Eat Blog Talk

In episode 404, Megan chats to Clara Cheng about achieving fitness goals and how applying a fitness mentality to your blogging business can help you grow. Clara is a content creator for the last 2 years at Fitsian Food Life, which shares macro-friendly healthy recipes that are still delicious. Fitness is a very integral part of her life and is also the key reason why she started the blog. Clara likes to stay active by training Muay Thai and powerlifting. In order to make sure she has enough energy to train well, it's essential for her to replenish her body with adequate nutrition. At the same time, Clara loves good food and she started creating recipes of her favorite dishes, tweaked to be healthy and nutritious. Throughout the past year, Clara has invested in the right tooling and education to see meaningful traction in traffic growth for her blog. In this episode, you'll find out what is meant by "fitness mentality", understanding that change and success don't happen overnight and how to adopt the same determination to achieve your fitness goals to help build your blog. - The frustrations of blogging are similar to achieving fitness goals. - Invest in tools that will help you advance in your goal. - Understand that improvement takes time. - You don't walk into the gym and start lifting heavy weights. - Line up your expectations to reality. - Take a break to help you get clarity for your goals. - How do you keep a work-life balance? - Understand what you need to prioritize and de-pioritize. - What can you control to help grow your business? Connect with Clara Cheng Website | Instagram

In episode 403, Megan chats to Jillian Leslie about which types of digital products are good for food bloggers to add to their businesses and which ones are most effective to start with. Jillian Leslie loves building businesses on the internet with her husband, David. In 2009, they started Catch My Party, one of the largest party ideas sites on the web. In 2016, Jillian and David built MiloTree, a smart pop-up app to help bloggers and creators grow their social media followers and email lists. And in 2021, they built MiloTreeCart, the easiest tool for bloggers and creators to sell digital products. It's built for non-techies. For the past 4 years, Jillian has been hosting her weekly podcast called The Blogger Genius Podcast. She interviews successful bloggers, entrepreneurs, and industry experts to break down what's working now in online business. In this episode, you'll learn about which digital products you should avoid at the beginning, understanding the psychology behind a digital product that your clients will buy and how to price products correctly. - Is it worth building a course as your first digital product? - It's about trial and error - what kind of product will people buy? - Learn from your customers and make your products better. - Find a problem to solve, be specific and go deep. - What is the best digital product to start with? - How to price your digital product effectively. - Should you give something away for free? - Aim for good work that you get published instead of unpublished perfect work. Connect with Jillian Leslie Website | Instagram

In episode 402, Megan chats to Maren Epstein about how she reached 85k page views from 5k page views in 7 months after 7 years of failing. Maren Epstein is a health supportive chef with a degree from the Natural Gourmet Institute which is a part of the Institute of Culinary Education and a bachelor's Degree from Drew University. She specializes in developing diets and recipes for gut health that are Gluten Free, which is the focus of her blog, Eating Works. She has published food pieces in The New York Daily News and The Independent along with many recipes for Mashed, Healthline, Tasting Table and more. In this episode, you'll find out that it's normal not to be an expert from the start and how to stay resilient and search for the right strategy to help you succeed in your blogging journey long-term. - Slow success is normal for bloggers. - It's natural that bloggers learn more about website hosts and SEO with time. - Do you feel frustrated at not knowing whether a strategy you're using is effective? - Consider adding articles in your field of expertise to increase page views. - Consult resources like podcasts and join masterminds. - Embrace your story. - Create supporting content for your recipes. - How to use web stories and other strategies effectively. - Be honest with yourself in terms of how much work you're willing to put in. Connect with Maren Epstein Website | Instagram

In episode 401, Marta Rivera Diaz teaches us how to be an authentic ally as a content creator, helping under-served individuals in thoughtful and genuine ways. Marta Rivera Diaz is a formally trained chef with more than 25 years of cooking and baking experience and is the chef and author behind Sense & Edibility®, her "online culinary school." Marta created Sense & Edibility® to encourage advanced and novice cooks alike, to explore- and succeed at executing culinary fundamentals, techniques, and cuisines never before explained or introduced to them. As a bi-racial woman, who grew up and married into the military, and one who lives with a disability, Marta is a staunch advocate for under-served communities, especially in the food space. In this episode, you'll learn more about how to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion in your field of expertise. - When you want to be inclusive and consider diversity, look beyond yourself. - How can you be a better, considered person online? - Don't limit creators' abilities based on their racial and gender characteristics. - How to respond to someone's suggestion for your own content? - Find someone to openly ask about what is potentially offensive to them. - Be careful when you are writing about a certain culture in your content. - Provide recipe hacks in a sensitive way to people with disabilities etc. - Write exciting Alt Text for your images. Connect with Marta Rivera Diaz Website | Instagram

Megan gets interviewed in episode 400! Eat Blog Talk's community manager, Taryn, asks Megan a list of personal, mindset, entrepreneurial and food blogging questions sent in by her listeners in this AMA episode. Megan started her food blog Pip and Ebby in 2010 and food blogging has been her full-time career since 2012. Her passion for blogging has grown into an intense desire to support fellow food bloggers so they have access to the information, insight and community that accelerates their paths to achieving desired freedoms. In this episode, you'll learn more about Megan's experience as a seasoned food blogger. She'll share what is she most excited about for the future, what hasn't changed in blogging throughout the years, the impact of AI, life-changing resources for entrepreneurs, scary long-term goals and keeping a healthy balance between working hard and taking time off. - Why is getting into podcasting a huge opportunity for bloggers? - What is unique about Pinterest in the blogging space? - The benefits of AI for food bloggers. - What is the best way to find a business mentor? - Tips to get started with freelance work. - It's important to set clear boundaries for yourself to keep a balanced life. - Tips for starting a food blogging podcast. Connect with Megan Porta Website | Instagram

In episode 399, Megan chats to June Albertson-Dick about the blogging lessons she learned the hard way and how new bloggers can avoid her mistakes. June started Practically Homemade in late 2017 as a way to share her love of making simple recipes spectacular. For years June had owned and operated a cake decorating business and deli in her hometown before becoming a high school culinary teacher. It wasn't until June of 2021 that she stepped away from 8 years of teaching young adults to cook to make Practically Homemade a full time job. June truly believes that we don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to make amazing food that everyone will go crazy for. In this episode, you will find out how to create a great brand from the start, the importance of consistency and SEO and social media strategies for Pinterest. - Pick the right name for your blog. - Consistency sets you apart from other bloggers. - Make your pins for Pinterest distinctive. - SEO is essential if you want to make enough money to go full-time. - Is it hard work to be a successful blogger? - Think about how to write for your reader. - How many pop ups are too many? - Don't compare yourself to others, keep focused on your own journey. Connect with June Albertson-Dick Website | Instagram

