The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Keeping a long-term mindset, "What I don't do" lists, and connecting with others with Bjork Ostrom. ----- Welcome to episode 155 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks about important ways to overcome blogger burnout. Keeping it Fresh and Avoiding Burnout Burnout happens to everyone, so it’s helpful to have a few tips and tricks in your back pocket for when that feeling strikes. That’s why Bjork’s here today. He’s talking about the seven burnout-fighting tips he implements in his own life. Between an efficient way to take a weekend trip to finding the perfect coffee shop when you want to switch up your work environment, this episode will equip you tools to knock out your blogger burnout. In this episode, Bjork shares: Why he has a long-term mindset Why you should view everything as an experiment Why you should unplug once in a while Why it’s helpful to switch up your work atmosphere How to make “what I do” and “what I don’t do” lists Ways to meet up with others Why it’s import

The subtleties of still life photography, the importance of textures, and how to layer with Rachel Korinek. ----- Welcome to episode 154 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork chat with Rachel Korinek from Two Loves Studio about improving your food photography with five powerful tips. 5 Tips to Improve Your Food Photography Spend five seconds on Rachel’s photography site, Two Loves Studio, and you’ll know that she knows photography. Rachel understands the important role food photography plays in the growth of any kind of food-based business. The saying, “Eat with your eyes” is much more true when your colors look real-to-life, your composition is authentic, and your prop choices make sense. From lighting to editing to color theory, Rachel explains these principles in detail on her blog, and she’s here today to share five important tips that can improve your food photography. In this episode, Rachel shares: Why still life photography is difficult What a food stylist does Why it’s hel

Evaluating your current reality, examining your past work, and becoming an effective leader with Kevin Waldron. ----- Welcome to episode 153 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork chat with Kevin Waldron about being an effective business owner and achieving the life you want. Playing the Game of Business Kevin isn’t just a business coach, he’s Bjork’s business coach! He’s in the business of helping people evaluate their current business situation and giving them actionable ways to get to where they want to be. In this episode, Kevin talks about how you can play the game of business to get what you want. You’ll learn how to evaluate what you should be doing more of and, more importantly, what you shouldn’t be doing as you grow into an effective leader and business owner. Let’s dive in! In this episode, Kevin shares: How he knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur The moment he became an entrepreneur How he approaches selling a business Why you might want to infuse your personality into y

Dealing with burnout, making the tough decisions, and generating income your way with Carrie Forrest. ----- Welcome to episode 152 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork chat with Food Blogger Pro member, Carrie Forrest, about 6 big mistakes that she made over her 9 years of blogging. 6 Blogging Mistakes Made By a Veteran Food Blogger Today’s podcast is extra special because we’re featuring a Food Blogger Pro member, Carrie from Clean Eating Kitchen! Carrie has been blogging for nine years, and as you can imagine, she has learned a lot about her readers, the blogging industry, and herself in that time. And that’s why she’s here today. Between learning the hard truth about what happens when you change your URLs to alienating her audience, she’s sharing the top 6 mistakes she made and how you can avoid making them yourself. In this episode, Carrie shares: What it was like blogging 9 years ago What burnout was like and why it made her want to quit blogging How she made the tough decisi

When it's time to take a break, how to change your mindset, and what's next for her blog with Stephanie Wise. ----- Welcome to episode 151 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork chat with Stephanie Wise from Girl Versus Dough about stepping away from blogging and pivoting her focus. Designing Your Lifestyle When running a business online, it’s easy to experience burnout. Stephanie is familiar with the feeling; she actually stopped blogging at Girl Versus Dough for the majority of last year. In that time, she focused on her family and reevaluated what made her love blogging in the first place. Now that she’s back to blogging, she views the process of producing content in a new light. She’ll talk about what’s next for her and her blog, as well as her advice for others who are thinking about pivoting. In this episode, Stephanie shares: Why she decided to stop blogging When she realized it was time to take a break How her mindset has changed What’s next for her, her brand, and her home

