So, you just clicked publish on your first blog post…
You’ve posted a savvy picture of your dish, your recipe is tantalizing and you’re now waiting for readers to flock to your site in hopes that you might one day become the next Orangette or Pioneer Woman. What is life without a little dreaming, right? Well, if you’re sinking a lot of time into this endeavor then you should be as informed as possible on how to get eyeballs onto your site. Because at the end of the day, blogging success is measured in eyeballs and how long they stay fixated on your content.
Decent, well-lit pictures are a main component of content quality
Since, I’ve gone through this process for almost a year between this site and it’s wordpress.com predecessor (and I just broke even on my hosting fees this month, woohoo!!), I thought I’d put together a few bullets summarizing the knowledge I’ve gained from blogging about food.
Analyzing traffic:
First things first, you should go to Google Analytics right now and sign up for an account if you haven’t done so already. Using this tool you’ll be able to analyze your traffic from all angles to figure out how many readers you’re getting, where they’re coming from, how long they’re staying on your site, etc… These are all important things to consider when deciding how to split your time amongst blog promoting activities.
My traffic is sourced from the following (in order):
1. Direct traffic
2. Large commercial food media sites
3. Tastespotting
4. Facebook
5. Google / Giveaways
The most surprising thing for me in analyzing my data, was realizing that foodbuzz, the foodie community that hosts the ads on my site in addition to featuring me as a publisher doesn’t send any decent traffic my way. This is the case because blog posts viewed through foodbuzz are viewed under their hosting banner. You won’t get credit for eyeballs that view your site through foodbuzz, so plan your promoting activities accordingly. There are people who add every single user on foodbuzz as friends and promote their posts on the site multiple times per day for days. This is considerable time that might be better spent on other promoting activities. Do the math.
So, now that we know where traffic comes from, let’s take a closer look at the sources.
1. Direct traffic
Direct traffic is sourced from subscribers. These are people who found your site through one of your blog promotion activities and decided they liked it enough to keep coming back. They either subscribed or remembered your site’s catchy title. It is important to keep these readers happy with great content and by maintaining a community environment so they feel a sense of attachment to your site, enough so to keep coming back.
Encourage readers to subscribe by prominently displaying a subscribe button/link somewhere on your site. You want to make sure that this button/link is displayed above the fold, which simply means in the area that is in full view before a reader scrolls down the page.
Post pictures and tell a story. Great content for a foodie blog is a function of a few things: quality of pictures, originality of recipes, tone of text and personal stories. Don’t just post a recipe and hit the publish button, especially if your pictures suck. If your pictures aren’t vibrant and don’t sell your recipes, then your content should more than compensate the reader for his or her time. Enjoying food is a full sensory experience, but experiencing food online is a visual experience where text attempts to fill in for what’s missing.
Well lit, clear pictures are key. If you can't afford a fancy camera with a macro lens, use a point and shoot. This picture was taken with a point and shoot camera.
Be yourself. If you write in a tone that is not your own you’ll come off as sounding fake, uninteresting, and most importantly, you won’t be able to carry it off consistently or for long. Invariably, the most popular food blogs are ones in which the writer takes the reader through the journey of their life, ups and downs, no holds bar.
Comment your way around the ‘sphere. If you aren’t willing to provide great content, be prepared to comment your way around the ‘sphere, a tactic that actually works wonders in the food blogging community. I’ve seen many sites with average or awful content, yet they have 20+ comments on each post. They most likely are commenting on every food blogging post that comes across their foodbuzz feed. If you have the time then this isn’t a bad strategy. People in the food blogging community are really good at returning comments. If any of these commenters like your site they may subscribe to your webpage or join your Facebook fan page. This is a great way to bring new eyeballs to your site and in some cases keep them coming back. Also, commenting and receiving comments helps to foster a sense of community, which is what blogging is all about. It’s a massive virtual dialogue about a shared topic among people stuck behind their computers who you wouldn’t be able to meet otherwise.
Settle on a posting frequency. Generally speaking, blogging traffic increases with posting frequency and time. That being said, you really want to post as frequently as possible. If you can handle posting everyday or even more than that then go for it. If you know you won’t be able to maintain that kind of frequency over the long haul then stick to something a little more spread out. Whatever you choose, stick to it. Readers like consistency. There isn’t anything more annoying than seeing your favorite blog die a slow death, posting everyday, then every four days then every month. The readers don’t want crap shoot odds of landing on fresh content on your site. So, give them consistency.