In episode 398, Megan chats to Lee McGuire about how she grew her Instagram account to over a 100k followers in one year using mostly reels. Lee is the creator, photographer, recipe developer and writer of the gluten free food blog, Lane & Grey Fare. There, you will find gluten free and allergy-friendly food that is as decadent, savory and as rich as other food, while still being simple enough to make in your own home. As a mother of two children with celiac disease and multiple food in a way that's entertaining and helpful. One of the ways she does this is by making beautiful and tantalizing reels on Instagram. In this episode, you'll find out how she grew her account from 19k followers to 144k in one year. She also shares how her strategy has impacted traffic going to her blog. - Should I post every single day? (including weekends) - Spend time to engage with people who engage with your content. - Engage with our followers' accounts. - Is there a correlation between the amount of IG followers and my website traffic? - Shorter videos perform better (a few seconds). - Is it worth posting longer videos? - Post at your key times (preferably twice a day). - Advice on using hashtags for reels. - Does quality matter? Connect with Lee McGuire Website | Instagram

In episode 397, Megan Gonzalez teaches us how to use PDFs and video to quickly grow our email list. Megan Gonzalez is the knitter behind Nurture Knitwear, and she strives to create a chic casual style for modern women. At Nurture Knitwear, they are focused on empowering women to carve out a little creative space for themselves to learn, to find peace and satisfaction, and to refill so that they can keep pouring out into the lives of those we love. In this episode, Megan shares her journey in becoming a knitting blogger and how she used PDFs to double her email list by offering knitting patterns. She also explains how she uses video tutorials to get more email subscribers and boost her page views. - Use PDF printouts of recipes as an opt-in for new email subscribers. - PDFs can generate interest on other platforms too, like social media. - How to use video tutorials as an opt-in to build your email list. - Videos give a more personal touch point and therefore a deeper connection. - Where do you embed the videos so that only subscribers can view them? - Videos can boost your page views. - Offer something of real value to your audience. - Share your content in a natural way, especially in social media groups. Connect with Megan Gonzalez Website | Instagram

In episode 396, Megan chats to Marley Braunlich about different ways to use AI tools like ChatGPT to streamline writing for our blogs, helping us become more efficient bloggers. Marley has been a food blogger for a little over 1 year. She started working in SEO shortly after starting her blog. During this time, she grew her Instagram audience to 13k followers and started working with brands to earn a side income while the blog matured and she continued to pour into the blog. Marley has learned how to successfully land brand deals and form long-term partnerships. She also grew an understanding of SEO. She is now leveraging AI to grow her business and streamline writing so that she can save time and create more content. In this episode, you'll learn about different ways to use ChatGPT (and other AI tools) to your advantage and what to avoid when it comes to using AI. - AI can speed up processes like writing for your blog. - Can Google detect AI written content? - Understand what is meant by Google's Helpful Content Update. - How can bloggers make the most of ChatGPT? - Edit the result from ChatGPT to give it a human touch. - What to check if you let ChatGPT write recipes (e.g. oven temperatures and timings). - Use it for social media captions and email marketing. - How do these AI writing tools affect the future of content writers and bloggers? - Use plagiarism checkers to make sure you're using truly unique content. Connect with Marley Braunlich Website | Instagram

In episode 395, Megan chats to Cynthia Christensen about ways to deal with and overcome our limitations while growing our food blogs. Cynthia is a professional baker and cook who has transitioned to running a breakfast and brunch focused blog. She also does freelance recipe development for larger online magazines, runs private chef events, and does occasional food photography. In this episode, Cynthia motivates us to find ways around our limitations which can be anything from work or family responsibilities to health or mental challenges. She shares examples from her own life, how she achieves her blogging goals despite physical limitations and being comfortable with taking days off when she needs it. - Limitations stand in your way or slow you down when blogging. - Create an appropriate goal sheet that will help you manage life obstacles. - Be kind to yourself when you can't get everything done. - Give yourself a day off when you need it. Zero guilt for self-care. - Be careful not to compare yourself to others on social media. - Talk about what you're going through to help manage your emotions. - Assume the answer is yes and embrace new opportunities. Connect with Cynthia Christensen Website | Instagram

In episode 394, Jules Grasekamp teaches us how to create a roadmap for success, based on lessons she learned during 10 years of building her own baking business. Jules, a dessert blogger from Scotland, started her own bakery at age 16 and she ran that for 10 years before selling up and moving to Canada. After a few years of working as a business coach, Jules realized she missed working with food, so she purchased a camera to share her recipes on her blog - Bonni Bakery. Now, Jules shares accessible recipes using real and simple ingredients to help people create professional quality desserts in their own kitchens. In this episode, you'll learn how to set an end-goal for your roadmap to success, how to create a realistic action plan that will help you get there and tips for tracking your progress. - Start by thinking what do you want your business to look like in 3, 5 or 10 years? - What your business looks like will determine what your life will look like. - It's possible to dream big and achieve your goal. - What are the achievable, daily tasks that will help you reach your end-goal? - Make an action plan according to those tasks. - Implement SMART goals to help you accomplish all your tasks? - What do you do when you have to skip daily tasks (i.e. illness, emergency)? - Be realistic when you set goals, take into consideration your weak spots. - Find the best tool for project management and goal-tracking. Connect with Jules Grasekamp Website | Instagram

In episode 393, Megan chats to Chrissy Carroll about nutrition considerations for bloggers, especially within the wellness niche, and how to provide the best healthy recipes. Chrissy Carroll is a Registered Dietitian and the creator behind Snacking in Sneakers, where she shares food and fitness tips for active women – especially runners and triathletes. After growing her main site to more than 100,000 page views a month, Chrissy has gone on to launch several other successful websites like Build a Wellness Blog. She is passionate about helping other dietitians grow profitable websites, sharing helpful blogging and social media tips. She also runs an online course teaching bloggers how to create content that ranks higher and drives more traffic. In this episode, you'll learn which sources to trust when it comes to nutrition advice, how to check the accuracy of nutrition information you provide and understanding key dietary terms before you use them. - Be careful with giving advice when it comes to nutrition. - Collaborate with a registered dietitian. - Always include a disclaimer when you provide wellness information. - When recipes are vegetarian / vegan? - What to consider if you're developing gluten-free or dairy-free recipes? - Know the difference between the terms sugar-free and no-added sugar. - Ketogenic diet is sometimes used to manage epilepsy. - Should you mix different types of dietary recipes on your blog? - Can you trust nutrition card calculators? - Food safety tips. Connect with Chrissy Carroll Website | Instagram

