What’s the deal with Food Bloggers? Recipe posted by Something Swanky Pin Share Tweet Email SomethingSwanky is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. So. Food blogging. It’s a thing now. We’re an official group of people, with an official name, and we go to official food blogging conferences. Officially. Now that that’s out the of the way… what is it exactly that we do? And… is it true that we make money? And how? And why? And what’s with the whole food blogging community thing? And why are there food blogging conferences? Like… what happens at a food blogging conference? And really… what’s the big deal? After attending the BlogHer Food Conference in Austin, Texas a couple of weekends ago and spending 2 consecutive days with only food bloggers who were discussing primarily food blogging matters, it struck me that we must seem like a peculiar group of people to non-blogging folks. And I wondered what this other world full of people who don’t blog about food tink about us, and our conferences, and our non-stop instagram pictures of food? And I wondered if those people might like to know what the big deal is… you know, why we blog– what motivates us and why we need a sense of community to do it! Photo courtesy of www.kristendukephotography.com So I thought this post could be a grand opportunity to explain some of those things! After all, if you’re hanging around here reading this post, I may as well introduce you to the inner workings of my mind and those of all of my friends as well, right!? Blogging, in general, has moved way past its early phases of simply being a hobby or a means to keep the family up to date. Obviously, plenty of people still use blogging for those personal reasons (myself included), but what I’m trying to say is that we now live in society that monetarily compensates bloggers for the content they produce and publish. In other words: blogging is now an industry. And the people who author and own the blogs are small business owners. Food blogging, in particular, has flourished and become it’s own sort of online market place. So here’s how it typically works: A food blogger, like myself, develops a site with their own content (content meaning recipes + photos +any writing/stories). This content is then shot out to the public through various avenues, most often through social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google Plus. When you see a recipe on Pinterest, it’s not a “Pinterest Recipe,” as so often hear them called. That recipe belongs to a site, and oftentimes that site is a blog, just like Something Swanky. Pinterest is just a market place of sorts– a snapshot way for us to show you all what we have on our blogs. It’s how we advertise, so to speak. So if we’re running a business and advertising, how are we getting paid? Ah! This is where it gets fun. There are lots of different ways for a blogger to turn a blog into a business. The easiest and most commonly used method to earn compensation is by running ads for other companies on our blogs. You’ve probably noticed them on most blogs you visit. Most of us get paid for those ads a certain dollar amount per 1,000 pageviews our site gets each month. (So hey– thanks for stopping by today! You’re helping me pay the bills! Woot!) We literally earn money by drawing people to our sites, which is why it’s so frustrating to have our work (photos and recipes) end up on another site, Facebook page, or pin description. It means that people won’t come to our site for the recipe since they can find it somewhere else. And that’s money lost for us! Some of us develop recipes for brands using their products and can be paid for those opportunities as well. There are also compensated freelance writing and photographing opportunities to be had if you do a good job of getting your work “out there.” So that’s the business side of things. I think it’s a pretty neat gig. And I feel so blessed to earn an income doing something I love while also staying home with my daughter. Ok, so now you know how we get paid. But what exactly are we being paid to do? I spend most of my day on the laptop, behind the camera, or in the kitchen. Recipe development is where it starts. You get an idea, you whip it up. For most of us, this part comes naturally and is a lot of fun. Photography is next. It can be a tricky little booger. There’s always lighting, food prep, and styling to contend with. I think people would be surprised to know that it’s not unusual for me to butcher an entire Poke Cake just to cut the perfect piece for photographing. Learning to use a DSLR has been a beastly challenge for me, and is still quite the work in progress. After photographing there’s the editing, and add text to hopefully make it more successful on social media platforms. Of course, we then have to write the post. Always trying to add some personality to the recipe– something to make it stand out from all of the other recipes. This is the hardest part for me. I hate writing. Most days, I just want to say “hey! Here’s the picture. It’s good. Make it. Eat it. Come back.” Would we still be friends if I did? 