2. Large food media sites
Find them and post comments on them. I found one in particular that works wonders for me, but there are plenty out there depending on your genre of food/cooking.
Entering contests is another way to drive traffic from large food media avenues. Daring Cooks, Project Food Blog, Kitchen Play and food52 are all sites that host contests or challenges regularly. They take care of promoting the challenge/contest and eyeballs from their promotion efforts fall on your site by virtue of your connection. It’s also a great way to enhance your cooking skills and step out of your comfort zone.
3. Tastespotting
Tastespotting is the most efficient blog promotion tool. It’s efficient because it doesn’t require much additional time from you, the food blogger. In order to maintain the most basic standard of food blogging you’ve got to be taking pictures. Getting a feature on Tastespotting only requires that you submit your photos. They won’t all get accepted, but over time the rejections will (hopefully) encourage you to take your food photography seriously. A feature on Tastespotting can give a traffic boost that lasts for many days. If you have no idea where to begin with food staging or photography, research the dishes you plan to make on Tastespotting for ideas. Even if you copy their setups, it’ll help you improve your skills.
This was the first of my pictures approved by Tastespotting. Traffic from this Tastespotting feature surpassed any of my giveaway posts.
4. Facebook
5. Google / Giveaways
Make your post titles as search friendly as possible. Google search brings a fair amount of traffic to my site every month. This will increase over time as Google attaches a higher rating or legitimacy to your site with time due to the incoming links that accumulate as well as other factors. That being said, you should aim to make your titles as search friendly as possible. When searching, readers tend to type questions into Google. For instance, try titling a post as ‘How to make an arugula salad’ versus ‘Arugula salad’. Just looking at the two, which one are you more likely to click on?
Host giveaways. Giveaways attract so many eyeballs and comments it’s amazing. If you can afford to giveaway your own foodie products, then go for it. If not, join aggregate promotion sites that link publishers with sponsors. The obvious big one in the food blogging world is Foodbuzz.
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I hope you found this helpful. I plan to share more knowledge on monetization, design and other topics as I learn more. The best advice I can give you if you’re starting a new food blog is to have fun and be realistic. Most new blogs receive under 100 page views every day. Don’t sweat it. You should blog if you’re passionate about a subject or have a marketable niche. If you aren’t passionate about your subject, you won’t have the drive to keep at it, and since blogging traffic increases with time and posting frequency, the longer you stay in the game the better your chances for achieving blogging success!
How long have you been blogging? What tips have you picked up over that time?
Great tips, whether you’re brand-new to blogging or have done it for years. I sheepishly admit that even though I’m on the Foodbuzz network, I did not realize that Foodbuzz gets the counted traffic from my blog. I was wondering why I hardly ever saw Foodbuzz turn up in my Google Analytics. Doh!
Hm, Foodbuzz shows up on my Google Analytics as a referring site all the time. I can even see whether people are clicking from my profile or the bannered pages. {shrug?}
Great post. Thanks for all the great info! I’m glad you said that… I really need to get on Tastespotting. I’ve been blogging for over a year now and I went from blogging several time a week to now only once a week. It’s all I can really afford for the time being. But I noticed that as time got tight and I commented less on other sites, I received a lot less comments on my blog. But these are great tips, thanks!
Trish, you have great content!! You should work the subscriber and Facebook angles if you don’t have time to comment. Try leaving a one liner at the end of your posts with a link encouraging readers to subscribe.
Thank you for the info! I’ve been blogging for exactly 1 year today and there is still so much I don’t know about blogging. Now I’m curious to try Google Analytics…
Yah, Goog analytics is a must!
I am fairly new to blogging and I noticed that that if I have a new post, my traffic goes up for a few days, then it dies down. It’s kind of up to me to work and publish more posts to keep the traffic momentum. I have not tried any giveaways. Thanks for all the tips. I am trying to take it one little step each time. Enjoyed readying your post.
Great tips, thank you! Stylish Blogger Award is waiting for you! To pick it up click: http://indulginglife.blogspot.com/p/my-awards.html
Wonderful tips! I want to know WHICH food media site you are having the most success with…do tell!
What an informative post! Thank you!!!
