Comments on: The Verdict: Great Food Blogs Come Down to 4 Things

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:27:14 +0000

The Huffington Post wrote a great guide to blogging that touches on a lot of these points. It’s not about food bloggers specifically, but is an overall great beginner’s guide.

Also, in my experience, people respond well to recipe reviews of recently released books.

By: Charmian Christie

Charmian Christie — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:40:13 +0000

Couldn’t have said it better myself, although I find the odd “back to basics” post goes over well. I recently blogged about old fashioned shortcake and got a lot of responses.

I’m also discovering that while people want innovative recipes, they want them to revolve around ingredients they have on hand. Few people will make something that requires a lot of searching or trips to several stores.

By: Ricki

Ricki — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:48:32 +0000

I’d never thought of it in these terms–I think I’m not quite that deliberate–but these definitely make total sense!

By: The Old Foodie

The Old Foodie — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:12:12 +0000

I completely agree – and I agree with Crescent that “voice” is a combination of #1 and #3, and that getting a sense that the writer too is constantly curious and learning are real drawcards.
You have inspired me to go back to finding images for my history posts (modern photos do not “fit”, usually, and anyway, I am a terrible photographer). When I started off I regularly searched for historic images to illustrate my posts, but it all got a bit too hard finding and scanning etc. I do think my posts sometimes look a bit bland since I left off adding pictures – now my life has settled down somewhat, I must go back to the idea – so thankyou for reminding me that images (not necessarily photos) are important.
Janet.

By: Tone Victoria

Tone Victoria — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:05:32 +0000

I would also like to add the following: I don’t mind the occasional classical recipe such as boeuf bourguignon as long as the writeup is beautiful (e.g. comprising childhood memories, a witty story or a memorable meal in France). But if the story is just about finding some great stewing beef at the butcher’s whilst already having bacon and small onions in the fridge so that this dish is begging to be made, it will most likely not be interesting at all.

I suppose that to me, the advantage of blogging over other kinds of food writing, is that it is (or at least it has the potential to be) much more personal that e.g. newspaper columns or recipe sections in women’s magazines. I am not at all saying that blogging is superiour, but merely that it is different, and that it serves other purposes than well-edited and ‘tidy’ printed articles; it represents a different (and quite new!) genre, which complements more traditional food writing quite nicely.

By: Crescent Dragonwagon

Crescent Dragonwagon — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:46:25 +0000

I think “voice” is essential; a real & distinctive presence that leaps of this screen and speaks like no other. Though it could be argued that this is a combination of # 1 and 3, #1 without authentic voice just comes across as arrogant and #3 without it, unfocused.

Christy Jordan, of a Southern Plate, (http://www.southernplate.com) has what I consider a vibrant voice.

Curiosity and humility, which go together — the writer is always learning, fascinated — also keep me reading.

By: Tone Victoria

Tone Victoria — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:46:21 +0000

I couldn’t agree more!

All this does show that becoming an excellent food blogger really takes a lot, and that one would need to be extremely skilled!

As for 4) – photos: To me this is very important. But there are quite a few extremely successful blogs out there that have terrible photos – even worse than I am capable of taking myself. And please believe me, I haven’t got a clue. Really. The success of certain blogs with poor photography surprises me greatly! But anyway, this shows that not all readers find good photos to be important.