Do you have this obsession with food that people call you a food nerd? No, I’m not just talking about the obsession of eating food but reading about it and experimenting new recipes? If yes, then a food blog is all you need!
Creating a food blog may sound daunting but it’s an easy and a fun way to monetize- all things considered you’re ready to put in your time and effort for the maximum development. But all this takes a proper forecasting, see through and diligence because as simple as it sounds, it has its own pros and cons. Like, for example, turning your food into income would mean lots of cooking and coming up with new ideas every now and then.
Also, making your blog profitable is the best part but do you know what else is good about it? You don’t need any technical skills or coding. Isn’t that great?
So without delaying this any further, let’s start this guide for you…
1. Choose a Blog Niche-
Firstly, you need to choose your niche because food blogging is a very broad topic area. It would be difficult if you generalized it. Choosing a specific forte will help you focus better. You have a plethora of options to choose your niche. You can either go for specializations in Indian food, Chinese food, African or any cultural meals. Or you can opt for a diet blog including healthy, gluten-free, vegan diet. You can also choose your niche based on the cooking methods like baking or grilling, etc.
Remember to choose a niche as per your interests and passion otherwise you won’t be able to do justice to your blog.
2. Choose a Catchy Name for the Blog-
Pick a snappy name that describes your blog and makes it stand out. Remember to choose a name that is available as a domain name also. If you are confused about the name, there are various online blog name generators available.
Tips to choose blog/domain name-
- Keep it short and simple as it’s easy for the audience to remember.
- Consider what your target audience wants.
- You can also use your name or a combination of the same.
- It’s better if there’s a connection between the blog name and the founder to maintain the consistency.
3. Purchase the Domain Name and Web Hosting-
Platforms like Medium, Tumblr, Blogger, etc. provide you an opportunity to start your food blog for free but in order to start a business and earn from it you must buy your own domain and hosting. These free platforms restrict the features, designs and various other functionalities including monetization of your blog. The most recommended platform for food blog domains is Bluehost.
4. Install CMS on Your Hosting Account-
It is recommended to choose a web host that offers WordPress install, the reason being that WordPress Content Management System is widely used and is the easiest to learn. After you’ve chosen you’re host provider, ask them the procedure to install WordPress on your hosting account.
5. Choose a Theme and Install Plugins-
Once you’re done installing your Content Management System (WordPress), choose a theme for your blog- a theme that has easy navigation, responsive design and is search engine optimized. If you don’t feel like purchasing a theme, you can easily opt for a free one.
When using WordPress as your CMS, you can enhance the functionality of your blog by adding plugins to it- both free and paid. You can use Akismet for comment spam filtering; to optimize your content for search engines you can use YoastSEO, WPForms to create forms for email signups, contact requests, etc. and Jetpack for regular backups, and more.
6. Add Pages and Recipes to Your Blog-
After you’re done with all the installations, start adding pages to your blog. Don’t forget to add these three main pages to your blog-
- Home Page
- About Page
- Contact Page
Add 5 to 10 recipes straight away so that readers have enough to read. After this you can plan a blogging schedule and add the content on your blog accordingly. Don’t forget to add the high-quality images as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Always try using original shots. Even if you’re not a professional photographer you must start working on your photography skills. Meanwhile try using free stock photo websites like Pixabay, Unsplash, etc.
7. Promote Your Food Blog-
Publishing content regularly and waiting for the search engines to drive traffic to your website is not enough; you need to promote it. But this is not an overnight process. You need to develop a proper marketing plan and focus on various promotional channels like-
- Sharing your recipes on various Social Media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.
- Start writing guest posts.
- Share your videos on your blog and also create a YouTube channel for the same.
8. Monetize Your Blog-
The last step is to monetize the blog because for your blog to make money, traffic is required on the website. When you drive enough traffic to your website, start using income-generating resources like-
- Providing online courses
- Writing your own cookbooks
- Leveraging advertising programs like Google AdSense, etc.
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