Prepwork for A Drool-Worthy Food Blog

You know who has some great ideas when it comes to the kitchen? You do! Your children never hide their vegetables under their napkins. Your co-workers wait eagerly for your next batch of homemade cookies. Friends and neighbors eagerly await their invitation to your annual Halloween soiree where you serve up tasty witches’ digits and mind-altering Bloody Marys.

What have you been waiting for, then? Why are you keeping the goods all to yourself? The world is waiting for your culinary brilliance, and it’s easier than it ever has been to share it.

Unfortunately, the easier things become, the more likely we are to dive in without a plan. While you can certainly start a blog without one, there’s a good chance you won’t make it past the third month if you haven’t given some thought to what your blogging intentions are.

Let’s take some time today to start building a plan for your food blogging empire!

What kind of blogger are you?

Food blogs come in as many varieties as there are foods to write about. Some blogs have a style like a well-loved journal, with the blogger framing recipes in colorful personal stories. Other food bloggers take a more editorial approach, integrating tips on healthy living, crafting, and even decorating.

Think about the sorts of blogs that approach to you. Would you like to emulate that style or are you interested in doing something entirely different?

What will you name your blog?

Your blog’s name should let your readers know what they’re in for. Choose a name that’s clear, catchy, and concise.

Give yourself time to brainstorm many possibilities before you commit, and be sure to look at what the name will look like when it all gets smooshed together as a URL. Some very innocent names have had some very unfortunate outcomes when spaces were removed between words.

In the past, .com was the standard extension; however, lost of new extensions are now available for registration and more are becoming available each year. You may decide to opt for something more specific to your subject matter like .kitchen, .recipes, or .eat.

When will you publish?

Each blogger has her own unique schedule. Some post daily while others post weekly. It’s best to have a schedule in mind before you begin because blogs that post consistently tend to get more traffic and search engine credibility.

If you’re feeling nervous, it’s perfectly acceptable to begin slowly and add to your schedule as you gain confidence and momentum.

On the other hand, you may have a million ideas and find yourself itching to fire them all out into the blogosphere at once. Go ahead and write the posts while you’re inspired, but consider spreading out their publication. That will give you leeway on those days ahead when you don’t feel like writing.

If you’re intimidated by the prospect of devising a schedule, check out our last post on the topic.

Where will you publish?

Numerous blogging platforms exist today, but the most popular is WordPress. WordPress has a quick learning curve and lots of design customization options through themes and templates. Many widgets and modules have also been created for WordPress, allowing you to add increased functionality to your blog.

Check out a few of our clients’ blogs to get a feel for the potential of WordPress.

How will you distribute?

In order to gain a following, you’ve got to share your posts. Social media is one of the easiest ways to give your blog posts legs; however, social media takes up time as well.

Find out which platforms your prospective audience calls home and then create an account if you don’t have one. If you value your privacy, you may want to create a separate account from your personal one just for the distribution of your blog and interacting with your future fans.

Will multimedia be a part of your blog?

Integrating multimedia into your blog will make it more engaging. Research has shown time and again that adding images to blog posts and social media will improve their shareability, and videos continue to increase in popularity as well.

Being such a smart cookie, you may decide to incorporate a short video with each post, walking your audience through the steps of a recipe, for instance. Photos and infographics are also eye-catching additions to a blog that will make your readers want to pin, tweet, and post from your site.

Take some time up front to decide where all the visual elements of your blog will come from.

Get started!

Once you’ve taken time to consider all of your options, it’s time to get started. Come back next week and we’ll look at the basic steps you’ll need to take to get your food blog up and running!