Eat Blog Talk

In episode 361, Megan chats to Taran Conwell about hiring a mother's helper so that you can carve out more time for blogging. Taran is the host of the podcast the Undomestic Mom, which forms part of her mission to dismantle the watered-down version of self-care in today's motherhood. She coaches millennial moms and takes them from survival mode to thriving mode by helping them create and implement their own self-care routines and find fulfillment outside of motherhood. Taran became passionate about helping mothers live fulfilling, balanced lives after experiencing mom burnout. In this episode, she explains the ROI of hiring a mother's helper, including saving money, having more time to focus on your blog and feeling more refreshed during family time. - Why is hiring a mother's helper more economical than hiring a VA? - It can be more beneficial, especially if you're a new blogger. - Will it help you be more intentional and get more work done in a shorter amount of time? - How do you find a mother's helper? - Lay out your expectations clearly (i.e. phone usage during their hours). - Hiring help can lend legitimacy to your business. - What age group should the mother's helper be and how does this impact their work? - Best interviewing practice to find the best fit for you. Connect with Taran Conwell Website | Instagram

In episode 360, Kimberly Espinel reveals 5 photography styling tips that will take our food photography to the next level and she teaches us how to develop a unique visual identity for our food blogs. Kimberly is a London-based, award-winning editorial and commercial food photographer, bestselling author, educator and creative business mentor. She runs a thriving food photography business and has created content for many brands including Sony, KitchenAid and more. She is also the host of the podcast, Eat, Capture, Share, focusing on how bloggers can progress in their careers by developing an original impactful visual identity. In this episode, find out first-hand how you can do the same. - Tips to work with light and shadow to maximize the depth and impact of your photos. - Color theory is an essential part of defining your unique style. - Be intentional with your color. - What are presets and how to use them to save time and create different photography looks. - Choose the correct equipment to compliment your style. - Expand your food styling composition to set yourself apart. - Think of the story that you're telling through your photography. - How can a unique look help you grow your audience and business? Connect with Kimberly Espinel Website | Instagram

In episode 359, Megan chats to Sally Aleckson about why being a part-time food blogger can help cultivate your passion. Sally started food blogging in 2014 and since then has gone through a rebrand and a complete overhaul of her site to what you can see today on Eight Forest Lane. Despite not having the same financial success and traffic as others who have been doing it for less time, she keeps going because she loves it. In this episode, she shares her journey and why she decided to blog as a hobby instead of making it a full-time job. Learn about the advantages of being a part-time blogger and why this will cultivate your passion and why knowing that your bills are paid can allow you to create more freely. - Is your blogging journey resonating with your personality? - Learn from others but follow your own unique path. - What do you have to spend your time on versus what you want to spend your time on? - Why do we lose joy when we make our passion a full-time job? - Use your blog to learn new skills and transfer these into a career that you love. - Have the freedom to create knowing your bills are paid. - Choose the path that aligns closely with your values and why you started food blogging in the first place. Connect with Sally Aleckson Website | Instagram

In episode 358, Megan chats to Lauren Klein about how to pursue blogging as a hobby while still making money. Lauren is a professional dietician, who started her food blog, Piece of Lulu, mainly as a hobby and shares original recipes as well as a wealth of wellness and nutrition content. She found the process of developing her blog and helping her readers understand how to live healthier lives, extremely rewarding. In this episode, find out how to also have a rewarding experience and develop a successful food blog, while still making money yet not having the pressure of earning a full-time income. - How much time should you put into a hobby blog to make it lucrative? - Which areas are most important to focus on with limited time? - Write from inspiration and not obligation. - Break up tasks into small, easily doable steps. - Balance SEO relevant posts with what you're passionate about. - Build a community on a social media platform of your choice. Connect with Lauren Klein Website | Instagram

In episode 357, Olivia Parsons teaches us how to fit video into our food blogging workflow, cutting down on production time while seeing the same gains as everyone else. Olivia Parsons is gluten-free foodie and the creator behind Liv Gluten-Free food blog. She believes anyone with a dietary requirement should be able to enjoy good food. Sharing a variety of sweet and savory gluten-free recipes, Olivia dived head first into the food blogging world at the beginning of the pandemic. From the start, she focused on efficient workflows, adapting to trends and creating quality recipes, photography and video content. In this episode, find out how to incorporate different video styles into your workflow to grow on social media. - Best way to streamline the process with video and photos. - What are the different ways of videoing a recipe? - Keep it quick, these are more likely to go viral. - Use behind the scenes videos for maximum effect (engagement and interest) - Entertain, inspire and educate your audience on TikTok. - How do we adapt our video to different platforms? - Time-saving equipment hacks. Connect with Olivia Parsons Website | Instagram