In episode 392, Jen Talley teaches us how to use checklists effectively to optimize our workflows for blogging. Jen grew up eating dinner with her whole family every night. In 2006, Jen moved across the country for college and she found a love for cooking and experimenting with new recipes. When Jen graduated, she had 3 kids and became a stay at home mom. Many years later, Jen finally got the courage to start a food blog and she now loves following her passion for food. Jen is really enthusiastic about this job and wants to share her love of blogging and productivity tips with others. In this episode, you'll find out how to simplify your blogging workflow, using checklists for before you write a blog post, while publishing a post and the after publishing your recipe. - Checklists are useful for beginner and seasoned bloggers. - Divide your checklists into pre-publishing, during publishing and post-publishing. - What are the most essential tasks you should do before you post? - Checklists help you remember all the most important steps on a recipe day. - Have a checklist for your photos, including file names and alternative text. - What do you need to include in your recipe card to rank on Google? - Post-publishing, create a checklist for social media and email marketing. Connect with Jen Talley Website | Instagram

In episode 391, Megan chats to Taryn Scarfone about the advantages of starting a second food blog. Taryn is a happily married, busy mom of 6. She began her blogging journey as a hobby in 2015 and it took off pretty quickly. Joy Filled Eats concentrates on low carb and keto recipes that are easy to make and suitable for the whole family. Since starting her blog, Taryn has launched two more food websites. In this episode, Taryn talks about how her second food blog allowed her to expand into a different niche and do everything better from the start, getting a lot of organic traffic quickly. - How do you decide on a second niche? - What should you do differently in a second blog? - Approach SEO and keywords carefully before you launch. - How much do you post on social media for new food blogs? - Time management tips for managing multiple food blogs. - A new blog can add new inspiration to your blogging journey. - How much effort should you put into logos and branding? Connect with Taryn Scarfone Website | Instagram

In episode 390, Megan chats to Rob Finkelstein about why it's important for food bloggers and photographers to have contracts and understanding important legal terms. 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 got started blogging at Cinnamon Shtick, 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. They all inspired Rob to create an online course about contracts specifically for food photographers. In this episode, you learn how to set up a contract, what kind of clauses you need to include, tips for copyright and licensing terms and why this can make a massive difference in your business. - Difficult legal terms put people off drawing up contracts. - It doesn't seem important until there's an issue. - It defines your relationship with your client. - Do you have a business entity name? - What should you do if you don't agree with the contract terms? - Get a basic education about legal terms. - What should you know about copyright law and licensing? - What if a brand asks for revisions of your photography work? - Define which country and state's laws apply. Connect with Rob Finkelstein Website | Instagram

In episode 389, Megan chats to Christina Jolam about why Christina was held back from blogging and how she overcame doubt, perfectionism and other obstacles that stood in her way. Christina Jolam is a communications consultant turned food writer and founder of the blog Weekday Pescatarian. She creates easy and impressive fish-forward recipes and shares tips for incorporating more seafood into your diet, all from her tiny sea-side flat in Portugal. In this episode, you'll be able to explore common reasons why we put off starting a blog, including perfectionism and doubts of whether we'll succeed. Christina shares her blogging journey and how she overcame her fear of failure. - Perfectionism often stand in our way to start something new. - Perfectionists fear criticism. - Perfectionists feel like nothing is good enough. - Perfectionists tend to avoid risks. - Address your doubts, instead of ignoring them. - Dread leads to procrastination. - Use journaling as a way to navigate your feelings. - Listening to other bloggers' stories will help you realize you're not alone. Connect with Christina Jolam Website | Instagram

In episode 388, Ruth Grindeland teaches us how to find international resources for effective and cost-efficient outsourcing. Ruth started Sinful Kitchen in 2020, during the Covid pandemic. After binge watching 9 seasons of The Great British Baking show, Ruth knew she needed to find a better way to connect with the world. Hence, Sinful Kitchen was created. It's a vegan and vegetarian blog that shares recipes from all around the world, while occasionally trying to recreate Baking Show challenges. In this episode, Ruth explains why she wanted to outsource her blog tasks to women overseas with less opportunities using platforms like Fiverr and Upwork. She delves into the details of finding the right people, quality-control, mediating with sellers when things go wrong and the benefits of outsourcing. - Decide if you want to hire per job or per post. - How do you decide if someone is a good fit for the job? - Come up with a system of operation that makes it easy to work together. - What happens when you get poor quality work back? - Tips to mediate with sellers on Fiverr. - What kind of jobs can you hire out? - Save time and focus on developing other parts of your business. Connect with Ruth Grindeland Website | Instagram

In episode 387, Olena Osipov teaches us how to batch produce YouTube content for increased growth and efficiency. Olena of iFoodReal has been blogging for 11 years. While blogging, she tried to grow her YouTube channel, however she stopped a few times as she did not have the right strategy amongst other reasons. In 2021, Olena needed a break because she recognized that she was burnt out. She came back in 2022 with a new strategy to produce video content more efficiently for YouTube and she's here to share her strategy with us. In this episode, you'll learn her process for batch producing YouTube content, everything from finding a reasonably priced videographer to the most efficient way to film and edit videos and how to look your best on film. - Batch filming to get as many recipes done as possible in one session. - Prepare all utensils and ingredients before a filming day. - Batch record intros and outros and cooking processes. - Use YouTube analytics to find the ideal video length (normally around 5 minutes). - How do you deal with comments on YouTube? - Tips for how to streamline the editing process. - Film short vertical videos too for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. - Make-up, outfit and posture tips to look good on film. Connect with Olena Osipov Website | Instagram

In episode 386, Megan chats to Erin Gierhart about getting clarity on what is essential in order to grow your blog and how to let go of everything else so that you can get more done by doing less. Erin founded her blog, State of Dinner, in 2020, after almost 20 years in the food and beverage industry. She enjoys developing mostly from scratch recipes that bring comfort to her family, without spending all day in the kitchen. She quadrupled her blog traffic year over year by getting clear on what was essential and letting go of everything else. In this episode, you'll learn how to decide on tasks that will help increase your traffic most, which tasks are less important and using discipline and time management techniques to stay on track. - Are you getting the right things done to move the needle in your business? - Decide which skills you need to develop most to increase your traffic. - Make a list of things that you will NOT do. - Can you use outsourcing to help free up your time? - Have discipline to stay on track by knowing your WHY. - How do you plan your week to align with your priorities? - Set time boundaries to complete your priorities for the week. - How to deal with distractions. Connect with Erin Gierhart Website | Instagram

