Eat Blog Talk | Megan Porta

In episode 437, Megan chats to Jessica Scully about dealing with the uphill battles in blogging, especially when you see a dramatic, instant drop in traffic. Jessica began her journey into food blogging after her family had a house fire and had to move out for 11 months. Blogging became a hobby to distract her mind that then grew into a business. A former gym owner, personal trainer, and homeschool mom to her 5-year-old, Jessica has been running the food blog since 2015 and has seen her fair share of ups and downs. In this episode, you’ll learn about potential reasons why your website traffic suddenly drops and what steps you can take to get your traffic back. - What to do when your blog traffic plummets. - How not to get discouraged. - How to diversify your site traffic. - Consider getting help from the outside. - How to re-motivate yourself when you feel defeated. - Where to focus your efforts for the most impact. Connect with Jessica Scully Website | Instagram

In episode 436, Megan chats to Candice Ward about how to convert 75% of cold pitches to closed opportunities using a tried and tested sales process. Candice is the Founder of Eat More Cake Dessert Blog, Food Photographer, Educator and Sales Expert. Candice spent over a decade in corporate sales and translated that experience to help other food content creators monetize and scale their business. She has coached hundreds of food content creators inside her business course, The Confident Pitch Program. She is passionate about helping other food bloggers reach their full potential. In this episode, you’ll learn how to find the right brands at the right time and how to pitch confidently to close most of your sales opportunities. - What is the sales process and how will it help our businesses? - Streamline your workflow and take away the guesswork when it comes to pitching. - What is prospecting and how can you find the right brands? - Research brands that you are interested in to assess their budget and needs. - S

In episode 435, Carmen Spillette teaches us the latest strategies to grow our blogs and gain success in the food blogging industry, especially if we’re just starting out. Carmen is a food blogger and stay-at-home mom from Canada. Carmen started her food blog in the spring of 2022. It has always been her dream to share her recipes and once she started she has never looked back. Last year, Carmen gained 106,000 followers on Instagram in 5 months and she’s excited to have recently qualified for Mediavine. In this episode, you’ll learn the latest strategies to grow your blog if you’re a new blogger. - What does it mean to treat your blog like a business? - Why should you treat your website like you built a store? - Is videography really important for food blogging these days? - The importance of posting EVERY DAY. - Use project-management software and AI to your advantage. - Expect to put in long hours at the start to make your business work. - Learn time-management strategies like batching, from successful peopl

In episode 434, Megan chats to Amy Reid about imposter syndrome, what causes it, how it affects our businesses and how to overcome it. Amy started her blog, Baking with Granny in 2015, as a way to document her mother's (her kids Granny) recipes. Within a couple of years, Amy gave up full-time employment to make money blogging. She then became a single mum and the pressure was on to make it work. 8 years later and Baking with Granny has excelled past any expectations she could have ever had for it. In this episode, Amy shares her journey of dealing with imposter syndrome while trying to make a success out of her blog, including why we may feel like we don’t deserve success and tips to overcome imposter syndrome and embrace our full potential. - What is imposter syndrome? - Why do we feel like we don’t deserve success? - It may feel like our achievements mean nothing. - How do we overcome feeling like a fraud? - Community is essential in overcoming imposter syndrome. - Recognize the work that goes into blogging

In episode 433, Megan chats to Alexis Leonhardt about different ways to use RankIQ to grow your blog. Alexis is founder of the blog, Fancy Apron, which shares upscale recipes that everyone can make. She cooks lots of Traeger recipes, weeknight dinners, and shares tips for shopping at Costco. She started the blog 3 years ago and has had a slow start, but 2023 is bringing big growth. In this episode, Alexis explains how she uses RankIQ for keyword research to help her write blog posts that rank quickly. - Make keyword research faster. - What to do for new posts and how to optimize old content. - Why it’s important to find your niche. - Write blog posts faster. - How to incorporate round-ups and non-recipe posts into your blog. - RankIQ is a guide for finding non-recipe posts. - Use as a guide for scheduling content and batch working. Connect with Alexis Leonhardt Website | Instagram