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GREAT tips! Thanks for sharing! I think I need to check out tastespotting!
Thanks for the tips!!! Just found your blog and I love it!! And that cookie is making me hungry
Great post…very informative. Oh! Yes I’ve notice that on Foodbuzz, kind of disappoint really. Tastespotting and Foodgawker are my traffic helpers, when my pics pass the tough criteria off course. Have a great weekend and thank you for the tips.
Great tips about blogging. I have been blogging for more than 1 year but still have not started a facebook fan page. I have to do it soon. Thanks very much for reminding.
I stumbled to your site looking for a granola bar recipe and found these really great tips first! Thanks for such an informative post. I’ve only been blogging since November 2010 (I’m not too late to the game, am i?!), so your tips are very helpful. I look forward to putting your ideas – and recipes – to use in the near future.
Is that first picture your olive soda bread? BEAUTIFUL. I remembered your comment, came by to see if you blogged about the soda bread, and here’s a picture. Sorry about a lack of reply when you asked about the recipe! I The recipe came out of Baking With Julia. Fabulous cookbook… borrowed it from my mom and still haven’t returned it.
You have a great post going here. It’s hard to drive traffic and everyone has to be multi-faceted in their approach. I just find it difficult since I don’t have lots of time to begin with. I think your advice for an authentic voice is key… sometimes I tune into food blogs that don’t necessarily have the best recipes and pictures, but the writing is spectacular. One of the best pieces of advice I received was to always have fun… I reached a point when it wasn’t fun, so I took a break. When I came back, it was like starting a brand-new blog, but the content’s a lot better when I’m not burned out with life.
Great and very informative post…thank you!
Wow, what a great post for us newer bloggers…I appreciate your tips!
Great tips! Thanks for posting this–I haven’t even thought about trying to direct traffic to my blog yet, I have a lot to do ^_^
I’ve been blogging for four years and I would agree with all that you say. I haven’t used Tastespotting but do find FoodBlogs sends a bit of traffic. I use the blogger stats and Stat Counter both of which are free and give much the same info as Google Analytics which I did use when I ran a business blog. It is certainly enough info for me.
Wow – can’t believe I never noticed the lack of Foodbuzz traffic on my Analytics. Thanks for the great article!
As a longtime blogger (but newer to food blogging) I love this list. I think stats are gold for any publisher, and paying attention to what your readers are doing ON your site is very important.
I started using Lijit (before I worked for them now) on my blog and loved how they also told me what people were SEARCHING for on my site. That’s pretty interesting and also shows me what people are interested in, in terms of content. It uncovers editorial content and usually, helps me with new blog posts (giving back to readers).
I should submit more to Tastespotting. It’s a fun challenge to the self and it generates great traffic. Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the tip. I will have to check out Lijit. It sounds like a good tool.
Great tips – I especially like that you highlight the personal connections (having folks willing to evangelize your work is the best promotion a gal can ask for!). So, you know, sorry about all the cracks I make about vegans/vegetarians! (just remember, I make fun of myself, too!). Also? Your pictures are beautiful. Well done!
Very thoughtful post…and encouraging! One recent day when I was super frustrated trying to take a picture my husband asked me why I was doing it if it made me so upset??? I really couldn’t answer him except to say, “I just have to!!!” But later I realized it was a wake-up call to remember to HAVE SOME FUN! So I will remember your practical tips and hopefully continue to have some fun!
I may have gone through a very similar experience as you mentioned in your comment. What I’ve found that helps is to focus on the writing part, and to bring out as much of yourself as you’re willing to comfortably share. You can take pictures of anything. As long as they’re decent. People will come. People will *stay* if they like your story.
I’ve been blogging for a few years now, but still consider myself a novice as far as traffic is concerned. I really enjoyed your post, but here are some things that I found have worked really well for me too.
Twitter! For me it is a must for networking with other food bloggers and getting attention. It’s helped build the sense of community that you talked about and also drives a lot of traffic.
You mentioned Tastespotting, but have you also tried Foodgawker? Works the same way and when I get a post mentioned on both sites, wonderful things happen with my stats.
Again, thanks for the post!
I’ve tried foodgawker many times with zero success, but only because they’ve never accepted any of my photos =(
That’s true, I have found that Foodgawker is the more picky of the two, which sure can be frustrating!
