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In episode 611, Sena Wheeler teaches us the importance of email marketing for business growth, sharing her strategy of sending personalized, value-driven emails.
Sena Wheeler is part of a 5th generation fishing family and the co-founder of Sena Sea, which brings wild Alaskan seafood direct to your door. She's passionate about sustainability, helping busy families eat healthier and educating people about the brain-boosting benefits of wild fish. She has a master’s degree in Nutrition and Food Science with a specialty in quantifying omega 3's in fish and determining preferred handling practices for premium quality. She and her husband enjoy running this family business together, spending part of the year in Alaska and having the flexibility to enjoy watching her children participate in their school sports, and of course, eating and cooking fish!
In this episode, you’ll learn about the benefits of leveraging personal stories in email, building a quality email list and its long-term value and stability compared to social media platforms.
Key points discussed:
- Consistency is key: Consistently sending emails, even if they are not perfect, is more important than trying to create a masterpiece every time.
- Offer value upfront: Providing a free downloadable cookbook or other valuable content can help attract and retain subscribers.
- Understand your audience: Identifying and addressing your audience's pain points, such as how to cook the product, can help you create content that resonates.
- Embrace selling: Don't be afraid to include a sales pitch in your emails, as your subscribers are there because they are interested in your product or service.
- Personalize your content: Sharing personal stories, photos, and updates can help build a stronger connection with your audience.
- Leverage collaborations: Partnering with other influencers or bloggers can help you expand your reach and provide value to your audience.
- Maintain an engaged list: Focus on building a list of engaged subscribers rather than a large list of uninterested people.
- Use a content calendar: Planning your email topics and themes in advance can help you stay organized and efficient.
Connect with Sena Wheeler
Website | Instagram
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In this episode, we're going to talk about 5 traits of high achievers and how to incorporate similar habits into our lives.
When you spend time with inspiring, high-quality individuals, you suddenly notice traits that would be well-worth adopting. I attended a conference earlier this year where I noticed such high-achieving individuals. I observed five distinct things that set them apart and helped lead them to success as business owners. Here is how you can incorporate similar strategies to elevate your own personal and professional success.
Action Plan:
1 - Avoid negativity: High achievers refuse to engage in criticism, gossip, cynicism, and complaining, as these behaviors can be draining and unproductive.
2 - Embrace challenges: You should be open to receiving and giving challenges and questions from others, as this can lead to valuable insights and personal growth.
3 - Celebrate failure: Failure should be viewed as a necessary step towards success, and high achievers wear it as a badge of honor, encouraging you to take bigger risks.
4 - Prioritize learning: Dedicating time each day to learning, whether through books, podcasts, or other resources, can help you stay focused, motivated, and on track with your goals.
5 - Establish routines: Incorporating daily routines into your life, even if they start small, can help you maintain productivity, focus, and a positive mindset.
Get in touch with Megan if there is a specific mindset and self-care topic you'd like her to cover.
Website | Instagram
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In episode 609, Megan chats to Allie Hagerty about how she grew her food blog from 750 page views a month to over 100,000 page views a month.
Allie has been food blogging since 2020, although she took a few years off. After being laid off from her full-time job as a new mom of a 4 week old, Allie decided to put all her energy back into reviving her old, crusty food blog. She started working on her new niche: new England and Mediterranean dishes (think fresh, minimalistic ingredients made delicious) in November '23. Allie had maybe 400 sessions monthly. Today, in June 2024, she has almost 75K sessions and is on MediaVine! Allie hunkered down, worked hard, and eliminated distractions like Instagram. She is proof that SEO is NOT dead.
In this episode, you’ll learn about Allie’s strategies for creating content clusters, optimizing SEO, and maintaining consistency to achieve rapid blog growth.
Key points discussed:
- Focus on content clusters: You should focus on creating content clusters around ingredients, recipes, or topics that you are passionate about and knowledgeable in.
- Prioritize quality over quantity: You should focus on creating high-quality, helpful content rather than just posting frequently.
- Embrace interlinking: You should interlink your related content to create a cohesive and easy-to-navigate website structure.
- Consistency is key: You should strive for consistency in your content creation and promotion efforts, even during challenging personal times.
