People are always asking me how my blog grew so fast. So I finally decided to write a post about it. I hope it can help you all a bit.
1. Be yourself – Just write from the heart and people will feel your passion.
2. Write about what you love – This again will draw people in.
3. Build your social media network – Create fan pages on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google +…etc
4. Take good photos – Nicer photos get pinned and shared more, so it’s in your best interest to work on your photography. See my post on Tips for Photography. I am by no means an expert, but this is what I have learned so far.
5. Submit your photos – Sites like Foodgawker, Tastespotting, Healthy Aperture and Finding Vegan, will publish your photos. These sites can help drive traffic to your blog. They can be picky, so prepare yourself for lots of rejection. To put it in perspective, I have 156 photos accepted on Foodgawker, but 250 photos denied.
6. Try to get invited to group boards on Pinterest – Those are key to growing. These group boards often have huge followings.
7. Network with like minded bloggers on social media – Find like minded blogs and pages on Facebook and introduce yourself. The foodie community is pretty tight.
8. Content is king – The more content you have, the more page views you will receive. Also make sure to include links to other blog posts within your posts.
9. Create an organized blog with a easy to use recipe index – This will encourage people to search beyond the landing page.
10. Leave thoughtful comments on other blogs – I try to leave at least 3 a day. Often, those bloggers will come back and comment on your blog as well.
11. Know your audience – This is important. You can use Google Analytics to figure out who your target audience is.
12. Make it easy to share your posts – Make sure you have social media icons under all your posts.
13. Be patient – Growing a blog can take time.
14. Post only your best recipes – If someone makes your recipe and doesn’t like it, they may not come back to try more.
15. Do research – This blog post from Recipe Girl is an amazing reference for anything to do with blogging. Bookmark it and keep it near you.
Once your blog grow, be prepared for a lot of work. Keeping up with comments, posts and social media can take a lot of time. I am no expert, but these are some tips that helped me get to where I am today. It’s great to be able to do what I love.
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