The Chopped Podcast

Being authentic in today's world is not always easy. There are a myriad of messages coming at you from every direction. How do you know what is your true calling? And how can you use that to create the best blog for your readers? Well, that's the topic of today's discussion: Finding Authenticity as a Blogger with Cara Ansis. You know Cara, she's the creative force behind the popular blog Fork and Beans. Listen in to our discussion on how you change your thoughts to change your life!

A lot of bloggers will spend countless hours building up a following on a particular social media site. And that can be a very successful way of growing traffic. At least until said social media platform changes their algorithm, leaving you high and dry. If you've ever wondered if there's a better way, today's episode has your name written all over it. Grab a cup of coffee and come sit with me as we talk about Growing Your Email List with Brooke Larke.

How do you style the plate? What kind of background do you use? Should you shoot that chocolate cake with a bright, white background? Or do you go for a dark, moody layout? Those are the kinds of questions I took to food blogger Tieghan Gerard. She’s the fabulous blogger behind the site Half-baked Harvest.

Want to grow your blogging audience? Maybe everything you need is right in your back yard. I can say that because I'm from Missouri, a Kansas neighbor. But the point is, looking local is all too often a neglected part of growing your blogging audience. In today's podcast, learn tips for Growing a Local Audience for Your Blog with author and blogger Emily Paster. Emily is also co-founder of the Chicago Food Swap.

Well, we did it. We planned, promoted, and put together the very first Food Blog Success Summit. You remember me talking about that right? It was basically an in-person brainstorming master mind session of food bloggers. It was a powerful day and Tessa Arias is here talking with me about the Food Blog Success Summit Overview so you can join in on some of the discoveries we all experienced.

Seth Godin recently said, "As soon as you stop acting like you need every single vote, you can earn the votes of the people you seek to serve." Those are powerful words enforcing the notion that we can't be everything to everyone. Bridget Edwards is on the podcast today with the same message. Learn tips for Growing Your Niche Food Blog with Bridget Edwards talking about how she started her blog about cookies and has grown it into so much more!

We live in a visual word, so these food photography for bloggers tips will come in handy when you're trying to make your posts stand out and get noticed. Listen in as Naomi Robinson of the site Baker's Royale talks about how she creates her stunning food photography!

Video is the new black. Everyone’s talking about it! But if you’ve been on the fence about whether to add video to your food blog, you’ll love today’s interview with Ashlee Marie and how she built up her YouTube Channel and the amazing opportunities that have come her was as a result. I don’t want to give it away, but she’s now on a show that rhymes with schmood fletwork. Seriously!

Finding Work-Life Balance as a Food Blogger can be a challenge because there's so many things requiring your time - from SEO, to food photography, to writing posts, to responding to brands, to social media. Letting one thing slip can feel like a disaster. But my guest today, Traci York of Vanilla and Bean, has some encouraging words - finding time for yourself is what will make your blog the best it can be!

It's easy to feel overwhelmed about the technology behind your blog posts — keyword research, SEO, tags and so on. listen in on today's episode as Amber Bracegirdle talks about SEO Hacks for Food Bloggers.