- Adopt a positive mindset: You should approach your blog with the mindset that every post will rank highly, and trust the process.
- Build a supportive network: You should prioritize building relationships with other bloggers and mentors who can provide guidance and support.
- Pursue high-quality backlinks: You should seek out opportunities to earn high-quality backlinks from reputable sources to improve your site's authority.
- Optimize your titles and metadata: You should craft compelling and informative titles and metadata to improve your content's visibility and click-through rates.
- Focus on your niche: You should focus on your unique expertise and niche, rather than trying to appeal to everyone or compete with others in your space.
Connect with Allie Hagerty
Website | Instagram
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In episode 608, Courtney Carey teaches us how to plan and organize the cookbook creation process while managing other life responsibilities.
Courtney Carey is the creator of Cake Me Home Tonight, a baking blog designed to help home bakers elevate their baking game! On her blog and social media, Courtney shares easy and delicious dessert recipes along with baking tips and tutorials to make baking fun and stress-free. Courtney recently released her debut cookbook, Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes, an 80's themed cookbook featuring cupcake recipes inspired by nostalgic and classic snacks and desserts. She enjoys sharing her love of all things dessert and all things 80's because there is nothing sweeter than nostalgia!
In this episode, you’ll learn more about the challenges of balancing a blog, job, and family while writing a cookbook and how to meet deadlines despite setbacks.
Key points discussed:
- Plan and organize thoroughly: Carefully evaluate your work style, schedule, and responsibilities to set yourself up for success when writing a cookbook.
- Break down the process: Create detailed checklists and spreadsheets to break the book-writing process into small, manageable tasks.
- Leverage your strengths: Allocate tasks based on when you feel most energized and productive to maximize your efficiency.
- Seek help from your support system: Don't be afraid to ask your family and friends for assistance to balance the workload.
- Outsource tasks you're less confident in: Consider hiring professionals for photography, editing, or other areas you may struggle with.
- Expect the unexpected: Be prepared to adapt when life throws curveballs.
- Embrace imperfection: Understand that perfection is unattainable, and focus on creating a high-quality product rather than striving for flawlessness.
- Take mental breaks: Recognize when you need to step away and recharge to avoid burnout and maintain your productivity.
- Prioritize your commitments: Be willing to temporarily scale back on other responsibilities to dedicate the necessary time and attention to the cookbook project.
Connect with Courtney Carey
Website | Instagram
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In this episode, we're going to talk about 5 strategies to be more consistent in your business in order to achieve more faster.
One of the things that have really served me well in my business is consistency. Consistent effort, even in small steps, leads to significant achievements over time. I help many food bloggers during planning calls on a monthly basis. What I find is that the ones who are consistent see results quicker than the ones who are not. If you are struggling with consistency and feel frustrated, the good news is you can teach yourself to be more consistent. Here are my top 5 strategies to improve consistency.
Action Plan:
1 - Identify your "why": Knowing your deeper motivation and emotional drivers can fuel your consistency in business.
2 - Track your time: Analyzing how you spend your time can reveal opportunities to improve efficiency and create more space for consistency.
3 - Implement systems: Developing predictable workflows and automating tasks can help you stay on track and free up mental energy.
4 - Seek accountability: Having someone or a group hold you responsible for your goals can push you to maintain consistency.
5 - Celebrate your wins: Acknowledging your progress, both big and small, can reinforce positive behaviors and keep you motivated.
Get in touch with Megan if there is a specific mindset and self-care topic you'd like her to cover.
Website | Instagram
Food Photography by Kristina Cadelina
Promote your food blogging services
Megan’s recommended books and resources
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Food photographer, Dyutima Jha, interviews Megan Porta about how to grow your business, becoming more successful, without working more hours. Originally published on Dyutima's podcast, My Food Lens.
Dyutima is an architect-turned commercial and editorial food photographer and podcaster based in Singapore. She is the first South Asian woman to host a food photography podcast, My Food Lens. After 15 years as an architect, designing healthcare facilities around the world, she found her passion in food styling & photography. Today, she has a successful business working with clients around the world and teaching other photographers how to do so as well.