In episode 356, Megan chats to Bita and Beata about leveraging your blog for new opportunities using podcasts. Bita Arabian and Beata Nazem Kelley are two food bloggers who co-host the podcast, Modern Persian Food. Bita / Beata means 'unique' and in the podcast the duo share their unique approach to cooking and eating Persian food and how to incorporate the rich flavors and fresh ingredients into today's modern lifestyle. Both started out working on their individual blogs and then teamed up to launch their podcast with which they've been nominated for awards and reached amazing milestones. In this episode, they discuss how they've used their blog niche to create a unique podcast with great potential to grow their business and to stay connected to their audience. - Podcasts is an extension of your blog. - It offers a different way to stay connected. - What kind of opportunities can you expect by starting a podcast? - Audio is about inspiring others and being inspired. - Using audio, you can share a combination of guest expertise or your own. - As a new field, podcasts still offer the chance for new bloggers to stand out. - Take time to plan in order to be consistent. Connect with Bita and Beata Website | Instagram

In episode 355, Megan chats to Jodi Danen about pivoting away from focusing on clients to working for yourself. She delves into the advantages of dedicating all your time to your own blog and some of the drawbacks of making that shift. Jodi is a registered dietician and founder of Create Kids Club, a food blog for easy gluten-free kids meals and family meals. She is also the author of Super Simple Cooking for Kids. In this episode, Jodi talks about knowing when to pivot away from focusing on client work to focusing on reaching your own goals. While clients are a good way to start earning an income, eventually if you want to grow your blog, you need to decide which way you want to go. Find out when is the right time and what are the main considerations when you make this shift. - It is important to decide: What is your goal? - Financially, is it viable to shift away from client work? - Burn out is possible when balancing client work and your own blog. - You can always keep some clients for additional income. - Being focused on your own blog will allow you to grow quicker. - Regular posting and keyword research is the route to more income. - What should you do first when you decrease client work? Connect with Jodi Danen Website | Instagram

In episode 354, Megan chats to Kay Ratford about the benefits of SEO tools and how to use them to build organic traffic quickly. Kay runs the UK-based food blog Flawless Food with her partner Luke. They started over 2 years ago and, using SEO strategically, they've grown their blog to over 600k page views a month, of which 365k is organic traffic. Kay and Luke started off with doing brand work but soon discovered that it was possible to make money by posting your own recipes. The key was: Understand SEO and do keyword research. Kay unravels her SEO journey, explaining which tools she uses, which keyword statistics she pays attention to and other SEO tips to grow your traffic within a short timespan. - If you want to make a recipe, is it being searched for? - In which region should you try to rank for? - Could you rank for something that you shouldn't be ranking for? - If you add additional key words, your chances of ranking increase. - Batch cook recipes according to keywords for a food category. - You don't have to use all of the keywords you can find at once. - Photography is important to increase clickthrough rates too. Connect with Kay Ratford Website | Instagram

In episode 353, Megan chats to Melinda Keckler about how to establish a strong brand identity and why building brand affinity with our audience is so important in order to have a successful blog. Melinda is the founder and photographer behind the blog Crinkled Cookbook and has been blogging since 2019 while juggling a full-time marketing job. She is applying her vast experience working in marketing and brand strategy to help grow her food blog. Eager to share her expertise, she explains what is meant by brand identity and marketing, busting common false beliefs around both topics. She then lays out easy steps to build a strong brand identity using marketing effectively so we become a recognised, trusted and loved authority in the food blogging space. - Be ready to play the long game to build brand identity and affinity (your Google analytics won't change overnight). - How much do logos and fonts define your brand identity? - Brand lives in the experience our readers have - why will they remember your blog? - How can you establish brand affinity with your audience? - Marketing is meant to get people to do something. - Social media posts build and sustain brand affinity. - Steps for how to use a marketing funnel effectively - going from awareness to engagement to familiarity and loyal followers. - Video and audio are the most effective tools to build brand affinity. Connect with Melinda Keckler Website | Instagram

In episode 352, Lauren LeBlanc teaches us how to make money doing SEO-focused ghostwriting for other food bloggers. Lauren is the creator of the blog, Lauren from Scratch, where she focuses on how to make savory recipes from scratch using high-quality ingredients and teaches readers how to make restaurant-worthy dishes in their kitchens. Working as a physician assistant by day and food blogger by night, Lauren realized that initially while she was growing her blog, she could make money by doing SEO-focused ghostwriting for other food bloggers. In this episode, she walks us through the process in five steps to get started and flourish, earning additional income. - Understand what are reasonable blogging rates. - Increase your level of professionalism using templates and checklists. - What is the key to retain clients and grow your client base? - Tips to organize information for your clients for seamless interaction. - Balance your client's voice and keywords for SEO . - What are SOPs and why can this make all the difference to your workflow? - Track your time and save time for your own blog. Connect with Lauren LeBlanc Website | Instagram