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 De

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

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 sa

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 desc

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 Sim

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 regard

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 i

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

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 recor

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

Solopreneur Food Blogging Hello, and welcome back to the Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week, Bjork is talking with veteran blogger, cookbook author, and YouTuber Kelly Senyei from Just a Taste. When I think of Kelly Senyei, I wonder how in the world one person has done everything she's accomplished. From her degrees in Journalism and culinary school, to working at Food Network, to writing the book on food blogging (literally), Kelly seems to have done it all. Amazingly, she's done all of this on her own, including the monetization, social media, and content management. In this inspiring episode, Kelly reveals: Why she thinks consistency is so important The steps she went through to make sure she could be an authority in her market How she applied her various degrees to food blogging Why she went to culinary school and how it has helped her career How she found jobs in the food industry and how those experiences helped her build a successful blog Her favorite restaurants in CA and NY What the most difficult

Making the Leap to Full-Time Blogging Another week, another episode! We hope you've been enjoying the FBP podcast so far. We've sure had fun making it! Today's episode features Beth Moncel from the awesome food blog Budget Bytes. So many of us hope and dream that one day we could make blogging our full-time job. Well, Beth was once one of us, but now she's actually living the dream! However, this didn't just magically happen. Instead, Beth did a slow transition from corporate to self-employed, and it made the switch a little less stressful. In this inspiring episode, Beth reveals: What it was like transitioning from her day job to working for herself How she got started on her blog Why she switched from Blogger to Wordpress and how it affected her blog How she managed her time while working full time and running her blog simultaneously How social media has contributed to her success Her top 5 tools she couldn't live without The one thing she wishes she did sooner How she is planning on getting into video Re

Working with Brands on YouTube Welcome back to the Food Blogger Pro podcast! Today's episode features Beth Le Manach from the YouTube cooking channel Entertaining with Beth. We had our first YouTube-centric interview a few weeks ago with Chris and Hilah of Hilah Cooking. While that interview covered more of the actual video topics, today's talk with Beth Le Manach gets into the other stuff - how to work with brands, what multi-channel networks are, and finding your "value" on YouTube. This episode is sucha a great listen for those interested in YouTube, but might be a little bogged down in the details. Beth helps clear the murky water that is YouTube and gives some great advice for those looking to jump in. In this info-packed episode, Beth reveals: How to choose a multi-channel network How multi-channel networks are turning into multi-platform networks What metrics are important to pay attention to on YouTube How long your videos should be Where to find your "value" Why YouTube is such a personal platform H

For today's episode of the Food Blogger Pro podcast, Bjork interviews Jaden and Scott Hair from the inspiring food blog Steamy Kitchen. Food blogging starts out as a hobby for most, but after all the learning, hard work, and pride in what they've built, many people decide they want to turn their hobby into their business. But, that road can seem like a rough ride if you don't know what to expect. Fortunately, Jaden and Scott Hair, the makers of Steamy Kitchen, Food Blog Forum, and Kitchen Table Mastery, are here to tell us a little bit more about it. In this fun episode, Jaden & Scott reveal: The two traits they see in all successful bloggers The secret to doing the difficult things Their biggest secret to creating an income from a food blog (it has to do with Robots) How to find out what people need Why they think building an email list is the most important thing you can do Why diversification was the key to Steamy Kitchen's success Who is on their imaginary board of directors - and why they're there H

Simplifying Ad Optimization with Andy Marzka from AdThrive For today's episode of the Food Blogger Pro podcast, Bjork talks with Andy Marzka, founder and CEO of ad optimization service AdThrive. Ad optimization is one of those things that totally clicks for some people and totally doesn't click for others. And even for the people it "clicks" for, it can be a confusing, befuddling, and frustrating process to get it all figured out. Fortunately, Andy Marzka agreed to help us understand it all a little better. Andy is the founder and CEO of AdThrive, an ad optimization service that helps you make the most money possible with your ads. In this eye-opening episode, Andy reveals: What DFP is and why AdThrive uses it How passbacks work and why they are important The number of ads you should have and how to place them How the ad industry is changing - and what it means for you Why ad impressions don't always add up to equal the number of pageviews What cookies are and how they work When you should start using ads as