In episode 385, Megan chats to Katalin Nagy about extra revenue streams for our blogs, specifically how to monetize online baking classes and other skills. Katalin started her food blog, Spatula Desserts, in spring 2020 during the lockdown. She loved baking and teaching people how to bake, but at the start, she didn't know anything about SEO, search consoles, or the importance of keywords. She quickly picked up an avid desire to learn more about the industry in 2021. She began to monetize her blog in October 2021 via Mediavine. From there, Katalin found joy in creating live and pre-recorded baking classes in 2022 to further showcase her passion for baking with her audience and create a new revenue stream, all while working full-time for a corporate company. In this episode, you'll learn more about how we can monetize our skills by teaching them to others, for example through online baking classes, and why this is good for our blogging careers. - Gain more traffic through online baking courses. - What are the advantages of live baking classes versus pre-recorded? - When you record live classes, you can resell those to generate passive income. - What should you do if you're afraid of public speaking? - It is more secure to have at least two sources of income. - Discipline over motivation will bring you closer to your goal each day. Connect with Katalin Nagy Website | Instagram

In episode 384, Caro Jensen teaches us four easy steps to build a strong food brand, stand out from the crowd and offer maximum value to our readers. Caro is a seasoned marketing professional who has worked in the food and wine space for over a decade. As a Brand and PR Manager in the wine industry she's worked with bloggers directly and via agencies. She's also connected bloggers and brands as a marketing consultant and works as a food and wine content creator to build her own brand and channels. In this episode, you'll find out what branding is, why it is important for business growth and how to build a strong, identifiable and likable brand. - Branding is not just your logo. - With SEO being popular, individuality is more important than ever. - Find your brand mission and create a vision board. - How do you want to serve your reader? - Why did you start your blog? - A tag line helps others to understand quickly what you do. - Create a mood board for your brand. - Formalize your brand feel in a style guide. - Decide what photography and videography style you want to use. - What writing style will you use? - Being on brand should allow you to be yourself. - Be consistent with your branding on all platforms. Connect with Caro Jensen Website | Instagram

In episode 383, Sarah Holt teaches us how to make a full-time income creating recipes, making videos and doing photography for food brands while blogging. Sarah has been a food blogger for almost 3 years at Real Food with Sarah. After years of struggling with keyword research and SEO, she is excited to be close to reaching her goal of qualifying for Mediavine in the next few months. While Sarah's blog is growing, she was successful in focusing a lot on freelance and sponsored brand work this year and has so far made 15x more than she made in 2021. Sarah only has a following of 2200 on Instagram so she's showing it can be done. In this episode, you will learn how Sarah selects brands she wants to collaborate with, how she pitches them and tips for pricing yourself that will make you feel valued as a freelancer. - Find a brand's gaps when planning your pitch. - Decide on the brand's individual needs before working out pricing. - What are red flags when it comes to pricing and when should you walk away? - Should you let go of brand work that you don't enjoy? - Will brands work with you if you have a small following on Instagram? - Follow up on any pitches you've sent. - Don't be scared to invest in your business. Connect with Sarah Holt Website | Instagram

In episode 382, Megan chats to Bobbie Blue about why investing in ourselves and our business from the beginning will help us reach our goals quicker and with less stress. Bobbie Blue lives in Florida with her husband and step-daughter. She started the blog, Blue's Best Life in 2018, however it had no focus and she wrote about everything from fitness, being a step-mom to healthy recipes. Bobbie's ears perked up and she finally took the advice from the blogging community and niched down. But it wasn't until 2020 that it became clear that food blogging was her true passion. She fell in love with recipe development and food photography and dove into that. Bobbie shares her blogging journey, exploring some of the key mistakes she made at the start and how she invested in herself and her business to turn her blog into a money-making business. - What game-changing improvements can you make in your blogging kit (e.g. photography equipment, photography courses)? - How can you create a second source of income? - Is there a way to improve your writing style? - Have you niched down? - Find a like-minded community of people who can support you. - Learn from the blogging mistakes you make at the start. - Who can you contact to be a blogging mentor? Connect with Bobbie Blue Website | Instagram

In episode 381, Megan chats to Erica Hopper about ways in which you can apply your previous work experience to improve your blogging skills. Erica, the creator behind the sugar + salt co., uses nearly 2 decades of professional culinary experience to create mostly gluten free, veggie forward recipes that anyone can make and the whole family will love. Erica has worked in all areas of the "food biz", and for the last couple of years has enjoyed developing her own blog, diving into the world of food photography and recipe development, and really found she loves developing relationships with brands and clients to help them tell their stories. In this episode, you'll learn about time management, keeping motivated, social media management and applying other skills you might have learned in the past to improve your blog today. - Break down your tasks into digestible chunks throughout the day. - Be flexible when your schedule doesn't go according to plan. - Take a step back from social media and avoid comparing yourself to others. - What skills did you learn in previous jobs? - How can you apply these skills to blogging? - Outsource where you can to see your creativity flow more easily. - Everyone has something valuable to share. Connect with Erica Hopper Website | Instagram

In episode 380, Megan chats to Shani Whisonant about how she turned her blog into a lucrative baking academy and bootcamp. Shani is the creator behind Begin with Butter, a baking education platform. It started as a baking blog in 2021, and she's now grown it to include the Begin with Butter Home Baking Academy. She uses this platform to host live and pre-recorded baking classes to help home bakers and cottage bakers reach their baking potential. Shani enjoys demystifying baking for people by teaching them tips and techniques that help them become more consistent and confident in the kitchen. In this episode, find out how you can make more of an impact by teaching people the skills you've learned while growing your blog, specifically from a place of love and with an authentic desire to help others. You'll also learn about the logistics of organizing baking or cooking classes online. - Approach a business idea from a place of love and service. - Balance writing about what you love with the things that'll make you rank higher. - Bring your authentic self, then your audience will find you. - Approach your business from a space of gratitude. - Have a team to support you as you expand your blog into a business. - Why is it crucial to believe that you're on the right path? - How do you set up an online academy and what platforms work well for teaching? - You can effectively and organically market your classes through social media. Connect with Shani Whisonant Website | Instagram

