Three Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting My Food Blog
The past five years have represented an epicurean explosion in the online world, where countless new food blogs are launched every single day. Whether you're new to the digital food space or are a seasoned pro, there are inevitable lessons to learn about the pros and cons of pushing your passion from the confines of your kitchen to the public pages of the Internet.
When I launched my food blog Just a Taste, I admittedly had little understanding of what was needed to maintain a successful blog, from technical knowledge and financial resources to photography skills and social media prowess. Four years later, my blog has become more than a casual hobby, inspiring me to author Food Blogging For Dummies to share my experience and knowledge with others. Although I learned by trial and error, there's no need for you to repeat my same mistakes. Here are three things I wish I'd known before launching my food blog:
1. Embrace Editing
The concept of wordcount seems to disappear faster than a tray of hot chocolate chip cookies in an online world where page space is seemingly endless. But it's important to remember to never fear the red pen! As a blogger, you're your own editor, and the biggest advantage you can give yourself is to embrace the editing process. Remember my editing mantra, "Follow your gut and never be afraid to cut."
2. Avoid an Obsession with the Numbers
It's easy to get lost in measuring your blog's success by the numbers – be it ad revenue, page views or unique visitors. But the more you stress about traffic, the less authentic your blog will be because you'll spend more time trying to read your audience's mind than producing high-quality content.
3. Back Up Your Blog
It may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but backing up your blog is one of the most crucial steps you can take to avoid the devastating realization that a technical glitch has somehow erased all of your days/weeks/months/years of work. It takes all of five minutes to back up your blog, and it saves you potential heartache.
These three things are just the start of a long list of lessons I've learned, fortunately, or unfortunately, via trial and error. If you're interested in learning more about mastering the art of food blogging, including food photography and styling, how to increase traffic and making a profit from your blog, join me at ICE for my course, Taking Your Food Blog to the Next Level, on Thursday, December 6 for an intensive 3-hour training on transforming your blog from a casual hobby to a successful business.
Add new comment