I cannot even begin to describe my elation when I saw this gem of a post on Tastespotting. I just started blogging as part of a school project, and just because I love it and I’ve become obsessed with trying to get more traffic, so this was awesome!
It was also super-reassuring to hear others’ experiences with Tastespotting, as I’ve had my fair share of rejections.
Thanks again!
Don’t worry, I’ve had my fair share of rejections. I think I’ve got a 5-10% success rate on the photo approvals. When you see the traffic spikes though you realize that submitting everything you’ve got is really worth the effort.
This is a great post! Very informative, confirms some things I already knew and I learned new things I didn’t. Thank you vtktichen! I’ve been blogging for about 2 years now and still have a lot to learn. A couple of additional ideas to increase traffic. Another site similar to Tastespotting that I wanted to suggest is http://photograzing.seriouseats.com (it’s a bit easier to have your photos accepted on this site if you’re not exactly a photo pro).
Also, another idea is guest posting on other food blogs or having other food bloggers guest post on your blog.
With that said, I’d like to put it out there…is anyone interested in being a guest food blogger on DimpleArts Photography’s blog? VTKitchen, how about you?:)
“Be yourself.” I thought of that one the other day when I visited a food blog I enjoy reading fairly regularly and discovered that the blogger, who is perfectly charming herself, had suddenly decided to start writing in the style of The Pioneer Woman! Yes, please, Be Yourself.
Thank you for all the practical suggestions. I’ve been blogging for one year now and keep hearing about Facebook but just can’t bring myself to take on one more thing!
what a helpful post. Thank you. I’ve got a long way to go
Very straight forward info for new bloggers, tks a lot. Btw, did you register your site on the google tools for webmakers? I heard it helps google to find your pages. Cheers!
I have started blogging in May of 2010, and it is getting to be more enjoyable every day. I do not get a lot of traffic, but I have a loyal following. My posts are food essays, nostalgic memories, an anecdotes, all connected to food and recipes.
I started my blog as a creative outlet and it is a wonderful therapy for me. I did not plan for it to become a business, but I would like to become the best that I can and having more people enjoy my writing would make me extremely happy.
Thanks for such a detailed report on traffic and how to achieve it. I appreciate your patience:)
Thanks so much for all this useful info! I’ve been trying to figure out how to get some more traffic to my blog. Do you think you could do a post about how to take better pictures of food? My photos are denied on Tastespotting every time! It’s started to get discouraging :-/. Looking forward to your next post on this topic!
http://www.thecollegecooker.com
oh, I can try, but I’m afraid I have a very low success rate when it comes to Tastespotting approved pictures. My best advice is to research whatever it is that you’re cooking before you actually photograph it. Then copy the general skeleton/composition of the approved picures. Tastespotting is big on composition. So, if you can do this you’ll be halfway there.
I appreciate the tips! I have been a food blogger for a bit over a year and on more than one occasion, contemplated quitting. It seems there’s so much “competition” with better this, that, etc. But when it boils down to it, I do it because I love food, cooking and sharing it with others. I still only have a few true followers even after using some of the same tactics as you mentioned in your post. I think I will try to do a guest post and try to figure out how to create a fanpage on Facebook. Thanks again!
Hello There! I’ve been blogging for about two years now, but there’s always something new to learn
A couple of things that worked for me are; Twitpic ( where you can post photos), Twitter –which is a great social network to drive traffic.
And besides Tastespotting and Foodgwaker, I found about five more places to submit your photos. And they work great
I just posted a list on my blog yesterday!
Thank you for sharing such a great post! Love your first photo
Cheers,
Aldy.
Wonderful tips! I’ve been blogging for a little over six months. I’ve tried to get a couple of items posted on Tastespotting, but they were not accepted on the basis of my photo’s lighting and colour. I use a point and shoot digital camera– nothing overly fancy– so I’m not sure how to make my photos more attractive. thanks again for all of the pointers thought– I just joined Google Analytics.
I also take my pictures with a point and shoot. I get rejected from Tastespotting a lot because of clarity, which I can only attribute to the poor macro function on my camera. I’d say to focus on the composition. They’re really big on composition.
Great article with lots of useful tips.