In episode 379, Brooke Harmer teaches us how to monetize our blogs before hitting 50,000 pageviews. Explore 7 strategies ranked in order of difficulty and time required. Brooke launched her food blog in March 2020, because she knew she could work from home and still be a full time mom. However, after her son was born, she struggled to keep up with the demands of the job and constantly felt discouraged that despite her best efforts, she still hadn't hit 50,000 monthly pageviews. Instead of focusing on what she didn't have, she honed in on the time and talents she DID have and began to monetize her business in other creative ways, even while raising her 6 month old son by herself for a time. She has since self-published two cookbooks, landed 5-figure brand deals, and hired her first employee. In this episode, you'll learn about additional sources of income for your blog, from easy ways to earn money through affiliate marketing and more intense methods like brand work and online courses. - Focus on the qualitative aspects of your business instead of the quantitative. - How do you create the habits that will help you monetize? - What is the best way to go about affiliate marketing? - Email marketing gives you full control of your audience. - Sponsor work for a brand requires more time but allows you to make more money. - What is the difference between sponsor work and freelance work? - Why do unpaid speaking gigs help your business grow? - Digital products can help expand your brand and help your audience. - Are online courses and coaching worth investing time in? Connect with Brooke Harmer Website | Instagram

In episode 378, Megan chats to Zhen Zhou about how her experience in business school translated into her blogging career and how that has helped her succeed. Zhen blogs about cooking up flavorful South East Asian recipes for her audience because she can't stand bland food. She also occasionally shares about the life of a food blogger. She shares her story of going from doing an MBA in London to starting a food blog as a way to reach more people with her creative work on the Internet. In this episode, you'll learn more about Zhen's top five lessons from business school, including what helps you succeed in one field won't necessarily help you get to the next level, invest in your blog like a real business, the importance of diversification, lean into what is uncomfortable and think about the consumer. - Set different goals to adapt to your blogging journey and the next step of success. - Should you focus on RPMs more than keywords? - What you don't pay for in money, you pay for in time. - Invest in courses that will help move your blog to the next level. - Ways to diversify in traffic sources and income. - If your ranking gets affected on Google, having diverse sources of traffic is useful. - There is a payoff in doing what feels uncomfortable, like being a guest on a podcast. - Imagine yourself in the consumer's shoes - do you need to adapt your marketing for your ideal audience? Connect with Zhen Zhou Website | Instagram

In episode 377, Jamie Silva teaches us strategies that we can use to grow our blog business without relying on Instagram. Jamie quit a safe and secure full-time job in 2016 and started A Sassy Spoon, her food blog. Two years later, Jamie began making a full-time income (from $0 to $85k in 2 years). Today, she's making over six figures from various income streams (close to $100k from ad revenue alone). Jamie focuses on coaching food bloggers on how to grow and manage their food blogs so they can turn them into a full-time business in less time. If you're feeling frustrated with Instagram right now (or another social media network), this episode will show you how to make progress without the need to rely on that platform. Jamie shares why she stopped posting regularly on Instagram, what she does instead and how this impacts her business and wellbeing positively. - The attraction and trap of Instagram is chasing likes, shares and views. - For the time spent, how much ROI do you get from posting reels? - Instead of posting on Instagram, how can you spend your time differently? - Going back to the basics is invaluable. - Audit your blog and reevaluate your niche. - Can you land sponsorship deals without Instagram? - Make your largest traffic source organic search by paying attention to SEO. - Be intentional with key words and establishing E-A-T for a bigger ROI than Instagram. - Be transparent and negotiate carefully when discussing brand sponsorship contracts. - Do all brands care about Instagram followers and engagement? Connect with Jamie Silva Website | Instagram

In episode 376, Megan chats to Nadalie Bardo about why we are losing potential traffic opportunities by not exploring Pinterest more and which Pinterest strategies work the best for growth. Nadalie is a Pinterest coach dedicated to helping blogs, brands, and businesses like yours achieve their goals of more traffic, more subscribers, and more sales. Achieving 1M views on Pinterest since her very first month for her personal development blog, It's All You Boo, she's grown her email list to 14K subscribers and has sold 1000s of copies of her digital products and courses. As a Pinterest Coach, Nadalie has taught thousands of creators how to market their blogs, businesses, and brands on Pinterest. In this episode, learn why you should be immersing yourself in Pinterest marketing and how to balance new features like Idea Pins and Video Pins with your Static pins to drive maximum traffic to your website. - Food and recipes is the biggest niche on Pinterest. - New space is opening up as old users are dropping off from Pinterest. - Great images are your edge on Pinterest. - Which type of pin will drive most of your traffic? - Use pins as trailers for your website. - What are the best practices for Pinterest in 2023? - Make the most of Pinterest Trends to map out your recipes according to seasons. - Market your Pinterest account outside of the platform. - How can you optimize SEO for Pinterest? - Promotion is almost as important if not more important than just creating. Connect with Nadalie Bardo Website | Instagram

In episode 375, Megan chats to Tim Schmoyer about expert strategies to optimize our YouTube channels for easy discovery and growth in 2023. Since 2011, Tim Schmoyer has been one of the leading YouTube strategists in the online video industry. His company, Video Creators, has been featured by FOX, Forbes, BBC even YouTube themselves as his team trains creators and brands to master YouTube and use it as a place to spread messages that change lives. Their clients have organically grown by over 20 billion views and 81 millions subscribers under their guidance. In this episode, you'll learn more about YouTube search, discovery systems and YouTube's goals in general so that you can optimize your channel to get discovered more and increase your subscribers. - What are YouTube's goals and how can you align your channel with that? - How much do keywords and viewing time impact your discoverability on YouTube> - Content on YouTube has become completely customized. - Optimize your content for your ideal audience - think how will they respond? - How do you spark curiosity and create intrigue? - Create title, thumbnail and first couple of seconds before you create your content. - Should you request viewers to subscribe, like and comment? - Take the approach: Hang out in the kitchen with me while I cook. - When analyzing your content, think how can I improve my game? Connect with Tim Schmoyer Website | Instagram

In episode 374, Andrea Liebross teaches us effective strategies for long-term planning, making it less daunting, doable and fun. Learn how two become clear on what you want to achieve and how you're going to make it happen in 2023. Andrea is a coach, speaker, podcast host, and soon to be published author who is known for helping bold, ambitious women make clear, confident decisions, so that they get exactly what they want, every time, and not just add another thing to their to-do list. Andrea's clients become "I've got this" kind of women by creating their own custom secret sauce for success in both life and business; the sauce has just two ingredients - the right mindset and solid systems. In this episode, find out how to shift your mindset about annual planning, set SMARTER goals, get over your fear of failure and think honestly about how you want to grow in life and business. - Why are we daunted by long-term planning? - Our fear of not achieving goals often prevents us from making them in the first place. - In life and business, ask yourself: What do you value most? - Start your vision with 10 years - where will you be? - How do you see yourself evolving as your business grows? - Set SMARTER goals. - Do you truly celebrate reaching your goals? - Partner with someone when you go through your future vision. - Spend half of your energy on mindset and half of your energy on your goals. - A plan helps you focus on what you need to do to move forward faster. Connect with Andrea Loss Website | Instagram

In episode 373, Megan chats to Chandice Probst about the importance of networking to grow your business and how your business community can help you succeed. Chandice Probst is the business partner and sponsor director of Tastemaker Conference, which is the premier food blogger conference and community for food content creators. It is a place where food bloggers and content creators make contact with incredible brands and foodies. Based on Chandice's experience of Tastemaker Conference, and making lifelong connections in a community of like-minded creatives, in this episode, you'll find out more about every aspect of networking. This includes everything from reaching out to someone on Instagram to networking with competition and making the most of an in-person event. - What is the best networking method? - In-person and virtual conferences are worthwhile investments. - Find the right conference for you. - Why do food bloggers need community? - What are the best ways to connect outside of conferences? - Do not focus on isolating yourself from competition. - Focus on building a support group, even within your niche. - Overcome fear of reaching out to somebody and asking for help. - What happens at Tastemaker Conference and why can it make a difference to your business?

