A food blog is also known as a website that hosts food-related content and articles, either by independent bloggers or a team of creators. However, food bloggers devote their attention to various topics, including original recipes, restaurant reviews, and health food tips.
Here are some easy steps to follow when starting a food blog.
1. Naming your blog and buying a matching domain name: A blog name should be descriptive, memorable, easy to spell, and short. However, coming up with a blog name can sometimes be difficult, but it is what people type to get to your website. You can start brainstorming by coming up with a short mission statement or by listing words that describe your cooking style, your lifestyle, your background, and lots more. After choosing a suitable blog name, you would be required to check for its availability. Every website needs web hosting, and a domain name typically costs $14.99 per year while web hosting normally costs $7.99 per month.
2. Finding a suitable web host and installing WordPress: It is advisable to start with an affordable shared hosting plan that offers automatic updates. Some web hosting services require you to pay for your plan in advance in order to install WordPress.
3. Install WordPress: On some Web hosting sites, upon purchase, WordPress will be installed on your site automatically.
4. Choosing a Theme for Your Food Blog: WordPress Themes control your website’s design and appearance and can be installed on your website. However, not all of the themes are suitable for a food blog. You would therefore need a theme that matches the look and feel of a food blog. After finding a theme that suits your blog, you can then proceed to the guide on how to install a WordPress theme for a step-by-step installation instruction.
5. Choosing a recipe plugin that could be found easily: As a food blogger, you would need a plugin to help your recipes get more traffic from search engines. However, the best way to write search engine-friendly recipes is by using Schema.org formatting because Schema.org formatting allows search engines to display extra information like rating, preparation time, and lots more. Once the plugin has been activated, you need to create a blog post or edit an existing one, and on the post edit screen, click on the “WP Recipe Maker” button, which would further bring up a popup where you can enter your recipe details.
6. Monetize your food blog: After adding some of your best recipes, you can therefore go ahead and monetize your food blog. Some ways to monetize your food blog include: selling E-books with your recipes, which allows paid members to download E- books, videos, secret recipes, or submit their own content; displaying ads using Google AdSense, which allows you to display advertisements on your food blog and earn money when your users click on those ads; and affiliate marketing, which allows you to add links to affiliate products from your recipes and blog posts.
7. Getting more traffic to your food blog: Profit, sales, and earnings on your food blog are dependent on your website’s traffic. However, the more users visit your website, the greater the earnings, brand recognition, and success of your website, and this can be achieved by building an email list, creating a YouTube channel, and utilizing Instagram.
The most popular food blogs are: the location-specific blog, which is a blog that provides reviews of restaurants, different types of food, and recipes for delicacies from a specific place; the recipe blog, which provides original recipes developed by the food blogger; the cuisine-specific blog focuses on food from a particular region or country, and the healthy food blog provides healthy recipes, advice for meal planning, nutritional tips, or focuses on specialty diets.