The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

How we started Food Blogger Pro, why we're switching to WordPress, and how to start something with Bjork Ostrom. ----- Welcome to episode 195 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork chats about a big and exciting change we’re making on Food Blogger Pro. Some Exciting Updates Coming to Food Blogger Pro  Something very exciting has been happening behind the scenes here at Food Blogger Pro HQ for the past few months, and we’re finally spilling the beans: we’re moving to WordPress! That’s right! We’re migrating Food Blogger Pro from a CMS called ExpressionEngine to our recommended CMS for food bloggers, WordPress. There are many reasons why we’re switching over to WordPress, and that’s what Bjork is here to talk about today. He’ll share how Food Blogger Pro was initially set up, why we think WordPress will be a huge win for our membership site, strategies for starting something big, and more. We’re so excited to share this new and improved version of Food Blogger Pro with you. :) In this

Finding your photography style, what makes quality content, and the Saveur Blog Awards with Sam Adler. ----- Welcome to episode 194 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sam Adler from Frosting and Fettuccine about the importance of creating quality content. Making Great Content Sam knows quality content. Whether she’s publishing on her blog or on her Saveur Blog Award-winning Instagram account, she’s constantly on the quest for creating the highest-quality content she can. That’s what she’s here to chat about today. You’ll learn about her approach to photography and color, her background in cooking, and what it was like to be nominated (and eventually WIN!) a Saveur Blog Award. Enjoy! In this episode, Sam shares: About her experience at Le Cordon Bleu How her understanding of colors helps with her food blog How she found her photography style What it was like to win a Saveur Blog Award Why the quality of your content is so important What makes quality content Resources

The importance of a business plan, helpful tools for SEO, and making the most out of your old content with Nora Schlesinger. ----- Welcome to episode 193 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Nora Schlesinger from A Clean Bake about how she prioritizes her work and runs her blog. Doing Less to Accomplish More  Nora had a few other blogs before landing on her current blog, A Clean Bake. Throughout her time running these blogs, she’s learned a lot. Most importantly, how to work less and still be able to accomplish everything she wants to. This interview focuses around the ideas of prioritizing your work and working smarter. It’s a fantastic interview, and you’ll love learning about her favorite tools, the course she took to understand SEO, and how she makes her older posts work for her. In this episode, Nora shares: How she ended up with A Clean Bake What happened when she took her blog full-time How she decided to go back to work Why she wrote a business plan The tools th

The importance of understanding a business at a whole, starting a brick and mortar business, and hiring help with Jen and Rob Morris. ----- Welcome to episode 192 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jen and Rob Morris from Cupcakeology about starting and growing their bakery. How Rob and Jen Built a Successful Business  Have you ever dreamt of opening up your own bakery or restaurant? Jen and Rob did, too. They opened Cupcakeology in Philadelphia due to a love of desserts and management. Jen and Rob learned a ton about running their own business, and that’s what they’re here today to chat about. You’ll learn about how they overcame the difficulties of starting their own business, how they decided to hire help, and why they eventually started a blog. This is such a fun interview, and we know you’ll love learning about their journey. In this episode, Jen and Rob share: How they started baking When they realized they wanted to start a bakery Why it was important to unders

Tips for Instagram success, building a product or website, and how to know when you should invest in your business with Ryan Walker. ----- Welcome to episode 191 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ryan Walker from Link in Profile and Tap Bio. Building a Better Bio  If you’ve spent any time on Instagram, chances are that you’ve seen the words “Link in Profile” and / or “Tap Bio” before. Link in Profile and Tap Bio are Instagram bio tools that help send your followers to your blog content. Ryan Walker, the founder of these two companies is here today to chat about these tools and how they can help you with your Instagram strategy. He shares his tips for Instagram success, his advice for building a product or website, how to know when you should invest in your business, and so much more. Enjoy! In this episode, Ryan shares: His background in software How to know when you should invest in your business How he decided to start and build Link in Profile How Link in Profile