For this episode of the Food Blogger Pro podcast, Bjork and Lindsay team up to talk with Ashley and Gabe Rodriguez from the blog Not Without Salt. On the last episode of the FBP podcast, Bjork interviewed Hilah Johnson and Chris Sharpe from the YouTube cooking channel Hilah Cooking. We got a real-life look into what it takes to run a successful cooking channel and the work it took to get there. If you didn't get a chance to listen to that episode (or if you want to hear it again!), click here. The Art of Photography with Ashley and Gabe from Not Without Salt Not Without Salt was the winner of the 2013 Saveur Best Cooking Blog award. That's a big deal. But this award wasn't just handed over to Ashley and Gabe - no, it was won after years and years of dedication and hard work. Photography and art are two really important things to both Ashley and Gabe - Ashley went to school to be a high school art teacher, and Gabe shoots weddings for a living. However, it's at the intersection of photography and art where the

For this episode of the Food Blogger Pro podcast, we're taking with Hilah Johnson and Chris Sharpe from the YouTube channel and food blog Hilah Cooking. On the last episode of the FBP podcast, Bjork talked with Jason Leake from 100 Days of Real Food. Jason gave us a really great look into what it takes to run a food blog behind the scenes. If you missed that episode, check it out here. Hilah Johnson & Chris Sharpe: Broke filmmakers turned YouTube cooking channel stars Hilah and Chris did not get started in video with their cooking channel. It all started, in fact, with a "post-apocalyptic horror comedy" film they did together - which ultimately took a dive and failed. But just a few years later, Chris and Hilah are a very successful and popular team in the Youtube video industry. They joined Bjork on the Food Blogger Pro podcast to talk all about their journey to YouTube success. In this 66-minute episode, Hilah and Chris reveal: How they got started in video Why you should read the comments on your vide

For this episode of the Food Blogger Pro podcast, we're taking with Jason Leake from 100 Days of Real Food. Jason Leake: The business of food blogging For those outside the food blog world, blogging seems pretty simple - just make some food, take a few pictures, and put it up on the internet. For those of us inside the food blog world, the last sentence really just made you laugh. Well, Jason Leake is right there with you. Jason went from supportive-but-not-interested husband to full-time behind the scenes blog manager in less than 2 years. He takes care of almost everything that goes on at 100 Days of Real Food that doesn't involve cooking, photographing or writing posts. What that means is that Jason knows a LOT about what it takes to make a food blog run beyond the cooking & photographing part - and this is where most of us get stuck. This interview is definitely not one to miss. {image2} In this 64-minute episode, Jason reveals: How 100 Days of Real Food got started, and how Jason felt about being in

Today on the Food Blogger Pro podcast, we're turning up the heat (pun intended) as we talk about some tech-geek stuff with Dr. David Darmanin from HotJar. For this episode, Bjork interviews the founder and CEO of HotJar, a revolutionary startup whose goal is to provide highly important website visitor information to web administrators (people like you and me). And the best part? It's free. Dr. David Darmanin: How Understanding Your Visitors Can Help You Build Traffic and Create an Income If you haven't implemented HotJar on your site yet, you most likely just haven't heard of it yet. What Google Analytics can't do for you (or does with way too many details), HotJar makes as simple and beautiful as you can imagine. Dr. David Darmanin, the founder and CEO of HotJar, worked for years as a professional conversion expert and as a user experience (UX) designer for websites. When you put those two skills together, you get a tool that is so easy to use your grandmother could do it, and that is so good at converting y

Welcome back to the Food Blogger Pro Podcast! For this episode, Bjork had the pleasure of talking with Sally McKenney, founder and creator of Sally's Baking Addiction. Sally McKenney on creating success, ignoring the competition, and writing cookbooks. If you haven't been over to Sally's Baking Addiction yet, you are certainly missing out. Sally creates baked goods to swoon over - from cheesecake to brownies to pies, and everything you can imagine with funfetti. She's also a whiz when it comes to blog success. Sally took her blog from zero to hero (read: full time job) in just two years. She is now the author of two cookbooks, Sally's Baking Addiction and the soon-to-come Sally's Candy Addiction. In this 41-minute episode, Sally reveals: Why comparing your baby blog to the big guns is not a good strategy What she attributes to her rapid success (hint: it's not luck!) How she juggled her full-time job and growing her food blog How she got a cookbook deal - and kept up her blog while writing it Where her traff