{ 1. RESOURCES: STARTING A BLOG }
If you’re browsing this “Resources for Food Bloggers” page, it’s probably because you’re already a blogger looking to improve your blog, or maybe you’re thinking of starting a blog and are not sure how.
Blogging Platform + Hosting Space
I started Dish by Dish initially on wordpress.com, the free blogging platform for beginner bloggers, in late 2012. Later on, when I realized that having a free blog was good, but stifled flexibility in designing my site, I moved over to wordpress.org and bought hosting space at Bluehost.
Although I no longer have free hosting as I previously did with wordpress.com, being self-hosted has a whole world of advantages – I have the flexibility to design my site as I wish, and can even add ads to my blog (which helps offload the cost of ingredients and enormous amount of time I spend creating and testing recipes!)
Since being with Bluehost for more than one year, I can vouch that they have execellent customer service! They respond usually within 5 minutes on the LiveChat help option, and always solve any issues I have.
Bluehost is definitely a service that I love and strongly recommend.
Blog Theme + Custom Design
I also worked with Sara from Moonsteam Design to customize my site, and with her patience and experience, we launched the new self-hosted site in October 2013.
The theme I now use for this blog, the Foodie Theme Pro, is created by Shay Bocks, and is meant to be used together with the Genesis Framework.
If you’re a food blogger, I strongly encourage you to get the Foodie Pro theme, which has so many functions that make a food blog user-friendly and easy to manage.
Installing the Foodie theme was definitely one of the best decisions I took this year – it’s an extremely versatile and flexible theme that allows complete customization so your blog will reflect your personal style, while remaining fresh and clean.
My page views have also gone up since implementation as it creates a stickier site (i.e. readers find more relevant content and explore the site more than before)!
If you’re into all the technical details, here’s a Guide to the Genesis Framework that you can download.
Starting Out: Food Blogging for Dummies
Blogging has many facets, and food blogging is just one of it. However, there are many more aspects about food blogging that covers more than just typing words onto a draft and publishing it.
I first started reading Food Blogging for Dummies (by Kelly Senyei, creator of the Just a Taste food blog).
I’d strongly recommend this book for any new beginner blogger, or even bloggers who want to understand the art of food blogging better. It’s all-rounded and gives you a good general picture of what it takes to be a food blogger.
{ 2. RESOURCES: WRITING A FOOD BLOG WELL }
“TO BE A GOOD FOOD WRITER, YOU MUST FIRST BE A GOOD WRITER”
It is important for a good food writer to bring the reader right to the heart of the kitchen, or the table, where the scene you are describing is unfolding. If you can do that, you would have succeeded, and to a pretty good extent.
Of course, having a DSLR camera also helped. After upgrading to the Canon EOS 650D, I’ve never looked back. I don’t understand why I didn’t switch to a DSLR earlier on, and it makes such a world of a difference! I also purchased an incredibly useful lens that is both affordable and achieves amazing results for food photography – the Canon 50mm f/1.8.
{ 4. RESOURCES: PHOTO EDITING }
I use the free photo-editing program called GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program). It’s quick and easy and free to download, and for basic photo editing needs like mine, it is sufficient. I’m still far from being a wonderful photographer, but I must admit that these are the main resources that have helped me make a difference in my food photos.
{ 5. RESOURCES: KITCHEN TOOLS I USE }
So far, some of the wonderful tools that have honestly helped me in the kitchen include this doughnut pan, and this julienne peeler (see how I’ve used it to make zucchini noodles, and a delicious Asian slaw!).
{ 6. RESOURCES: COOKBOOKS I REALLY LIKE }
Since I started cooking and writing this food blog, I find that most of my free time is spent reading and indulging in cookbooks. But more importantly, cookbooks with a specific story behind.
Some of my favorites are Dinner: A Love Story (which is hilariously funny and comes with interesting anecdotes and so many easy-to-use practical dinner recipes to make your dinner table the place to relax and enjoy family time) , Written Together: A Story of Beginnings, in the Kitchen and Beyond, (the story of how my favorite blogger Shanna Mallon and her husband Tim met over her food blog and how they got together, along with a few treasured recipes from her Grandma and others) and Paleo Everyday (practical Paleo recipes that will leave you satiated and happy).
{ 7. RESOURCES: MAKING MONEY FROM A FOOD BLOG }
As of September 2014, my largest source of income from the blog is through display advertising (banner ads).
So far, I’ve used Blogher, Sovrn (previously called Lijit), Gourmet Ads, and YellowHammer Media for my banner ads. Right now, my only first-tier ad network is Blogher, which I use for both my above-the-fold 728×90 leaderboard ad and my above-the-fold 300×600 right sidebar ad. Blogher doesn’t allow you to upload your own passback tags unless your site has been grandfathered in (i.e. been with Blogher for a very long time). I use Sovrn for the rest of the ad spaces on my blog, for which I use either Gourmet Ads or YellowHammer as passback tags.
Feel free to drop me an email if you have more specific questions on how I use ad networks.
It is possible to make some decent income from display advertising, but the most important thing is learning how to optimize your ad spaces – this is something I’m still playing around with, and most of what I’ve learnt so far comes from this super-informative book by Kiersten Frase – How to monetize your food blog.
Once in a while, I also earn income from affiliate links – this basically refers to links which give me a percentage in commission when a reader clicks on the link and buys something through it. The price is exactly the same if the reader were to buy the product using another link – the only difference is that I get compensation for the recommendation.