We're celebrating our 150th episode with a fun Q&A with Bjork. You'll learn about his management style, why he loves Minnesota, how they're A/B testing on Pinch of Yum, and more. ----- Welcome to episode 150 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork is in the hot seat, and he chats about his favorite music, how he formed his management style, and his favorite Pinch of Yum recipe. Get to Know Bjork Ostrom Happy 150th episode day!! We’re so honored and thrilled to have you listening along to the Food Blogger Pro Podcast each week, so to celebrate, we’re publishing a fun Q&A episode with our fearless leader, Bjork Ostrom. We’ll focus on some business and blogging questions, and then dig into the personal stuff and discover more about Bjork’s music career (!!!) and his unconventional favorite Pinch of Yum recipe. This interview was a lot of fun, and we really hope you enjoy it! In this episode, Bjork shares: What his most memorable podcast episode is If there was ever an episode th

How SEO works on Pinterest, how often you should be pinning, and the optimum size for pins with Yuka Ohishi. ----- Welcome to episode 149 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Yuka Ohishi about optimizing your posts for Pinterest. How to Get Your Content to Stand Out on Pinterest Pinterest can be one of the biggest sources of traffic for food bloggers, so it’s important to optimize your posts, descriptions, and photos for Pinterest success. That’s why Yuka is here today. She has worked at Pinterest for a few years, and she knows the ins and outs of the platform. She’ll answer some of our members’ most common Pinterest questions like how big your pins should be, how hashtags work, how to optimize Pinterest descriptions, and so much more. If you’re looking for ways to improve your Pinterest efforts, this episode is for you! In this episode, Yuka shares: How she started working with Pinterest How often you should be pinning Why the new profile will help you customize your p

How to craft your ideal day, why you should beta test your idea, and how to launch a course with Steph Jones. ----- Welcome to episode 148 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Steph Jones from Steph Yoga about realizing there needed to be a change in her career and how she made that change happen. Pivoting to Find Success Sometimes we think we know exactly what we want to be doing in life, only to learn that it’s not as fulfilling as we had hoped. That’s the exact situation that Steph found herself in when she realized that there needed to be a change. She decided to become a yoga instructor and wanted to take her passions to an online platform. Fast forward through a lot of work, testing her idea, and building her site, she now has a thriving yoga membership workout site that helps its members transform their health and bodies through yoga. You’ll learn all about how she found her passions and built her business in this interview. In this episode, Steph shares: What sh

What GDPR is, why it’s important, and how to implement GDPR-compliant changes on your site with Danielle Liss. ----- Welcome to episode 147 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Danielle Liss from Hashtag Legal and Businessese about understanding GDPR. GDPR for Influencers Have you heard of GDPR? It’s a regulation in the EU about data protection, and it affects everyone with readers in the EU. These four letters are causing a lot of confusion and raising questions in our niche, so Danielle is here today to help us all understand its impact. It’s important to understand the rules and regulations of GDPR so that we can protect ourselves as bloggers and business owners, but it’s also important so that we can protect the privacy of our readers. You’ll learn how to audit your site for compliance, the difference between different types of data, and how you might be collecting data on your site visitors without knowing it. In this episode, Danielle shares: What GDPR is and why

How to view your blog as a business from day 1, better serve your email subscribers, and hire help with Kate Kordsmeier. ----- Welcome to episode 146 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Kate Kordsmeier from Root & Revel about how she generated a full-time income from her blog in just two years. $75,000 in Year 2 One of the most common questions we get on Food Blogger Pro is when bloggers should start monetizing. What do you think? 6 months? A year? 1,000 followers on Instagram? 10,000 page views per month? Kate believes you should start monetizing as soon as possible (as in day one), and in this interview, you’ll learn all about the ways she has monetized and grown her blog over the past two years. In this episode, Kate shares: How she knew she needed a change from freelancing Why finding the Pinch of Yum Income Reports were helpful How she was intentional with her learning How she started viewing her blog as a business over a hobby Her approach to affiliate income