😉 And then there’s the social media. Ohhhhhh the social media. It’s its own kind of monster. We spend HOURS trying to beat the Facebook algorithms that prevent followers from seeing all of our posts. And analyzing traffic patterns on Pinterest. And, frankly, learning how to tweet at all! No to mention the puzzle that is Google Plus…! And alllllllllll of that is why we need a food blogging community and food blogging conferences. We need other bloggers to ask about Pinterest Business accounts, and what constitutes a tax write off for a blog, and did you know that Google authorship is important? Do you know what Google authorship is? Which ad network is right for me? Etc… As a community we can better ensure everyone’s success. We can share links to recipes, pin posts, and do other tidbits to help drive traffic (business) to each other. Most importantly, we’ve walked a mile or two in the shoes of other food bloggers. Sure, no two lives are exactly alike. But we’re familiar with the day-to-day “grind” of the food blogging world. We understand the wear and tear it can cause. And because we understand those burdens, we can appreciate the triumphs even better as well! And all this means is that we can provide friendship and support to each other in a way that other people oftentimes can’t. These friendships fostered at conferences such as BlogHer Food are precious. We live all over the world, and so opportunities to meet together in in person are rare and special! They’re of great value to our businesses as they facilitate networking that would be impossible to achieve otherwise. But I don’t know a blogger who would say the business advantages of a conference would ever outweigh the pleasure of developing real friendships. Photo courtesy of www.kristendukephotography.com Which is why I am so especially grateful for three very generous companies who each pitched into sponsor my attendance at BlogHer Food 2013 and make it a special event! Picmonkey and I have been friends for a long time, and I was THRILLED to host a really fun event to represent them. During the conference my roommate, Kristen, and I hosted a Picmonkey PJ Party! PM supplied us with the most AMAZING assortment of goodies you could ever imagine. It was like the PJ Party you always wanted to have has a kid, but could never convince your parents to throw! Photo courtesy of www.kristendukephotography.com Photo courtesy of www.kristendukephotography.com photo courtesy of www.kristendukephotography.com We had an unbelievable turn out! A big thanks to everyone who attended and made the night so much fun!!! photo courtesy of www.kristendukephotography.com Something fun that I learned while at BHF is that VIDEOS are the next big must-have item included in blog posts! I have BIG plans for creating how-to videos for each of my Picmonkey design tutorials! So stay tuned, I’ll let you know when I’ve got those under way! A big, huge gigantic THANK YOU to KicMount for their sponsorship. I have so enjoyed getting to know the folks behind this company, and I would just LOVE for you to check them out. They’re magnetic case for iPads is AWESOME for recipe development in the kitchen. The iPad stay clean and above the mess, and most importantly– it’s totally visible for easy recipe reading and Pinterest browsing! We have LOTS more fun in store with Lucky Leaf Premium Pie Filling in the coming months, so be sure to check in for that! I’ll be posting about an opportunity to play with them in July, and you do not want to miss it! But for now, I just want to send warm, fuzzy HUGS their way to say THANK YOU for their sponsorship of Something Swanky to BlogHer Food. It’s been a pleasure to work with them, and I’m excited to continue our partnership! Another enormous thank you to Kristen Duke from Capturing Joy for being the BHF weekend photographer! Recognize some of the bloggers up there? You should! They’re absolutely amazing women, and I’m so thrilled to have them as friends. Check out their blogs: Six Sisters Stuff, Crazy For Crust, The Girl Who Ate Everything, Inside BruCrew Life, Shugary Sweets, Capturing Joy, Chef-in-Training, Be Different Act Normal, The Domestic Rebel, Mom on Time Out, Kitchen Meets Girl, Plaid and Paisley Kitchen, Sweet Treats and More, So Very Blessed, Fifteen Spatulas, and probably a few more I’ve missed…
How cute are you! I wanna be a food blogger 🙂 Really, we just get lucky if I cook anything around here…only about 5 of my posts are food posts. But I totally get the community thing. I started out thinking I could do it all solo…I didn’t want to have to work my way into a “group” of established bloggers. But now I have bloggy friends across all kind of niches and it’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing! Reply