The affiliate programs I use are Amazon Associates, E-Junkie and ShareASale.
Most importantly, I’ve also signed up for Food Blogger Pro, which is a database full of videos teaching you how to improve your food blog in order to monetize it! I’ve watched most of the videos so far, and Lindsay and Bjork (the teachers) are amazingly good at explaining concepts in a simple, easy-to-understand way. I strongly encourage you to sign up for it if you wish to improve your blog in order to eventually make money from it!
For extremely detailed and monthly-updated analysis of how to make an income from a food blog, take a look at Pinch of Yum’s monthly income reports. The people behind Pinch of Yum, Bjork and Lindsay, are truly an inspiring couple that really show the rest of us bloggers that it is possible to do what you love and earn a very good living from it.
{ 8. RESOURCES: GETTING TRAFFIC }
Getting traffic to your blog is incredibly important – especially when you’ve spent so many hours creating recipes and writing posts that are worth reading. While organic search traffic is definitely important, it may take time for your blog to be easily found when people are searching for recipes online.
What you can do however, is to share your recipes on social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc) and to submit your food photos to “food porn” sites that accept photos of a certain standard (each site has a different criteria, so if your photo is declined by one site, don’t be disappointed, just try submitting it to another site!)
I’m still learning how to do this, but so far, what has really worked for me includes Pinterest, Tastespotting, and FoodGawker. These are by far the top traffic-referrers for Dish by Dish, and I believe for most food blogs as well.
{9. RESOURCES: USEFUL ARTICLES ON BLOGGING }
In the past two years since I’ve started this food blog, I’ve read hundreds of articles about blogging and food blogging in general – here are those of the articles that have really helped me and I believe will be useful to you too!
I will also update this list every few months (or as and when I have articles that are worth your time to read.)
- Food Bloggers: 150+ Links to Everything You Need to Know (by RecipeGirl)
- Food Blogging (by David Lebovitz)
- Top 20 Tips for Food Bloggers (by Cookie + Kate)
- Food Blogging Help (by Vegan Family Recipes)
- Blogging Tips for Beginners (by Wine and Glue)
- How to Start a Food Blog (by Eat the Love)
- The Food Blogger’s Guide to Google+ (by Eat the Love)
- What Good Memoir Can Teach You about Good Copywriting (by Copyblogger)
I hope this has helped you, and if you have any specific questions that aren’t covered here, please feel free to email me at felicialimhuizhi (at) gmail.com or leave a comment!
Hi, I nominated you for a Liebster Award, check out my blog post called “Liebster Award” at http://www.more-sprinkles.com
Hello Erinn!
Thank you so much! Congratulations on your award as well 🙂 Enjoy your weekend!
Hi,Felicia! Congrat for your blog and all the suggestions in it! By the way,I love onions and garlic ,too,and can’t cook without using them. I don’t have time,now, but ,tomo row I’ll post you a recipe : onion salade,Milan style. Ok ,so, see you tomorrow!
Ciao!
Grazie! (ok my Italian vocab kinda stops here).
Thanks for dropping by my blog and your sweet comment.
Am looking forward to your Milanese salad tomorrow! And so excited about it because I’m very keen on living in Italy one day and am reading “Mil dias en la Toscana” by Marlena de Blasi!!
Buon Appetito!!
Felicia
As I promised ,here I am,Felicia. Actually, my sister reminded me that this recipe has nothing to do with Milan…….We used to call it this way,when we lived in Argentina,being from Milan! So, sorry for misleading you….. (My sister suggests that it must have been invented by our mother,recalling her native town). Anyway,it’s delicious,and can also be used to season spaghetti! A part,prepare a marinade with E.V. Olive OIL ,soya sauce,aromatic vinegar, salt , powdered herbs( a blend of basil,thyme,rosemary, parsley). Slice 3 or 4 big onions,(do you know the red ones from Tropea?) about 4mm thick, and place the silices on a previously heated grill. Let them grill for some minutes, then turn them upside down,Let grill again until they are well brown. Don’t mind if the slices eventually divide into smaller sections. Add in the marinade , mix, and serve! Hope you find it good! Bye,Felicia!
Wow!
The salad sounds really good! thanks for sharing your mum’s recipe with me! Glad to know you guys used to live in Argentina too! So i suppose you are now back in Milan?
Say hello to you sister and your mum!
Grazie!!! Ciao!
felicia
Felicia,grazie a te!(thanks to you). Yes,we are in Milan,now,except for my cousin’s family who remained in Latin America, Venezuela. And what about you? When you have some spare time, why don’t you tell me something about your country? Hugs from Milan
Hello!
I’m actually from Singapore but living in BA now cos my boyfriend is Argentine. See this https://www.dishbydish.net/about/ for a more lengthy description of why I’m here 🙂
Not sure if you’ve ever been to Asia but Singapore is a small tiny country with a population of about 5 million people (out of which around 20% are foreigners, and among the locals, around 60% are of Chinese descent, followed by Malay and then Indian descent).
Singapore isn’t the most representative of Asia in general, but its a country which has grown from a small fishing village to a large financial center in less than 50 years. I think that’s pretty cool 😉
Ok have a good day! (I realised I don’t even know your name!)
ciao!!
felicia
I visited your blog(enjoyed!) and replied there! Adios!By the way:my name is Anna……