How to live with intention, say no, and seek silance with Shauna Niequist. ----- Welcome to episode 145 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Shauna Niequist about inspiration, knowing when to disconnect, and living with intention. Present Over Perfect Shauna understands how important it is to live a life full of meaningful choices and intentional seasons, but she didn’t always live this way. It took her coming to a breaking point to really evaluate her choices and understand what’s really important. As bloggers and entrepreneurs, we tend to feel the need to constantly be connected to social media, responding to comments, and answering emails. But while those things are important, it’s also important to recognize when you should disconnect, say no, and seek silence for a bit. You’ll learn how to live “Present Over Perfect” in this episode! In this episode, Shauna shares: What her interview with Oprah was like When she knew there needed to be a change in her life What ins

How to implement a "yes and..." mindset, the importance of trying new things, and traveling to eat with Phil Rosenthal. ----- Welcome to episode 144 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Phil Rosenthal about building his career and his new Netflix-original show, “Somebody Feed Phil.” Netflix, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Somebody Feel Phil This is a bit of an unconventional interview for the Food Blogger Pro Podcast, but if you’re a food fan, we think you’re really going to enjoy it. You may have heard of Phil Rosenthal. He’s the creator and executive producer of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” an actor, an author, and most recently, the star of the Netflix-original food and travel documentary, “Somebody Feed Phil.” Phil is a die-hard food lover, and he shares that love as he travels across the globe and makes connections with locals. Building his career wasn’t always easy, but his “yes and…” attitude, fearless personality, and “never give up” outlook are all principles that y

How to build authority, why they choose to guest post, and why connection is so important with Jessica Beacom and Stacie Hassing. ----- Welcome to episode 143 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Jessica and Stacie from The Real Food Dietitians about growing their blog to have over 2 million page views per month. 2 Million Page Views in 2 Years Jessica and Stacie’s story is impressive; not only do they operate their business from two different states, they’ve grown their audience to over two million page views per month in just two years! They’re here today to share the story of how they started their business together and why they ended up shifting their focus. They also will chat about why connection has been such an important part of growing their business and how they’re using Facebook to cultivate that connection. You’ll love hearing about how they’ve learned to thrive as the bloggers behind The Real Food Dietitians. In this episode, Jessica and Stacie share: What

How to choose a hosting plan, why SSL is important, and how to optimize your images with Andrew Wilder. ----- Welcome to episode 142 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Andrew Wilder about the top five tech mistakes he sees on food blogs. How to Fix 5 Common Blogging Tech Mistakes The first time our Site Speed Expert, Andrew, was on the podcast, he chatted all about best practices for securing your website. Now he’s back to talk about five of the most common tech mistakes he sees on blogs. Between choosing the right hosting to optimizing images, there are a lot of tech decisions to make about your blog. Andrew’s advice will make you a lot more confident to make those decisions. Enjoy! In this episode, Andrew shares: What he does at Blog Tutor Why good hosting is important for food blogger The difference between popular types of hosting plans How you can tell if you have good hosting How big your images should be and why you should be optimizing What a fully enhanced re

How to understand your customers, view your blog as a business, and adapt to where you are with Alexis Joseph. ----- Welcome to episode 141 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Alexis Joseph about building two thriving full-time businesses. Hustling to Build Two Full-Time Businesses Alexis is the definition of a #girlboss. She’s the co-founder of a thriving restaurant, the author of a successful blog, and a registered dietitian. How does she find time for it all? Good question. She’s here today to share all about it. You’ll learn about what she does in a typical day and how she balances it all. In this episode, Alexis shares: How she got interested in nutrition When and why she started her blog The things that made a difference in her blog How she started viewing her blog as a business Where her blog name came from How she decided to open a restaurant How she keeps up with her customers How she balances a full-time blog and restaurant What her typical day looks like Re

