Lately, I’ve been receiving emails and messages from other bloggers asking for tips and advice on how to expand their blog, how to get more subscribers, how to take photos, etc. I thought I’d answer these questions and more in a series of blog posts. If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me. I love to read and answer questions (and comments!).
When I first started blogging almost a year ago, I was looking for a way to relieve stress and to distract me from my personal and professional life. I had just finished my degree in dental hygiene and took my licensing exam. Unfortunately, because my patient had not qualified for me to work on, and I lost time looking for a second patient, I didn’t pass the exam and had to wait another year before the exam returned to my area. I was disappointed and devastated by the set back and needed something to distract me.
Around that time, I browsed so many food blogs, admired tons of mouthwatering photos, and had just begun playing around with recipes. I wasn’t completely new to the blogging scene, but I thought that I’d start a brand new blog dedicated to recipes.
When I first started back in November 2013 (just two weeks until one year!), I actually used Blogger because I was more familiar with it. I’ve played around with blogs before, but it was never anything that lasted long because I was always busy with school. I even had one post on Blogger for Cooking with a Wallflower, but that recipe never made it onto this site. At least, not yet. Go ahead, click on the link, and I think you’ll see why. =)
My friend, Emily, from Emily’s Daily, suggested that I try WordPress. So I did. After playing around with both sites, I decided that WordPress was a better fit for me. I liked that I had more control over how the site looked. It really depends on your preference. Some people like working with Blogger more than WordPress. I recommend trying both to see what you like.
Those first few months, I didn’t get many views. Then again, I wasn’t really consistent on posting either. I was just excited to get 5 views a day, then 12.
Soo much has changed since then.
As I created more content, more recipes, I began to receive more views and subscribers.
Some months you’ll do better than others. Some days you’ll have a post that goes viral as I did in May, and then there are other days when barely anyone views your post.
What really works is consistency. Make sure to post every few days to keep your readers interested. If you post, let’s say, every three months, your readers won’t know if you’ve quit or if you’re ever going to update, and you may potentially lose a reader.
I like to post every other day. That’s just my preference. Here’s a little peek at my schedule. I can only cook and take photos twice a week: Wednesdays and Thursdays. So I do what I can to make the best of the time I have. I like to store my photos on my laptop and write my posts the day before or the day of when the post goes live. They’re rarely ever scheduled far in advance unless I’m on vacation. I like pressing the publish button too much.
Everyone is different. What works for me might not work for you.
Writing posts isn’t as easy as people might think. Non-bloggers don’t realize how much work it takes to create content, to take photos, to write, to edit. Lots of steps, tons of dedication. But if this is what you’re passionate about, go for it! It’s a slow process. You’re not going to gain viewers overnight. But in the end, if this is what you’re passionate about, it’s worth the time and effort.
In the next couple weeks, I’ll be posting more to this series. Stay tuned!
You’ll get to see how I changed my technique and went from the first two images to the last image in less than a year using the same camera. You can click on the image for an enlarged view.
If you have questions, please feel free to message me. I’ll be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities and include them in my posts. Or if there’s something you want me to address first, let me know.
I just stumbled upon this post! Thank you for sharing (even if it was a while ago). I just started a blog and posted my first post (eek!!) and am excited to grow and learn!!
Welcome to the blogging world! I hope my posts will be somewhat helpful to you! Good luck with your blog!
Great tips! Thanks!
You’re welcome, Allison!
Wow! What a successful blog! Can’t believe how far you’ve gone in a year! I could only hope to have my blog like yours one day. 🙂
It takes time and dedication to build up your blog, but you’ll get there! Good luck with your blog, Robin!
Thanks for writing this tips section. I’ve just started my own blog and have no idea what I’m doing.It’s great to hear someone admit that it’s a learning process. Most blogs give off the impression that they have been super-duper amazing from the first post. I hope to grow my writing and blogging skills as I go, as you have.
Hi Sarah! I’m so glad that you liked the blogging tips section. Blogging is definitely a learning process since it takes time to figure out what your voice is and what you want to write about =) Don’t feel discouraged. It just takes time. Good luck with your blog and have a wonderful new year =)
well said
Thanks!
I like the sample shots showing your development – very impressive work, well done! Compositions and arrangements do look really lovely now. And as a none-too-confident chef, I may just have to try some of your recipes soon 🙂
Thanks for the like on my post – much appreciated! Like you suggest, will try to post more regularly. I’m impressed with how you keep it up while working full-time!
Thank you! It took months to actually develop photo styling. I think it just takes a lot of practice and studying other photos out there to figure out what works for you. Good luck with your blog =)
This is a very nice overview of how to handle your first year, thank you for that! I guess that for me, the consistency part was most important. I have a bit too much time at the moment, so I keep making ALL the foods and then wanting to blog twice a day. Instead I just scheduled my extra posts now so they would appear every other day. That way I’m building up some material for the days when I can’t cook and blog 🙂
That’s how I do it too. I make lots of food and just wait to post them. =)
You inspired me to write about the things that I love to do. I hope to inspire people in the future too.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad to hear that my post inspired you. Good luck with your blog =)
Hi, thanks for all your support on my blog. Its good meeting you on your side! 🙂
It’s nice to meet you too =)
Wonderful blog! I’m so glad I finally have a chance to sit and browse through it. Reading this made me feel so inspired that now I want to post every other day. Hopefully I feel the same way in two days! 🙂
Good luck! It takes a lot of effort to post every other day in the beginning, but once you get into it, it’s not as hard.