In this episode, you’ll learn about powerful strategies to improve your mindset, increase productivity, and achieve better results in your food blogging businesses without burning out.
Key points discussed:
- Acknowledge the power of your mindset: Your mindset is a crucial factor in achieving success, and it's often underrated - recognizing the impact of your thoughts and beliefs can be a game-changer.
- Uncover and rewrite limiting beliefs: Many of the beliefs that hold you back are unconscious - identifying and rewriting these limiting beliefs can open up new possibilities for success.
- Focus on the positive: Where you focus your energy and attention will determine the outcomes you experience - shifting your focus to the positive can attract more positive results.
- Embrace change: Change is inevitable in business, and having a mindset that accepts and adapts to change can help you thrive during challenging times.
- Avoid comparison and persistence: Comparing yourself to others can lead to discouragement and quitting too soon - focusing on your own journey and persisting through setbacks is key.
- Start small and build confidence: Stepping out of your comfort zone can be daunting, but starting with small, manageable steps and gradually building up can help you become more confident and brave.
- Prioritize self-care and productivity: Taking care of your physical and mental well-being, as well as implementing effective time management strategies, can significantly boost your productivity and success.
- Create a nurturing work environment: Designing a comfortable and inspiring workspace can positively impact your mindset and productivity.
If You Loved This Episode...
Listen to Megan's interview with Dyutima Jha - Episode 540: How to Keep Readers on Your Page By Bringing Powerful Storytelling to Food Photos
Connect with Dyutima Jha
Website | Instagram
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In episode 606, Megan chats to Kris and Katie Kimball about their journey with The Blog Fixer, a service that helps WordPress bloggers automate technical tasks.
Kris Kimball is a software developer who left the corporate world of banking in 2015 to start the Blog Fixer. His company helps thousands of WordPress bloggers like his wife Katie automate the boring technical stuff so they can focus on what they love. Kris and Katie are full-time online entrepreneurs raising 4 kids, and they love hiking in the mountains and hate home improvement projects.
In this episode, you’ll learn about the common fixes for bloggers' sites and how Kris and Katie stay on top of relevant information to serve food bloggers' businesses.
Key points discussed:
- Automate tedious technical tasks: Chris Kimball developed The Blog Fixer plugin to help his wife Katie automate the process of adding no-follow attributes to hundreds of links on her blog, Kitchen Stewardship.
- The plugin makes permanent changes to blog content: Unlike other plugins that only make changes on load, The Blog Fixer makes permanent changes to the blog's content, ensuring the fixes remain even if the plugin is deactivated.
- Stay up-to-date with SEO changes: The Blog Fixer team continuously monitors SEO best practices and updates their fixes to ensure your blog remains compliant with the latest recommendations.
- A wide range of fixes: In addition to the no-follow link fix, the blog fixer provides solutions for internal redirects, link targeting, and other common technical issues faced by bloggers.
- Primarily suitable for experienced food bloggers: The Blog Fixer's services are particularly valuable for food bloggers with extensive content archives, as it can efficiently address technical problems across a large number of posts.
- The Blog Fixer offers a white-glove service: The blog fixer team handles all the installation, configuration, and optimization of their plugin, so you don't have to worry about the technical details.
- Connected to the blogging community: The team actively listens to their clients' needs and develops new fixes to address the evolving challenges faced by food bloggers.
- Deals with custom fixes: In addition to their standard fixes, The Blog Fixer is also capable of providing custom solutions to address unique technical problems on your blog.
Connect with Kris and Katie Kimball
Website
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In episode 605, Nikki Rausch teaches us how to close more paid partnerships by having a strategic follow-up plan and focusing on relationships.
CEO of Sales Maven, Nikki Rausch has the unique ability to transform the misunderstood process of “selling”. With 25+ years of selling experience, entrepreneurs and small business owners now hire Nikki to show them how to sell successfully and authentically. Nikki has written 3 books, all available on Amazon. And she has a podcast called Sales Maven which you can find on your favorite podcast platform.
In this episode, you’ll learn about effective strategies for landing and securing brand deals, including how to leverage existing networks, create curiosity, and recognize buying signals from potential sponsors.
