The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

How to remind yourself of personal and business tasks, protect your stuff from theft, and keep a tidy computer with Bjork Ostrom. ----- Welcome to episode 270 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks about his must-have apps for a productive business and personal life. Get It Done  Apps are great to help you become more productive, track your progress, and optimize your day. But which are our absolute favorites? The ones we rely on day after day, week after week to help us get it all done? That’s what Bjork is focusing on in this episode. You’ll hear about the apps and tools he uses to fly through email, stay on top of business and personal tasks, record quick videos, and stay hydrated with a color-changing water bottle. Yes, seriously. We’re excited to share some of our favorite apps with you today! And if you have any must-have apps, leave them in the comments at foodbloggerpro.com/270 –– we’d love to hear your suggestions! In this episode, you’ll learn: How Screen Time/Downtime works on Apple products How to use Things to remind yourself of business and personal tasks How to quickly manage your inbox How to send recurring emails How to use Asana as a team How video can help prevent miscommunication How to strengthen your passwords How to drink more water in a techy way How to store articles for later How to protect your computer or phone from theft How to keep your computer tidy and free from viruses Resources: Information about Apple’s Screen Time and Downtime 165: Getting Things Done with David Allen Things Superhuman Gmail Boomerang Asana Loom ScreenFlow 1Password Hidrate Pocket Tile CleanMyMac If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

How to manage a team as a blogger, republish content, and identify high-quality content with Sally McKenney. ----- Welcome to episode 269 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sally McKenney about how she creates the very best recipe content for her readers. How To Create The Best Recipes for Your Readers  We’re so excited to welcome Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction back to the podcast after five years. Fun fact: she was the first true interviewee on The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This episode is loaded with valuable information for any blogger at any part of the blogging journey. Sally talks about what it’s like to run a blog and balance being a parent, how she delegates tasks, the work she’ll always do for her blog, and the kind of work that has been most beneficial to her blog’s growth. Then she’ll talk about the importance of creating awesome content for your readers. What does it look like? How do you update your older content to be even better? She answers all of these questions (and more!) in this interview. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Sally decided to hire help How her team helps her run her blog The things she’ll always do for her blog What has had the biggest impact on her blog and business How she thinks SBA may change in the future How she optimized for SEO How she republishes her content Why she doesn’t have any regrets What she wants to focus on in the future How she measures quality content How she would start a new blog today Resources: Sally’s Baking Addiction 003: Sally McKenney from Sally’s Baking Addiction on Creating Success Follow Sally on Instagram and Facebook If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Is the blogging niche too saturated, how to find a good host for your website, and the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. ----- Welcome to episode 268 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re resharing an episode in which we offer advice to new food bloggers. Blogging Misconceptions, How to Choose a Host, and Why WordPress We’re going back to basics today and resharing an episode from 2019 about starting a blog. If you have an idea for a blog, business, series, post, or product, we hope this episode will help give you a bit of a push to actually start. First, you’ll hear from Bjork. He covers three of the most common blogging misconceptions we hear from new bloggers and how you can switch your thought processes around them. Next up: Andrew, our Site Speed Expert here at Food Blogger Pro. In his section, he’s talking all about hosting. For instance, did you know he recommends changing hosts every few years?! Last, our old WP Tasty Lead, Raquel. She’s talking all about WordPress and why it’s the CMS we recommend for food bloggers. We think you’ll have a lot of great takeaways from this episode, regardless of whether your blog is brand new or if you’ve been blogging for years. Enjoy! In this episode, you’ll learn: Why you don’t need to have a ton of content to launch Why you have to love the idea AND the work Why there’s still a place for your blog What hosting is How to find a good host When you should switch your hosting Why we use and recommend WordPress WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org What it means when a plugin is premium Resources: 1000 True Fans 213: Trends – The Latest in Site Speed, How to Find Timely Content, and Social Media Trends WP Engine Siteground BigScoots Cloudways NerdPress WP Tasty WordPress plugin directory Raquel’s personal site If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Creating a freelance photography business, shooting in manual mode, understanding a DSLR, and tips for improving your food photography skills with Ashley McLaughlin. ----- Welcome to episode 267 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to our episode about freelance food photography with Ashley McLaughlin. Freelance Food Photography…with a side of Architecture We’re revisiting one of our past episodes about food photography this week! We interviewed Ashley McLaughlin back in 2017 about her freelance food photography business, and we’re resharing that episode with you today. Architecture and food…it doesn’t sound like there would be many similarities between the two, right? But there are, and Ashley’s background in architecture helped her understand experience, perspective, and design in a culinary setting. After staring her blog, Edible Perspective, as a way to stay creative, Ashley’s love of food transformed into a love of photography. After a long learning process, she went from a complete novice with a DSLR to understanding exposure meters, shooting in manual mode, and writing a food photography series on her blog. Now she’s a full-time freelance food photographer who has photographed multiple cookbooks for bloggers. It’s a good reminder that your blog isn’t the only money-maker in this industry; freelance food photography or writing can be a great way to build an income by doing what you love. In this episode, you’ll learn: How recipe creation is like architecture Why she launched her blog How she started using a DSLR Her tips for improving your food photography skills How she was able to become a full-time freelance food photographer Resources: Check out our recent Photography Live Q&A with Ashley!