In episode 372, Casey Markee gives us his best SEO predictions for 2023, describing the bigger picture and what we should be thinking about as we create our content in the new year. Speaker, writer, and trainer, Casey Markee, is the founder of digital consultancy company Media Wyse. He is a well-known SEO professional with 20+ years of experience. Casey has trained SEO teams on five different continents, he has spoken at over 100 conferences, and he has worked with thousands of bloggers in the Food, Lifestyle and Travel niches. He also collects comic books, enjoys watching trashy reality TV with his wife Tifany, and he believes bacon should be its own food group. In this episode, you'll learn exactly what to look out for when it comes to SEO in 2023, including how to deal with new Google updates, how visual content is going to have a major impact on your Google rankings going forward, keywords versus entities and the importance of E-A-T. - What should you know about the Helpful Content Update? - Product reviews should be unique. - What does Google prefer: Quantity or Quality? - Tips to rank for visual content. - What is the difference between entities and keywords? - How to optimize for semantic SEO for higher rankings - Ranking categories: Navigational, Informational, Transactional and Commercial - Target featured snippets on Google (quick answers to questions) - What to know about E-A-T optimization? - Google ranks according to 2 factors: 1) relevant scoring, and 2) a quality assessment. - How can podcast guesting help your E-A-T? - Why should you consider openly supporting a social cause on your blog? Connect with Casey Markee Website | LinkedIn

In episode 371, Megan chats to Vanessa Mota about how to niche down, finding the ideal topic for your blog, and why this can increase traffic and income. Vanessa Mota is an award-winning food photographer and nationally recognized content creator. Her love for food led her to create My Dominican Kitchen, a bilingual platform with traditional Dominican recipes and Latin-inspired meals for home cooks, as a way to preserve her family's recipes and share with the world the flavors of la comida criolla. In this episode, you'll learn about the benefits of having a specific niche for your food blog and what to focus on when deciding your niche. - Make everything clear for yourself and your readers. - Who is your reader and how do you help them? - Develop a content strategy that is SEO-focused. - Ask your audience what they're struggling with as the base for your content strategy. - Build trust with your reader. - What is your top content on your blog and social media? - Learn from your competition. - A specific niche helps you create specific products you can sell. Connect with Vanessa Mota Website | Instagram

In episode 370, Jenna Gibbons teaches us techniques to take care of our wellbeing, our family and improve our productivity while turning a passion project into a business. Jenna is a stay-at-home mom and founder of the Whole Mama business and non-profit, Hickory Hill Farm. In 2016, living on a small farm in Nashville, Jenna decided to devote her time to her boys and started the Whole Mama business after feeling frustrated with the dynamics of public education. The Whole Mama business and international podcast began in 2020 to help mamas break free from the chaos in education and bravely start homeschooling with the tools and confidence they need to raise happy, healthy, and well-rounded kiddos. In this episode, you'll learn how to turn a passion project into a business, especially when you're a full-time, homeschooling parent, including strategies to keep yourself motivated and productive. - How should you start off your day in order to feel energized? - Who you choose to hang out with makes a huge difference whether as a homeschool mom or business owner. - Have daily reminders to help keep you on track on hard and good days. - How do you fill your cup emotionally and spiritually? - Is hustling really the key to success? - Part of your journey is discovering your purpose. - Do one thing at a time and set yourself realistic goals. Connect with Jenna Gibbons Website | Instagram

In episode 369, Megan chats to IP specialist and attorney, Maria Spear Ollis, about protecting our recipes and images online. Maria Spear Ollis is an attorney bringing peace of mind to content creators when it comes to IP protection, contracts, and internet law. Her goal is to help her clients before "it" hits the fan so that if setbacks happen, they'll bounce back faster. When Maria isn't hammering away at a copyright issue or recording a YouTube video, you can catch her dancing to Motown hits with her two sons, cooking with her husband, learning about herbs and medicinal plants, or hollering at her dog to get down from the couch. In this episode, you'll learn more about how to protect your intellectual property (i.e. recipes and images), the essentials of Internet law and why it is important for your business. - How can you protect a recipe that several people make? - Which aspects make a recipe unique to you? - What is the history of your recipe? - The story behind the food is critical for IP protection. - Can you protect ingredient lists? - What should food bloggers know about the Trade Secrets Law and when is it applicable to them? - Can I reference someone or something famous in my recipe name? - How do I protect my blog images? Connect with Maria Spear Ollis Website | Instagram

In episode 368, Meredith Kruse teaches us 10 strategies for sustainable side-hustling and why we don't have to quit our full-time job to be successful food bloggers. Meredith is the photographer, recipe developer, and voice behind the blog, Our Love Language is Food. She also works full-time in the commercial construction industry in addition to her food and photography business. Many of her favorite memories were made around a big table sharing food that everyone helped to prepare in her tight-knit family. She started Our Love Language is Food to help aspiring cooks and bakers feel confident in the kitchen so they can bring these types of experiences into their home too. In 2022, Meredith turned her passion for food and photography into a thriving side hustle, booking client work equal to nearly half the value of her day-job salary by mid-year in 2022. In this episode, she shares what she does differently to achieve success in food blogging and photography while maintaining a healthy work-life balance with her full-time job. - Money from a side-hustle can be used for a variety of expenses. - Having a baseline of income removes the pressure of making money from your blog. - It gives you more time to grow an audience and invest in courses and gear. - Get rid of should's in your life in general and prioritize what's going to help you most. - What does it mean to set realistic goals? - What will you sacrifice when you start a side-hustle? - Should you take on free jobs or only select paid jobs? - Manage your work-life balance and success according to what makes you happy. - How can multitasking help you complete tasks for your side-hustle? - Mindset can put you in the right frame of mind to work towards success. - What does self-care really mean and how can it help you? Connect with Meredith Kruse Website | Instagram