Key points discussed:
- Identify your target sponsors: Make a list of the people/brands you want to work with as sponsors.
- Leverage your network: Identify who in your network knows someone at the companies you want to work with, and ask them to make introductions.
- Use your advocates: Make a list of your biggest advocates and ambassadors who could potentially make introductions on your behalf.
- Create curiosity: When speaking with potential sponsors, ask strategic questions to pique their interest and get them engaged in the conversation.
- Invite next steps: Before ending a call with a potential sponsor, schedule a "circle back" call to review any proposal or answer additional questions.
- Focus on the relationship: Treat sales as a conversation and focus on building relationships, rather than just trying to make a sale.
- Recognize buying signals: Learn how to identify buying signals, such as questions from the potential sponsor, that indicate their interest.
- Follow up strategically: Don't chase clients excessively, but leave the door open and schedule follow-up calls when appropriate.
Connect with Nikki Rausch
Website | Instagram
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In this episode, we're going to talk about 5 steps to overcome the fear of investing in our business to avoid stagnation and foster growth.
Have you ever come across a business investment that you really needed? It could’ve been a mastermind group, a business coach or maybe a new camera for better photography. But when you considered the financial cost, you were hesitant. Maybe you thought it could wait or you need to be making more money before you can spend anything on your business. However, if all you do is wait for the perfect moment to invest, you might be missing out on significant revenue growth and something that could take your business to the next level. I’ve been there! Here is how I mastered the mindset for making the right business investments.
Action Plan:
1 - Pinpoint the investment and related concerns: Pinpoint the specific investment you want to make and the associated concerns, such as getting a return on investment or hiring a reliable coach.
2 - Gather information from trusted sources: Educate yourself and sleuth by reaching out to your trusted network of peers, such as a mastermind group or online communities, to learn about their experiences with various programs and individuals.
3 - Trust your intuition: Even after gathering data, you should lean into your intuition to guide your decision-making process, as your gut feeling can be a reliable indicator of whether an investment is right for you.
4 - Assess your budget: You should carefully evaluate your budget to ensure the investment is financially feasible, even if it means getting creative and making adjustments to accommodate the investment.
5 - Be willing to take the leap: Once you've checked all the boxes, you should confidently take the leap and make the investment, knowing that the right investments can ignite explosive growth in your business.
Get in touch with Megan if there is a specific mindset and self-care topic you'd like her to cover.
Website | Instagram
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In episode 603, Megan chats to Amy Angelli leveraging E-E-A-T and creating a robust About Page to significantly boost blog traffic.
Amy founded The Copper Table in 2019 to share recipes that minimize processed ingredients with a focus on cooking in season and cooking from scratch using fresh produce. She wanted these recipes to be for people who are busy and often don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, but want great meals that make them feel good after a busy day. She lives on a small island in Washington state between Seattle and the Canadian border in a richly agricultural area that provides a lot of inspiration and recipe ingredients!
In this episode, you’ll learn about how Amy tripled her traffic during Google's HCU as well as strategies for effective interlinking, crafting compelling opening paragraphs, and shifting mindset around recipe creation and keyword research.
Key points discussed:
- Update your About Page regularly: Continuously revise and expand your about page to showcase your expertise, authority, and trustworthiness as your knowledge and experience grow.
- Link to your About Page conversationally: Incorporate links to your about page in a natural, conversational way within your recipe posts to guide readers and signal your authority.
- Establish expertise in the opening: Dedicate the first 1-2 paragraphs of your recipe posts to clearly establishing your expertise and authority on the topic.
- Address specific pain points: Focus on addressing specific pain points or needs that your recipe solves for the reader in the opening paragraphs.
- Leverage your personal experiences: Incorporate relevant personal experiences, family history, or educational background that demonstrate your expertise in the niche.
- Interlink strategically: Develop an interlinking strategy that connects your recipe posts to other relevant content, categories, and your about page to showcase the depth of your knowledge.
- Prioritize helpfulness over metrics: Shift your mindset to focus on being a helpful, one-stop resource for your readers, rather than solely chasing traffic volume or low competition.
