Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

Useful Tips, Interviews, and Stories to Inspire Food Writers and Bloggers

Food Blogging

I was Burned Out on Food Blogging. Then I Started a Fashion Project

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Lead image for post on food blogger who became fashion influencer.A guest post by Maggie Zhu

I started Omnivore’s Cookbook in 2013 as a hobby. It turned it into a full-time job in 2016. After that, I started to feel burned out on food blogging. It took longer and longer to recover. Being alone in the kitchen made me lonely. The need to produce uniform, predictable content to please my readers made me unhappy.

Now the blog is about modern Chinese cooking and Asian-inspired fusion recipes. But it didn’t start that way. My first blog post was for Tuna Pasta with Arrabiata Sauce. My early recipes included random dishes ranging from poorly-conceived fusion to Taco Bell copycats.

Burned out on Food Blogging

One year into blogging, a reader told me he was only interested in my Chinese recipes. He said he’d go to Food Network if he wanted to learn how to make pasta. Soon I focused on Chinese recipes. My blog finally started to grow when I narrowed my scope to that niche. But the problem was (and is) that I love food from many cultures. And the fact that I’m constrained to just Chinese cooking made me burned out on food blogging.  [Read more…] about I was Burned Out on Food Blogging. Then I Started a Fashion Project

After Food Blogging, Gluten-Free Girl’s Shauna Ahern says “Enough”

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Shauna Ahern gave up her blog, Gluten-Free Girl, in 2017. She made a good go of it for 12 years and her blog lives on online. Now, instead of food blogging, she works full-time as head writer at ChefsSteps. Her husband Danny stays home with her two kids, and everyone gets health insurance.

That was part of the decision to close the blog and get a job: Worrying about money. 

Her new book of essays is Enough: Notes From a Woman Who Has Finally Found It. She writes [Read more…] about After Food Blogging, Gluten-Free Girl’s Shauna Ahern says “Enough”

How I Kept My Sanity Blogging For Over a Decade

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Blogging over a decade -- imageA guest post by Nicole Hunn

When I read Dianne’s post about blogging for 10 years (Happy aluminum anniversary, Dianne!), I realized that I ‘ve reached that milestone, too. And I’ve learned a few things about blogging for over a decade — successfully and sustainably.

After 10 years, there’s lots to celebrate. Most importantly, blogging works with my lifestyle, which includes raising three now-teenage kids. Second, I’m grateful to [Read more…] about How I Kept My Sanity Blogging For Over a Decade

5 Tips for Hosting a Food Blogging Retreat

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A guest post by Jasmine Lukuku

A few years ago, I felt restless about blogging. I’d poured a lot of time into developing a niche community for Black Food Bloggers Club on Facebook. The group had grown organically, but I was eager to connect with members face-to-face at a blogging retreat.

After polling the group to gauge interest, I decided to host a blogging retreat in New Orleans. We would spend mornings [Read more…] about 5 Tips for Hosting a Food Blogging Retreat

My Blog About Food Writing Turns 10 (and How Blogging has Changed)

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image for post about blog turning 10At the first-ever BlogHer conference in 2009, I announced that I had just started my blog about food writing. At the time I was on a panel, sandwiched between Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman; and Susan Russo of Food Blogga.

You might know what happened to these two since then: Drummond went on to the Food Network and became an [Read more…] about My Blog About Food Writing Turns 10 (and How Blogging has Changed)

Smitten Kitchen Shows You 100 Ways to Promote Recipes

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lead image for post about Deb PerelmanOne of the things food writers struggle with most is how to promote recipes in a way that sounds authentic and not too braggy. You know your recipe is “the best,” but you can’t keep saying that for every one you write.

So what can you do to improve your blog posts, recipe headnotes, and social media blurbs? First, I went back to my most visited post: 100 Verbs for Recipes, from Julia Child. Who else could I research, I wondered, who would [Read more…] about Smitten Kitchen Shows You 100 Ways to Promote Recipes

What I Learned by Starting a Blog Interview Series

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image for post on starting an interview series.A guest post by Lisa Johnson

A few years ago, I started a food interview series called “You Pick Six.” To my surprise, I have now completed 21 interviews of local food bloggers, food publicists, authors, news anchors, food entrepreneurs and others.

When I started blogging in 2006, I wrote at least one weekly post. But sometimes life gets in the way. Late 2014 into early 2015 was a blur of stress. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and our family [Read more…] about What I Learned by Starting a Blog Interview Series