A guest post by Jamie Schler
Last year, after signing a contract for my first cookbook, I decided to Tweet again — but on food and politics. Not just food.
I already used Facebook almost every day as a marketing tool. I posted about my food writing projects, shared links to food stories, recounted travels, and showed photos of what I baked. While I had long abandoned Twitter, I needed to reconnect with my modest following and promote my upcoming book, Orange Appeal.
But I immediately found myself drawn into the non-stop political conversations about the US presidential election, which then spilled over into Facebook. I found myself spending more and more time shuttling between my social media accounts to engage in political debate.
This behavior wasn’t so unusual. I have long been ardently political; in fact, politics is one reason I left the US and moved to Europe in 1985. I got involved in online political blogs and forums well before I started a food blog in 2008.
Soon my husband, and then my literary agent, told me to stop posting about politics.
The problem was that I was promoting not only my cookbook, but the hotel that I bought with my husband in 2015.
“It could really hurt the hotel’s business if potential clients disagree with your views,” my husband warned.
“This isn’t very good for your reputation as an author,” said my agent.
My surprise at their reactions quickly turned to disappointment and then frustration that I was being silenced. But I understood that my priorities were selling my cookbook and developing a welcoming, open business. And what would happen if my publisher, with whom I am connected on social media, had different political opinions?
Jamie’s first cookbook. Her following increased because she posts about politics. Will it result in increased cookbook sales?
I discussed how much to write about politics with fellow food writers and cookbook authors who are also politically vocal. I wanted to fight for the world that I believe in, using my platform and adding my voice. It seemed more important than the risk.
I know many food writers who refuse to post anything political on social media for fear of hurting their brand and driving away business. But others are so angry with the political climate that they don’t care. They find it more important to get out a message than sell another cookbook. These writers mark a clear difference between their personal and professional pages. They restrict who can see their political opinions. They feel that politics is deeply personal and a part of who they are and what drives them, and they expect their friends to accept this, or unfriend and unfollow. I am solidly in this camp.
But I decided to take my husband’s and agent’s advice. I reduced my political postings on Facebook and limited my political activity to Twitter. That was even as I also used it to promote my cookbook and network with fellow writers and editors.
And then my Twitter following took off.
It’s grown by a third or more since last November, in as many months as it took years to build the first two-thirds of followers. These are numbers that tweeting about food never brought me.
Obviously, a successful mix of food and politics thrills me. I’ve become part of a vibrant community of activists, but I am – I keep reminding myself – still trying to sell a cookbook, promote myself as a freelance food writer, and market my hotel in France.
So I ask myself:
- Does this new following, which now includes well-known entertainers, activists, politicians, and even big-name food personalities, buy my cookbook?
- Could those celebrities with millions of followers, who’ve connected with me because of politics, share the link to my cookbook on their feed, thus increasing sales?
- Will the writing about politics hurt my business?
As I watch my following grow, it’s difficult to tell who’s leaving me and why. Twitter algorithms seem to affect visibility. As food posts diminish on my feed, replaced by political ones, it’s possible my followers see less of my food tweets.
Here’s the bottom line: My posts about politics get a lot of action. My food posts, not so much.
Yet I weigh these pros and cons everyday, each time I send out a tweet. I’m still not sure I’m doing the right thing. Sometimes I feel that writing about food these days is a luxury, frivolous in the face of what’s happening in the world. I think I have an obligation to fight for what I believe in.
But maybe my job as a food writer and cookbook author is to alleviate the distress of the political landscape. I hope that I make even a handful of people happy when I punctuate the political noise and anger with a recipe, a photo of cake, the link to an inspiring or informative food story, or the joy of a cookbook.
So I’ve decided I’ll continue to use my social media platforms for food and politics, as long as I am reasoned and careful, despite the objections and my own reservations. My goal is to find a way to make my two selves work together until I can stop worrying about the world and get back to just food.
I realize that this is a complex topic. Each of us must decide how much we want to participate in politics online. I’d love to read about where you stand. Do you use your social media platforms to voice your political opinions alongside your food posts and blog or book promotion ? And how does it affect your business or brand? Or have you decided to stick just to food? Why?
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Jamie Schler is a freelance writer specializing in food and culture. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, Fine Cooking, The Art of Eating, France Magazine, and Modern Farmer among other publications. She writes the IACP award-winning blog Life’s a Feast and is the author of Orange Appeal (Gibbs Smith, August 2017). Jamie lives in Chinon, France where she owns the Hôtel Diderot and makes lots and lots of jam.
(Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.)
