Food blogs are typically started by people who have a knack for food. Whether you are a home cook or a professional chef, running a successful food blog is a lot more than you think. It’s about creating top-notch food related content while employing a host of effective marketing tactics. To build a community of devoted readers and grow your blog and make money, you need to make an extra effort. Learning from others and applying tested and proven advice and tips is the surefire path to growing your blog and turning it into a successful online business.

Whether you plan to start a food blog or you already have one, follow these useful tips to ensure your blogging success.

#1. Focus on a Smaller Audience Segment

Food blogging is a highly competitive niche. If you start a general recipe blog, you are going to have a pretty hard time building an audience base. The solution: cater to a more specific group of people or a smaller segment of the market. Rather than trying to speak to everyone, you should try to speak to a more specific audience in order to build your blog and create a loyal following. 

Over the last couple of years, the number of food and recipe blogs have increased in a significant manner. Most food bloggers are not hobbyists; they blog with the intention of earning an income. This means you are confronted with a large chunk of food bloggers, each of who is focused on building a profitable online business. Considering the level of competition, it is wiser for you to niche down and delve a bit deeper into something that readers would be interested in. For example, you will find it less difficult to stand out with a blog that focuses on a specific cuisine or fulfills a specific dietary need instead of going all in on food recipes in general.

#2. Build Your Blog on WordPress

The WordPress platform brings everything you need to build and grow your food blog in one place. Even if you are the least technically gifted person, you will truly appreciate the ease of use it has to offer.

Key benefits of using WordPress include:

i) A highly intuitive interface
ii) A broad range of themes to choose from
iii) A rich plugin ecosystem
iv) Built-in SEO features
v) Responsive design
vi) Multimedia integration
vii) Strong security measures

A self-hosted blog built on WordPress framework is considered to be the benchmark in food blogging. It allows you to gain full control over your blog and makes the day-to-day management of blog posts feel like a breeze. The best thing is the host of WordPress plugins that you can use to spice things up and add new and useful features to your blog such as recipe card creation, on-page SEO optimization and the implementation of a star rating system among others.

#3. Go for a Simple Design

When it comes to designing a food blog, a clean and user-friendly layout goes a long way. There are too many pre-designed templates that you can choose from to quickly build your blog with style. Opt for a simple layout, as it will allow you to easily maintain and adjust your blog features.

Choose a theme with these key features:

i) Minimalist design
ii) Seamless blog editor
iii) Recipe car block support
iv) Recipe index templates
v) Modern typography
vi) 8-10 color schemes
vii) Ample space for display ads
viii) Social media integration
ix) Responsive 

Avoid choosing a theme with too many features and functionalities, as it will delay the download time of your blog. Look for only those functionalities that you really need for day-to-day blogging. Most of all, your selected layout should have ample white space so as to emphasize the design elements. There are many WP theme marketplaces where you can purchase a professional theme for your food blog. Most premium food blog WP themes will cost you from $40 to $75.

#4. Publish A Lot of Awesome Content

Nothing grows your blog faster than high quality content. Of course, there is no dearth of content ideas for food blogging. What you really need is true passion to serve your target audience engaging content. Right from writing about recipes and cuisines to sharing your personal stories and experiences to offering cooking tips and techniques, you can publish a lot of awesome content while building authority and getting targeted traffic to your food blog. You can also keep your readers informed about the food trends and share your take on the same.

Along the way, you can evaluate the performance of your published content and find out what’s really working and do more of that. The point is to provide genuine value to the reader so that they keep coming back for more. Top-notch content will set you apart quickly and you will witness exponential blog growth and get to the point where you would make a decent income.

#5. Hone Your Food Photography Skills

If you plan to succeed in food blogging, you really need to excel at photographing food. It is not going to happen overnight though. With practice, the quality of your photos will improve over time. Mouth-watering pictures of food items and recipes attract readers like a magnet. Top quality photos don’t just capture attention, but they also increase the chances of your content being shared on social media platforms. But how exactly do you take great food pictures?

Here are some helpful tips you can use:

i) Get familiar with the camera you are using. Whether it’s a DSLR camera or the camera on your smartphone, you need to have a sound knowledge of all of its features and settings for taking high quality photos.

ii) Don’t shake the camera while taking pictures. Keeping the camera steady will give you sharp and clear photos. 

iii) Avoid using built-in flash or overhead lights to take photos. The best advice is to click pictures under natural light. Try taking photos in different areas or rooms of your house and see what works best.

iv) A single shot won’t give you the perfect picture. Instead, take pictures at different angles and select the best one from the bunch later. Try taking photos from above, from the side and at a specific angle.

