. When her blog took off, she turned her side-hustle into her full-time job, growing a large following of bakers across the world. With expertise in using words as efficiently and effectively as possible, she explains how this can help you increase pages views and pages per session by making it an enjoyable experience for your readers. In this episode, find out how to avoid common writing mistakes and tips to help you stand out from other food bloggers. -Word choice can determine how long people stay on websites. -Great writing can help bloggers connect with their readers. -Create a writing brand style and stick to it. -Break out of using common words, find inspiration in other people's writing. -Bring recipes alive through a personal touch and descriptive words. -Apply the same principles to your social media copywriting. -Your readers' needs are an important consideration. Connect with Jessica Holmes Website | Instagram

In episode 329, Megan chats with Sally Ekus, lead agent and co-owner of the Ekus group, about different routes in cookbook publishing and her new course that covers the topic in detail. As an author representative, Sally delves into different publishing routes, including self-publishing, the role of the agent, obstacles authors currently face and tips to overcome them. The Ekus Group is a full-service culinary agency that represents a large group of diverse authors in cuisine, skin colour, topics, and techniques. An agent who is passionate about cooking, Sally helps food writers, bloggers and chef with the development of their book idea and the comprehensiveness of the proposal. Her other responsibilities include matching the book with the best editor and negotiating the contract with the publisher. She therefore has in-depth knowledge of industry trends. Tune into this episode to find out everything you need to know about book proposals, publishing routes and whether a cookbook is a profitable option for food bloggers. - An agent can help you with the publishing process. - What are the main differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing? - What are your financial considerations and how much control do you want? - Start with a book proposal, based on thorough market research. - Be certain that you have enough content and that a book is the right format for it. - Do you have an engaged audience who can be potential buyers? - A book is a big, beautiful business card that helps you land other profitable deals within your business. - And increase your credibility. Connect with Sally Ekus Website | Instagram

In episode 328, Megan chats to Lani Jackson about how to create a flexible business strategy that allows female entrepreneurs to get out of survival mode and create a clear action plan to grow their business, have a steady income while enjoying the freedom to work when and where they want. Lani is a clarity and strategy business coach and hosts the podcast, Brilliant Mompreneurs. Her passion is to help mom entrepreneurs double their income without doubling their workload and help them release mom guilt. Find out how you can create a clear plan of action that will allow you to prioritize your family while still hitting great income goals. - Have a flexible business strategy. - Be purposeful with the time you spent on your blog. - You don't have to overwork yourself to be successful (25 hour weeks are possible!) - Entrepreneurs get frustrated when they are not clear on what they want. - Assess how much energy and concentration tasks require. Plan your week accordingly. - Mindset can be the difference between growth or stagnation. - Lean into what excites you most. Connect with Lani Jackson Website | Instagram

In episode 327, Megan chats to Addison LaBonte about pursuing a passion project while still maintaining another job. They discuss how to handle various responsibilities, time management hacks and keeping motivated while your food blog grows. Addison is the recipe developer and content creator at Organically Addison. She specialises in gluten-free recipes that are easy to make, delicious and family-friendly. Conscious of different dietary requirements, she also includes diary-free, nut-free and vegan recipes to her site to make sure there is something for everyone. With such a passion for food blogging, she explains how she grew her blog, increasing her page views significantly, while maintaining a full-time job in finance. In this episode, you'll learn how to endure and work towards making your passion project your career. - Decide on how much time you want to dedicate to your blog. - Keyword research can be a turning point in your blogging career (e.g. Keysearch and Google). - Great photography can make a difference too. - Understand what is expected of you as an aspiring food blogger (the creative side and critical side). - Tips to start and keep motivated: don't expect everything to be perfect and connect with your followers to remind yourself of why you do it. - Work smarter and not harder (i.e. be intentional and batch work). Connect with Addison LaBonte Website | Instagram