- Continuously expand your expertise: Consider taking additional classes, courses, or pursuing other opportunities to deepen your knowledge and skills in your niche.
- Maintain a positive mindset: Adopt a mindset of focusing on the present and not worrying excessively about future changes, as each day brings its own challenges.
If You Loved this Episode…You’ll love Episode 428: 5 Biggest Mistakes Food Bloggers Make In Their SEO with Ty Kilgore - this episode is referenced in Megan’s conversation with Amy.
Connect with Amy Angelli
Website | Instagram
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In episode 602, Petranka Atanasova teaches us how to grow rapidly on Instagram, sharing the strategy that she used to gain over 100,000 followers in just four months.
Petranka is an ex-professional chef turned food blogger and content creator! She shares easy vegan and vegetarian recipes for busy people who are beginners at plant-based cooking.
In this episode, you’ll learn Petranka's strategies for creating engaging reels and developing a successful content series that resonates with her audience. The episode also covers the mindset shift Petranka underwent to achieve this rapid growth and provides practical tips for food bloggers looking to expand their Instagram presence.
Key points discussed:
- Establish authority: Use a strong hook at the beginning of your videos to immediately establish your expertise and credibility with your audience.
- Prioritize visual appeal: Start your videos with movement or an eye-catching visual to capture viewers' attention in the first few seconds.
- Provide digestible value: Deliver information and tips in a simple, easy-to-understand way, avoiding overwhelming your audience with too many details.
- Experiment with content: Try different video styles and formats to see what resonates best with your audience, then duplicate the successful ones.
- Maintain consistency: Develop a posting schedule that works for you, even if it means reducing the frequency, to ensure you can sustain your content creation.
- Leverage analytics: Use Instagram's analytics to determine the best times to post for your specific niche and target audience.
- Build a supportive network: Surround yourself with a network of peers and mentors who can provide feedback and encouragement to help you grow.
- Shift your mindset: Focus on providing value and engaging with your audience, rather than solely chasing views and follower counts.
- Keep clips concise: Aim for short, fast-paced video clips to maintain viewer attention and keep your content dynamic.
- Embrace the journey: Trust that the path will become clear as you take action, rather than trying to have everything figured out from the start.
Connect with Petranka Atanasova
Website | Instagram
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In this episode, we're going to talk about why entrepreneurs experience fear of success and 5 steps to overcome this type of fear.
It’s crazy to think that as business owners we can be afraid of our own success. There are a number of reasons why this happens. You may be questioning wether you’re worthy of success, wether you’d be able to keep up with success or how people may perceive you. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons to hold off on a project that could lead to greater success. Other times, it’s you making excuses. Here are 5 steps to work through your fear of success.
Action Plan:
1 - Identify your excuses: Recognize the excuses you've been making for not achieving your goals, as these may be masking deeper fears of success.
2 - Examine your excuses: Critically analyze your excuses to determine if they are valid or simply cover-ups for underlying issues.
3 - Uncover the real issue: Dig deeper to identify the true reason behind your reluctance to pursue your goals, which may be rooted in a fear of success.
4 - Rewrite your narrative: Reframe your story by replacing negative, self-limiting beliefs with a positive, empowering perspective on the potential outcomes of your success.
5 - Take action: Once you've addressed your fears, take concrete steps to move forward and achieve your goals, as inaction will only perpetuate the cycle of fear.
Get in touch with Megan if there is a specific mindset and self-care topic you'd like her to cover.
Website | Instagram
Madison Wetherill’s Web Design Services
Promote your food blogging services
Megan’s recommended books and resources
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In episode 600, Dan Porta - Megan’s husband - interviews his wife about her food blogging journey, what it takes to succeed and why she started her podcast, Eat Blog Talk.
Dan and Megan have been married 18 years and have two boys. Dan works in the travel industry and enjoys driving the family in their RV, going sky diving and being a hand model for his wife. He fully supports having a fabulous food blogger in the family and does so very well.
In this episode, you’ll learn about Megan's journey from starting her food blog, Pip and Ebby to creating the Eat Blog Talk podcast and community. Dan interviews his wife about the challenges and triumphs of food blogging and running a business in general, as well as valuable lessons for aspiring and established bloggers alike.
