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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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Food blogging

Why Authors Need a Platform More than Ever

March 8, 2010 by diannejacob

I’ve spoken to three hopeful memoirists recently who were convinced that the strength of their writing alone will be enough to sell their book. They don’t need to work on their platforms, they said.

Now, this would be interesting if these people were famous or rich. But they’re not. They have either a small blog or have never been published. And in the world of memoir, being famous helps. In fact, it’s the first question my agent asks when I mention I’m working with someone who’s hoping to publish a memoir.

Since most of us are not ever going to be famous, the best we can do is build a platform. A platform is [Read more…] about Why Authors Need a Platform More than Ever

Filed Under: Cookbooks Tagged With: Food blogging, food writing, writer's platform

Your Best Food Blog Post: What Worked and Why?

February 23, 2010 by diannejacob

champion food blog postWhile replying to Cheryl Sternman Rule’s comment about how to attract good food blog comments, I got an idea:

What if we all chimed in about which post garnered the most responses on our blogs, and why we think it worked?

The first part is easy enough. It’s based on the number of responses. I don’t care how many you got, as this is not a competition. Let’s skip giveaways as a category.

Next tell us why it worked. Was it the photograph? A banana bread recipe (I’ve heard that desserts are no-fail)? A personal crisis? Your baby announcement (seriously, Smitten Kitchen readers went berserk )?

I’ll go first. My biggest response was for [Read more…] about Your Best Food Blog Post: What Worked and Why?

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: Food blogging, food writing

Three Tips for Attracting Blog Comments

February 21, 2010 by diannejacob 48 Comments

attracting good blog commentsI’ve been thinking about how to attract good comments since writing my previous two posts on commenting.

The first was on the value of comments like  “Looks delicious.” It garnered my all-time highest response. I guess that’s not surprising, since that’s the response that often comes to mind when reading food blogs (or it should, if the blogger’s doing it right!). The second was on whether commenting on posts is a worthwhile strategy to build traffic.

I asked a lot of questions in those two posts, because I’m counting on you all to help me figure out the answers. This caused regular commenter Nate to ask me: “How do you structure a post or a question on a food blog post to cultivate signal and reduce noise?” Okay, I’ll give it a shot.

But first, a qualifier. My blog is a place where people discuss topics I’ve brought up, sometimes with each other! Maybe yours is not. [Read more…] about Three Tips for Attracting Blog Comments

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: Food blogging, food writing

Must Bloggers Comment to Get Visibility?

February 9, 2010 by diannejacob

overloadThanks to all for the stellar conversation about the value of “Looks delicious” as a comment in food blogs. Let’s continue with a related subject that came up in the comments: the idea that it’s necessary, when you’re a blogger, to comment on other people’s food blogs.

According to Blogging 101, we’re all supposed to comment to build traffic on our own blogs. First of all, I’d like to know whether that’s true. Have you found that you have more visibility as a result of leaving comments? Do you stake out certain blogs? Do you set a minimum number of comments per week?

A related issue is how to comment with sincerity. One “A list” food blogger insists he can tell when a blogger [Read more…] about Must Bloggers Comment to Get Visibility?

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: Food blogging, food writing

What’s the Value of “Looks Delicious?”

February 7, 2010 by diannejacob 99 Comments

BerriesIn a previous post about Simply Recipes‘ Elise Bauer and her comments policy, we started a discussion about the value of “Looks delicious” as a comment on food blogs. At the risk of flaring tempers again, I’d like to bring it up now.

Let’s look at the “Looks delicious” comment from a variety of angles related to food writing. First, I’m sure we’ve all left some version of “looks delicious” as a comment when we’re salivating over close-ups of [Read more…] about What’s the Value of “Looks Delicious?”

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: Food blogging, food writing

Blogging Pro Not Afraid to Delete Comments

January 19, 2010 by diannejacob

 

Me and Elise Bauer in the dining room at Club Med Ixtapa

Me and Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes, in the dining room at Club Med Ixtapa.

Last week in Mexico at the Club Med Food Blogger Camp, Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes spoke about the history of her mega-successful blog and particularly, her philosophy about blog comments.

At first I was surprised she had so much to say  about comments. Then I was grateful, because I don’t always know how to handle them, particularly the snarky ones that irritate people. Elise’s no-nonsense policy showed just one of the reasons why her blog is so [Read more…] about Blogging Pro Not Afraid to Delete Comments

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: Elise Bauer, Food blogging, food writing, Simply Recipes

Kickin’ It at Club Med Food Blogger Camp

January 12, 2010 by diannejacob

P1100650

I’m  adjusting to this new format of food writing and blogging conference, where hanging out is a big part of the day. Today I’ve walked along the beach in the surf, done yogalates with David Lebovitz and Matt Amendariz, gave Nancy Hachisu a quick Twitter lesson, had lunch with Michael and Donna Ruhlman, and now I’m sitting in the bar, waiting for the presentation at 3 p.m.,when Jaden Hair and David Lebovitz discuss book proposals, with a handout from me.

You’ll just have to join us next year. Really. You can relax and network [Read more…] about Kickin’ It at Club Med Food Blogger Camp

Filed Under: Food Blogging Tagged With: Club Med, David Lebovitz, Food Blogger Camp, Food blogging, food writing, Jaden Hair, Matt Armendariz, Michael Ruhlman

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