The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Welcome to episode 68 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork chats with Nick Loper, founder of Side Hustle Nation, about making money with your projects on the side. The majority of bloggers aren't doing it full time. In fact, many bloggers fit blogging in between their hectic schedules that includes a full-time job, kids, and hobbies. However, the dream of earning an income from blogging still persists, but many wonder if it's possible to do when it's just a side gig. Nick Loper, founder of Side Hustle Nation, says it's totally possible. He has successfully run a number of side hustles that contributed to his monthly income, all while having a full-time job. He's been so successful at it, in fact, that he created his own full time job just showing people how to create an income from their own side hustles, and today he's here to give us some tips. In this episode, Nick shares: What a side hustle really is What his first side hustle taught him Where Nick makes money from his website How you can make more money with your food website Why working for free is sometimes a good idea How people in all different industries have made successful side hustles Resources: Side Hustle Nation The Side Hustle Show The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy Udemy EatWith Feastly BonAppetour MiumMium Zozi Rover Dogvacay Wyzant Neil Patel, QuickSprout Bryan Harris, Videofruit Fiverr buybuttonsbook.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!

Welcome to episode 67 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork talks with Amy Roskelley from Super Healthy Kids about scaling her small business into a thriving brand by building a team. So many bloggers dream of building a team to help them run their blog. However, it often gets put off in the name of waiting to find success. Unfortunately, putting off on growing a team can hamper your ability to find "success," while choosing to grow your team can really propel your forward. Amy from Super Healthy Kids plodded along quite well with her blog for many years before starting to build a team. However, after she joined a partnership with her now-co-owner Natalie, she found herself free to pursue more of the things that she was really good at. Each subsequent hire has allowed Amy to fine-tune her skillset in certain areas while letting others do the work she wasn't as passionate about, but they were. Since building a team, Super Healthy Kids has grown in amazing ways, and today Amy is here to tell us all about it. In this episode, Amy shares: How her blog supported her larger vision for her business Why it took her so long to turn a profit How she secured a consistent revenue stream with a membership aspect of SHK How she found and hired her business partner How hiring someone else to do a specific task liberated her What the turning point was that took her from "getting by" to "wildly successful" Why she needed to separate work and the other parts of her life How her revenues have increased though traffic has gone down Resources: Super Healthy Kids SHK 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!

Welcome to episode 66 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork talks with Alana Woolley and Lindsay Ostrom about creating awesome recipe videos for Pinch of Yum. We've all heard it: video is the new thing. If you want to grow an audience quickly, if you want to be extremely helpful to your readers, if you want to take advantage of sponsored content opportunities galore… get into video. But.. how?? It can seem so daunting to get started with. There's all the equipment you (think you) need, the amount of time it takes, the pressure to make perfect videos… So many things! Fortunately, our guests today have a lot of experience creating recipe videos, and they're here to make it a bit easier for you. Please welcome: Alana Woolley & Lindsay Ostrom from Pinch of Yum! In this episode, Alana & Lindsay share: How much engagement their videos get as compared to photos What Alana's goals are for each video What the video creation process involves What gear they use to create the videos If solo bloggers (those without a team) can do video well The most important thing you need when making video Why they keep their videos short What settings you need to change when uploading to Instagram Where they put links for the videos on Facebook Resources: Promaster Tripod Manfrotto arm smallHD 701 Lite Monitor (here's a cheaper alternative) Tortus Copenhagen Canon 7D Mark II, 28mm lens Final Cut Pro Adobe Premiere Pro hello@pinchofyum.com See a photo of the POY video setup at foodbloggerpro.com/66 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 65 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork talks with Michelle Tam from Nom Nom Paleo about building a brand across many channels. If you've been blogging for a while, or even a short time, you might have found that it's really difficult to establish your blog on a variety of different channels and mediums. There's only so much you can do! Some bloggers excel at it, though, despite the constraints of work, family, and life. Michelle Tam from Nom Nom Paleo is one such blogger. She's managed to secure a brand presence not only on all the big social networks, but also in the form of her own iPhone app and her own cookbook. She's a branding queen, and today she's here to tell us all about it. In this episode, Michelle shares: How she got started with Nom Nom Paleo Why they started with Tumblr instead of WordPress What her partner's role in the business is Why she decided to publish a cookbook in print How she kept creative control while still working with a publisher How she deals with people who accuse her of not being paleo Resources: Nom Nom Paleo Musicl.ly Gary Vaynerchuck The Tim Ferris Show The Sporkful Gastropod Pat Flynn's Smart Passive Income This American Life 99% Invisible Serial Startup Podcast Gimlet Media Humans of New York Dave Ramsey Charles Ives Nom Nom Paleo on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Snapchat (michitam) 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 64 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork interviews Dan Miller from 48 Days about finding work that you love through understanding yourself. Most of us have been there before: working a job that just isn't right for us. Maybe it doesn't pay enough, or the passion isn't there, or it doesn't work with your lifestyle. Whatever the reason, being in this position is just lame. At some point, you might have realized that you want to do something else - you saw a friend or a coworker or an internet role model find success, and you want to do what they did. You would love job! The problem is that it can be really difficult to know if you actually will love that job. Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, has seen this scenario play out many times. Through his books, speaking, and personal coaching, he's mentored thousands of people to help them find the work they'll love, and today he talks with Bjork about this common conundrum. In this episode, Dan shares: How to know if you are doing meaningful work How you can find your passion How to know when your hobby should stay just a hobby What business you shouldn't go into in the food industry How to know if you'll enjoy a certain type of work Resources: StrengthsFinder DISC Profiles on 48 Days Entrepreneur on Fire 48 Days to the Work You Love 48 Days 48 Days Podcast 48Days.net Community 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 63 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork talks with Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents about making sound decisions about your finances for your business and your personal life. If you're serious about this blogging stuff, you've may have already created a business for your blog - or at minimum, you've thought about it. However, registering as a business isn't the only decision you need to make. Running a business means dealing with your money properly to secure for both your business and your personal financial future. Jeff Rose is both a certified financial planner and a blogger, and he does both in support of his business. He's made his living by helping others manage theirs, and his wealth of information will help you plan for a secure financial future. In this episode, Jeff talks about: How to financially transition into working for yourself How to organize your time for business success The first thing you need to do to prepare for working for yourself What your savings are actually good for Where you should be investing your money as a small business owner What types of insurance you should have Resources: Good Financial Cents The Strategic Coach YouNeedABudget.com Mint.com YNAB Subscriptions Scottrade TD Ameritrade Betterment Vanguard Life Insurance by Jeff Marriage More 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 62 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork interviews Mike Morrison about launching and running a successful membership site. While most food bloggers set their monetization sights on generating income through ads or sponsored content, there might be another good avenue to look toward. Mike Morrison cofounded The Membership Guys, a website and podcast dedicated to helping people learn how to run successful membership sites. He has found that, when done properly, having a membership site can be a lucrative and reliable business. When membership sites are the last thing on the minds of most bloggers, it may very well be a fantastic way for you and your website to stand out in the crowd. In this episode, Mike talks about: What a membership site exactly is What the important metrics are for a membership site Whether you should launch without a following How large your audience needs to be to be successful Where to find your audience How to validate your idea What WordPress plugins your should use to build your site What makes people successful in the membership arena Resources: The Membership Guys Member Site Academy talkmemberships.com Will It Fly by Pat Flynn Membership plugin info 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 61 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! We have a special episode today - our first ever community podcast! In this episode, we hear from members of the Food Blogger Pro community talk about what's working for them right now. The only bummer about the FBP Podcast is that we just can't interview everyone. There are so many bloggers out there who we would love to hear from, though! So, the idea for a community podcast episode was born. Listeners from all over the globe called in to share their tips, tricks, and techniques that are working for them to grow their blog. Ranging from tips to help manage social media to techniques for staying on top of things, this episode has a little bit of everything. Enjoy! In this episode, FBP listeners share tips on: Finding your own voice Being useful Creating a business directory Increasing engagement by being engaged Running group giveaways Being part of an accountability group Building an editorial calendar Using your blog to find clients and so much more! Resources: Back to Her Roots Let's Taco Bout It Food Truck Empire Modern Honey Food Fashion & Fun Wok & Skillet Teaspoon of Spice Homemade Italian Cooking CoSchedule (members get a deal on the FBP D&D page!) Adobe Lightroom Wanderlust & Wellness Workweek Foodie Veggie Primer Fooduzzi How to follow pages on Facebook Almond to Zest Paleo Scaleo Life is Better with Tea Food Fit Fabulous Breaking Down Nutrition Froment Free Dish by Dish Bet on Dinner Over app Kitchen of Debjani Dishes Delish Carrie on Living Lakeside Table Culinary Hill Eat Within Your Means Jessica Gavin 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 60 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork finishes off the solo trio with some fantastic advice on SEO for food bloggers. SEO can seem mysterious and scary for bloggers. There's so much information on it out there, but it can be confusing and difficult to read. Moz, an popular and well-regarded SEO site, published once upon a time a blog post called the Beginner's Guide to SEO. Bjork read through this whole post (it's so long it has chapters!) and pulled out a bunch of things he learned from the post. In today's podcast, Bjork talks about these things and relates them specifically to food blogging. He talks about what the purpose of SEO is and how people use it, as well as how you can improve the SEO of your website. In this episode, Bjork discusses: What it is that SEO is meant to influence Why people use search engines - and why it matters to you What keywords you should be trying to rank for Whether or not your site design matters for SEO How search engines can track whether or not your website is engaging your visitors What the (not provided) keyword in Google Analytics means Resources: Moz.com The Beginner's Guide to SEO January 2015 Income Report on POY 10 Food Blog SEO tips from Moz's Beginner's Guide to SEO [original post] How to combat the (not provided) results (here's another good one) 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 59 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork and Lindsay talk about 9 ways to avoid blogger burnout. It's August and summer is in full swing. As happy as that generally makes us, summer can often be a difficult time for bloggers - it even has its own moniker, the summer slump. During the summer slump, traffic goes down, ad income falls, and worst of all, bloggers can get totally burned out. Bjork and Lindsay are no strangers to burnout. They've both experienced it many times with their businesses. However, they've also been intentional about learning how to deal with burnout when it happens and what steps they can take in the future to keep it at bay. In this episode, Bjork and Lindsay share 9 tips (plus 1 bonus tip!) that you can use to avoid blogger burnout. In this episode, Bjork & Lindsay talk about: The importance of taking time fully off Why you should pass up good opportunities Getting an office for your work How to separate yourself from negative comments Why it's okay to not produce 10/10 content all the time How unplugging helps you feel refreshed Finding other people to talk to about your business How to redefine your definition of success BONUS: How to be a trickster, not a marauder Resources: foodbloggerpro.com/call Lindsay's "At the Cabin" post from 2015 CoSchedule (Food Blogger Pro members get a deal on CoSchedule on the Deals page!) Asana Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert 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!