Key points discussed:
- Longevity is key in food blogging: You need to see food blogging as a long-term game, requiring patience and consistency, even when faced with industry changes.
- Develop essential qualities for success: The top three qualities Megan recommends for aspiring food bloggers are patience, flexibility/resilience, and a willingness to learn and adapt.
- Leverage your unique personality to build your brand: According to Dan, what makes Megan’s blog and podcast stand out is her personality.
- Prioritize time with family: Megan and her husband value the schedule freedom they've achieved, allowing them to prioritize quality time with their children.
- Recognize and address burnout: Dealing with burnout in a timely manner (and ideally preventing it) is essential to maintain a sustainable business and personal life.
- Embrace the power of community: Megan was able to build a supportive community, both through the Eat Blog Talk podcast and the various mastermind groups she has created.
- Leverage your partner's support: Megan credits her husband's unwavering support as a key factor in her ability to pursue food blogging and launch the Eat Blog Talk podcast.
If You Loved this Episode…You’ll love Episode 400: Why Did I Start Eat Blog Talk, Exciting Blogging Developments & How to Set Healthy Boundaries with Megan Porta - where Megan gets interviewed by Taryn Solie, her community manager.
Connect with Pip and Ebby
Website | Instagram | Facebook
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In episode 599, Tammy Overhoff teaches us how to create a stable income stream by selling digital products instead of relying exclusively on SEO and ad-revenue.
Tammy Overhoff is a seasoned food blogger and digital product expert who began her journey in 2011 with the Organize Yourself Skinny blog. She empowers busy women to lead healthier lives through eBooks, digital guides, and courses. In 2023, Tammy expanded her business with Reset & Flourish, offering digital products and a meal prep membership site. Despite numerous Google algorithm updates, her focus on digital products has kept her blog successful. Tammy also launched Tasty Digital Eats to support food bloggers transform their recipes into digital products and build stable businesses.
In this episode, you’ll learn more about how Tammy overcame a devastating traffic loss due to a Google algorithm update and transformed her business by focusing on digital products. Discover strategies for creating, marketing, and selling digital products that resonate with your audience and provide a stable income stream.
Key points discussed:
- Diversify your income: Create digital products to reduce reliance on volatile traffic and ad revenue that’s subject to Google updates.
- Solve problems for your audience: Focus on creating products that address specific needs or help achieve goals - ask your audience, don’t guess!
- Repurpose your content: Transform existing blog posts and recipes into valuable digital products.
- Nurture your email list: Build a strong community to effectively market and sell your digital products.
- Start with small wins: Begin with simple products like meal plans or ebooks to gain confidence and momentum.
- Learn from your audience: Use email statistics and social media feedback to identify popular topics for products.
- Create a system: Develop a consistent process for creating, launching, and selling digital products.
- Bundle your offerings: Combine related products to increase value and boost sales.
Connect with Tammy Overhoff
Website | Instagram
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In this episode, we're going to talk about five practical steps to deal with entrepreneurial mistakes and how to move on.
We all make mistakes. When we make a mistake in our business, especially when we let others down, we can feel devastated. But this is part of being human. And being a business owner. I'm no different. I've made plenty of entrepreneurial mistakes. So how I do I deal with these types of situations? Here are some strategies that I use to deal with mistakes:
Action Plan:
1 - Accept and process mistakes: Take time to pause, feel the emotions, and let the reality of the mistake sink in before moving forward.
2 - Take action to clean up the mess: Identify the necessary steps to address the mistake and rectify the situation as best as possible.
3 - Learn the lesson: Reflect on the mistake to understand the underlying lesson and implement changes to prevent similar issues in the future.
4 - Practice self-forgiveness and grace: Extend compassion to yourself, as mistakes are inevitable, and avoid dwelling on them excessively.
5 -Set mistakes aside and move on: Recognize the broader context of life and the insignificance of small mistakes, allowing you to let go and focus on the future.
Get in touch with Megan if there is a specific mindset and self-care topic you'd like her to cover.
