Eat Blog Talk

In episode 441, Rob Finkelstein teaches us about supplier diversity and its importance in the recipe development/food photography marketplace. Rob is a lawyer, practicing for over 20 years in NYC. In 2017, Rob decided to pursue his passion of baking and went to culinary school for pastry arts. After graduating, not wanting to leave the law, Rob started blogging and found Cinnamon Schtick, which was also his entry into food photography. He worked with a number of brands and came to represent lots of food photographers in connection with their contracts and business set ups. Rob also spent more than 10 years as a volunteer with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) where he was Chair of Supplier Diversity for New York and also a Co-Chair of the National Legal Industry Council, facilitating opportunities for LGBT owned businesses with majority owned companies. In this episode, you'll learn what is meant by supplier diversity and why it may be beneficial to your blog and business. - Does supplier diversity apply to you? - Big companies are looking to fill their diverse supplier quota. - How can you get certified as a diverse supplier? - Understand the importance of making brands aware of supplier diversity. - Once you get certified, what should you do? - How does supplier diversity benefit you as a food blogger? Connect with Rob Finkelstein Website | Instagram

In episode 440, Megan chats to Tara Smithson about why going viral is often bad for your business and 6 tips that will help you stay motivated as you set healthy, long-term goals. Tara enjoys creating quick and easy recipes for busy people, who love the flavor, but lack time. Tara's intention is to make cooking less intimidating by sharing easy recipes that will begin to help people get inspired to cook delicious food. In this episode, you'll find out why setting long-term goals instead of focusing on immediate income and short-term success hacks, like going viral, is important for a fulfilling food blogging career. - Focus on a few activities instead of being all over the place. - Take pleasure in watching your growth over time. - Should you expect to make money from blogging at the start? - Are you passionate enough about food content creation? - Find your own path to success and enjoy the process. - Learn how to deal with people who struggle to understand what you do. - Should you get involved in the food community? Connect with Tara Smithson Website | Instagram

In episode 439, Tammy Spencer teaches us about being open to learn about all different aspects that go into successful food blogging. Tammy started Scotch & Scones in 2017 as a way to keep track of her whisky-tasting notes and share her experiences of having fun baking. In 2019, she devoted herself full-time to developing her site for commercial success, learning about the business of growing a blog from the ground up. Since then, she's applied her culinary school training by sharing recipes and tips for desserts, bread, and other goodies that home cooks will feel confident creating. In this episode, Tammy shares common blogging mistakes she made when she started and what she would've done differently. - Choose your blog theme wisely. - Play with recipes and think outside the box. - Take food photographs that attract readers. - SEO is essential and why you should get your site audited. - Why it's worth getting help with the tech side of your blog. - Accept that you'll always be learning. Connect with Tammy Spencer Website | Instagram

In episode 438, Megan chats to Breanna about how to land paid brand deals as a small creator. Breanna started on Instagram in January 2023 and then followed with a food blog in February 2023. She always had a passion for writing and cooking but never thought that she would be able to do something like this. Breanna loves sharing easy meals that are family-friendly and perfect for those with busy schedules. She has been doing this full-time as of last month and wants to share how she was able to land a brand deal with less than 2k followers on Instagram. In this episode, you'll learn Breanna's strategy for landing attractive brand deals that align with your expertise and values. - You don't need 10k followers to land brand deals. - What are the essentials of a successful pitch? - What is the difference between email and DM pitches? - Make sure you are an expert in your proposed service(s). - How many brands should you pitch per day? - Stand firm on your rates. - Does the proposed deal align with your brand values? Connect with Breanna Website | Instagram

In episode 437, Megan chats to Jessica Scully about dealing with the uphill battles in blogging, especially when you see a dramatic, instant drop in traffic. Jessica began her journey into food blogging after her family had a house fire and had to move out for 11 months. Blogging became a hobby to distract her mind that then grew into a business. A former gym owner, personal trainer, and homeschool mom to her 5-year-old, Jessica has been running the food blog since 2015 and has seen her fair share of ups and downs. In this episode, you'll learn about potential reasons why your website traffic suddenly drops and what steps you can take to get your traffic back. - What to do when your blog traffic plummets. - How not to get discouraged. - How to diversify your site traffic. - Consider getting help from the outside. - How to re-motivate yourself when you feel defeated. - Where to focus your efforts for the most impact. Connect with Jessica Scully Website | Instagram

