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3 Marketing Tips to Grow Your Instagram Following As A Food Blogger

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image for growing instagram followersA guest post by Anand Srinivasan

Sure, you want to grow your Instagram following, because it’s a hot platform we all need more numbers. But I can give you three more marketing-based reasons to do so.

First, more than 800 million people (or nearly three times the population of the United States) are active on Instagram each month. This presents a terrific marketing opportunity to increase your visibility.

Second, UK newspaper The Guardian published a report that underlined an evolution in the way we eat. According to this report, healthy but “unphotogenic” breakfasts such as cereals are giving way to attractive alternatives like avocado toast. A cursory look at the Instagram hashtag #breakfast shows you how people prefer to eat food that is “Instagram-worthy.”

And third, a report published by UK retailer Waitrose found that at least one in five people shared a photo of food with their followers every month.

Typically, this post would now go into photography tips about using natural light and finding the right angle. But I’m going to spare you this obvious advice, because my specialty is marketing.

Here are three marketing-based tips that will help you grow your Instagram following:

1. Use the right hashtags.

Hashtags are a vital component of Instagram marketing. By tagging your food photos with the right hashtags, potential users who are interested in your content will see you.

In my research for this post, however, I found that many food bloggers are not using the right hashtags. They used unique tags, but were not [Read more…] about 3 Marketing Tips to Grow Your Instagram Following As A Food Blogger

An Expert’s Tips for Optimizing Recipe SEO

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image for optimizing recipe SEOWhen I attend food blogging conferences, optimizing recipe SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the subject of at least one session. Food bloggers always need to be up on the latest strategies of how to get more readers to their recipes.

Fortunately, there are experts who know this and who specialize in getting readers to your recipe blog. Casey Markee, the founder of digital marketing agency Media Wyse, speaks at [Read more…] about An Expert’s Tips for Optimizing Recipe SEO

Food Blogger Pro Open Enrolment Starts Now

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It’s time for Food Blogger Pro Open Enrolment. Enrolment only lasts one week (from May 24-31) so if you haven’t already, I hope you’ll click on one of these links or the ad on the right, to sign up. After that there’s a waiting list.

(And hey, if you want to skip the sales pitch to read my interview with co-founder Bjork Ostrom, a thought leader on food blogs, entrepreneurship, and intentionality, just scroll down.) [Read more…] about Food Blogger Pro Open Enrolment Starts Now

5 Ways to Know When Your Writing is Done

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Image for how to know when your writing is done.How do you know when your writing is done or your blog post is finished? You could keep going over it endlessly, rewriting and wondering if you need to do more research or explaining. Or adding more keywords and spiffing up the SEO.

But if you do so, will it be finished then? Or maybe you’re not sure what constitutes “finished” in the first place.

As an editor, I know what it’s like to pull a piece away from a writer who wants to keep working on it. And as a writer, I also know what it’s like to refine right up to the last second. So I have some ideas that might help.

Here’s how you know when your writing is done:

1. You have a deadline. If an editor hasn’t given you one, set one anyway. Doing so helps you create an end for your work or post. My blog post deadline is Tuesday morning. I can’t keep working on each post forever that way.

2. You have been over the blog post, chapter, or story, many times. You gave yourself time for a thorough edit, and you don’t see what to change any longer.

3. You have spell checked every single sentence. Everyone hates typos. It makes you look careless. I find that even with spell check, errors creep in, so make time to print out the piece or post, and look it over carefully. Or have someone else read the post for you.

Also check all links to make sure they open correctly, and in a new window.

4. You met your criteria. If you have an assignment letter or a contract, review it. Or review your pitch letter and emails to make sure you’re sending the story the editor expects.

If you’re blogging and use regular structures for your posts, make sure your post complies. (You use links to past posts, for example.)

5. You have done your best. Do you feel satisfied that you have said what you wanted to say, the best you could? If you have a level of confidence about your piece or blog post, you’re done.

Do you have trouble letting go of a story or blog post? As an editor, I can relate. I can keep editing forever, it seems.

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5 Tasks Every Food Blogger Should Outsource to a VA

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Opening image for post on how to outsource for a VAA guest post by Maggie Zhu

If you are working nonstop and feeling overwhelmed, maybe it’s time to outsource to a VA or virtual assistant.

Doing so helps you focus on the most important work and grow your businesse. A VA is a member of your team, performing work remotely. Whether you’re hiring a programmer from India or a work-at-home mom in the US, you might be able to pay a reasonable or even low hourly rate, such as $5 to $10 per hour. [Read more…] about 5 Tasks Every Food Blogger Should Outsource to a VA

Cookbook Giveaway: Simply Citrus, by Double Award Winner Marie Asselin

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Image of book Simply CitrusMarie Asselin just got her second moment of fame. The creator of  the 17-year old food blog Food Nouveau, Marie is a double award winner. She won the 2017 Best Recipe-Based Blog and the 2018 Best Individual Blog from the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). She’s an overnight sensation!

She’s also the author of her first cookbook, Simply Citrus. I thought you might like to win [Read more…] about Cookbook Giveaway: Simply Citrus, by Double Award Winner Marie Asselin

Fall Enrollment at Food Blogger Pro Starts Now

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It’s time again for Fall Enrollment at Food Blogger Pro (FBP). So if you’ve been wanting to:

  • Produce high-quality recipe videos
  • Build traffic using social media, food sharing sites and Search Engine Optimization
  • Take stellar photos of food
  • Use plugins to improve your blog and add functionality

…and many other subjects of interest to food bloggers, here is the place to sign up and learn. Food Blogger Pro has more than [Read more…] about Fall Enrollment at Food Blogger Pro Starts Now