Website | Instagram
Resources
Ghostwriter – Terrence Roche ([email protected])
Promote your food blogging services
Megan’s recommended books and resources
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In episode 597, Megan chats to Melodee Fiske about how food bloggers can hire a trained food photographer to scale their business and why it’s important to hire a specialised photographer.
Melodee is the creator and owner of Pretty Focused. She’s a wife, homeschool mom and a second grade teacher turned food photographer. Melodee started working as a food photographer for food bloggers in 2016. In 2017, she started to have friends ask her to teach them how to do it too, so she did, and that's when Pretty Focused was born. Since then, she’s had over 1,000 students join Pretty Focused to learn how to photograph food for food bloggers. Melodee connects them with potential clients inside their marketplace when they graduate. Over the last 3 years, 69% of our grads reported making $50,000+ working as food photographers for bloggers.
In this episode, you'll learn about the benefits of outsourcing food photography, the strategies Melodee teaches in her Pretty Focused course, and how to become a trained food photographer to generate extra income.
Key points discussed:
- Hiring out photography is not a weakness: It is a strength that allows you to focus on growth and vision for your business.
- Communication is key when handing over your brand's photography: Effectively communicating your brand and vision ensures the photographer can represent your blog well.
- Pretty Focused teaches photography skills tailored for food bloggers: The course covers a variety of photography skills specific to the needs of food bloggers.
- Pretty Focused provides coaching and community support: In addition to photography training, the course includes coaching and a supportive community.
- Graduates earn significant income: Many graduates have been able to make substantial income working as food photographers for bloggers.
- The Buyers Club connects trained photographers with food bloggers: This community facilitates connections between food bloggers and qualified photographers.
- Outsourcing photography enables business expansion: Some bloggers have been able to start additional sites due to the ability to outsource their photography.
- Make decisions based on your unique business needs: Avoid basing decisions solely on what others think and focus on what is right for your specific business
Connect with Melodee Fiske
Website | Instagram
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In episode 596, Megan Ellam teaches us how to write and market cookbooks to earn a significant portion of our income from self-publishing.
Megan Ellam is an Australian-based author, photographer, and recipe developer, best known for Mad Creations and 365 Keto Club. Since 2017, Megan has shared her low-carb recipes and weight loss journey, leading to the self-publication of over 10 keto cookbooks and more than 60 eBooks, including two World Gourmand Cookbook Award winners! A passionate foodie, Megan runs Mad Creations alongside her partner in love and life, Dave Hunter.
In this episode, you’ll learn more about how to add extra value to your cookbook or ebook, pricing books correctly and successful marketing ideas to sell more books fast.
Key points discussed:
- Niche down and create a clear theme and vision for your book: Determine the topic, focus and feel of your book to ensure a cohesive final product.
- Develop an index of recipe ideas before writing: Plan out the content of your book to make the writing process more efficient.
- Assemble a team of diverse recipe testers: Include both skilled and novice cooks to get well-rounded feedback on your recipes.
- Offer unique, original recipes that stand out: Develop creative, eye-catching dishes that your audience can't find elsewhere.
- Add extra value through cook's notes, variations, and additional content: Enhance your books by providing helpful information beyond just the recipes.
- Leverage your existing blog content by refreshing and repurposing it: Reshoot and repackage your popular recipes to create new book offerings.
- Price your books and ebooks higher to reflect their value: Don't underestimate the time and effort you've invested; charge accordingly.
- Utilize various marketing channels, including social media and email: Promote your books through a diverse range of platforms to reach your audience.
- Consider collaborations and partnerships to expand your reach: Explore opportunities to work with brands or other creators to cross-promote your books.
Connect with Megan Ellam
Website | Instagram
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In this episode, we're going to talk about how to deal with negative emotions towards platforms like Google and social media networks.
Have you ever had a negative experience with an online platform? For us bloggers, it can be Google or any of the social media networks. It’s often a feeling of not being rewarded for our hard work on the platforms. I’ve said in the past things like: “I hate Facebook.” Because I genuinely felt like Facebook had something against me as if it were human. Following along with the idea that these platforms are like humans, how can we repair our relationships with them? Here are 5 steps I take to turn feelings of lack and hatred into appreciation and abundance.