In episode 326, Monica Davis, creator of The Hidden Veggies, teaches us how to use our niche to rapidly grow our email list, keep them engaged and make them feel valued. This will improve our email subscriber open rate and link click-through rate by making them excited about new recipes on our site. With over 22 years experience being vegan, Monica specializes in vegan comfort food and basics sharing her recipes for vegan cheese, butter and popular dishes on her blog, The Hidden Veggies. Applying in-depth knowledge of her niche, she has used an exciting method to gain new subscribers to her email list and keep them engaged with her content. In this episode she shares tips on how to apply the same method to your own business. - To grow your email subscribers, decide what kind of people visit your site. - Encourage visitors to your blog to subscribe to your mailing list by offering a resource that solves a problem they have. - Offer opt-ins that are specific to the main pillars of your content. - If your free content is really good, people will be more likely to pay for other resources. - Delay your subscriber pop-up to give visitors time to explore your site first. - Create your email list around what you want to sell in the future. - An engaged mailing list will direct traffic to your site. - It will increase viewing time and pages per session. Connect with Monica Davis Website | Instagram

In episode 325, Megan chats to Cari Garcia about why TikTok is the best platform for growing your online following right now. The video platform can more than double your social media reach within a year, which will generate more page views for your blog. Cari is a healthcare worker turned content creator who currently makes a living through food blogging, sharing latin-inspired recipes on Fat Girl Hedonist. With currently more than 156k followers on TikTok, she explains why it is an effective and fun way to promote your blog and funnel viewers to your page. Find out more about how to start, what content to post and what filming equipment to use as well as other useful tips to grow in 2022. -Maximise your potential, stick to your niche. -Audio is just as important as visuals. -Does your music choice affect the number of views you get? -Simpler videos will help you go viral quicker on TikTok. -Post more frequently than is normal for Instagram. -Behind the scenes shots and food hacks work well. -Reach a new, younger audience. Connect with Cari Garcia Website | Instagram

In episode 324, Megan chats to Chandice Probst, founder of This Vivacious Life, about knowing when to hire out in blogging and how this can rapidly increase your blog growth. Chandice is the co-author of Gluten-Free on a Budget and with a degree in health science she is passionate about raising awareness for coeliac disease across the nation. She delves into a few crucial questions for bloggers when it comes to outsourcing. For example, why will it increase your business growth and when is the best time to invest in your blog? Learn more about this topic, including the best tools you can use to lessen your workload and how to go about finding the right person for the job. -Hire out from the get-go. -You could hire out any tasks that will free up your time, including household tasks. -More than double your growth by investing in SEO and blogging tools like RankIQ. -Investing includes training or mastermind groups. -You can't be an expert in every category. -Podcasting opens up a new avenue to gain new knowledge. -Hiring out will help you do what you love and what you're good at. -Hiring the right people will help you grow quicker. -Find more time for self-care and show up better for the people you love. Connect with Chandice Probst Website | Instagram

In episode 323, Megan chats to Anika Gandhi, founder of Anika's DIY Life, about how to use videos and reels to generate engagement on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Anika specializes in woodwork and DIY, helping beginners make pro-level projects. She has a strong presence online across multiple platforms and shares her experience in reaching even more people through short-form video. Find out what types of reels perform the best, what is the ideal length and how to use video to drive traffic to your blog posts. -Save time and repurpose your videos on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. -Using Facebook reels is a viable way to reach more people. -Instagram favors reels and these types of posts get more engagement. -Short and sweet is most effective. -Spend more time on the first few seconds as this draws viewers in. -This is one of the best ways to gain followers and drive traffic to your website. -Be consistent. Connect with Anika Gandhi Website | Instagram

In episode 322, Aubree Malick, host of the Freelancer to CEO podcast, teaches us how to monetize the blogging skills we've mastered by turning them into invaluable services we can offer other bloggers and businesses. Aubree helps people in conventional careers become freelancers, growing their own online businesses. She shares the tactics bloggers can use to identify their strengths and outsource this to other bloggers who might find the same tasks tedious or who've got too much on their plate. In this episode, she unpacks the most important steps to start a successful freelance career. -Find your ideal clients in online communities and in your local network. -Niche down with the type of service you offer or the type of client you serve. -Research other freelancers' pricing to find a good balance between NOT undervaluing or overpricing yourself. -Ask yourself: What price point is going to make me feel resentful? What is going to make me feel good? -Best way to build relationships with your audience is through authentic video. -Have a system in place to make the process smooth and keep your clients satisfied. Connect with Aubree Malick Website | Instagram