In episode 432, Adam Sobel teaches us how to monetize and market online cooking classes as well as the technical details of running such classes. Adam Sobel is the chef and owner of The Cinnamon Snail, an award-winning vegan food truck, restaurant, and catering company serving New York and New Jersey. Adam has cooked at the James Beard House, represented the USA at the World Street Food Congress in the Philippines, and teaches cooking at the Institute for Culinary Education, De Gustibus Cooking School, and independently online. Adam has appeared on the food network, Cooking Channel, PBS, and several networks, and is the author of the popular cookbook Street Vegan. He has had a lot of success with The Cinnamon Snail, which has rose to become one of the country’s most sought-after food trucks. In 2014 The Cinnamon Snail was the #1 highest-rated place of any kind to eat in NYC and the #4 highest place of any kind to eat in the entire USA on yelp.com. In this episode, you’ll learn 3 ways in which you can monetize

In episode 431, Megan chats to Shanika Graham-White about how to incorporate videography into our businesses and why it is essential in today’s video-focused social media world. Content creator and recipe developer, Shanika, is part kitchen ‘ninja’ and connoisseur of interior decorating (hence her passion for beautifully staged food photos and videos). She is a self-taught cook and baker, who has partnered with top brands like Ripple Foods, So Delicious Dairy-Free, Vitamix and California Olive Ranch, to be the source for comfort food and sweets, with a healthy twist. She desires to help others turn the ‘little’ that they have into something magical - great food. On her blog, Orchids + Sweet Tea, you will find traditional dishes using organic ingredients as well as dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan versions of your old and new favorites. In this episode, Shanika talks through her videography workflow, equipment and tips for creating captivating videos. - How to best transition to videography in a video focuse

In episode 430, Jaimee Campanella teaches us how to take back control of our time to meet our goals and lead balanced lives. Jaimee Campanella is a time strategist and productivity consultant who mentors and guides parents, professionals, and entrepreneurs to take control of their time. She is the creator and principal facilitator of the Time Power program which gives people the essential tools and strategies to avoid overwhelm and tame chaos to regain control of their time for good. In this episode, you’ll learn more about how our mindset about time is crucial to make sure we set the right priorities, focus on what we love and block time off. - How do you overcome limiting beliefs around time? - Free yourself of the time scarcity mindset by changing the way you speak about it. - How can you feel in control of your time? - Why do bloggers struggle with time management? - What are common time management mistakes and how can we solve them? Connect with Jaimee Campanella Website | Instagram

In episode 429, Megan chats to Samantha Erb about how she grew her Instagram account to more than 82K followers mainly using reels.  Samantha is the busy woman behind Everyday Family Cooking for the last 4 years. She began the blog  in the summer of 2019 and worked her way through COVID growing the blog while being mom to two small kids at home. Since then, Sam has grown the site tremendously along with her Instagram account to 82.5K mainly using reels. In this episode, Sam shares her Instagram growth strategy in detail, including how she edits her videos, if and how she chooses trending sounds and how she uses captions to her advantage. - What do you gain from building a community on Instagram? - What kind of videos do well? - Repurpose your existing videos to create a bank of reels. - How to pick sounds that will give you more views. - How to select hashtags (including volume). - What determines if a reel will do well once it's posted. - What videos/recipes will work best (niched, curiosity, ooey gooey, ove

