I have been a food blogger for more than two years. So I thought it would be useful for others to learn how to start a food blog and how to make money from blogging.
Although I faced some problems on the way (details below), I love food blogging.
I initially started my website to sort out my recipes and also to share them online with friends who often asked for recipes for dishes they tried in my home. But over time, I learned about blog monetization, too.
However, before I talk about making money from a food blog, I have to say that you shouldn’t create a foodblog just to earn money.
In the beginning, when you don’t have lots of traffic, it’s virtually impossible to see any profits from blogging. So you have to be passionate and patient.
Because it is only after months of effort and hard work on developing your site and growing your readership that you can finally start making money as a food blogger.
Before you even set up a website, you have to decide what kind of foodblog you are going to have. You can create a general food blog, but it is then harder to be noticed.
One of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is by having a unique selling point. Examples of unique selling points for food blogs are vegan dishes, easy meals, etc. Or the type of blog that I have chosen – healthy and tasty food.
Once you have decided what type of food you will focus on, you need to think of an appropriate name for your website.
The best idea is to have a name that relates to the recipes you will be sharing. Generic names such as ‘Agnieszka’s Blog’ will make it much harder for you to stand out from the crowd (unless you are Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver ;)).
Once you know what your blog will focus on and you have a name for it, you can finally create it.
There are many different free web hosts that you can use, or you can have your own paid hosting. Having your paid hosting provides many more opportunities to generate money from your blog.
If you decide to have your own paid hosting, make sure you choose a reliable hosting company with quality servers, management software and service.
Such an organization will quickly respond to your queries as well as will help you to solve problems. It also keeps backups of your website that can be used immediately in case of emergency (e.g. after hackers attack your site as they invariably will).
Selecting a content management platform is another decision that you should think over very well.
If you are not happy with your initial choice, it will be both challenging and time-consuming to move to another platform later. Simply, not all the features are easily and immediately transferable and you may have to do it manually.
I changed a content management platform from Blogger to WordPress after a year of blogging and have spent a lot of time getting everything sorted.
I would recommend WordPress to new bloggers.
Firstly, there are plenty of website templates you can choose from, also the free ones, so for sure, you will find the one you love.
Secondly, it is straightforward to use. There are loads of WordPress plugins available that make writing successful posts easier such as Yoast SEO Premium which optimises the content of your post. They also make your blog easier to navigate and more appealing to your audience.
It is up to you which ones you choose, but some plugins are indispensable.
One of them is Google Analytics, which lets you see your advertising ROI (return on investment).
The other one is Wordfence. This plugin works as a wall protecting your website from hacker attacks. That’s why it is crucial to the security of your blog.
Safeguarding your website is a bit like your health: you start appreciating it once it is gone. My site was hacked many times in the past to the point I almost had to start it all over again. I lost over six months trying to recover the situation within months of starting my blog.
So I know exactly how important it is to protect your website from hackers.
You can only start making money from a foodblog if your site gets lots of visitors (traffic).
This is because the more people visit your blog, the more likely it is that they will click on your advertisements, buy your book, or click on one of your affiliate links.
Higher traffic also means companies will pay you more to work with you promoting their products or services.
The most obvious way to get peoples’ attention is by adding engaging content. Simply, the more recipes you have, the more people will have a reason to visit your blog.
Needless to say, you have to include exciting material and great photos!
Setting up an email list also helps you earn money because emailing people reminds them to visit your site.
You can additionally expand your following by promoting your blog via social media.
Reading up on marketing techniques is invaluable for this part.
You should use search engine optimization (SEO) to make your keyword search results show up on the front pages of search engines.
You have to also set up relevant social media accounts and post on them often to maintain momentum.
Google Adsense allows you to include ads on your blog, and when people click on them, you receive some money.
Affiliate programs or affiliate links are another way of making money from a food blog. For example, Amazon affiliates earn a commission when someone clicks on their link and then makes a purchase.
You can also profit through sponsorships – however, don’t overdo it.
Your readers will know if you are promoting something only because you received money for it. As a result, you can lose some of your readers. They will just no longer believe what you say if you are peddling either too many or low-quality products.
You can also contact sponsoring companies that you want to work with.
One piece of advice is that when working with companies, make sure you are fairly compensated. If you are offered little money for lots of work, it’s better just to turn it down and concentrate on building your blog brand instead.
Some food bloggers also try to expand their blogs into businesses. They write e-books or sell merchandise.
Writing an ebook can be helpful in two ways. If you sell it, you earn money. And if you give it away for free in return for an email address, you can gain a lot of readers because people always like valuable freebies.
And more readers means a higher chance of more of them clicking on your ads etc.
Many food bloggers now use their websites as their sole source of income. They simply earn so much money from it.
But making money from a food blog isn’t easy as is highly competitive.
You have to consistently work on it and patiently wait for great results. And probably, before you start making money from a food blog, you will have to invest some money in it.
It is true that some blog templates are free, some hosting companies are cheaper, and you initially may think you don’t need certain (paid) features on your website. But if you want to have a successful blog, please learn from my experience and make the necessary investments.
Working on my site, my posts, and my recipes have taught me lots of valuable lessons. And I hope I have passed some of them onto you.
Relevant Links:-
https://www.yahoo.com/food/how-being-a-food-blogger-can-net-you-150k-a-year-117012993426.html