In episode 321, Megan chats with Molly Madigan Pisula, founder of Vanilla Bean Cuisine, about how food blogging gives you the opportunity to live a mobile life. Have a successful career anywhere in the world, while being in control of your time, so that you can spend more of it with the people you love. Molly and her husband moved to France where she went from being a personal chef to food blogger, specializing in healthy recipes using seasonal ingredients. With in-depth knowledge of overcoming the obstacles of moving to a new country, she discusses lifestyle differences between France and America, why enjoying food allows us to slow down and how you can choose the lifestyle you want, anywhere in the world. Find out more about her experience in this episode. -Live in a foreign country like France to enhance your senses and food knowledge. -Experience a different lifestyle that gives you more opportunities to be creative and appreciate life to the full. -Have the freedom to spend time with friends and family when and how you want. -Make a conscious decision to prioritize your responsibilities in a different way to everyone else. -Small moments in life can be a great way to strengthen connections. Prioritizing relationships and people will make everything else in life easier. What can you expect when you move to a new place and how will it change you for the better? Guest Details Connect with Molly Madigan Pisula Website | Instagram

In episode 320, Megan chats with Izzah Cheema, founder of Tea for Turmeric, the largest Pakistani food blog, about why creating more content for your blog does not necessarily lead to growth. Izzah specializes in Pakistani recipes and with less than a 100 recipes on her site, she has over 350 thousand page views a month or about 2 million views a year. In this episode, she explains why posting lots of recipes regularly is not necessarily a wise growth strategy and why curating content specifically for your audience, helping them solve their problems, will get you much further. - Are you producing content that you will NOT be ranked for? - Build unshakable EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust). - Treat each blog post with extra care to improve EAT. - Provide a solution to a specific problem in your market to rank more easily. - Do the work nobody else wants to do (which food solutions or information have not been written about yet?) - Roundups is a smart way to market what you already have instead of writing new content.

In episode 319, Megan chats with Eloïse Jennes of Cooking with Elo, about 10 things she wishes she knew when she started her food blog in college. These are essential tips that will help you grow your blog quicker from the start by applying the right skills and avoiding common pitfalls. Inspired to explore cooking after being diagnosed with food intolerances, Elo started a secret food blog in high-school to cope with a complete diet change. This first attempt motivated her to set up a new food blog to share her gluten-free and vegan recipes with friends and family while in college. In this episode, she shares 10 tips she wishes someone had told her as her food blogging career took off in college. Tune in to find out answers to these questions: -When is the best time to start a food blog? -What kind of photography equipment do you need? -How do you make sure you stay consistent with your blog? -How do you apply batching to increase your efficiency? -How important is learning new skills in food blogging? -What should you focus on first? -Do you really need to start a social media channel for your blog? Connect with Eloïse Jennes Website | Instagram

In episode 318, Megan chats with Laura Sirkovsky about becoming a food blogger after hitting 30 and how to earn recognition and be noticed in your niche. After being diagnosed with coeliac disease, Laura started her food blog to recreate gluten-free versions of the recipes she grew up with in Canada. After leaving her teaching job, she decided to grow her food blog to have an additional income. She did not expect it to become her full-time job. In this episode, she shares her journey, discussing why you can become a successful food blogger despite your age or niche. -Food blogging is a viable career choice for people over 30. -Choose the right social media platforms to connect with your audience and help grow your blog. -Gluten-free diets are here to stay as more and more people find out they are coeliac or gluten-intolerant. -Gluten-free recipe blogs are a great avenue for food bloggers to explore. -Deal with the mental health challenges of trying to grow your blog and stay on top of life by connecting with the food blogging community. Connect with Laura Sirkovsky Website | Instagram

In episode 317, Megan chats with Kim Cauti and Chelsea Vetre about why being an influencer is a good thing and how you can make a change for the better in your niche while at the same time earn extra money by working with brands that you love. Kim and Chelsea offer unique coaching courses for bloggers, photographers and nano-influencers in the food space, educating them about how to successfully land sponsorship deals even if their social media accounts are under 10k. In this episode, they discuss the empowering nature of being an influencer. -What does it mean to be an influencer? -Why do some people think of it negatively? -What should you do to avoid negative perceptions of sponsorship deals? -What are the common mistakes new influencers make? -How to build and keep the trust of both your followers and the brands you work with. Connect with Kim Cauti and Chelsea Vetre Website | Instagram

