The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

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.

Hello hello! Another week, another episode. #stoked! This week, Bjork interviews husband and wife team Jamie and Saukok Tieampo from New York's SeeFood Media. Jamie and Saukok didn't always work in the food industry, but they've made quite the splash since they've arrived. SeeFood Media has become the go-to food video production studio in New York and beyond - they've filmed personalities from Bobby Flay to Kelly Senyei. Through their work in the food video industry, Jamie and Saukok have really boiled it down to what makes a great cooking video - and they're here to share their secrets with you! In this awesome episode, Jamie & Saukok reveal: How they found their way into the visual food industry Why they didn't open a restaurant instead Why video is taking over the internet The big secret to making great videos All their knowledge about lighting videos (these work for photos, too!) The equipment they would recommend to those new to video Resources: See Food Media Phantom Camera C300 camera Zoom recorders If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Hi friends! We are back with another week of the Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week, Bjork is talking with city girl turned country blogger Molly Yeh from My Name is Yeh. So what do you do when you live on a farm in North Dakota and your husband spends all day out in the fields? You make cakes. And macaroni. And everything else delicious on the planet. Such is the life of blogger Molly Yeh. While her husband works the fields of North Dakota, Molly brings us beautiful, delicious recipes from her kitchen, as well as stories from life on the farm. Her unique angle makes for quite the intriguing blog experience, and has helper he become the blogging powerhouse she is today. In this awesome episode, Molly shares: What it's like to be a food blogger living in the middle of nowhere What it means to be the most extreme version of yourself How journaling led her to start a blog How she balances posting food and lifestyle posts on the same blog Her tips for photography and photo editing How she deals with trolls (it has to do with butts!) How interacting with the blog community has helped her find success Resources: My Name is Yeh VSCO Amelia's notebooks Adobe Lightroom Molly's Twitter If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.