How notifications work, how to create a customer journey strategy, and writing engaging notifications with Josh Wetzel from OneSignal. ----- Welcome to episode 190 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Josh Wetzel from OneSignal about using push notifications on your blog. Push Notifications for Bloggers Chances are that you’ve seen a prompt on a blog that says something like, “Do you want to opt-in to browser notifications?” Pinch of Yum might be one of them! Those are called push notifications, and OneSignal is a company that helps you create those push notifications to increase user engagement on your site. Josh Wetzel, OneSignal’s Chief Revenue Officer, is here today to talk about the benefits of using push notifications on your blog and the results that you may see after enabling them for your website. In this episode, Josh shares: How he started with OneSignal How notifications work How voice notifications work How to create a customer journey strategy The differen

Why you should build your processes, how to create a more valuable business, and prioritizing your tasks with Blake Bailey. ----- Welcome to episode 189 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Blake Bailey from Process Street about the importance of documenting your processes. Make Less Work Whether you know it or not, there are a lot of processes that go into creating blog content. Photographing a recipe, publishing a post, sharing that post on social media, reaching out to sponsors, adding ads to your site. Blake from Process Street is here to talk about why you might to document these processes and how to get started documenting these processes. He’ll help you save time and work smarter by automating some of your most common to-dos and prioritizing your tasks. In this episode, Blake shares: What an SOP is How you can start creating processes Why you might want to start building processes How you can automate your processes How you can make less work for yourself and you

Retina images, how to start optimizing your site, and the different levels of image optimization with Simon Duduica. ----- Welcome to episode 188 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Simon Duduica about optimizing images on your website.  Optimizing Your Website’s Images We know that optimization is important when it comes to building a website, so today’s interview focuses on optimizing images. Optimizing images on food blogs is especially important. Food blogs are typically heavy-handed with their use of images, and for good reason: people eat with their eyes. That said, it’s just as important that your images look good as it is to optimize them for site performance and speed. That’s where ShortPixel comes in. They help you optimize your images in a way that doesn’t compromise quality or that “drool-worthiness” we all want to see in our images. ShortPixel’s Head of Technology, Simon, is here to chat through what optimizing your images means and how you can make sure th

What self-publishing is, how much you can expect to spend, and enlisting the help of others with Chelsea Cole. ----- Welcome to episode 187 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Chelsea Cole from A Duck’s Oven about the process of self-publishing a cookbook.  How to Self-Publish Your Own Cookbook It’s time for part 2 of our two-part publishing series! This week, we’re chatting with Chelsea Cole, sous vide master, all about the steps she took to self-publish her very own cookbook. Self-publishing is certainly different from traditional publishing, so this episode focuses on the nuances that make self-publishing so accessible and exciting for bloggers. You’ll learn how she found her topic, how much you should expect to spend if you’re self-publishing a book, and more. Enjoy! In this episode, Chelsea shares: Where her blog name comes from What sous vide is How she decided to focus on sous vide Why she started thinking about writing a cookbook How payments work when you writ

Fine-tuning your book idea, book proposals, and understanding your reader with Lindsey Smith. ----- Welcome to episode 186 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Alexa interviews Lindsey Smith, aka. The Food Mood Girl, about the traditional publishing process. How to Become a Published Author You have an awesome book idea, but you have no idea what to do with it. If this sounds like you, then this episode is for you! Lindsey Smith is a publishing pro; she has gone through the self-publishing process in addition to working with a traditional publishing house. This episode, however, is focused on the latter–getting an agent, going through a publisher, and writing a book proposal. She also talks about how she started her own press and developed a conference for aspiring authors. The publishing process may seem a bit daunting, but you’ll learn a ton of helpful tips in this interview like how to set your pitch apart, how your pitches will change based on the type of book you’re writing, and how

