Want to become a food blogger and make some money? Feeling overwhelmed or not sure where to start. Not sure if there’s too much competition.
If you want to become a successful food blogger you can do it!
Start small but definitely start.
Everybody you know makes food and eats it. The market is huge. People want your tips, recipes and know-how.
This article breaks down step by step exactly what you need to do from setting up your food blog to making money.
9 Steps to Start Your Food Blog and Make Money
1.) Choose a domain name
Your domain name is the website address people will type in the search bar to find your website. The domain name for this website is simpleandonline.com
There are 3 rules to choosing a domain name:
Keep it short, easy to spell and memorable.
The most important thing is not to stress about choosing a domain name. It’s not that important.
Some food bloggers use their own name for their blog and this can work quite well. Your brand can often end up being you and a lot of food bloggers do this. Natasha’s Kitchen and SallysBakingAddiction are two examples of successful food bloggers who have used their name.
It can also be worth avoiding niche domain names and going for something fairly generic. You might have a niche for your topic in mind but later down the line, you may want to expand your blog into other areas. So a generic domain name leaves you with that an option to expand.
Have a look at what other successful bloggers have called their food blogs in this list of the top food bloggers on social media.
If possible choose a .com domain name but .net and .org can also work well.
2.) Choose your hosting
Two hosting providers I recommend are Bluehost and Siteground.
Many new bloggers choose Bluehost as they offer a free domain name with their hosting to get you started. They also have a 60-day money-back guarantee which is peace of mind for new bloggers as well as 24/7 support. And finally, Bluehost make it super easy to install WordPress.
It’s easy to begin, just go to their website and click on the “Get Started” button.
Then choose your plan…
The basic plan is often the most popular with new bloggers as it’s the cheapest and has everything you need to get started. You can always upgrade at a later date.
Once you’ve chosen your plan, it’s time to add your domain name.
Click on the Next button and fill in your details. You can even sign in with Google to make it even easier.
You’ll want to choose the length of the package. The best deal is the 36 month option, but you can choose 12 and 24 month options too.
You will also have the option of choosing package extras. At this stage, you don’t need to worry about adding any extras, so you can untick the boxes. But feel free to add any that you want if you decide to.
Once you’ve completed this stage – Bluehost will set your hosting.
They will send you an email with details of how to login to your control panel so you can take the next step – which is to install wordpress.
Install WordPress
Installing wordpress is super easy with wordpress.
It takes 5 minutes.
This video shows you how to do it step by step.
Once you’ve installed wordpress, use the details you just set up to log into the backend of your website.
To do this go to
http://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin.
Login in with your username and password.
And that it gets super exciting because you can start writing food blog posts.
Choose a Foodie WordPress Theme
Choosing a theme can be one of the most time-consuming parts of setting up a food blog. The reason being is that there are so many themes to choose from.
The good and bad news for food bloggers is that there are zillions of customized themes for food blogs to decide between. Some are free, some are paid for? It can be a minefield to choose the right one.
If you’re serious about your food blog it may be worth paying for a premium theme. Generally, a paid for theme will offer options such as better support and more options/customization. But starting off with a free theme may be preferable if you are on a budget.
Here are a few options:
Kale
Kale this has a free theme option to begin with but you can upgrade to the pro version to get more features later on in your blogging journey if you wish. Kale is designed with the food blogger in mind and will have all the features you need to build a simple recipe or food blog. It has a minimal uncluttered design.
Foodie Pro on Genesis Framework
Built on the Genesis framework, the Foodie Pro theme isn’t cheap. But the Genesis themes like Foodie Pro are well known for speed and optimization which is something that Google likes. It’s a rock-solid based theme with solid SEO coding which is a great foundation for any website
Salt and Pepper by Tesla Themes
Salt and Pepper is perfect for adding and displaying recipes. It has custom recipe listing options and templates to display these recipes with category-based filters. There’s a visual builder with drag and drop options which makes it easier for beginners to get to grips with. It has also been designed with the latest coding methods and SEO standards so it works faster with heavy loaded media pages.
Install the important plugins
One other technical thing you will need to learn how to do is add a plugin.
It’s super easy.
This video shows you how:
Login to the back end of your site.
On the left-hand menu go to “Plugins” and then “Add New” in the side menu.
Then search for the plugin you require in the search box on that page. Once you’ve found the plug in you require click the “Install” button.
After a few seconds, this will turn to “Activate”. And you’ve added your plugin.
Suggested Plugins
WP-Recipe Maker
One plugin that many food bloggers include is WP-recipe maker. This is an easy to use plugins which will help you display your recipes. It has some great features such as being optimized for SEO and being compatible with Pinterest Rich Pine.
Write your first post
Next is the fun part. Start writing….
It can be more difficult that you anticipate though. But the important thing is to start and even more importantly keep going.
Make posting a habit. Write, write, write and write some more. Practise try out different blog ideas. Make them interesting.
To start your first blog post, go to posts on the left hands side menu and then Add New.