How to tier your pricing structure, why you should save your side business income, and how to incentivize word of mouth with Nathan Barry. ----- Welcome to episode 140 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Nathan Barry from ConvertKit about how he started his career and pivoted to focus on selling software. From $300k in Product Sales to $9m in Software Sales Nathan started out as a designer and app developer, and he launched his first product to an email list of 800 people. Thus started his successful product sales career, writing three books, two courses, and building an email list. But then in October 2014, Nathan decided to pivot. He decided to focus on his email software, ConvertKit, which was making only $1,000/month in revenue at the time. Now ConvertKit has over 18,000 users, including Pat Flynn, Leo Babuta, and Chris Gillebeau. In this episode, Nathan shares: What he did before starting ConvertKit His suggestions about what you should do with your side business

Sharing videos on social media, filming tricky foods, and working with brands with the Pinch of Yum Team. ----- Welcome to episode 139 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re sharing the Q&A from our recent Recipe Video Bootcamp. Answering MORE Questions about Recipe Videos Have you tried making recipe videos yet? They’re incredibly popular right now, and they’re a great way to grow your audience and social media following. We recently held a Recipe Video Bootcamp where we taught attendees how to shoot and edit their own food videos like a pro. Our last session of the day was a Q&A with Lindsay Ostrom and Alana Woolley from Pinch of Yum, and we’ve decided to share it as a podcast episode today! You’ll learn all about how the Pinch of Yum team handles producing and sharing high-quality video content every week. In this episode, Lindsay and Alana share: The best practices for sharing videos on social media How to work with tricky foods How to work with brands The gear they use

Understanding your stats, owning your niche, and optimizing your content with Ashley Ward. ----- Welcome to episode 138 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Ashley Ward from SEMrush about optimizing the content on your website. How to Get the Most Out of Your Content Content is the core of your blog, but how do you know you’re getting the most out of the recipes and posts you publish? That’s why Ashley is here. She explains that there’s a lot you can do with your content after you set it live. Between evaluating your stats and forming strategies, optimizing your content can happen in different forms. If you’ve wanted to learn how to own your niche or use your competitors when creating content, this episode is for you! In this episode, Ashley shares: How she got started as a corporate speaker What SEMrush is What PPC is How to be strategic with your stats How to use your competitors when creating content How you can own your niche How long you should wait before looking

How to build a self-promoting app, how to find a developer, and what to look for in an agency. ----- Welcome to episode 137 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Trey George about building, developing, and managing apps. One Million App Downloads in One Year Building an app can be an exciting addition to your online business, and Trey is a pro at managing apps at A Color Story. Trey has had a hand in building four apps for the A Beautiful Mess brand (the A Beautiful Mess app, Party Party, A Color Story, and A Design Kit), and he has quickly learned what works, what doesn’t, and what’s important to consider when building an app. If you’ve ever thought about building an app for your blog, this episode is for you! In this episode, Trey shares: How he got started managing the A Beautiful Mess app How to charge more for your work How the A Beautiful Mess app was self-promoting Why hashtags were important for growth What to look for in an agency How to find an app developer Hi

How to run ads on a recipe print page, optimize images for search results, and set Pinterest descriptions with Raquel Smith. ----- Welcome to episode 136 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks with Raquel Smith about how optimize search results on Google and Pinterest. Optimizing for Search Results on Google and Pinterest Structured data, optimization, and rich snippets are common things for bloggers to think about, but just because they’re common doesn’t mean they’re easy to understand. If SEO talk is enough to make your head spin, you’re not alone, so Raquel is here to make recipe SEO much more approachable and understandable. She has managed the development of WP Tasty’s two WordPress plugins, Tasty Recipes and Tasty Pins, and you’ll learn how these plugins can have a major impact on your recipes. In this episode, Raquel shares: How she get started with Food Blogger Pro The difference between WP Tasty and Tasty Recipes What a recipe plugin is and why it’s important What Goo