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Dianne Jacob, Will Write For Food

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

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Recipe Writing

An Expert’s Tips for Optimizing Recipe SEO

June 26, 2018 by diannejacob 28 Comments

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

Filed Under: Food Blogging, Recipe Writing Tagged With: Casey Markee, food blogging SEO, recipe blogging, SEO for recipes

Are You Guilty of Recipespeak? Why the Washington Post’s Recipe Editor Hates It

April 23, 2018 by diannejacob 36 Comments

Image for recipespeak postWhile reading a cookbook review for Food52’s Piglet cookbook tournament, I noticed that Bonnie S. Benwick, recipe editor for the Washington Post, mentioned the absence of recipespeak in one of the cookbooks.

“Recipespeak!” I exclaimed to myself. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I had to find out. [Read more…] about Are You Guilty of Recipespeak? Why the Washington Post’s Recipe Editor Hates It

Filed Under: Recipe Writing Tagged With: food writing, good recipe instructions, Recipe Writing

Let’s Take “Perfect” Out of Cooking

September 5, 2017 by diannejacob 37 Comments

Look at these two current covers from Saveur and Fine Cooking. Shame on them. The editors imply that only perfect food is worthwhile, and that anything else you make is — well, sub par.

And who makes food that is less than perfect? Me. Most of us. Like you, I [Read more…] about Let’s Take “Perfect” Out of Cooking

Filed Under: Recipe Writing, Writing Tagged With: Food blogging, food writing, Recipe Writing

Pay for Online Recipes? The New York Times Thinks So

July 11, 2017 by diannejacob 36 Comments

Do you want to pay for recipes online? Probably not, but The New York Times thinks consumers will.

Last week it announced it will ask new subscribers to the paper to pay $5 per month for access to the 180,000 or so recipes on its online recipe database and companion app. Subscribers will also get videos, how to and seasonal content. Current newspaper subscribers get free access.

“The work we do is expensive, and we want to do more of it,” Sifton writes as justification. The Times probably has to pay for [Read more…] about Pay for Online Recipes? The New York Times Thinks So

Filed Under: Recipe Writing Tagged With: free recipes online, NYT Cooking, paying for online recipes, The New York Times

5 Tips for Choosing a Recipe Plugin

June 27, 2017 by diannejacob 26 Comments

A Guest Post by Raquel Smith of Food Blogger Pro

Choosing a recipe plugin is an important decision for a food blogger. After all, your recipes are why you have traffic, why advertisers pay you, and why people subscribe to your email list.

It makes sense, then, that choosing a recipe plugin would take time. With all the options, how do you know which will [Read more…] about 5 Tips for Choosing a Recipe Plugin

Filed Under: Food Blogging, Recipe Writing Tagged With: choosing a recipe plugin, Food blogging, recipe food blogs, recipe plugins

When a Reader Found a Cookbook Error

August 23, 2016 by diannejacob 50 Comments

mac-cheese-pizza-recipe

Ever tried a mac and cheese pizza? It’s fantastic! If you have the correct recipe. Ouch. (Photo by Jeff Kauck)

An email arrived about an error. It was the kind all cookbook authors all dread. Someone was making the Mac and Cheese Pizza recipe in the cookbook I co-wrote, The United States of Pizza. But something was wrong.

Here’s the recipe error the writer pointed out:

“The ingredient list calls for  [Read more…] about When a Reader Found a Cookbook Error

Filed Under: Recipe Writing Tagged With: proofreading cookbooks, Recipe Writing, writing cookbooks

Please Don’t “Dumb Down” a Recipe

July 19, 2016 by diannejacob 43 Comments

dumb-potential-reader

Is this how you think of your target reader?

Some food writers tell me indignantly, “I’m not dumbing down a recipe!” They think it’s insulting to to simplify their three-layer cake recipe or a lasagna with 20 steps.

They think their readers should want to cook exactly the way they do.

Here’s the thing:

Your readers are not you. They don’t have your skills. They don’t cook as much.  They don’t want to [Read more…] about Please Don’t “Dumb Down” a Recipe

Filed Under: Recipe Writing Tagged With: writing cookbooks, writing food blogs, writing recipes

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Will Write for Food 2022


Will Write For Food 2022


IACP Member of the Year 2022


Will Write For Food 2022


Will Write For Food 2020


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2016 Grand Prize
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Archives

Most Popular Posts

  • Adapting a Recipe Doesn’t Make it Yours 267 comments
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  • 5 Notes to Self for Coping with Conference Anxiety 203 comments
  • Food Bloggers Fight Firestorm of Abusive Facebook Pages 200 comments
  • Should Bloggers be Praised for Recipes They Don't Write? 198 comments

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