In episode 428, Ty Kilgore teaches us the 5 biggest mistakes food bloggers make in their SEO  journey. Ty Kilgore has been geeking out on SEO and Digital Marketing for over 14 years. He loves getting results and has successfully increased rankings for over 150 major sites in over 40 industries. He founded Everything Digital Marketing in order to share his passion and to clearly instruct, guide, and help influencers overcome the frustrations related to SEO and Digital Marketing. In this episode, you’ll explore SEO tips for food bloggers, especially how to avoid the biggest  SEO mistakes food bloggers make and how to optimize your page for the right keywords. - Bloggers tend to copy and model the wrong examples for their blog. - Why is domain authority crucial for your SEO strategy? - Write for your end user in mind. - What is your unique point of view? - How do you avoid optimizing your page in the wrong way (putting the wrong keyword everywhere)? - How to leverage internal and external links. - What is the nu

In episode 427, Megan chats to Joanne Stekler about lessons she learned as an academic and how she has applied those to grow her blog. Joanne is a lifelong baker, but it wasn’t until 2020 when she was stuck at home with her elementary school child, that she started baking and cooking with a purpose. You’ll find recipes on the Ugly Duckling Bakery blog that she makes for her family, ranging from 30-minute weeknight meals to more complicated weekend cooking, baking projects made from scratch, and classic cocktail variations. Joanne hopes to share some of the science and history, tips and tricks to understand how and why recipes work, and enough foundation so that readers can start to create their own recipes.  In this episode, Joanne explains how she balances life as a doctor with food blogging, the lessons she learned from academic medicine and why they are relevant to food bloggers. - Your path is your path - avoid comparing yourself to others - Accept that nothing is ever going to be perfect. - Persistence p

In episode 426, Alexandria Drzazgowski teaches us how to keep track of our blog content and it repurpose easily using AirTable. Alexandria Drzazgowski is the food blogger behind The Foreign Fork, a project where she is cooking a meal from every country in the world. After backpacking to 15 countries in Europe and taking cooking classes in each one, Alexandria decided to take her project of cooking-around-the-world home with her. She started her blog in 2018, and to date has cooked over 400 recipes from over 85 countries. The Foreign Fork has been featured in Buzzfeed, The Detroit News, and Elite Daily and is the recipient of the Saveur Blog Award for Most Groundbreaking Voice. Most importantly, Alexandria is proud to have helped over 5 millions readers across the world Put Some Culture in their Kitchen. In this episode, you’ll learn about repurposing content and efficient ways of organizing and keeping track of your blog content using AirTable.  - Why should you repurpose content? - How to develop a system to

In episode 425, Megan chats to Ally Kepley about how to maintain a healthy relationship with Instagram and our mobiles devices. Ally is a home baker who grew up baking with both of her grandmothers since she was little. Ally started creating her own recipes at age 11 or 12 and was on a roll through becoming a stay at home mom. She decided to create a recipe website a little over a year ago out of a desire to bake full time and have more freedom and time with her son. Ally’s blog is catered towards those who want to make elevated recipes that are approachable to anyone. In this episode, Ally reveals how she improved her relationship with Instagram while growing her blog, including setting boundaries regarding how much time she spends on the app, when and how she posts and responds to comments. She also shares personal growth techniques to help keep you on track with your goals. - Why is Instagram like a “toxic boyfriend”? - It is hard to keep up with Instagram’s algorithm changes in a sustainable way. - How to

In episode 424, Matt Briel teaches us several ways to use a book as a growth tool for our business and how to go from idea to published author. Commonly described as equal parts loud music, Disney culture, tattoos, and book nerd, Matt Briel is an entrepreneur and the Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Lulu.com. After more than 15 years leading Sales and Marketing teams in the Media & Publishing spaces, he’s developed a unique passion for helping creators become more successful by leveraging books as a catalyst for opportunities and sustainable revenue. In this episode, you’ll learn more about the benefits of publishing a book or cookbook, including how it can help build your brand and provide you with more business opportunities. - Publishing a book is the best way to build credibility and increase visibility. - What are the advantages of being a published author? - A book is an alternative way of monetizing your content. - Create a physical touch point for your digital community. - Is se

