The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Welcome to episode 32 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork talks with Mark Doust about buying and selling established websites. Most of you probably aren't thinking of selling your website right now. But even if you aren't, knowing what makes a website "sellable" can really help you in the future if that day ever does come. Mark Daoust has made his living by helping people buy and sell websites since 2007, and he's become a go-to expert in the field. Lucky for us, he decided to come on the podcast today and tell us everything he knows - well, as much as he can in an hour! In this really educational interview, Mark shares: The difference between selling profitable vs. non-profitable websites Why having a "personal" approach to your website can limit sellability How you can transition from a "personal" website to a more general one when it comes time to sell The 4 factors that contribute to a sellable business How diversifying income and traffic sources can lower your website's risk The simplest & most important part of owning your business The most important factors that contribute to your business value Listen to the Food Blogger Pro Podcast below or check it out on iTunes: [[podcast episode embedded here]] Resources: Quiet Light Brokerage QuickBooks Online Google Analytics BareMetrics Cyfe.com The Princess Bride (purchase on Amazon!) 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 31 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork talks with Erin Clarke from Well Plated about rebranding her food blog. Back when Erin started her blog, it wasn't called Well Plated. Instead, it was called The Law Student's Wife - and that's because 1) she was a law student's wife, and 2) it wasn't necessarily about food. But after blogging under that name for a while, she decided that she loved posting recipes. And unfortunately, the name of her blog just didn't fit any more. So, she made the really tough decision to rebrand her blog, and she did it! But it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns, though. There wasn't much info about the process of rebranding out there, so she had to go at it all on her own. In this episode, Erin shares what she learned along the way, and her #1 resource for learning what it takes to rebrand your blog. In this amazing interview, Erin shares: Why she started a blog and what it was all about When she was able to go full-time with her blog What made her decide to rebrand her blog What went in to choosing her new blog name How she figures out what her readers want to see The best thing she did for her blog (aside from rebranding) Her advice for new bloggers Resources: Well Plated Whois.net Namechk.com Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh Rebranding Your Blog eBook Well Plated on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube 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 30 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork interviews a member of the Food Blogger Pro community, Nick Evans from Macheesmo! Many of you listening to this podcast right now know Nick Evans from the Food Blogger Pro community forums. Nick is always a voice of inspiration, motivation, and encouragement to other members on the forum. What you might not know is that Nick has been doing this blogging thing for quite a long time - 8 years to be exact! And in this interview, he shares some really great realistic tips for maintaining a blog over the long term. In this great interview, Nick shares: What it was like to be on the Food Fighters cooking show What he thinks the "next big thing" is for food blogging How he got started with making videos for Macheesmo How he manages to keep on top of everything he does His secret to blogging for the long term (over 8 years!) How he turned his hobby blog into a business His experience using Blab to connect with his audience How he decides which posts to update with new images, keywords, or graphics Resources: Macheesmo Adobe Creative Cloud What you should include in your Media Kit Chatroulette Parody of Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball 028: How to Boost Your Blog’s SEO with Casey Markee from Media Wyse Macheesmo on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Blab 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 29 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This is a special edition of the FBP podcast featuring... you guessed it! Bjork and Lindsay Ostrom. It's always so interesting to hear about the stories people have with their blogs - when they started, how they got going, what keeps them inspired. However, it's pretty rare to get a full breakdown of all the phases that the blog and the blogger(s) went through from day 1. Usually the stories talk about the beginning, and then the present. But today, Bjork and Lindsay sit down together (literally) and talk about the 4 distinct stages Pinch of Yum went through up until today. It's just so interesting. And if you listen alllll they way through to the end, they also have some cutesy married-couple moments that I distinctly decided not to edit out. It's adorbs. In this peek back in time, Bjork & Lindsay share: What the first year of blogging was all about for Lindsay What she would have done differently when they started Pinch of Yum Her advice for those who are still in the "first stage" of blogging Bjork's favorite Ira Glass quote (again) What it was like when Lindsay started "playing the game" with blog numbers Why Lindsay finds surveys so valuable Whether a custom website design or good content is more important When they entered the "high stakes" game with Pinch of Yum What it was like to work full time and grow Pinch of Yum at the same time Why Pinch of Yum is still a very personal site instead just a collection of recipes And more! Resources: 10 Mistakes that Bloggers Make & How to Fix Them eBook Episode 028: How to Boost Your Blog’s SEO with Casey Markee from Media Wyse Google Analytics Google Analytics course on Food Blogger Pro Hotjar Hotjar course on Food Blogger Pro SurveyMonkey Wayback Machine 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 28 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! We are starting the new year off strong with a podcast all about optimizing your blog so that you can show up higher in search results. Last week on the podcast, Bjork interviewed Ali Maffucci from Inspiralized. They talked about how she built a really strong brand in a really specific niche, and how it worked out really well for her. She now even sells her own physical product! To go back and listen to that episode, click here. How to Boost Your Blog’s SEO SEO can sound like a really scary acronym - what does it even mean, and how can I make it work for me?! But fear not, because even though it can be pretty complex to master, it can also be pretty easy to get started with. Casey Markee from Media Wyse specializes in boosting SEO for food blogs. He kind of fell into this niche by accident, and by now has worked with 50+ bloggers to help them rank higher in search. In this interview, he and Bjork talk about some of the really quick and easy things you can do to improve your blog’s SEO, as well as some of the higher-level stuff that can give you an extra SEO boost. In this super informative interview, Casey shares: What SEO is and why it is so important for your food blog What the biggest component of ranking online is How backlinks affect your search rankings How you can go about link-building in an ethical, Google-approved way The one thing you should make sure you have set up for your blog in 2016 What structured data is and how it can indirectly help your organic traffic How Google uses authorship to gauge EAT - expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness Why you should be updating your popular posts yearly How site speed will affect your rankings now and in the future A few small, easy things you can do to boost your blog’s SEO   Resources: Media Wyse Moz Search Ranking Factors Searchmetrics Ranking Factors Casey’s Slideshare Channel Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool Google Search Rater Quality Guidelines Redirection WordPress Plugin AMP Wordpress Plugin Tiny JPG EWWW Image Optimizer WordPress Plugin Yoast SEO for WordPress Course on Food blogger Pro EasyRecipe Course on Food blogger Pro 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!