This is such a great post, I would think you had no problem in the writing department!!! Thanks for sharing with us all Ashton! Reply
I loved reading this post, Ashton! I laughed and smiled and even got a tad bit teary eyed! (But I’m a total sap anyway, so that’s nothing new!) Thanks for writing such an awesome post! I look up to your awesomeness everyday! Reply
So well said, Ashton! Two things: 1. You had me fooled, it has always seemed to me that you were a pro behind your DSLR. 2. I hear you on the writing!! Sometimes it just pours out of my fingertips, and other times I just want to say: This was good. Look at my pretty pictures. The end. Reply
This was really cute Ashton! So true there is a huge learning curve with it all but such a great community of people food bloggers are. I’m attending my first conference next month and can’t wait! Thanks for all you do! Reply
Great post and I love how you talk about “pinterest recipe”. My husband asks if something is a pinterest recipe if I make something new. I always say no. It’s a recipe I found on a blog and pinned it to pinterest so I won’t lose it! Reply
What a great post!! I am an aspiring food blogger and am hoping to get to a point where I can start making an income doing what I love. Do you have any advice on how to get sponsors and ads on your site? It’s all a bit confusing to me, so any tips would be appreciated! 🙂 Reply
Hey Meghan! More information will be coming out soon, but I co-created an online blogging conference that talks about all sorts of ways to grow a new blog and tips for working with brands and sponsors. If you’re looking to grow, it may be something you’d like to participate in! You can find more information here: http://www.onlineblogcon.com/p/about.html Reply
Such a great and informative post Ashton! I think you captured the essence of what we food bloggers do in a very easy to understand way. Love it! Reply
LOVE this post! There are so many people I didn’t actually meet and I’m REALLY BUMMED about that! I was going to go to the PicMonkey party and I was just too exhausted from the other events. I’ve heard about video being the next big thing… I’m totally trying but I’m not so good at all of the editing. Trying to get my husband on board with learning that!! Reply
I love this post. It explains so much for people who don’t know! Your pj party looks like the most fun thing ever and I love our food blogging community 😀 Reply
I loved reading this! I also love that you pointed out that there are no “Pinterest Recipes”! Some people really think that Pinterest made up the recipe. Also I loved the pictures from the Pic Monkey party! How fun! Reply
Ashton what a wonderful post! I can;t believe that BHF was only a weekend. It felt so much longer and I wish we could do that every weekend!!! I am so glad that we got to meet and hang out. You are such a lovely person and I am so very grateful for all that you do and teach us!!! Reply
That is a great post! I learned alot! I LOVE food blogs. I thought of trying to do one…but I just don’t think I have the time to do it! I teach and that takes alot of my time after taking care of my family! I am glad you out there helping me come up with some great things to feed my family! Keep up the great work! Reply
Thanks for writing this! I’ve shared it with my friends and family on Facebook because I’ve always felt like they don’t understand the time and energy put into the blog and why it’s all important! Reply
I love this post Ashton! I can’t wait to have an opportunity to meet some of you wonderful ladies in person. Reply
Thank you so much for posting this! I am fairly new to the blogging world and I feel like people that don’t understand blogging think I’m crazy, haha. So this will help to explain it to them! I hope to be able to grow my blog and go to some of these amazing conferences some day! Ally Reply
I think the easier answer to, ‘What is a food blogger?’ is just: what I want to be when I grow up. Of course, I am supposed to be a grown up already, but that aside…thanks for the inspiring post! Reply
I love this post, Ashton! I’m still hoping I can get to that “real” food blogger status soon. 🙂 I think the very best part of BHF was meeting everyone in person who has helped me grow and develop during my blogging journey. It was such an honor to meet you – you are just as sweet and lovely in person as I imagined. xo! Reply
I want in on this fun!! Holy cow! It looked like you had a blast! I just started blogging about food a few months ago (though I’m kind of on a short break right now due to a cross country move and a 6 week long vacation but I can’t wait to get back!), and I love hearing more about the ins and outs of it! Thanks for sharing this! I’m not sure how to go about making blogging friends though. Any advice? How do you get to know others so well when spread all over? Reply
Thanks for writing this Ashton! I seriously have a hard time believing that you’re not a good writer, because you’re one of my favorite blogs to read BECAUSE of the writing! Anyway, I second what Susan D. said and I’m sharing this with my friends and family as well. Reply