– for members only About the Slow Food Movement Michael Pollan books Canon 5D Mark III Canon 7D Oh She Glows Every Day Peas and Thank You Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love Canon 35mm f/1.4L Bubble Level Ashley’s Photography Series Follow Edible Perspective on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Learn how to write with focus, read with purpose, and build your community in this special FBP Rewind episode with Gabriela Pereira from DIY MFA. Welcome to episode 266 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to one of our most popular episodes about writing with Gabriela Pereira from DIY MFA. Write More, Write Better, and Write Smarter  Writing –– do you love it or hate it? It seems to be one of those topics that really divide people; either you love the creative process of putting words onto paper or…you don’t. Today’s FBP Rewind episode will help you get those creative juices flowing and fine-tune your writing processes. A bit about our interviewee: Gabriela got her MFA in 2010, and after she graduated, she realized that a lot of people don’t actually need a formal education process in order to write. If you give yourself permission to own your creativity and writing, and if you learn a few key skills along the way, you can be a writer. She started her business, DIY MFA, to teach others how they can do exactly that. Gabriela has been able to practice, evaluate, and fine-tune her craft and teach others how to do the same. Gabriela’s strategies about finding the right writing system, tracking productivity, staying inspired, and understanding strengths and weaknesses all play into finding one’s voice and writing style. In this episode, you’ll learn: What an MFA is Why she considers herself an instigator How she calculates and tracks her productivity How to find a writing system that works for you How she stays inspired How she writes personal posts Why it’s important to get input from the right people Why you should know your strengths and weaknesses Resources: 099: Sponsored Content and Getting Paid What Your Work is Worth with Danielle Liss DIY MFA DIY MFA book The Writer Igniter Setting the Mood for an Optimal Writing Session Gabriela’s personal post 20 things Bjork learned from writing income reports James Altucher DIY MFA Radio podcast Starter Kit If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Delegating work, how to solve your readers' problems, and dedicating time to learn with Beth Moncel. ----- Welcome to episode 265 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Beth Moncel about adapting and growing her blog over the past five years. Adapting and Adjusting  We’re so excited to welcome Beth Moncel from Budget Bytes back to the podcast today! She was our 11th guest on the podcast, so we’re excited to catch-up with her in this episode. While we do talk about the things that successfully help her run her blog in this episode, we also talk about where she has struggled these past few years. Between hiring, listening to her readers, and adapting to drops in traffic, Beth has learned and grown, and we hope that this episode will teach you how you can adjust to changes in your own blogging journey. In this episode, you’ll learn: How her blog has changed in the past five years Why she includes step-by-step photos in her blog posts Why her blog is a combination of her love of art and science How she dedicates time to learn How she grew her team and delegates her work How she adapted to her traffic dropping What E-A-T means in terms of blogging How she helps solve her readers’ problems The tools she uses with her team How she’s planning ahead to take some time off Where she sees herself and her business in the future Advice she’d give her past self Resources: Budget Bytes Pinch of Yum Pinch of Yum Income Reports More info about FIRE Mr. Money Mustache 011: Making the Leap to Full-Time Blogging with Beth Moncel from Budget Bytes Marie Haynes Budget Bytes’ About page The Budget Bytes app Budget Bytes Meal Plans Asana Slack Airtable The Intentional Growth Podcast Curbly Follow Budget Bytes on Instagram If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Creating reader-first content, how to effectively work with brands, and creating a seven-figure income with Chelsea Lords. ----- Welcome to episode 264 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Chelsea Lords about growing her website traffic and building her seven-figure blogging business. Persistence  It’s time to welcome Chelsea Lords from Chelsea’s Messy Apron back to the podcast! Her original episode on the FBP Podcast is one of our all-time most-downloaded episodes, and we’re so excited we had the chance to welcome her back to the show and catch up on how her blog has grown and evolved since we last talked to her. You’ll hear how her social media and traffic strategies have shifted, how and why she strives to create the most helpful content she can for her readers, and how she managed to grow Chelsea’s Messy Apron into a seven-figure revenue business. In this episode, you’ll learn: How she adjusts to the changing blogging landscape How Facebook traffic changed How she diversifies her income How she creates valuable sponsored content How she raised her sponsored content rates How she’s making seven figures of revenue Why it’s important to give up complete control How she makes her content more helpful for her readers Why it’s important to re-invest in your business Why a support network is so important Resources: Chelsea’s Messy Apron 092: How to Make $40K in the First Year of Blogging with Chelsea Lords from Chelsea’s Messy Apron InfluenceKit Curbly The E-Myth Revisited Chelsea’s Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls Follow Chelsea on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