Committing to a Niche and Building a Brand Welcome to episode 27 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This is the last episode of 2015 - crazy! This week on the podcast, Bjork is talking with Ali Maffucci from Inspiralized! When most bloggers start out, committing to a specific niche can seem scary - we don't want to turn anyone away from our new blog! However, finding a small niche that you are really passionate about can help propel your blog into success. Ali Maffucci has certainly found a small niche with Inspiralized. She posts recipes that all use a spiralizer, and she loves it! She's been featured in many magazines, has her own product to sell, and has really captured the love and attention of fellow spiralizers. In this inspiring interview, Ali shares: Why she decided to start a blog all about spiralizing How she got the Inspiralized name out there with "self PR" How she approached her brand even when it was just getting started Her advice for creating and selling a physical product How she stays organized and gets the most important things done Resources: Inspiralized 025: How to Connect with Influencers with John Corcoran from Smart Business Revolution Evernote 004: How Understanding Your Visitors Can Help You Create an Income with Dr. David Darmanin from Hotjar Hotjar course on FBP Canon 5D Mark III Adobe Creative Cloud Premiere Pro Inspiralized on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

How Pinterest Analytics can Boost your Blog Welcome to episode 26 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week marks the 6th month anniversary of the FBP podcast - so exciting! We’ve learned so much in the last 6 months, and we’ve really loved sharing it with all of you. Thank you thank you for being our loyal subscriber! This week on the podcast, Bjork is talking with Kate Ahl from Simple Pin Media about Pinterest! For most bloggers (myself included), Pinterest Analytics are really just used as a comparison tool - how the blog did this week versus last week. However, Kate from Simple Pin Media specializes in digging deep into Pinterest Analytics to really see what works - and then she coaches her clients on how to use that information to grow their blogs. In this insightful interview, Kate shares: What Pinterest is and how it is used How Pinterest out-performs other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter How to get your pins to show up higher in search What the difference is between a user account and a business account on Pinterest How you should be using Pinterest analytics How to use “content upgrades” to increase opt-ins on your site using information from Pinterest The first thing Kate and her team do for a new client’s Pinterest profile How to keep tabs on what’s trending on Pinterest How to find the boards that perform well for you Resources: Simple Pin Media Episode 19 - Susan Wenner Jackson YesWare TextExpander business.pinterest.com Pinterest course on FBP LeadPages GetResponse Active Campaign Mailchimp Aweber Mad Mimi Pinterest Email Settings (log in to Pinterest first) 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 Connect with Influencers Welcome to episode 25 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week, Bjork talks with John Cocoran from Smart Business Revolution about connecting with influencers. Growing your blog can be tough - aside from all the cooking, photographing, and writing, you also have to figure out how to get your name out there. John Cocoran argues that connecting with influencers and growing your relationships with them can be one of the best ways to get your name out there. So how do you do it? Listen in as John shares his personal experiences with networking, his best tips to meet influencers, and why you should rank peoples' importance from a business standpoint. In this grounding interview, John shares: What an influencer is and why they are important to your business How providing content for others helped him grow his business Why you should give more than you get to grow relationships How to identify the people you should be getting in contact with Why you should be using lists in Twitter to keep track of your How you can use interviews to get to know people How to connect with people at conferences Resources: Smart Business Revolution How to create a list in Twitter smartbusinessrevolution.com/quick-introductions Contactually 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!

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!