Right on, Jamie. For all of the talk of ‘curating’ and ‘strategising’ one’s tweets, I’ve only ever tweeted about what interests me personally, and professionally, with a healthy dose of self-promotion (yes, it’s necessary). That meant tweets that reflected my longtime interest in China when I was focused on writing about SE Asia, about Turkey before I focused my career there, now sometimes about Italy even though people know me as a Turcophile thanks to my Turkish cookbook. And yes, sometimes (often?) politics. My ‘audience’ is as varied as my interests. And somehow, without trying, I’ve grown it pretty large.
I say be genuine. ‘Use’ your social media as you see fit, and as your conscience guides you. If you’re a person with many interests, your Twitter following will, um, follow. Will they all buy cookbooks? No. But they might recommend their friends/acquaintances/colleagues to. They might spread the word.
You are right, Robyn. I’ve never strategized social media (my blogging downfall) but post what I like, what interests me, and what comes from the heart. And then our followings, as you point out, grow organically but it’s a steadier following. I did end up slowing down on Facebook because I share the platform with my husband to promote the hotel. And I’m still waiting to see if there is any effect. Thanks for weighing in on the discussion!
Great post Jamie & Dianne! As we discussed while I was in Chinon and you mention here in the blog post, it’s too important right now not to address what’s going on in politics. It’s not just US politics either; the current US Adminstration is having a global impact on the world stage and not in a positive manner.
While ignorance can be bliss, today is not a time to be ignorant of our current political climate. I feel your speaking your truth, be it about food or politics, is the important thing. Hopefully it will yield a bigger following and sales of your cookbook due to the cross-over exposure in politics.
Thank you for being so candid and keep up the political tweets. They’re honest, inspirational and also likely give others courage to use their voice for good!
Thanks so much, Rachelle! I never thought about having the power to influence others, but I hope I can in some way. A woman who is a leader in The Resistance messaged me after we connected on Twitter “Keep up the great work! Interesting mix, food & politics!” At least someone noticed I do both and thought they worked together! Thanks for being an inspiration, Rachelle!
Hi Jaime,
When I saw the title of this post, I already knew who it was from. Excellent post. And I will start following you on Twitter, because I miss your political posts and comments on Facebook. Hope you are well.
Hi Owen! Yes, I realized that quite suddenly we didn’t cross anymore on political posts on Facebook and I miss your opinion! I do follow you on twitter and look forward to seeing you next year and discussing…. politics!
I always enjoy your political posts Jamie (as well as your food). It’s an interesting thought. I lost a lot of followers tweeting during the Scottish independence referendum. Would I do it again? I’m not sure. I find myself rarely on Twitter these days however as I have to search through all the politics to find the food which was the reason I first joined.
I guess we lose followers less because of the political stance we take than the simple fact that, as you say, some people simply don’t want to weed through all the non-food posts to find the food. Interesting thought. I keep telling myself to post more about food but I don’t.
I think the answer here lies in what outcome a person wants to achieve with their life. I know that most food people aren’t interested in my Christian faith or political conservatism, or american patriotism, but I still want a bridge to have a relationship. Food has brought me wonderful relationships with Hindus, Atheists, Jews, Moslems, and many others who have a different world view. I treasure these friendships. I would never hesitate to have a conversation about my faith and views on life, when appropriate, when the opening presents itself with grace, but for me to try to hard line others views different from mine, not so much. I know that I would only push people away and lose my bridge. Having said that, everyone is created for a different reason, has a different passion, and must follow what is right for them. I have personally made a decision to avoid both sides of the political venting (even where I agree) for I have found it stressful and robbing my personal joy. I know who I am, what I believe, and my own personal destiny is to find ways to bridge gaps and find a way to accept and love people I don’t agree with. That doesn’t mean I won’t avoid the folks who are harsh or volatile, drumming up division. It also doesn’t mean that being a conservative means I am in a box and agree with everything in one political party or with any one person. It means I lean a certain way, but my guide is always my God. Saying those very words angers people, and in some ways having lived a certain way in what seems like a past life, I totally understand that hostility. I was there once. As I age, I realize leaders, governments, policies, come and go. The one thing that affects the culture in a profoundly joyous way is food, which can be a fabulous bridge for peace and harmony.
Angela, what you say is so true. I also think maybe that in crazy times like we’ve been living this last year a lot of us have exposed and shared more of our true, inner beliefs, our backgrounds, our faiths. If it is done with respect, we can have a lot of interesting conversations and always find common ground. I am always open to debate and discussion (as opposed to rudeness and name calling). Politics has brought me in contact with a lot of really interesting people I would have never met through food. Thank you so much for sharing this here. You’ve given me much food for thought.