I love this post! Thanks for putting it into words that non foid bloggers will be able to understand. Reply
I stopped telling people I am a food blogger a long time ago 😉 Now I say I own a website. Much easier to explain! Loved reading this though!! Reply
Ashton, I love this pot so much. I soaked up every single word. You portrayed our lives and businesses beautifully. The thing that really stuck with me is “Pinterest Recipe” – that irks me so much! Pinterest didn’t throw it onto the internet, we did! It’s from a person, from a home, from our kitchen. Not the computer. Grrrr makes me so angry! I wish I couldn’t joined all of you at BlogHer this year. I can’t wait to go next year! Reply
Love, love, love this post…but even more I heart you!!! I am so glad to hear that you demolish a whole cake to find that one good piece…that’s me too 🙂 I can’t wait for the next conference to hang with you again!!!! Reply
Love this post! Agree totally with what you’ve said. And I’m so glad that I’ve found your blog as well, I’m still new to blogging and it’s not such a big thing in the UK, but I hope that one day we have conferences here, or that I get to come to the USA one day and come to a conference! Reply
Yay! Love this post. So so true! And I am so glad we’re all bonded together in this fun, crazy food blogging world 🙂 and that I’ve gotten to meet you TWICE so far! Woohoo!! Reply
I am just finally making the time to read through this post. What a great write up. It really shows the dedication and drive the you and so many other bloggers have! Reply
As a brand new blogger, you talented ladies give me such amazing goals to aspire to! I’ve been following food blogs for years and finally bit the bullet to start my own a few weeks ago. This post perfectly articulated what I’ve been trying to explain to family and friends as to why I’m embarking on this journey, so I was excited to forward it to them. I look forward to hopefully attending a conference at some point…it looks like y’all had too much fun! Thanks again for the great insight shared in this article… 🙂 Reply
I couldn’t have said it better. I’ve never been in a place with people who think and do exactly what I do everyday. It was a breath of fresh air. And I’ve done my fair share of destroying a dish just to cut the perfect piece for a photo. Once again it was a pleasure to meet you. You are the definition of authenticity. Reply
Love this post! So honest and true. I have to ask…did the sponsors for your trip to Blogger seek you out or did you ask them? It seems like most have sponsors for these trips. I haven’t been able to attend a conference yet simply because of the huge expense. Reply
I pitched to one of my sponsors for Blogher specifically, I pitched to another for a previous conference and then they offered to continue their sponsorship for this conferences, and then the third sponsor approached me. We’ll be talking about how to approach sponsors for conferences at Online BlogCon this year! You can find info on registration here: http://www.onlineblogcon.com/p/about.html Reply
Yay! I so need to learn how to get some sponsors. I’d really like to have a few brands I work with regularly and like and really put time into, rather than just random sponsored posts that are kind of all over the place.
I love how you approached this, Ashton! I think you answered so many questions that a lot of non-blogging readers ask a lot. Thank you for this! Reply
This post it totally fantastic Ashton. I shared it on my personal FB page so I could kind of explain what I do. I always feel a little awkward talking about the blog with non-blogger types (except the hubs, my mom and MIL). This makes me want to stand up and say “I’m a food blogger. Hear me roar!” 🙂 Thanks for breaking it down. We need a life line with the outside world. Haha. Reply
OMG! What a read! I have laughed, appreciated, empathized and just generally enjoyed everything about your writing. And, seriously, I feel so much more informed, less ignorant let’s say. I visit you everyday. Keep up all the great work. By the way, all my siblings were redheads! I noticed that handsome guy of yours; and, you are cute as a button! Reply
Why thank you so much! What a sweet comment 🙂 And I think my husband is a cutie too– hopefully we’ll get some red-headed children! Reply
Admittedly, I was Googling “food blog conference sponsorship” when I happened upon this post {learning & growing food blogger, here!}… and I can’t believe I haven’t clicked over before! Absolutely love the post. So much, in fact, that I’m sharing it with readers, family, and friends in hopes that they will “get it”. Happy to be a new Something Swanky reader! 🙂 Reply
How awesome – your affiliation with PicMonkey. I just found out about that site last week and love, Love, LOVE it! Thanks for sharing your post. Reply