In episode 316, Megan chats with Carolyn about how ghost-writing can lighten food bloggers' loads, helping them gain more time to focus on other aspects of their business. Ghost-writing – writing posts for other bloggers as if they were writing it themselves – provides Carolyn with an additional source of income while she is growing her own gluten-free recipe site, Caramel and Cashews. Whether you are passionate about writing and looking for a new source of income or want to hire a ghost-writer to free-up your time, find out everything you need to know in this episode. -What is ghost-writing? -How can it benefit you as a food blogger? -What is the easiest way to find reliable ghost-writers? -What should you look for in pricing OR how should you price your services (if you're a ghost-writer). -Once you found a ghost-writer, how does the process work? -Why choose ghost-writing as an additional source of income and how can you find your first client? Connect with Carolyn Truett Website | Instagram

In episode 315, Megan chats with Ann and Madeleine about their new app Spillt, a social media app that helps food bloggers gain exposure and increase their traffic and revenue by allowing them to save, share and review recipes online while gaining new followers. We cover information about the app's exciting features, including: - How it helps you increase site viewing time. - Click through rates in search results. - Add an additional revenue stream through ads. The social nature of the app incentivizes users to leave reviews and ratings. It syncs automatically with your site through a WordPress plugin, so you don't have to create any new content to grow on the app. Find out more about how it works in this episode! Connect with Ann and Madeleine Baum of Spillt. Website | Instagram

After being laid off in March 2020 due to the coronavirus, Ashley Schuering started her blog Confessions of a Grocery Addict at the behest of her friends. While she has been steadily growing her blog traffic, Ashley has created a thriving ghostwriting business for other food bloggers that has allowed her to become a full-time freelancer. By focusing specifically on her "zone of genius" — writing with an emphasis on SEO — she has created a monetization strategy that has become full-time work that pays her better than she has ever been paid before! Inside episode 314, Ashley encourages food bloggers to lean into their zones of genius in order to take the pressure off getting accepted into an ad network. There is so much inspiration in this episode. Join us inside! - Clear out the clutter (both literally and figuratively) in order to let new opportunities enter your life and business. - Be a voracious learner in order to accelerate your growth. - Establish days and times for working, resting, as well as professional development. - Bravely accept that making a fool of yourself will be part of the success equation. - Lean into what is working for you.

Carl is an engineer who spent many years in corporate technology consulting roles which gave him a unique perspective on the application of technology, processes, and getting a return on your investments. It means he has spent literally decades helping customers make sense of technology products. Twenty years ago he started building recipe websites as a 'side hustle.' At one point he had over 50 sites online, each generating rnice revenue.Then the Google Panda update tanked every single one of the sites, which was the right thing for it to do because they were very low quality, massively over-optimized sites that had been churned out en masse. They deserved to get buried deep, deep in the search results! Today only a couple remain online and he uses them for SEO testing purposes. Fast forward to 2019 and Carl has started offering SEO services and the food blogging niche was an obvious fit. While he works with bloggers in many different niches, food bloggers are his bread and butter. Inside episode 313, Carl delivers relevant information about a few timely SEO-related topics. - What to do and what to expected with the change from Google Analytics 3 to Google Analytics 4. - Blog images can cause a lot of problems if not handled properly. Follow Carl's guidelines to ensure they are sized properly and aren't affecting your site's page speed. - Where your focus should be placed in this ever-changing world of SEO. - Keyword research tips included. - Update about the recent Google core update in May 2022.

Partners Corinne Schmitt and Christina Hitchcock are both six-figure influencers with multiple websites. Over the years, they've become organizational ninjas and workflow fanatics with a knack for providing actionable strategies to help influencers work smarter and scale faster. These two women have been in this space for over 10 years and learned a lot along the way (often the hard way!). They share their insights on working smarter on The Smart Influencer, a podcast and a private mentoring group where they help other influencers work smart and grow stronger. Inside Eat Blog Talk episode 312, Corrine and Christina talk about the gap in the conversation with influencers about being prepared in the case of an unfortunate event. So many influencers don't have a plan in place if something should happen to them and they can no longer run their business. Thinking about this topic is stressful enough but trying to figure it all out and make a plan on your own can be overwhelming. - Importance of contingency planning. - What to include in your plan. - Who to hand it off to in the first place. - How to put it all together. - How often to update the plan.