In episode 367, Megan chats to Jessica Fisher about rising grocery prices and how to do food shopping for your blog in an economical way without sacrificing quality or taste. Jessica Fisher is a cookbook author and food writer at Good Cheap Eats. She enjoys helping people who want to save time and money so they can enjoy stress-free meals. In the last recession, she and her husband made a decision to live more economically and manage their finances more wisely in order to pay off a 60K debt and have more financial freedom, all while keeping their six kids fed and clothed. In this episode, she shares the Good Cheap Eats system as a way to deal with rising grocery prices, giving us tips to eat great and make enjoyable recipes without breaking the bank. - The Good Cheap Eats system has 7 steps to save money when buying groceries. - Use inventories for the contents in freezers and fridges. - How can you do your future self a favour? - If you want to prepare a frugal meal, don't make a trip to the grocery store, check what you already have. - As food bloggers, explain what ingredients are readily available and affordable. - Build your meal plans around what is affordable. - Scout out the most economical stores. - Should you shop from clearance sections? - How to avoid food waste. - Cook from scratch when it matters: do you want to save time or money? Connect with Jessica Fisher Website | Instagram

In episode 366, Kate Ahl teaches us strategies to use Pinterest effectively and grow our reach as food bloggers. Kate Ahl is the founder of Simple Pin Media. She has been helping businesses discover, learn and master Pinterest marketing for over 7 years. She combines the data learned from working with clients, education from Pinterest, and her knowledge of the platform to help people expand the reach of their business using Pinterest. Her mantra is to keep it simple, be authentic, and Pin with purpose. She also hosts her own show, Simple Pin podcast. In this episode, you'll find out how to adapt to Pinterest's updates as we wrap up Q4. Kate dives into getting maximum exposure for your content, repurposing and incorporating video on Pinterest and effective ways to use new features like Idea Pins. - Q4 is the time to get max exposure for your content depending on your niche. - Look at your traffic patterns to predict what content will do well when. - Select strategies based on your expectations of Pinterest. - Experiment with changes to determine what is the best strategy for you. - When repurposing content, make sure you adapt it to the platform. - Remember the pinner is in a 'delight and surprise me' mindset. - An Idea Pin is a hybrid of an Instagram Story and a Reel. - What are effective ways to use Idea Pins and how to use Pinterest trends? - Is it worthwhile to put videos on Pinterest? Connect with Kate Ahl Website | Instagram

In episode 365, Megan chats to Kristen Bousquet about how food bloggers can successfully work with brands, negotiate win-win contracts and build long-term relationships with their dream company. Kristen Bousquet is social media expert, a Charlotte-based content creator and influencer coach at Your Soulcialmate with a goal of educating entrepreneurial creators on how to turn their online influence into a profitable, self-sustaining business through her podcast, community FB group, and coaching programs. She wants creators to learn how to be successful digital business owners while keeping the "soul" in "soulcial media". In this episode, she shares invaluable information about how to approach brands for sponsored work, the importance of building an organic relationship and what to look out for when negotiating contracts. - Essential steps to take before you consider approaching a brand. - Warm up the brand by engaging with them on social media. - Pick the time to pitch a brand wisely: are you at a peak with your social media engagement? - Write your bio with brand work in mind - explain what you do in 10 words or less. - Why cold-pitching is ineffective. - Use the anti-pitch method. - Building an authentic relationship is the best way to open up the possibility of collaboration. - Make yourself part of the team and other tips to continue building a sustainable relationship. Connect with Kristen Bousquet Website | Instagram

In episode 364, Megan chats to Claire Woodhouse about how to self-publish a cookbook, including all the logistical details of printing and selling books online all by yourself. Claire is a stay-at-home mom of 2 who loves creating nourishing, delicious, and simple recipes that don't break the bank when it comes to healthy baking. She started the healthy baking blog, Secretly Healthy Home, 2.5 years ago and also runs an intuitive eating membership called, The Smart Sweet Tooth, in which she teaches ladies how to find balance and peace with food. Claire also sells online courses and resources that have helped her achieve a solid passive income for her family. In this episode, Claire breaks down the logistics of self-publishing a cookbook into achievable steps, sharing tips that you won't find easily anywhere else. - How to choose a marketable topic and how many recipes do you need? - Pros and cons of using Canva to design your cookbook. - What size font is best? - Amazon is not the only platform to self-publish your book. - Cost-effective ways to print your cookbook. - How to make sure that there is profit when printing and shipping your cookbook. - Giving people an incentive to review the book. - Free strategies to market your cookbook. Connect with Claire Woodhouse Website | Instagram

In episode 363, Andrea Hundley shares six ways to think outside of the box when it comes to blogging. These are unique strategies that can potentially help you grow and keep you motivated. Andrea is the creator behind Design Morsels. She has been writing about decorating and design for the last 4 years. Andrea successfully joined Mediavine after two years by focusing on low-competition keywords and SEO and has seen her traffic greatly increase since embracing Rank IQ. Since then, Andrea trained a VA to update old content inside the tool to keep the momentum going. In this episode, using her insight from blogging in a different niche, she explains six unusual strategies to grow our blogs, encouraging us to approach blogging from a new perspective in general. - Can you rank for topics outside of your niche, especially non-recipe content? - What are good options for non-recipe content? - Delegate more, even when you believe you can do the tasks better. - Should we always listen to everything experts say in our field? - Invest your time wisely - focus on what you're good at and what you enjoy. - Find communities and experts to learn from outside of your niche. - How can spending time on personal development impact our blogs and businesses? - Focus on passive income strategies instead of followers. Connect with Andrea Hundley Website | Instagram

In episode 362, Bree Pair teaches us about batching and how time-management tools like this can be game-changers for food bloggers. Bree Pair is a coach for bloggers and entrepreneurs. Her company, Thrive, educates and empowers bloggers and influencers to build their brands so that they have financial freedom and the flexibility to live their lives to the fullest. She's passionate about helping female entrepreneurs live out their dreams and helping them with the strategy to do so. In this episode, you'll find out what batching is, how to adapt it to your life to save time and get more done and what other time-management techniques are useful to implement for a greater work-life balance. - What are the different batching techniques? - Once you've started a task, you can keep your flow going through batching. - Why does batching allow us to save more time? - Think of ways to motivate you to batch, because in the long run it will save you time. - Tips on how you can break down tasks to make batching work for you. - Do your timelines make you feel rushed or stressed out? - What boundaries do you need to set around your work to live the life you want? Connect with Bree Pair Website | Instagram