How to advocate for your brand, the importance of content, and growing an Instagram following to 1.7 million with Tieghan Gerard. ----- Welcome to episode 263 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Tieghan Gerard about running her brand, growing her blog, and working with her family. Creating with Confidence  Today we’re welcoming Tieghan Gerard back to the podcast after four whole years! Tieghan has been pretty busy these past few years; she learned how to delegate work to her team, grow her personal brand, and set boundaries when they’re needed. She also realized that awesome, high-quality content needs to be at the core of everything she does because it helps her build a following and branch out to do other exciting projects that helps her grow her business. We loved catching up with Tieghan in this episode, and we know you’ll love getting a peek behind-the-scenes of how she runs Half Baked Harvest! In this episode, you’ll learn: How she manages work and projects as a business owner and blogger How she started delegating her work How she started working with an influencer management company How to effectively communicate and advocate for your brand Why her blog acts as her brand’s hub How she grew her Instagram following to 1.7 million How to deal with negative comments Why it’s important for Tieghan to keep her head down and focus on her own work Why it’s important to set boundaries on social media How she monetizes Half Baked Harvest Her predictions for the future of Half Baked Harvest Resources: Half Baked Harvest 043: How Tieghan Gerard used Photography, Recipe Development, and Hustle to Build Half Baked Harvest Digital Brand Architects Notion Half Baked Harvest Cookbook Half Baked Harvest Super Simple Tieghan’s South Korean Olympics posts - Part 1 and Part 2 Follow Half Baked Harvest on Instagram and Pinterest and connect with Tieghan via her blog If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

How to understand your blog data, why blogging was more profitable than freelancing, and how to write a cookbook with Mary Cressler and Sean Martin. ----- Welcome to episode 262 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Mary Cressler and Sean Martin from Vindulge about the journey to how they run their food blog today. The Journey of Food Bloggers  Mary Cressler and Sean Martin have done it all: they freelanced, they worked with ad companies, they worked with influencer marketing companies, they catered, they wrote a cookbook –– all in the pursuit of finding what it is that they like to do. This conversation with the Vindulge team will inspire you to think about your own journey and dig deep to figure out the way you want to run your blog. There’s not a “right” way or a “wrong” way to run your blog; this episode will give you some ideas to help make your blogging journey the best it can be for you. In this episode, you’ll learn: How Mary and Sean started to work together How they transitioned to working on their own thing What it was like to establish their niche How Mary decided to focus on her own blog over freelancing How they started working on sponsored content How they monetize their blog Why it’s important to understand your data (and how to gather it) Why their email community is so important to them How they decide to spend their time How all of their content works together What connectional intelligence means How they wrote a book proposal and pitched their book Resources: Vindulge Mediavine AdThrive Sortable CLEVER SurveyMonkey Billy Parisi –– @chefbillyparisi Will Write for Food Dianne Jacob –– @diannemjacob Fire + Wine Cookbook If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Why metrics are so important to brands, how to increase the probability of working with your favorite brand, and how content ownership works with Bruno Bornsztein. ----- Welcome to episode 261 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Bruno Bornsztein from InfluenceKit on how to understand the value of your sponsored content work. How to Work With Brands  It's Part 2 of our Managing Sponsored Content series here on the Food Blogger Pro Podcast! Bruno from InfluenceKit is rounding out this mini series in a conversation with Bjork about how to create awesome sponsored content. Creating sponsored content is like creating your regular content. You already publish an awesome recipe with great pictures on your blog or on social media. Sponsored content just allows you to continue to make the content that you love to make…and then get paid for it. There are parts of the sponsored content process, however, that are different. You need to build relationships, negotiate for your rate, sign contracts, understand the brand’s goals, and report back on the performance on your post’s performance. And it’s there where you can hunker down and optimize your work to create more value for brands, more value for your audience, and more revenue for you. If you want to learn even more about maximizing your sponsored content revenue, be sure to get registered for our free workshop with Bruno this Thursday, July 16 at 1pm ET / 12pm CT! In this episode, you’ll learn: How Bruno got his start creating content How he moved into sponsored content as a source of revenue How his following correlated to sponsored content revenue How to increase the probability of working with a brand What it looks like to work with a brand How content ownership works What “work for hire” means How to negotiate with brands Why you should report your post’s performance What metrics are most important to brands Resources: InfluenceKit 168: How to Add More Value to Your Sponsored Content with Mandi Gubler Curbly ManMade Making the Moolah: Kickstart Your Sponsored Revenue in 2020