Flash photography, the road to recovery, and building a business with Joanie Simon. ----- Welcome to episode 185 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Joanie Simon about using flash photography and recovering from addiction. Darkness and Light We typically talk about the benefits of shooting food photos with natural light - namely, it’s an easy way to make sure your photos look natural. But if you take a quick peek over at Joanie’s Instagram profile (@thebiteshot), you’ll see that she’s getting beautiful, natural-looking photos using flash. That’s right! Joanie has figured out a way to make flash photography the foundation of her successful YouTube channel, brand partnerships, and more. But that’s not the only reason you’ll love this episode. Joanie’s journey to food blogging and photography wasn’t an easy one, and you’ll hear about her road to recovery and her story of how she got to where she is today. In this episode, Joanie shares: How she got into blogging Why a chi

Defining growth, figuring out your definition of success, and learning from those who are paying attention with Paul Jarvis. ----- Welcome to episode 184 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Paul Jarvis about his new book, “Company of One,” and building better businesses.  Build Better, Not Bigger, Businesses Paul is back on the Food Blogger Pro Podcast to chat about his new book, how to build better businesses, how to define growth, and so much more. Paul understands business in a pretty unique way. His ideologies of starting small, defining growth, and continual learning will help you evaluate your blog or business and challenge you to find your own definition of success. Plus, his new book, “Company of One,” will be out next week, so be sure to pre-order if you’re interested! In this episode, Paul shares: How you can preorder his book Why you should figure out your definition of success How he keeps simplicity in his work How you can get your Company of One business

Intentional effort, going by stopping, and finding the good with Bjork Ostrom. ----- Welcome to episode 183 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to a Bjork solo episode where he talks about how to keep going when you’re not sure you can continue.  How to Keep Going Happy 2019! For today’s podcast episode, we’re rewinding back to a solo Bjork episode called, “How to Keep Going.” This episode was originally published in August 2017, but the strategies, advice, and techniques Bjork shares will help you stay motivated in the new year. It’s tough to keep going, keep doing, and keep creating, especially when you’re trying to balance it with the other aspects of your life. The tips Bjork shares in this episode will help you get up each and every day to do the work. In this episode, Bjork shares: Why someone else’s path might not be the one for you How to find your own path Why time is a key ingredient How The Path differs from The Resistance How temporarily stopping can he

Narrowing your niche, increasing your traffic, and finding a business coach with Meggan Hill. ----- Welcome to episode 182 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re rewinding back to one of our most popular episodes with Meggan Hill from Culinary Hill.  How Finding a Niche Transformed a Business Today we’re rewinding back to one of our most popular podcast episodes ever with Meggan Hill from the blog Culinary Hill. Meggan has a firm understanding of her brand, her audience, and her niche, and that deep understanding helps drive her content creation and direction. And that’s exactly what Meggan talks about in this interview. You’ll learn how she defined her niche, how that then increased her traffic, how she just finds the time to do what she does, and so much more. Enjoy this rewind episode! In this episode, Meggan shares: How she narrowed down her niche Why finding a niche was freeing How refining her brand increased her traffic Why she is going to culinary school What the first step

How to navigate the fall, the importance of play, and protecting the everyday with Melissa Coleman. ----- Welcome to episode 181 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Melissa Coleman from The Faux Martha about the things she learned about herself this year.  The Year of the Pivot Melissa Coleman of The Faux Martha had a big year. Not only does she run a successful blog, she also published her first book, The Minimalist Kitchen, this April. But they aren’t the only reasons she had a good year: she called this year The Year of the Pivot. She knew something needed to change, and she set out on a journey this year to make it happen. Without revealing too much, she learned quite a bit from this experiential year, and the lessons she learned serve as a powerful message to all bloggers in this episode. In this episode, Melissa shares: What it was like to write a book Why she wanted to find a new direction How she navigated the fall Why it’s important to play What it means to pr