As a food blogger & freelance writer, I use all my social media platforms for self-promotion and related topics (food). I have a few tweets about football, but usually, I still try to link it back to food somehow.
I do NOT air out my social opinions or political views on social media, as I don’t believe that is what my followers want to read.
When I decide to follow someone on Twitter, I am following them because we have a shared interest (food, coffee, wine, etc). I do not want to read their opinion about the election or what Congress is NOT doing…I want to read about food or whatever subject is relevant to why I followed them in the first place.
I respect your decision and you are absolutely correct, it is up to each individual…my motivation is to share my love for food with others.
Thanks for offering the flip side of the coin. I know many people who use social media for exactly the same reason and towards the same goal that you do and refuse to post on politics or most any other topic away from food. I enjoy following these folks, many friends, and respect that about them. I just always hope that we can meet in the middle.
I believe we’re in the jam (no pun intended) we’re in in large part because people don’t get involved in political life, don’t speak up about injustice, abuses of power, corruption. I have not been shy about expressing my beliefs on my personal FB page. Quite the contrary, I consider it a platform for my activism and I have thousands of followers who weigh in. I have two additional FB pages, one for my books/food writing, another for my culinary tours of insider’s Venice. I sometimes post political positions relevant to food or food personalities there as well. My world view is so much a part of who I am and what I value that I can’t separate them. Have I lost followers? A few–people who have expressed opinions so vile that I can only be glad. Have I lost business? Yes, a company that was paying me well for consulting work and recipe development took exception to my expressed anti-Trump views. It was a big financial hit, but I have no regrets. If we’re not moral people first and business people second, what kind of world are we creating? Sadly, the frightening one we are living in now. Thanks for taking the time to put this question out there– you have a new fan and new blog subscriber, and you’ve just sold two more cookbooks. I’m going to enjoy them especially because you wrote them.
Wow, thank you, Julia! I’m honored – and I have to say am sitting here chuckling at the end of your passionate post! You and I obviously think alike and feel alike so I appreciate you weighing in here and expressing it even better than I did! I respect you even more knowing that you continue to be a loud, clear, honest voice for what you believe in even in the face of losing clients. You explain very clearly how you separate your personal and your professional platforms. I, too, think that we have to be true to who we are and use whatever means that we have to fight for what we know is right. Thank you so much for sharing this here!
Ps. Error–I see that you have written one cookbook, not two. So looking forward to getting it!
🙂 I am currently starting my second as well as a memoir about the hotel my husband and I bought in France.
As with all things, you have to follow your authentic self, which is what people and readers are drawn to. If politics, and participating in the greater discussion feeds your soul you must do it!
You are a wonderful person, Jill, and always make me feel like I am doing the right thing no matter what <3
It’s not what I expected to hear. But it goes back to what I posted on FB: authenticity. I think that cuts through a lot of the BS and is something algorithms are not written to encompass. In my own Twitter feed, I find that regularity beats all. When I do political rants I gain some and lose some. When I do food posts I gain some and lose some. When I post regularly on anything (which always includes both) I gain.
I suspect your numbers reflect both authenticity and regularity (which is probably enhanced by the mishegos and daily outrages we suffer.)
More power to you.
Thank you, Jacqueline. That makes me feel better! I guess I’ve lost as many followers as I have made the choice to unfollow, cut the connection with others. Politics is the most divisive topic there is and a dangerous place to be but I, like you, think that if we risk losing followers or friends then we’ll find new, more likeminded ones with whom we’ll bond. Crazy times, these. And authenticity is a big part of who I am and who I always have been… even when I try to control it but can’t 🙂 Thanks for your thoughts!
I find myself in a similar boat. After the election, Twitter has become the best place to read and post about politics. I had to laugh sometimes because in-between the increasing number of political posts were the food ones. At some point, the food posts about cookies or breakfast or cocktails seemed frivolous to me next to the political concerns. I now think of Twitter as the political; my instagram as the place to post all the food photos and recipes. FB is a mix. I’m now following you on Twitter. So keep up the good work.
Thanks for following me – I’m following you back! As I said in another comment, I seem to be getting a good number of food and travel-related follows alongside the political follows which really tickles me pink. It also makes me more conscious of what I am tweeting, pushing me to post more food posts. Since writing this (well, maybe a bit before) I have been trying to pay more attention to the food posts and sharing/rt’ing the interesting ones more often in order to kickstart that algorithm again. I think part of the reason we choose Twitter over Facebook to post politics is that it is so much more fast paced and tweets are constantly moving – we not only see more in a minute but our own tweets seem much more ethereal. Funny. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!