How to Find Balance in Blogging I am SO excited about this week's episode because it goes over some really important things that I think all bloggers need to hear. This week, Bjork talked with Ali Ebright from Gimme Some Oven about finding balance in the busy world of blogging. We all know what it feels like to feel totally overwhelmed about all the things we "need" to do - and excel at - as bloggers. First it's cooking, then web administration, and photography, then social media, Twitter parties, monetization, writing... and the list goes on! But in today's episode, Ali shares her best advice for bloggers - and it includes slowing down and taking some time for yourself. In this grounding interview, Ali shares: How she stumbled upon the idea for a blog & got started What motivated her to keep blogging when she didn't even know she could make money with a blog Her tips for white photography When she quit her job to be a blogger full-time, and how long she thinks she'll be doing it What she does to continue to grow her blog every day How she uses the Google Keyword Planner to get post ideas Why she surveys her readers every year Her best advice for new and experienced bloggers Listen to the Food Blogger Pro Podcast below or check it out on iTunes: [[podcast episode embedded here]] Resources: Gimme Some Oven Episode 016: How Elise Bauer Built Simply Recipes and Recovered from a 70% Drop in Traffic White Balance Eyedropper Tutorial Google Keyword Tool (note - this link will only work if you have an AdWords account set up) Gimme Some Oven on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram Ira Glass quote on creative work foodbloggerpro.com/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!

Building a Team for Your Online Business Welcome to the 23rd episode of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! These numbers are getting pretty big... in just 3 more episodes that means we'll have been making podcast episodes for half a year! So crazy. On to the episode! This week, Bjork had a conversation with Melissa Lanz, the CEO and founder of The Fresh 20, a meal planning service. They talk a little bit about what her business does, and a LOT about how her business does it. Melissa Lanz wasn't always an entrepreneur. In fact, she started out as a "miserable, but comfortable" corporate worker making well over $100k per year. So she started her own business - and it grew to the point that she simply couldn't do it all on her own. So, she hired some help. And in the years since, she's become a master at hiring, firing, running her online business, and helping others do the same. In this awesome interview, Melissa shares: What her husband said that helped her change her direction in life to pursue her own business How she afforded to quit her job and pursue her own business full time Where she found the time to start her new venture How she perfected her product using friends' feedback When she realized she needed to hire someone, and where she found help How systematizing the team's work allowed the Lanz family to take a 5 week vacation last year How giving team members authority made sure all bases were covered How to determine whether your hires should be employees or contract labor Resources: The Fresh 20 Zendesk Jing Screen Capture Tool BaseCamp Infusionsoft Melissa Lanz & Co service@melissalanz.com foodbloggerpro.com/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!

Sponsored Content from a Brand's Perspective Hello hello! We're back at it this week on the FBP Podcast and we're talking with Zach Tackett from DeLallo about sponsored content from the brand's perspective. It's the ultimate food blogger goal - to get paid to use a brand's product in a recipe you post on your website. What could be cooler?! The tough part can be actually finding the brands that you want to work with - and who want to work with you, too. Fortunately, Zach Tackett from DeLallo Foods met up with Bjork and Lindsay to talk about exactly what brands are looking for in bloggers, what the process looks like, and what to expect. In this really insightful interview, Zach shares: Where the DeLallo company got its roots What DeLallo advertising looked like back in the early days, and how they tackle it now What the DeLallo brand looks for in food bloggers for sponsored content Whether you have to work with an agency to get sponsored content What the actual process looks like for sponsored content Why DeLallo works with "brand ambassadors" instead of paying bloggers for one-off posts How to make your sponsored posts sound authentic How to get brands' attention Resources: DeLallo.com @DeLalloFoods on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk Poetry Magazine Poetry Foundation Poets.org Our Andromeda by Brenda Shaughnessy

How to Manage Your Schedule So You Can Live Free Welcome to another week of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This episode, Bjork and Lindsay talk with Amy Lynn Andrews about time management. If I were to guess, I would say that the most common question we get from our members is, "How do I manage my time when there are so many things to do?!?" And yes, it usually comes with two question marks and at least one exclamation point - this question is usually posed by those feeling overwhelmed and at a point of desperation. Finding the time to do all of the things you want to do can be really tough, especially when everybody and their mother is telling you about the next coolest thing you just HAVE to do to make your blog readership grow. Fortunately, Amy Lynn Andrews has been doing this blogging stuff for quite a while now, and she has some great tips to share with all of us who are struggling to prioritize and fit it all in. In this really helpful interview, Amy Lynn shares: Her "getting started" tips for blogging as a business How she sets a purpose, plan, place, and plot for her business and her life How she uses her quadrant method to prioritize activities How to clarify what your most important goal is and use that to set priorities How to be flexible with your time management Resources: amylynnandrews.com The Useletter 11 Things to Do Before Making Money Online

