The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Welcome to episode 80 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast. This week, Kirsten Oliphant interview Bjork about practicing 1%∞ through the different phases of business. As you may have heard, Bjork and Lindsay recently suffered a loss, which you can read a bit more about on Pinch of Yum. While Bjork takes some time off to grieve their loss and to celebrate Afton's short life, we're bringing in a couple interviews that Bjork did with other podcasters. This week's podcaster is Kirsten Oliphant, author and podcaster at Create If Writing. She interviewed Bjork about a year and a half ago and they talked a lot about what it takes to run a business for the long haul. Bjork chalked a lot of this up to practicing 1%∞, a concept that he put a name to a long time ago and tries to practice every day. In this episode, Bjork discusses: How 1%infinity came about and what it means What the different "phases" of Pinch of Yum were How he and Lindsay applied 1% infinity to the different phases of Pinch of Yum and Food Blogger Pro Why perfecting small things can hinder progress How to determine which things deserve your 1% Why outsourcing everything isn't always the best option What the reality is for running a membership site How priorities for business investment change over time Resources: Get the resources for this podcast at createifwriting.com/061

Achieving career dreams, moving to YouTube, finding a niche, and working with multichannel networks with Lauren Toyota from Hot for Food. ----- Welcome to episode 79 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews Lauren Toyota from Hot for Food about how she grew her YouTube following. When starting (or running) a business, it can be tempting to look at what other successful people have done and try to do the same thing. If they were successful doing this, then you should be, too, right? While that scenario sometimes plays out, oftentimes you just become another fish in a sea of fish that are all doing the same thing. Lauren Toyota from Hot for Food found her success by diving into a newer niche and producing content in a way that no one else had done before. And it worked - she amassed just about 200k followers in just one year on YouTube. Today she's here to talk about how it all went down. In this episode, Lauren shares: How she was able to achieve her teenage career dream What goals she had when starting her blog What her typical day looks like How she started doing YouTube videos What inspired her popular Recipe? segment How they set up their lighting & audio How their social following helped grow their YouTube channel How an MCN helped her monetize her channel How brand partnerships work with Hot for Food Resources: Adobe Premiere Episode 010: Working with Brands on YouTube with Beth Le Manach from Entertaining with Beth Kin Community Network Hot for Food on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter Lauren in Real Life on YouTube Hot for Food on YouTube Hot for Food Blog If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Be sure to review us on iTunes!

What marketing automation is, why funnels will help you sell, and what email and automation platforms you should be using for your business. ----- Welcome to episode 78 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews Chris Davis from Automation Bridge and ActiveCampaign about using marketing funnels to drive sales for your business. When most people have a new product for their business, the first thing they want to do is go tell the world how amazing it is and try to get people to buy. That's the point of creating a product, right? Not so fast, says Chris Davis from Automation Bridge. The sale starts way before you every publish your product or need people to start buying. The sale starts with your first interaction with your potential customer - and that interaction should be friendly, helpful, and interesting to the customer. This is the start of your sales funnel, and in this episode Chris talks about what to do next. In this episode, Chris shares: What marketing automation is and what it does for your business If "marketing automation" means no work What a sales funnel is and why it's important Why funnels are more natural than cold sales How the stages of a sales funnel work Why you need a product to sell How your existing processes can show you what to automate How email marketing differs from marketing automation What email platform you should be using for your business Resources: ActiveCampaign LeadPages Clay Collins AWeber MailChimp ConstantContact Campaign Monitor VerticalResponse GetResponse ConvertKit Ontraport AutopilotHQ Infusionsoft Episode 041: Ninja Email Marketing for Bloggers with Barry Moore from The Active Marketer activecampaign.com/learn Chris on Twitter @autobizchris Automation Bridge If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Be sure to review us on iTunes!

Which social platforms serve what purpose, why live video is so important, the next big thing, and sticking with your business. ----- Welcome to episode 77 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews Joel Comm about how embracing trending technologies has kept his business fresh. Last week Bjork interviewed Jeff Sauer from Jeffalytics about how correctly utilizing Google Analytics can superpower your blog. To go back and listen to that episode, click here. Staying Inspired with New Tech In the internet world, things move at a very fast pace and new technology - think social platforms, media, and gadgets - come out all the time. So do you jump on the bandwagon and try these new technologies, or wait until they're vetted by others? Joel Comm has found that trying new technologies not only increases your chance of success (just think about his iPhone app that went to the top!), but that it can also help you stay inspired with your business. In this episode, Joel shares: What his first iPhone app was that gained tons of traction How he decides what social platforms to use What platforms serve what purpose for his business Why he thinks live video is worth the investment right now What the next thing beyond live video is What types of live videos he does His advice for sticking with your business over tough times Resources: iFart App adsense-secrets.com joel20.live - 20% off any regular domain name iMovie Windows Movie Maker JoelComm.com If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Be sure to review us on iTunes!