In episode 423, Megan chats to Nicole Liloia about being burned out as an entrepreneur, how we can avoid it, including tips for building multiple income streams efficiently. New Jersey-based Nicole Liloia is a small business coach and strategist. Over the course of her 9 years in this business, she has helped over 500 service providers build their businesses and diversify their income streams through her signature Bigger Business Bootcamp and Grow Your Income Mastermind. Her Facebook group supports over 10,000 entrepreneurs by giving them real, unmatched support and resources to get to that next level in their business. In this episode, you’ll find out what causes burn out, how to be more productive without exhaustion and why multiple income streams can help us avoid burnout. Nicole further shares tips for how to decide which income streams are right for you. - We thrive on being busy. - Even if you love your work, working all the time leads to burn out. - How can entrepreneurs alleviate burnout? - Why do ent

In episode 422, Lauren Sawant teaches us how to think like an editor and incorporate editing techniques into our blog and cookbook writing. Lauren Sawant is a freelance editor specializing in cookbooks, recipes, and food writing. She has worked in and adjacent to the food and beverage industry for over 15 years, including three years as a pastry cook. She has been a freelance editor since 2021. In this episode, you’ll learn more about different editing techniques, when you should hire an editor, in depth guidelines for editing content yourself and what writing mistakes to look out for. - What does a cookbook and recipe editor do? - Benefits of incorporating editing techniques into your brand. - Tips for editing social media and website copy. - Become familiar with common missteps in recipe writing. - How to “work like an editor”. - What is a style sheet and what are the benefits of creating one? - What should you know about hiring an editor? - Red flags to look out for when you’re looking for an editor to wor

In episode 421, Megan chats to Caitlin Ritchie about how to establish a blog’s identity through strong branding and photography. Caitlin is a brand strategist/professional photographer turned blogger. While continuing to work as a branding and photography consultant, she is growing her blog The Rooted Farmhouse, a gardening, food and slow living blog. In this episode, you’ll learn how to stay true to your voice and niche as you establish your brand identity. Caitlin also shares tips on how to strengthen your brand through using photography. - A strong brand is essential to help you grow a bigger audience. - What is branding? - Can you have a strong brand with a limited budget? - Why should you stay cohesive with your branding on social media? - Tools to help you stay on brand and consistent - How templates increase your productivity and help you stay on brand. - Create an identity in your photography. - What are presets and how can you use them to save time with your editing workflow? Connect with Caitlin Rit

In episode 420, Megan chats to Marley Braunlich about how to stand out to brands and establish long-term partnerships with the brands you love. Marley has been food blogging for a little over 1 year. She started working full-time for an SEO agency one month later. During this time, she grew her Instagram audience to 13k followers and started working with brands to earn a side income while the blog matured and she continued to pour into the blog. Marley has learned how to successfully land brand deals and form long-term partnerships and shares her tips in this episode. You'll learn how to land your first brand partnership, what to include in your pitch email and ways in which you can set yourself apart so that brands want to continue working with you. - DM brands on Instagram, show genuine interest and knowledge of the brand. - Create your pitch email early on and revise as you gain experience. - Have a portfolio you feel proud of (doesn’t have to be perfect right away). - Should you include examples of past c

In episode 419, Rob Finkelstein teaches us how to protect our business and brand name by forming a business entity. Rob is a lawyer, practicing for over 20 years in NYC. In 2017, Rob decided to pursue his passion of baking and went to culinary school for pastry arts. After graduating, not wanting to leave the law, Rob got started blogging at, http://www.cinnamonshtick.com, which was also his entry into food photography. He worked with a number of brands and came to represent lots of food photographers in connection with their contracts and business set ups. They all inspired Rob to create an online course about contracts specifically for food photographers. In this episode, you’ll learn more about the details of forming a business entity, including liability protection, finances and the differences between various entities. - Why form a business entity? - The importance of having a separate business bank account. - How to choose a name for your business/brand. - Why searching your brand name on the USPTO webs