In episode 361, Megan chats to Taran Conwell about hiring a mother's helper so that you can carve out more time for blogging. Taran is the host of the podcast the Undomestic Mom, which forms part of her mission to dismantle the watered-down version of self-care in today's motherhood. She coaches millennial moms and takes them from survival mode to thriving mode by helping them create and implement their own self-care routines and find fulfillment outside of motherhood. Taran became passionate about helping mothers live fulfilling, balanced lives after experiencing mom burnout. In this episode, she explains the ROI of hiring a mother's helper, including saving money, having more time to focus on your blog and feeling more refreshed during family time. - Why is hiring a mother's helper more economical than hiring a VA? - It can be more beneficial, especially if you're a new blogger. - Will it help you be more intentional and get more work done in a shorter amount of time? - How do you find a mother's helper? - Lay out your expectations clearly (i.e. phone usage during their hours). - Hiring help can lend legitimacy to your business. - What age group should the mother's helper be and how does this impact their work? - Best interviewing practice to find the best fit for you. Connect with Taran Conwell Website | Instagram

In episode 360, Kimberly Espinel reveals 5 photography styling tips that will take our food photography to the next level and she teaches us how to develop a unique visual identity for our food blogs. Kimberly is a London-based, award-winning editorial and commercial food photographer, bestselling author, educator and creative business mentor. She runs a thriving food photography business and has created content for many brands including Sony, KitchenAid and more. She is also the host of the podcast, Eat, Capture, Share, focusing on how bloggers can progress in their careers by developing an original impactful visual identity. In this episode, find out first-hand how you can do the same. - Tips to work with light and shadow to maximize the depth and impact of your photos. - Color theory is an essential part of defining your unique style. - Be intentional with your color. - What are presets and how to use them to save time and create different photography looks. - Choose the correct equipment to compliment your style. - Expand your food styling composition to set yourself apart. - Think of the story that you're telling through your photography. - How can a unique look help you grow your audience and business? Connect with Kimberly Espinel Website | Instagram

In episode 359, Megan chats to Sally Aleckson about why being a part-time food blogger can help cultivate your passion. Sally started food blogging in 2014 and since then has gone through a rebrand and a complete overhaul of her site to what you can see today on Eight Forest Lane. Despite not having the same financial success and traffic as others who have been doing it for less time, she keeps going because she loves it. In this episode, she shares her journey and why she decided to blog as a hobby instead of making it a full-time job. Learn about the advantages of being a part-time blogger and why this will cultivate your passion and why knowing that your bills are paid can allow you to create more freely. - Is your blogging journey resonating with your personality? - Learn from others but follow your own unique path. - What do you have to spend your time on versus what you want to spend your time on? - Why do we lose joy when we make our passion a full-time job? - Use your blog to learn new skills and transfer these into a career that you love. - Have the freedom to create knowing your bills are paid. - Choose the path that aligns closely with your values and why you started food blogging in the first place. Connect with Sally Aleckson Website | Instagram

In episode 358, Megan chats to Lauren Klein about how to pursue blogging as a hobby while still making money. Lauren is a professional dietician, who started her food blog, Piece of Lulu, mainly as a hobby and shares original recipes as well as a wealth of wellness and nutrition content. She found the process of developing her blog and helping her readers understand how to live healthier lives, extremely rewarding. In this episode, find out how to also have a rewarding experience and develop a successful food blog, while still making money yet not having the pressure of earning a full-time income. - How much time should you put into a hobby blog to make it lucrative? - Which areas are most important to focus on with limited time? - Write from inspiration and not obligation. - Break up tasks into small, easily doable steps. - Balance SEO relevant posts with what you're passionate about. - Build a community on a social media platform of your choice. Connect with Lauren Klein Website | Instagram

In episode 357, Olivia Parsons teaches us how to fit video into our food blogging workflow, cutting down on production time while seeing the same gains as everyone else. Olivia Parsons is gluten-free foodie and the creator behind Liv Gluten-Free food blog. She believes anyone with a dietary requirement should be able to enjoy good food. Sharing a variety of sweet and savory gluten-free recipes, Olivia dived head first into the food blogging world at the beginning of the pandemic. From the start, she focused on efficient workflows, adapting to trends and creating quality recipes, photography and video content. In this episode, find out how to incorporate different video styles into your workflow to grow on social media. - Best way to streamline the process with video and photos. - What are the different ways of videoing a recipe? - Keep it quick, these are more likely to go viral. - Use behind the scenes videos for maximum effect (engagement and interest) - Entertain, inspire and educate your audience on TikTok. - How do we adapt our video to different platforms? - Time-saving equipment hacks. Connect with Olivia Parsons Website | Instagram

In episode 356, Megan chats to Bita and Beata about leveraging your blog for new opportunities using podcasts. Bita Arabian and Beata Nazem Kelley are two food bloggers who co-host the podcast, Modern Persian Food. Bita / Beata means 'unique' and in the podcast the duo share their unique approach to cooking and eating Persian food and how to incorporate the rich flavors and fresh ingredients into today's modern lifestyle. Both started out working on their individual blogs and then teamed up to launch their podcast with which they've been nominated for awards and reached amazing milestones. In this episode, they discuss how they've used their blog niche to create a unique podcast with great potential to grow their business and to stay connected to their audience. - Podcasts is an extension of your blog. - It offers a different way to stay connected. - What kind of opportunities can you expect by starting a podcast? - Audio is about inspiring others and being inspired. - Using audio, you can share a combination of guest expertise or your own. - As a new field, podcasts still offer the chance for new bloggers to stand out. - Take time to plan in order to be consistent. Connect with Bita and Beata Website | Instagram

In episode 355, Megan chats to Jodi Danen about pivoting away from focusing on clients to working for yourself. She delves into the advantages of dedicating all your time to your own blog and some of the drawbacks of making that shift. Jodi is a registered dietician and founder of Create Kids Club, a food blog for easy gluten-free kids meals and family meals. She is also the author of Super Simple Cooking for Kids. In this episode, Jodi talks about knowing when to pivot away from focusing on client work to focusing on reaching your own goals. While clients are a good way to start earning an income, eventually if you want to grow your blog, you need to decide which way you want to go. Find out when is the right time and what are the main considerations when you make this shift. - It is important to decide: What is your goal? - Financially, is it viable to shift away from client work? - Burn out is possible when balancing client work and your own blog. - You can always keep some clients for additional income. - Being focused on your own blog will allow you to grow quicker. - Regular posting and keyword research is the route to more income. - What should you do first when you decrease client work? Connect with Jodi Danen Website | Instagram