Using analytics to help you generate ideas for content, show you what's really working, and help you guide your business overall with Jeff Sauer from Jeffalytics. ----- Welcome to episode 76 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork chats with Jeff Saur from Jeffalytics.com about how you can use Analytics to increase your chances for blog success. Oftentimes, when new bloggers start blogging, the only stat they really care about is whether or not their content is being seen by someone.It's satisfying to see the first day we get 50 pageviews, or 100, or even 1,000. We check our analytics to make sure our content is getting seen. However, Analytics can be much more powerful than this. Used correctly, they can help you generate ideas for content, show you what's really working, and help you guide your business overall. In short, proper use of Analytics can really help you accelerate your blog and business. Jeff Sauer has made his career out of helping people use Google Analytics. Today, he's here to give us some of his best tips. In this episode, Jeff shares: Why Google Analytics was so revolutionary and powerful What the phases of Analytics use are What universal analytics is and why it's important How you can use GA for more than just pageviews What your bounce rate means to your business What reports you should be looking at in Google Analytics How to leverage the existing traffic you have Why ranking for more specific keywords is better How you can use goals to improve your website Resources: Jeffalytics Jeff's Google Analytics Course (use coupon code foodbloggerpro) Jeff's Google Adwords Course Viral Posts & Hit Songs blog post by Bjork Google Analytics Google Webmaster Tools If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Be sure to review us on iTunes!

How many times to share each piece of content, planning ahead, and their long road to overnight success. ----- Welcome to episode 75 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork chats with Garrett Moon, cofounder of the popular social media and editorial planning tool CoSchedule. When it comes to blogging, there is a lot more to do than it would initially appear. Not only do you have to create content, you have to plan it out (preferably well in advance) and promote it after it's done (preferably for a long time after). Keeping tabs on everything you need to do - including promoting it now, in a couple weeks, and around those holidays when it would make good shareable content - can be really tough. So, Garrett and his cofounder Justin created CoSchedule to make this process easier. Along the way, they discovered some unique insights into the world of social sharing. In this episode, Garrett shares: How they started CoSchedule Their long road to overnight success How they figured out if people wold actually buy their product How planning ahead helps you promote your content How many times they share each piece of content they produce Why it's okay to share a single piece of content so many times How they track the effectiveness of their social campaigning Resources: Moz CoSchedule CoSchedule Blog CoSchedule on Twitter Garrett on Twitter If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Be sure to review us on iTunes!

What kinds of file backups you should have, why DSLRs make good video cameras, and what camera settings to use. ----- Welcome to episode 74 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork chats with Caleb Pike from DSLR Video Shooter about how you can use your DSLR camera to make great food videos. By now, it's pretty apparent how powerful food videos can be for a brand. They're awesome! However, there are a lot of technical things to know when it comes to using your DSLR camera as a video camera. Caleb Pike has made his name by helping people learn how to use their DSLR cameras for shooting video. In this episode, he not only talks about important settings you need to pay attention to, but he also talks about how to make sure none of your video ever gets accidentally deleted. In this episode, Caleb shares: Why DSLRs were such an important invention for video How he monetized his website in the early days Why he thinks creating digital product are the best way to make money How he knew people would want to buy his products Whether you should use a DSLR or mirrorless camera for video How he manages storing video files so he doesn't lose anything What camera settings he recommends using Why he stopped writing blog posts and started to focus only on video Resources: ProBlogger Essentialism by Greg McKeown Making it Podcast Transcend 64gb Class 10 Memory Card Final Cut Pro Carbon Copy Cloner Course: Equipment & Settings Course: Video Pre-Production If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Be sure to review us on iTunes!

Welcome to episode 73 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork chats with Jessica Merchant from the blog How Sweet It Is about consistently creating great content. In blogging, content is huge. It's not the only important thing, but it's the foundation of your business. Creating great content is really important. Just as important is creating content often. A blog needs fresh, exciting ideas to thrive. New content is what your existing readers want to see. However, doing both those things - creating really great content on a consistent basis - can be really tough. It definitely involves dedication and skill to do right. Jessica Merchant from How Sweet It Is definitely has that dedication and skill, and today she's here to tell us just how she manages to make consistent and quality content every single week. In this episode, Jessica shares: How she discovered blogging and decided to leave her job What it took to build her blog before leaving her job How she networked with other bloggers Where she finds inspiration for her blog How she manages raising her son and working full time on her blog Why she does "batch cooking" days Why she doesn't do much sponsored content What it takes to publish content all the time How doing exactly what she wants has helped her find success Resources: How Sweet It Is How Sweet It Is 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. Be sure to review us on iTunes!

Our first ever member spotlight interview! In this interview we chat with FBP member Sam Turnbull from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken. Sam talks about her decision to make take the leap into blogging full-time and what it was like to land a cookbook deal.

Welcome to episode 71 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews Amanda Rettke from I Am Baker about her success with Facebook Live and how it has helped connect her with her audience. They say you only need 1,000 raving fans to create a successful business. Just 1,000! However, raving fans can be hard to come by. Where do you get them? How do you know they love you and the work you are doing? Amanda struggled with this a bit for the first few years she was in business. She knew she had great fans, but she didn't feel like she really connected with them. And then she decided to try Facebook Live. Her raving fans loved being able to see and interact with her live, and she loved being able to connect with them. Facebook Live has been the experience Amanda needed to feel connected with her readers, and today she is here to tell us how she did it. In this episode, Amanda shares: What it was about I am Baker that people loved Why it's important to appreciate the work that you've done How her live videos created raving fans How to keep your viewers interested in your videos Why consistency is key What her viewers love most about her videos Whether you can do live videos by yourself How she records on her phone but still keeps tabs on what's going on Resources: Decorating from the Inside Out - Amanda's Craftsy Class Mevo Cameras I Am Baker I Am Baker on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Be sure to review us on iTunes!