So I would imagine you enjoy food and dream of starting your very own food blog, in which case, you are in the right place!
By PROMO CONTENTUpdated: FEBRUARY 22, 2016 20:16How To Start a Food Blog(photo credit: PR)
Are you savvy in the supermarket, creative in the kitchen and a complete and utter foodie? Well, so are we! Most of all we love reading food blogs and being inspired by talented & aspiring food bloggers. Did you ever hear someone ask you to share your food recipes or technique? It’s well known that the best information is shared between trusted sources. Start your blog today to share your love of food and knowledge.The world really is your oyster, so start your food blog today and start inspiring people all over the world in 8 easy steps. We have made these easy to follow 'how to' guide as simple as possible to make the process of starting a food blog as easy, fun, and as little steps as possible - and guess what! It's easier than you think...Why wait when you can start your own food blog now?Sit back, relax and take 15 minutes to follow these 8 easy steps to get your food blog online.
Thought about what you want your domain name to be? If not give it some thought and let yourself brainstorm with a couple of ideas before making up your mind. Now head to Bluehost to check if the domain name is available by entering the name in the box that says ‘new domain’ then click ‘next’.
OK! So what happens if you already have a domain? No problem click on the 'I have a domain name' below
You will be prompted to pick a plan. The starter plan is the one recommended for anyone who’s not already a familiar blogger
Next you need a host for your domain name. Hosting is basically renting a space on the web to display your blog. Bluehost has great rates and will provide you with the domain name for free - if you use them as your host.
This is the best deal available for hosting websites and blogs. See screenshot below for the package settings chosen in the example below.The ’Domain Privacy Protection’hides your personal address and phone number from being displayed publicly.
Click the PLAY button below to see a full-walkthrough of the process here:
Once registration with Bluehost is complete the next step is installing WordPress to your Bluehost account.
WordPress is a blog and website building software. Many known sites are made with this amazing software. Don’t worry, it’s really easy to use and even easier to install on your website.
Login to your Bluehost account, navigate to the ‘MOJO Marketplace’ section inside the cPanel, Click One-Click Installs and Choose WordPress
On the next page click the Install button.
Select your domain name and click the Check Domain button to see if your chosen domain is available...
Check the box that says Terms and Conditions and then click Install now.
Once the installation is complete, on the top part of the screen, you will see a message with a link to “View Credentials” - These will provide you with the Address, Username and Password you need to login to your WordPress Admin Panel.If you haven’t changed them during the installation you want to save your credentials somewhere you can find them. After login you may change these to something more memorable.Simply type your Admin URL into the web browser. You will see a login screen same as the one below. Enter your WordPress Username and Password you saved from the previous step.
You are now officially logged into your own blog. Hurrah!
Congrats, you now have your very own food blog. Isn’t this a great feeling? Welcome to the world of online blogging!
Only one more step is left before you can share latest creations, knowledge and love for food with the world.
Keep those pans off the stove for just a few more moments. You still need to pick your WordPress theme. The theme will determine your blog’s looks, structure and navigation.
Make it shine and pop to grab your reader’s attention.
WordPress provides many free themes you can pick from. You can browse them here.View Wordress Themes
Alternatively, you can find premium themes available for purchase with more customized looks and features.
Here are a few special ones that we love:
GRAIN & KNOT
"Grain & Knot is fully responsive, feature rich and beautifully designed WordPress theme perfect for every food blog. It is tool for publishing, managing and sharing Your recipes with world.
"Publish your own recipes via the WordPress dashboard, and let users to submit their own recipes via the included recipe submission form."Learn More / Download| View Demo
DINING AROUND
"This theme was optimized for food blogs/online cookbooks and great navigation experience for consumers on touch devices. That is why it requires special installation steps from the help documentation.
If you want to improve blog’s SEO you need to have minor knowledge of HTML and follow our guides."
"CookBook is a feature rich, food focused magazine theme. A blog for food news, recipes, dish and restaurant reviews all in a professionally designed WordPress theme.CookBook is an amazingly powerful WordPress theme specifically designed for foodies, food blogs and food news and review sites. Relax and enjoy hassle free blogging with our user friendly interface and work flow whilst having the knowledge and comfort of being backed with professional support."Learn More / Download| View Demo
Every evening, millions are faced with the same question: what's for dinner? So it's no surprise that food blogging is slowly (but surely) taking over a very important segment of the blogosphere. A good food blogger can answer the tough dinner question, while at the same time offering dietary suggestions, explaining the dishes and techniques of foreign cultures, and sharing important information about kitchen etiquette and cooking materials. With greater potential for profit than ever before, it's no wonder that many aspiring chefs have latched onto the idea of running a food blog. Unfortunately, there is also more competition in the arena than ever before. Here are a few tips to get started on a food blog that stands out from the crowd!