It must be reiterated that practice and patience will get you better eventually. So, continue being creative and experimenting with various angles and styles. If you want to expedite the learning process, you may also want to get enrolled into a short-term online food photography course. As you move forward, you can save up to buy a Nikon DSLR or Canon DSLR and use macro lenses to precisely capture the colors and textures of your food and recipes.

#6. Optimize for SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to creating content that helps search engines realize the value of your content and satisfies user needs at the same time. SEO is a significant skill for any blogger to possess, who aims for driving lots of organic (unpaid) traffic from major search engines.

Whether you are a newbie or have been blogging for quite some time, you should take the time to learn SEO. Particularly, you should focus on those tactics that matter both to search engines and people. Using the best SEO practices, you can boost the visibility of your blog and attract those visitors who are actively looking for information or products related to your food blog. Essentially, the process of search engine optimization involves keyword research, high quality content creation, on-page optimization, link building and technical SEO (blog structure improvement). 

If you lack the time or expertise to deal with the complex field of SEO yourself, hiring an expert is a good idea. Working with a professional will speed up the process and bring better results much faster. 

#7. Actively Connect with Your Readers

To achieve blogging success, you should focus on building a loyal audience. You’ll do it by connecting with your blog readers in a genuine way. Make your bond with readers meaningful by making it a priority to respond to their questions and concerns. The point is to make your readers feel valued. 

It doesn’t take much to reply to a reader’s blog comment. But simple acts like these can pay great dividends in the long term. When you engage with your readers, you actually foster a sense of community. It is a good idea to ask readers to share their opinions on specific subjects or topics. For this purpose, you can conduct polls and surveys that are great for collecting quick feedback while making the target audience feel involved and engaged in the content creation process. Organizing quizzes and contests on your blog are other ways to engage readers.

#8. Build Your Email List

An email list consists of a group of people who are already interested in what you blog about. You can send them a series of email messages containing helpful tips, updates and promotional materials. 

You should look at an email list as a valuable asset that creates the foundation on which to build upon your food blogging career. As this list grows and matures, you can make money by using various strategies such as affiliate marketing and selling your own products and services. That is why you should start building your email list right from the first day of your food blogging. Starting an email newsletter or subscription service and running contests and giveaways are some ways of inviting readers to join and collecting their email addresses.

When it comes to gathering emails using various ways, you should remember to keep the signup forms simple and optimized while placing them in the most prominent areas or sections of your food blog.

#9. Network with Fellow Content Creators

Don’t remain confined to your digital kitchen. Instead, step outside of it and mix with other food bloggers. Look for culinary experts and industry influencers in particular and find opportunities to connect and collaborate with them. You can’t imagine how much this networking will boost your career.

Networking with influential bloggers will broaden your knowledge, increase the reach of your blog and widen your horizons. 

Follow these tips to build your network:

Write Guest Posts: Be a guest author on someone else’s food blog. Getting your blog posts published on well-known culinary websites and food blogs will get your name out there and attract traffic to your blog.

Take Part in Local Food Events: Join local street food fairs, food festivals and wine tasting events. This will give you an opportunity to interact with local chefs, restaurant owners and food connoisseurs. Plus, you will get plenty of new content ideas for writing about local cuisines on your food blog. 

Attend Blogging Conferences: There are many conferences that focus on bringing food bloggers together from all over the world. Many of these are virtual, which you can attend right from the comfort of your own home. Being a regular at these conferences will keep you abreast of the latest trends and developments in the food industry, learn about new tools and build connections.

Networking as a food blogger offers a host of benefits including increased visibility for your blog, opportunities for partnerships, access to valuable insights and the prospect to build your authority and reputation. 

#10. Stay Active on Social Media

Effective use of social media can take your food blog to new heights. Whether you plan to popularize your blog or create a strong community of loyal followers, social media can make it all possible. Your success will largely depend on choosing the right social media platforms for your specific needs and creating and curating valuable content to engage the target audience.

All social media platforms are not identical. They differ from each other in terms of user demographics, content formats and features. Based on who exactly you want to target, you can join suitable platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok etc. For example, Instagram has a globally diverse user base, a significant percentage of which fall into 18-24 and 25-34 age groups. If Gen Z food enthusiasts are what you look for, joining TikTok could be a good idea. Once you have picked the right platforms, the next step is to actively and genuinely engage with food bloggers, industry experts, influencers and the audience you seek. 

Need Help Building and Growing Your Food Blog?

There are multiple ways to expand the visibility and reach of your food blog. What remains at the core of it all is – staying true to your passion. If you genuinely care about your target audience and consistently publish interesting recipes and helpful cooking tips while also letting your personality shine, you will be on your path to success. If you need help with the content creation and SEO of your food blog, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via a phone call or email.