Action Plan:
1 - Identify which relationship needs mending: Choose one platform that is causing you the most frustration.
2 - Make a list of how the platform has wronged you: Write out all the ways you feel the platform has let you down.
3 - Make a list of what you are grateful for regarding the platform: Reflect on the positive aspects and benefits the platform has provided.
4 - Give the relationship some love: Educate yourself on the platform, learn more about its features, and consistently pay attention to it.
5 - Lather, rinse, repeat: Go through these steps repeatedly until you feel the relationship is being repaired. Keep your gratitude list visible as a reminder.
Get in touch with Megan if there is a specific mindset and self-care topic you'd like her to cover.
Website | Instagram
Resources
Food Blog Writing at Maes Media (Chelsea Plummer)
Promote your food blogging services
Megan’s recommended books and resources
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In episode 594, Megan chats to James Wythe about why he decided to shift his focus from content creation for social media to creating content for his blog, despite having a social following of over 1 million.
After a sudden illness caused James to be housebound for 4 years, he taught himself to cook with a chair in the kitchen. James started his blog to share his journey of recovery and recipes in 2016. Since then James has built a social following of over 1M and published a cookbook. The blog currently has 300,000 monthly page views which James 5x in the last year.
If you Loved this Episode…You’ll love Episode 569: Turning to Instagram Because of the Helpful Content Update – How To Grow Your Instagram Account To Add More Revenue Streams with Mika Kinney and Sarah Bond (For a contrasting point of view!)
In this episode, you’ll learn more about social media burnout, finding your passion for content creation, how to step back from social media, especially if you have a large following, while considering the future of your career and longevity of your content.
Key points discussed:
- Stepping back from social media can help overcome burnout: You may realize that you are feeling burned out from the pressure and comparison of social media, so focusing more on your blog could be beneficial.
- Owning your content is important: Owning your content on your website is important to consider, rather than relying solely on social media platforms that can restrict or remove access.
- Balancing social media and blog content is challenging: You may find it difficult to create separate content for your website and social media that appeals to different audiences consistently.
- Large social media followings don't guarantee success: Even with a large following, the social media landscape is becoming increasingly saturated and competitive for brand collaborations.
- Republishing and updating old content can significantly boost traffic: Going back and improving your existing blog content can lead to a significant increase in traffic.
- Creating a depth of content is key for long-term growth: Focus on creating more new content and update older posts to build a stronger foundation for your blog.
- Passion and enjoyment should drive content creation: You may realize that you still love creating content and helping others, but not the pressure of social media.
- Cycles and trends in the industry require adaptability: The industry may shift back towards longer-form content, away from the current saturation of short-form video recipes, so you need to be prepared to adapt.
Connect with James Wythe
Website | Instagram
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In episode 593, Kimberlee Ho teaches us 3 easy ways to grow our blog part-time while working full-time, including, how to be selective with our focus and time.
Kim is a home baker from NJ, who loves to share approachable baking recipes and tips with busy families like her own on her blog, kickassbaker.com. Kim works full-time during the day and bakes, recipe tests, and photographs at night and on the weekends in between acting as an Uber driver for her two teenage daughters. Her goal is to inspire home bakers to kick ass in the kitchen!
In this episode, you’ll learn more about identifying growth drivers for your blog, the importance of adapting to changing industry trends as well as intentional time management and the support of a community in achieving blogging goals.
Key points discussed:
- Focus on 1-2 key growth drivers: For example, you can focus on growing page views and sessions to attract and retain readers, rather than getting distracted by new platforms.
- Test different work methods: Experiment with your work schedule and batching tasks to find the most efficient approach for you.
- Use to-do lists: Keep multiple to-do lists to stay organized and reduce anxiety about forgetting important tasks.
- Embrace flexibility: Maintain a flexible mindset, adapting your methods as your needs and circumstances change over time.
- Leverage trusted networks: Ask for feedback and support from the blogging community to avoid shiny object syndrome.
- Break down goals into steps: Break down larger goals into manageable, actionable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Advantages of working full-time: By having full-time job Kim can enjoy growing her blog without the pressure of relying on it as her sole income.
Connect with Kimberlee Ho
Website | Instagram
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