1. Understand Your Audience
The most important research in any fledgling enterprise involves its target audience. As online businesses, blogs are driven almost entirely by audience engagement. The content that you produce must be specifically aimed at a particular demographic, or your blog will most likely get lost in the web. This is equally true for food blogging. Because there are so many food bloggers out there, you'll need to specify your focus in the food and kitchen industry in order to really stand out.Your blog could focus only on vegetarian meals, for example. Or you could pick a few of your favorite ingredients and come up with recipes that really emphasize those ingredients. Many food blogs aim their content at adherents to certain health trends like Atkins, Paleo or any other diet. Your food blog could incorporate other subjects as well -- for example, a blog that combined healthy recipes with complementary exercise information. Whatever you decide, make sure to be specific about your blog's aim. Identifying an audience and recognizing what kind of content that audience is looking for is the fastest way to enhance your brand and broaden your online reach.
2. Create Excellent Content
Even when you find a niche demographic and a receptive audience, your blog will lose followers and fail to gain new ones without a consistent stream of great content. Any business's strength relies on the quality of the product, and all the marketing tools and SEO expertise in the world cannot save a blog with low quality or derivative content. Content quality is your responsibility as a blogger: if you are not passionate about the subject material and don't care enough to properly research and put together a good product, your subscribers and followers are sure to notice. A successful food blog owner must stay on top of food trends, actively research recipes and new techniques, and plan their blogs so that the total package is appealing to readers. Keep in mind that your blog's quality is also determined by the quality of the website you use to build it -- use a blogging site like Wordpress to create a simple and elegant template that is easy to read, navigate through and understand. Readers will appreciate the commitment that you make to their user experience.
3. Use Search Engine Optimization Techniques and Online Marketing to your Advantage
Even if you know your audience inside and out and your content is comprehensible, unique and attractive, your traffic will suffer if your website is buried behind pages of similar search engine results. The vast majority of online traffic is driven by web search results from companies like Google, Yahoo and Bing, and the sooner you realize that SEO matters to your blog's success, the sooner you can start improving your search result listings. The best way to learn about optimization techniques and tools is by reading an online guide like the one issued by Moz. These guides will debunk myths and misconceptions about search engines, and can teach you how to utilize backlinks and longtail keywords in order to narrow your audience focus and improve your position in the Google or Yahoo algorithms. Using a traffic generation measurement and tracking system can also help you by showing you which of your SEO strategies are working and which may need a few tweaks.
4. Engage and Build Relationships With Your Readers
Good reader relationships are crucial. For one thing, engaging your readers will improve your SEO rankings by increasing activity on your page and generating links to your blog from other sites. The best way to accomplish this is by maintaining an active comment section on your blog. In addition, consider sending out a weekly or even daily email containing interesting recipes, personal anecdotes, or cooking tips. Engaging your readers beyond just the content of your posts will show them that their opinions matter to you. Reader relationships can transform your blog into a place for active conversations and tip exchanges between readers. A consistent back-and-forth with your readership will help you understand how to adapt your blog to fit the shifting tastes of your readers and maintain an active online community.
5. Monetize Your Blog!
This is the final step on the journey from small start-up blog to online business. Maintaining an excellent blog with good SEO rankings and an engaged readership is nice, but leveraging that traffic and content into a decent payday is even better. There are many ways to monetize your blog without resorting to ugly advertisements, particularly when you have strong brand identification and reader loyalty. You can create a personal cookbook that you sell on your website, or create virtual cooking lessons and instructional videos that can be individually bought or purchased as part of a package. If you get to be popular enough, some brands may even contact you to promote their product on your page in exchange for payment. There are endless ways to monetize a thriving food blog, but don't forget to keep producing that great content that made you popular in the first place. Diminishing the quality of your content after successful monetization is the fastest way to lose all the readers that you worked so hard to attract.
Need A Camera? Check Out Our Top 3 Favourite Camera's For Food Blogging:
#1
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Nikon D5300 24.2 MP CMOSDigital SLR Camera with18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G EDVR II Auto Focus-SDX NIKKOR Zoom Lens
Starting and maintaining a popular food blog isn't easy but if this is your passion, you will enjoy every part of the process. Success in this field takes a lot of time and hard work! But the tips in this list should unravel a few of the mysteries that are keeping you from the top tier of the blogosphere. READY.STEADY.COOK!