I certainly agree Tastespotting is a great way to get people to your blog. Others you might want to try are:
Foodgawker
Tasteologie
Photograzing
Dishfolio
Foodphotoblog
Refrigeratorsoup
There are also a number of sites that focus on particular areas such as
DessertStalking for baking related photos http://dessertstalking.com/
Vegolicious for vegetarian/vegan photos http://vegolicious.com/
Finding Vegan for vegan recipes http://www.findingvegan.com/
This is awesome! Thanks.
Hi, it’s me again. Tnxs for letting me know about the dead links. I just fixed them
In case you are interested, you’re welcome to have a look 
Cheers,
Aldy.
Really interesting post. I just started my foodblog in August of last year but, I’m also a web designer by day so my approach has been a bit different. Foodgawker is my number one referrer by far (I have the opposite problem: foodgawker has accepted all my submissions but tastespotting has turned down all but one! go figure!). But my second highest referrer is actually Google which I attribute to using a self-hosted WordPress site as opposed to Blogger. WP is so SEO friendly and they have a few great plug-ins that take it a notch higher. I get awesome organic traffic through google.
My other tip? I use flickr to host all my photos instead of my blog server and then pull them into each post using the flickr URL. Then I leave a link to the post with the flickr photo, post the photo to a number of flickr food photography groups and it drives a ton of traffic!
Great tip re: Flickr. I will have to try this out. Thanks!
Thanks for a great post! What exactly do you mean by large food media sites? You don’t have to be specific, I’m just not sure what you mean.
There’s nothing more frustrating than getting turned down by Tastespotting for what you thought was great pic!
places like Chow.com, etc.
Glad I’m not alone on that tastespotting thing!!
This was a fabulous post. I have been food blogging for about 2 years now, and wish I had found this sooner. I eventually found most of the things you suggested on my own, but it is great that you have put this all together in one place for new bloggers.
Thanks to all the people who commented too. There were a few suggestions I haven’t heard of yet, so I will be sure to check them out.
Its great to be part of such a supportive community!
This article could not have come at a better time! I’ve only been blogging for a month, and will definitely take up your suggestions. So nice to read everyone’s comments too. Love the food blogging community!
Thanks for the tips! I also find that Foodbuzz doesn’t help me whatsoever.
http://www.atasteofkoko.com
Lovely blog and really interesting debate! I found you on tastespotting so goes to show … lots of new ideas and sites to try from all you comments – thanks!
Great Post…very informative! Thanks for sharing!
Great post, not a food blogger but I am a fellow foodie, hopefully some of this info will help with my site. Thanks for your recent post, I’m attempting to plant primarily heirloom veggies this season and tomatoes are definitely a fan favorite around here. I’ll be sure to check back in and see what’s cooking over here.
Thank you so much for this post, I have reached a brick wall in trying to figure out how to navigate the food blog maze. I am in constant awe over the amazing content and photos of my peers, curious about how they went from humble hobby to massive following. I’m a full time student, so this isn’t my full time gig, but I still enjoy networking and want to inject my unique presence into the system. Thanks for the tips, they were great. I’m committing some time to Tastespotting this morning!
Good post, but I see views through foodbuzz on my google analytics as well. Did they change something?
Glad to find this very helpful post. For all of you feeling a bit discouraged after a TasteSpotting and FoodGawker rejection, try submitting your photos to TasteStopping.com (feasting on seconds), a place that gives home to photos that have been (in their words) “rejected, declined, or otherwise spurned by one of the other myriad “elite” sites out there.” They even require that your photo be rejected by one of those “elite” sites and to provide/share the rejection commentary (e.g. not sharp, composition, low lighting/underexposed). We haven’t gotten around to submitting any of our rejected photos to them yet, but we love their idea/mission of providing a support group for all of us aspiring food photographers!
I just discovered your post full of tips , I am new in this food blogger word,
all your tips and suggestion will help me a lot .Thank you!
Thanks for a brilliant post! I’ve been food-blogging for a little over 2 months, and this is the post I needed NOW! Could you tell me what the average daily visit could be for a blog that’s a couple of months old?
This whole time, I can’t believe I was just sitting in my butt, hoping for more people to find my blog magically without any engagement from my part besides putting up more posts! Thanks so much for the tips and the obvious amount of thought that went into this great post!
Thank you for this article; the information illustrated every so clearly has been very helpful. I’m currently working on how I can encourage users to subscribe.
Cheers