Quality content, becoming a subject matter expert, and finding connections in your content with Jeff Coyle. ----- Welcome to episode 180 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jeff Coyle from MarketMuse about becoming an expert on your blog.  Establishing Your Expertise Jeff helps run MarketMuse, an AI planning and optimizing software, and they focus on optimizing your content to improve your search engine ranking potential. This episode focuses around becoming a subject matter expert on your blog; choosing a topic to go all-in on and really become “the” expert of that topic. You’ll learn a lot about why subject matter expertise is valuable as a content creator, what a quality piece of content actually looks like, how you can prove you’re an expert, and so much more. Let’s dive in! In this episode, Jeff shares: What led him to MarketMuse Why subject matter expertise is valuable What a quality piece of content looks like How you can prove you’re an expert How to find conne

Why you might want to purchase a website, how to make smart buying decisions, and how to buy a process with Jeff Hunt. ----- Welcome to episode 179 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jeff Hunt about the process of buying and selling websites.  The Art of Buying Websites If you want to secure a place on the internet with a website, you don’t always need to start it from scratch. Instead, you can buy a pre-existing website. Why would you want to buy rather than start? Well, that’s a good question, and the exact reason why Jeff is here today. He’ll talk about his decision to purchase his first website, how you can make smart buying decisions, how to avoid spammy links, and so much more. If you’re looking for ways to diversify your income, or perhaps start a new site, I think you’re really going to learn a lot from this interview. Let’s jump in. In this episode, Jeff shares: Why he moved overseas How he started buying websites Why you’d buy a website How you can be smart

Consistent quality content, working together, and improving the process with Sonja and Alex Overhiser from A Couple Cooks. ----- Welcome to episode 178 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sonja and Alex Overhiser about balancing content, working together, and podcasting. Life, Podcasting, Blogging, and Cookbook Writing Sonja and Alex seem to be doing it all: publishing consistent quality blog content, focusing on SEO, sharing their content on social media, publishing a cookbook, and producing a podcast. How do they balance it all? That’s a good question. And that’s the exact topic of this episode. They cover their typical day-to-day, small changes that helped them find balance, and more. Let’s dive in. In this episode, Sonja & Alex share: How they started their blog How they keep improving their process What it was like to transition to working on A Couple Cooks full time What their typical day looks like How they work together as a family and find balance Why they

Lighting for recipe videos, different videos for different platforms, and finding your video style with Emily Caruso. ----- Welcome to episode 177 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Emily Caruso, Pinch of Yum’s Video Specialist, as part of our recent Video in 2019 Summit. A Video in 2019 Q&A We recently held a free event called the Video in 2019 Summit, and it focused on ways you can level-up your recipe videos in the new year. Our last session of the day was a Q&A with Pinch of Yum’s Video Specialist, Emily Caruso, and she answered listener-submitted questions about style, lighting, tools, and more. Emily creates awesome Pinch of Yum recipe videos all by herself in her home, so if you’re producing videos without a fancy studio, you’ll find this episode inspirational, motivational, and full of helpful tips! In this episode, Emily shares: How she created different videos for different platforms How to fade music at the end of your videos What it’s like to shoot

Top mistakes of affiliates, buyer intent, and the authentic use of affiliate links with Chris Guthrie. ----- Welcome to episode 176 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Chris Guthrie about making affiliate marketing work for you. Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers This is the greatest time of year. No, not because of the holidays…because it’s gift guide season! Joking aside, gift guides are just one of the many ways that you can make affiliate marketing work for you, and that’s exactly why Chris is here. He’s sharing some unique strategies for affiliate marketing, and he chats about important keywords for affiliate marketing, optimization, and more. If you’re looking for ways to up your affiliate income game, this episode is for you! In this episode, Chris shares: Why he started product review sites Why buyer intent is important and how to create content around it Why keywords like “best” and “top” are helpful for affiliate marketing The biggest mistakes affiliates make H