In episode 436, Megan chats to Candice Ward about how to convert 75% of cold pitches to closed opportunities using a tried and tested sales process. Candice is the Founder of Eat More Cake Dessert Blog, Food Photographer, Educator and Sales Expert. Candice spent over a decade in corporate sales and translated that experience to help other food content creators monetize and scale their business. She has coached hundreds of food content creators inside her business course, The Confident Pitch Program. She is passionate about helping other food bloggers reach their full potential. In this episode, you'll learn how to find the right brands at the right time and how to pitch confidently to close most of your sales opportunities. - What is the sales process and how will it help our businesses? - Streamline your workflow and take away the guesswork when it comes to pitching. - What is prospecting and how can you find the right brands? - Research brands that you are interested in to assess their budget and needs. - Spark a brand's interest and tactfully suggest improvements. - To make a sale you have to approach a brand at the right time. - What should you do when brands ghost you? Connect with Candice Ward Website | Instagram

In episode 435, Carmen Spillette teaches us the latest strategies to grow our blogs and gain success in the food blogging industry, especially if we're just starting out. Carmen is a food blogger and stay-at-home mom from Canada. Carmen started her food blog in the spring of 2022. It has always been her dream to share her recipes and once she started she has never looked back. Last year, Carmen gained 106,000 followers on Instagram in 5 months and she's excited to have recently qualified for Mediavine. In this episode, you'll learn the latest strategies to grow your blog if you're a new blogger. - What does it mean to treat your blog like a business? - Why should you treat your website like you built a store? - Is videography really important for food blogging these days? - The importance of posting EVERY DAY. - Use project-management software and AI to your advantage. - Expect to put in long hours at the start to make your business work. - Learn time-management strategies like batching, from successful people. Connect with Carmen Spillette Website | Instagram

In episode 434, Megan chats to Amy Reid about imposter syndrome, what causes it, how it affects our businesses and how to overcome it. Amy started her blog, Baking with Granny in 2015, as a way to document her mother's (her kids Granny) recipes. Within a couple of years, Amy gave up full-time employment to make money blogging. She then became a single mum and the pressure was on to make it work. 8 years later and Baking with Granny has excelled past any expectations she could have ever had for it. In this episode, Amy shares her journey of dealing with imposter syndrome while trying to make a success out of her blog, including why we may feel like we don't deserve success and tips to overcome imposter syndrome and embrace our full potential. - What is imposter syndrome? - Why do we feel like we don't deserve success? - It may feel like our achievements mean nothing. - How do we overcome feeling like a fraud? - Community is essential in overcoming imposter syndrome. - Recognize the work that goes into blogging. - Fake it until you make it. - Explore deeper than just your work - what other reasons contribute to imposter syndrome? Connect with Amy Reid Website | Instagram

Alexis Leonhardt, founder of Fancy Apron, shares tips on how to use RankIQ, a keyword research tool, to grow your blog. She explains how to make keyword research faster, optimize old content, find your niche, write blog posts faster, incorporate non-recipe posts, and use RankIQ for scheduling content and batch working.

In episode 432, Adam Sobel teaches us how to monetize and market online cooking classes as well as the technical details of running such classes. Adam Sobel is the chef and owner of The Cinnamon Snail, an award-winning vegan food truck, restaurant, and catering company serving New York and New Jersey. Adam has cooked at the James Beard House, represented the USA at the World Street Food Congress in the Philippines, and teaches cooking at the Institute for Culinary Education, De Gustibus Cooking School, and independently online. Adam has appeared on the food network, Cooking Channel, PBS, and several networks, and is the author of the popular cookbook Street Vegan. He has had a lot of success with The Cinnamon Snail, which has rose to become one of the country's most sought-after food trucks. In 2014 The Cinnamon Snail was the #1 highest-rated place of any kind to eat in NYC and the #4 highest place of any kind to eat in the entire USA on yelp.com. In this episode, you'll learn 3 ways in which you can monetize your online cooking classes, how to set them up, make them look professional and market them effectively. - How to sell live class sales using Eventbrite. - Which platform should I use for my cooking classes? - Manage a class subscription and class recording sale. - How to make classes look professional and edited, even if it's just you. - Equipment breakdown: OBS, switchers, audio, lighting and camera management. - How to market cooking classes through a blog, email marketing and retargeting on social media. Connect with Adam Sobel Website | Instagram