How to Secure your Food Blog Welcome back to the Food Blogger Pro podcast! In this episode, Bjork talks with Andrew Wilder from Blog Tutor about blog security. When you're starting and maintaining your food blog, there are so many things to do. From getting your website designed just right to making that batch of double chocolate cookies 5 times to make it perfect, a food blogger pretty much always has a full plate (har har). So when someone tells you that you should take some of your precious, precious time and use it to create strong passwords and back up your blog, I'll admit that I'm not the first person to jump up and down in excitement. However, these things are so, so important. It only takes one small event - which are often caused by factors out of your control - to bring your blog down. And if you don't have it all backed up, you could lose all of your hard work just like that. Andrew Wilder specializes in blog security, and today he's here to tell us what we need to do to make sure our blogs are safe from both intentional and unintentional harm. In this really important interview, Andrew shares: How he transitioned from being a studio lighting designer to a food blog security master The two most important things you can do for your blog's security How databases work and why you need to back them up What tools he recommends for your website backups Whether or not you should use your hosting company's backups Why you should use a password manager Why you should update your WordPress software and plugins What two-factor authentication is and why you should be using it How he helps webmasters keep their websites live and secure all the time Resources: Eating Rules Blog Tutor VaultPress UpDraft Plus BackUp Buddy CodeGaurd 1Password KeePass LastPass WordFence iThemes Security Login Security Solution Google Authenticator for iPhone and Android Duo Security Deals & Discounts page on FBP Remember, we are closing the doors on FBP memberships on November 19! Sign up now to get access! 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 to Master Pinterest for your Food Blog Welcome back to the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews Susan from Ahalogy, a Pinterest marketing Partner. As food bloggers, we've all heard it: Pinterest can, and should, be a major driving force for your blog. Get Pinterest figured out and you'll be set with all the traffic your little blogging heart desires. Unfortunately, mastering Pinterest isn't that easy. Deciding what size images to use, whether or not you should make a compilation of images, and if you should be adding text are all tough questions. Thankfully, Susan Wenner Jackson from Ahalogy, a Pinterest Marketing Partner, is here to help us out! In this insightful interview, Susan shares: How she would describe Pinterest from a user's perspective Why you should start with your existing personal account Why you should think of Pinterest as a search engine Whether or not you should be deleting old pins Why you should enable rich pins for your domain How you should be writing your pin descriptions If food bloggers should be using promoted pins How Ahalogy works with bloggers and brands Resources: foodbloggerpro.com/focus Ahalogy SusanWennerJackson.com @SusanWJackson Working Moms Against Guilt Trend Report for Ingredients

Welcome back to the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews the cofounder of Simple Green Smoothies, Jadah Sellner, about building a successful online business without blogging. Wait a minute here. We're Food Blogger Pro. What is this "business without blogging" stuff all about? Well, our main goal here at FBP is to help people create a business at the intersection of food and the web. While blogging is a common, even well-defined, path to that, we also realize it's possible to build a business doing less blogging and more of everything else. Take, for example, Jadah Sellner and Jen Hansard, the cofounders of Simple Green Smoothies. They tried blogging at first, but found success when the started to focus on one specific idea and sharing that idea freely on Instagram. They now run a successful business (with a website and an occasionally-updated blog) and have a massive tribe of followers who love their microblogged content on social media. In this truly awesome interview, Jadah shares: How Simple Green Smoothies came to be The first failed business attempts that led to Simple Green Smoothies Why inner confidence is so important when you're building your business The resources that inspired Jadah when she had yet to find success Why you should tease your products before the launch How to find the products that will be successful Why you shouldn't take people out of their dance club (say whaat?!) How many people you should be talking to in your blog posts Why you need to be flexible as an entrepreneur

How to Connect with Brands and Find Sponsored Content We are back with another episode of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews the COO of Sway Group, Francesca Banducci, about sponsored content. In today's changing ad landscape (you know, with mobile ad blockers and such), finding alternate ways to monetize your food blog is becoming more and more important. Sponsored content is a really great way to do this. Francesca Banducci is the COO of Sway Group, a rapidly growing company that helps connect bloggers with the brands they want to talk about. In this really insightful interview, Francesca shares: What sponsored content is and why it is becoming so important The different types of ways bloggers can work with brands How even small blogs can be valuable to brands How to open up a conversation with a brand without even contacting them The mistakes bloggers should avoid when trying to find sponsored opportunities What beginner, intermediate, and advanced bloggers should focus on in regards to sponsored content If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Welcome back, friends! On this episode of the Food Blogger Pro Podcast, Bjork interviews the maker of one of the most popular food blogs in the world - Elise Bauer from Simply Recipes. There are people who have been blogging for a long time. And then there are people who have been blogging since before blogging was a thing. Elise is one of those people, and you could definitely say she was at the forefront of the food blogging tidal wave. Today, she runs one of the most popular food blogs in the world, and is here to tell us about the journey - which has definitely included its fair share of ups and downs. In this candid interview, Elise shares: How she started her blog and got her domain name The decisions she made when getting started to promote her success Why she buys good photography equipment What Panda updates are and how Google now looks at new content How search engine algorithm updates can affect your blog How she recovered from a major traffic dropoff How she uses Pin scheduling to keep bringing in traffic for popular recipes What keeps her motivated even after blogging for over 13 years

Welcome back, friends! This week, Bjork interviews Diane Jacob, the author behind the book and blog Will Write for Food. If ever there was a mentor you wished you had when it came to writing, Dianne Jacob is that person. And the awesome thing is that she has made it her job to help people like you and me write about food better. From helping new bloggers find their voice to assisting seasoned ones with a cookbook proposal, Dianne has done it all. We were so excited to talk to Dianne about writing for this episode, and we definitely weren't disappointed. In this awesome episode, Dianne tells: The difference between self-publishing and working with a publisher What it means to get an advance & royalties What it takes to write a great book proposal When a recipe can be considered your own Why your voice is so important How to get over "writer's block" and get the writing done How to manage your internal critic Resources: Will Write for Food Will Write for Food book Facebook Twitter Contact Dianne If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.