Here are some blogging tips:
Write what you’re passionate about and / or what you know
Everybody is an expert in something. Write what you know and share your inside knowledge. It’s quicker to write what you know as you don’t have to research the topic first. Post your most popular recipes, the ones that you know inside out and have added a twist to.
If you are not completely knowledgeable about a topic, that’s fine. But make sure you are writing about something you are passionate about otherwise you will lose interest in your own post
Solve problems
What food problems can you solve? Favorite dishes with missing ingredients. The Best spice kit for starting out. The Best seasoning for baked salmon. How to use Feta in a sweet dish. Quick recipes to cook with 5 to 8 year olds. The Best Food Processor for bread making.
Look at cooking forums. Popular forums such as Reddit has a cooking section. Here you can see what types of questions people are asking to get ideas of cooking problems you can solve.
Take Good Photos
Photos and pictures are really important on a food blog. Don’t forget to take an amazing picture of your recipe. Post with good photos are much easier to promote on social media too.
Write for people you know
People everywhere cook and eat, right? Think about posting recipes for people you already know. Have you been asked how did you cook that? How can I do that at home? Why not tell your friends and family via a post and share it on Facebook or other social media you are already on. If they like it, ask them to share. This can help get your first blog readers and subscribers.
Promote on Social Media
You will want to promote your new blog. One of the best ways to do this is on social media.
My top tip is to pick one social network. Learn it first and build a following there.
It can get very overwhelming to post on several social networks and a lot of work.
Once you’ve mastered one, then move onto others if you want to.
Pinterest is a good place to start for food bloggers. But Instagram and Facebook can also work well with food image.
Monetize
Want to earn some money from your food blog? There are lots of ways to do it:
Affiliate Marketing
If you post a link to a product and/or service on your page and people buy something after clicking through on a link you can earn a commission.
So you could recommend cookbooks and cooking utensils and if people buy what your recommending you can earn some money.
Amazon is a popular affiliate program and it converts well although the commission rates are quite low now.
Other affiliate programs can be very high paying. Meal prep programs such as Hello Fresh deliver boxes with all the ingredients you need to create specific meals. They have an affiliate program that pays out 40%.
Sunfood sell superfoods and have an affiliate program offering between 10% and 20%.
These are just a couple of examples. Doing a google search with bring up hundreds of programs. They include affiliate programs for restaurants, online food courses, ebooks, wine clubs, meal planner apps and lots more.
The important thing with affiliate programs is to only recommend products and services you yourself would use. This helps build trust with your readers.
Google Adsense and other Advertisers
Having adverts on your blog is super easy. The downside is you do need a significant amount of traffic to earn a decent amount of money from them. But if you do get some traffic, it’s a nice easy way to earn some extra cash.
Google Adsense is perhaps the most popular ad program for most new bloggers. It’s easy to join and install the adds making it a good place to start.
Create your own products
One of the best ways to earn money is to have your own products. There are lots of ways to do this. Ebooks were very popular in the past and the obvious one for food bloggers is an ebook with recipes. Just bear in mind that ebooks aren’t as lucrative as they once were due to the emergence of many cheap ebooks now available on amazon. But they are a good way to get subscribers to an email list, particularly if you give something away for free.
Online courses are much more lucrative and a way for to teach your readers something of value.
Some example of online courses that food bloggers put together include teaching how to ice a cake, a weekly family recipe plan with step by step videos to show you how and a course showing you how to understand what makes a good wine.
You can see some popular online course from foodies at teachable to give you ideas.
And you could also pay other food bloggers an affiliate commission to promote and sell your online course too.
Start a Membership Site
You can have a membership site as part of your blog where people will pay to get additional content. So, you could have a membership site where people pay a monthly fee to have access to videos teaching them cake decorating and /or other cooking skills.
Sell Your Food Photography
You could also sell the photos you take for your blog.
You can earn commissions by having your photos on a site such as stockfood.com
Sell Your Services
You may want your food blog to help sell your cooking or food service.
Perhaps you are a caterer and would like a blog to promote a service you already run or are setting up.
A food blog can help sell all kinds of cooking and food services. Examples could include food delivery service, vegan chef, weight loss or other health coach.
Start an Email List
This is a very important step in building up your audience.
If you want to make money from your food blog, it will be easier if you have a list you can promote and sell to.
Make it obvious how readers can subscribe to your email list and offer them an incentive to do so. Some ideas are free cooking ebook, a food cheatsheet or a meal planner if they sign up.
Make sure your emails and blog posts always provide value and this will encourage readers to subscribe and keep their subscription.
That’s it! You’ve learned the main steps you need to know to become a food blogger and make some money.
What’s Next?
Get Started. Do a little bit every day. And before you know it, you will have a food blog to be proud of.
Food blogging isn’t a sprint but a marathon. However, if you are passionate about food and sharing your knowledge, it’s a fun and rewarding one.
You will need perseverance and an unwavering belief and commitment to make it work, even when it feels like it won’t. And you will have those moments.
But the key is consistency. Make blogging a habit. Enjoy the journey. If you do this, the rewards will come and it will be worth every minute of hard work.