Mika and her husband, Dan, have been running Joy to the Food for nearly a year now! Both work full time jobs and do everything together for Joy to the Food in their off hours. Throughout the process of building this brand, together they have learned a lot about each other and the best way to work with your partner and to grow a blog. Dan does the numbers and styling and Mika creates the content and handles communication. Inside episode 311, Mika explains why every food blogger should create a blogging outline and how to get started. - Content optimizers and SEO best practice encourages having many keywords within your post naturally (2-3%). - Your post should be a one stop shop. - Have sections for equipment, methods, FAQ and instructions to maximize opportunities to include relevant keywords in a natural way. - Use descriptors, process terms and recipe name variations to cover all your bases. - Follow Mika's checklist found in the show notes or create your own checklist with or without the help of the Feast plugin.

Christine is the founder of COOKtheSTORY where her passion is to create recipes that take less time in the kitchen, giving you more time at the table. She founded COOKtheSTORY in 2010 and her other contributor-based site, TheCookful, in 2015. Christine has used her SEO strategies and cooking knowledge to get these sites in front of over 2 million readers per month. More recently, she has embraced her love of audio and is the host of two podcasts, one of which, Recipe of the Day, has been named one of the top ten cooking podcasts out there by Popsugar! Inside Eat Blog Talk episode 310, Christine gives tangible strategies for foodies to create a successful audio podcast. - Why a food blogger might want to consider podcasting. - The cost of producing a podcast and whether you should outsource or DIY. - How to choose the topic for your podcast and determining your audience. - If you love audio, then get started pronto! The time is now to explore this medium.

Eliza is a plant-based food blogger, photographer, and full-time Product Manager working in the travel technology space. She loves seeing how little tweaks can make a huge difference, and geeks out over Google Analytics, Search Console and any data she can get her hands on. With limited time, she uses data to focus on what's important to grow her blog and business. In episode 309, Eliza offer data-driven strategies food bloggers can employ in order to amplify growth in a powerful and effective way. - Give the 80/20 rule some thought and adjust your business accordingly. Create goals and continuously adjust focus to align with them. - Dive deep into the metrics on a specific post or web story. - Analyze and tweak before you begin work each week. - Readers and Google (and all the platforms) can feel our energy, so give proper attention to each bit of content you produce. - Consider what is working and DO MORE OF THAT.

Lauren Grow is the owner and founder of Talk About Town—a marketing agency focusing on clients in the blogging space. She has been hard at work connecting readers with recipes for over 5 years. Beginning as a social media writer for Fresh April Flours, Lauren has scaled her business and currently has 20 clients in the blogging world on any given day. An expert in email marketing, Lauren specializes in creating a consistent, approachable and profitable email plan for clients ranging from big to small. Lauren prides herself on owning the voice of her client and adapting to the needs of the reader. In her world, it's all about opens and clicks. Inside episode 308, Lauren provides tangible tactics for food bloggers to take away and begin implementing in their email marketing strategy immediately. - Choose the right email provider. - Get started in bite-sized ways. - Importance of subject line and preheader text. - How to structure your email. - How to get those click conversions!

Melissa Erdelac is the recipe developer, photographer and cookbook author behind the popular food blog MamaGourmand. Besides authoring her first cookbook, Frugal Gluten-Free Cooking, her work has been published in Better Homes and Gardens, MSN, Taste of Home, Parade, and Prevention. Inside this episode, Melissa shares about the value of attending and hosting an in-person blogging retreat. Join us inside and be inspired! - Conferences vs retreats. - Do not get hung up on experience levels of other attendees. Everyone has value to offer! - Logistics for the retreat. - The only thing you really need to prepare for beforehand is your mindset. Open yourself up to learning, growing and investing in yourself and others. - The opportunities, boost in confidence, blog growth and friendships/connections that follow the retreat are the best part!

In 2022, the podcast industry is expected to grow at an exponential rate. The use of audio in the food blogging space to speak your message and connect with your audience is underrated, underutilized and overlooked. Now is the time to get on board with audio! Listen in on this Clubhouse recording where a handful of food bloggers discuss using audio to speak their messages in a profound way. - Brand recognition - Reach people "beyond the blog" to expand brand awareness. - People - The people you will meet in your journey with audio will allow for so much opportunity. - The unexpected - People connect with the human voice more than with written voice. When you put your actual voice out into the world, you never know who is connecting with you. Unexpected favor and opportunities will come your way. - There is currently very little competition in the food and recipe niche for podcasts. This is such a great way to separate yourself from your competition!