Eat Blog Talk | Megan Porta

In episode 518, Megan chats to Nadia Tariq about the transition from a food blogging hobbyist to business owner, highlighting key shifts in mindset, organization, and discipline. Nadia is a computer science graduate, x- project manager turned into pastry chef. She has been creating customized themed cakes for over a decade as a home business creating beautiful cakes for friends and family. Originally from Pakistan, she is based in Riyadh, KSA. Nadia started blogging in 2009 and only recently she decided to turn it into a business. Nadia is now working on her blog strategically in the quest to share her family recipes, Pakistani bakery and street foods to get recognized on the face of the culinary world She is also working as a food photographer, which was her long lost passion to generate some extra income which was not possible earlier due to raising a young family. In this episode, you’ll learn about why a food blogger would decide to turn their blog into a business, how to recognize that pivotal moment and

In this episode, Megan teaches us five practical ideas to alleviate the stress and overwhelm often associated with Mondays, offering insights and strategies to make the start of our week more manageable and fulfilling. Planning can make a notable difference to the start of your week. The better you prepare for what you have to do on a Monday, the better you will feel. In this episode, Megan explains how she prepares for Mondays in order to set a positive tone for the week ahead. Megan covers the following key points: 1. The 15 Minute Friday Plan: Plan ahead by dedicating just 15 minutes on Friday to map out your upcoming week. By scheduling downtime and aligning tasks with your goals, you can reduce mental clutter and increase productivity. 2. The One Hour Friday To-Do List Tackle: Allocate one hour on Friday or Saturday to tackle small tasks from your to-do list for the following week to minimize Monday morning stress and set yourself up for a smoother week. 3. Inbox Zero: Dedicate time on the weekend to cle

In episode 516, Jo Keohane teaches us how to style food to make it look as delicious as possible in order to drive more traffic to our blogs. Since graduating from Culinary School in NYC in 2010 Jo Keohane freelanced as a Recipe Developer and Food Stylist in test kitchens of many America’s best known publications, like Bon Appetit Magazine, Epicurious and Saveur. She has also worked with a variety of household brands like William Sonoma, Weightwatchers, Staub Cookware, Danone, Kraft and more. She started off life as a BBC journalist and then worked in PR in London. But a love of cooking and a desire to find a fulfilling career which would allow her to spend more time with her 3 kids took her back to school to study cooking. After moving to the USA in she was lucky enough to attend the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. Now she runs her own food blog - The Family Food Kitchen - helping other busy families to eat well even when time is short! her blog focusses on easy, delicious and do-able recip

In episode 515, Jenn Trepeck teaches us why comparison is natural and how to deal with it in a healthy way that leads us closer to our goals by building our confidence instead of creating self-doubt. Jenn Trepeck has been described as a "force of nature" in the wellness space, recognized as one of Podcast Magazine’s 40 under 40, and nominated for the 2022 International Women’s Podcast Award for Visionary Leadership. She is an Optimal Health Coach, Podcaster, and Business Consultant. After graduating from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Jenn founded Better Life Now LLC while working full time in hedge funds. After over a decade of building her practice as a side-hustle, Jenn took the leap to full-time self-employment. That’s when she launched Salad with a Side of Fries Podcast, empowering larger audiences to achieve optimal health. She helps aspiring wellness warriors break into the health world, and mentors entrepreneurs to get started or level-up. In this episode, you’ll learn why our bra

Megan shares five powerful questions to help shift our perspective during challenging times and help us find clarity. What do you do when you are experiencing a tough time in your life? It is when we face challenges that mindset shifts can really make a difference. Megan talks through the diverse range of challenges faced by entrepreneurs and emphasizes the importance of embracing difficulties as opportunities for growth. She shares her recent experience with a significant challenge and reveals how she navigated through it using mindset strategies. She covers the following questions points: 1. Who would I be without this thought? Challenge your thoughts during a rough time and envision a perspective free from negativity and embrace acceptance and peace instead. 2. What if it's a gift? Challenges can be potentially life-changing in a positive way. Recognize the unexpected gifts that emerge from these times in your life. 3. Who would I be without this challenge? Consider the personal growth and resilience culti

In episode 513, Megan chats to Samantha Blake about the lessons she learned from her experience as a food blogger, including the importance of niching down, SEO strategy, web design and building a blogging network. Sam began a web design & SEO business after food blogging didn’t go as planned. While she still enjoys cooking and baking as a hobby, she learned she truly had a love for web design & SEO pieces when it comes to business. Sam particularly loves designing and developing websites & coming up with SEO strategies for food bloggers - it's the best of both worlds! She is so excited about the opportunity to share her experience and knowledge about SEO to help more food bloggers grow their blog. In this episode, you’ll learn about the common mistakes made by food bloggers, such as neglecting niche selection and keyword strategy, underestimating the value of backlinks, and prioritizing design over functionality. Key points include: - Niche and Keyword Strategy: It's crucial to pick a clear niche

In episode 512, Janelle Hama teaches us how to build a supportive community, especially around your blog’s niche, highlighting the benefits of collaboration, networking, and accountability within such communities. Janelle is a keen plant based recipe blogger specialising in vegan Lebanese food. Due to having to change her diet a few years ago for health reasons, this, coupled with her love of cooking, started Janelle on a blogger journey 3 years ago. In this episode, you’ll learn about whether you should create your own group or join an existing one as well as these topics: - Benefits of Community: Networking, collaboration, and seeking advice from others are key benefits of being part of a community. - Experience Sharing: Engaging with bloggers from diverse backgrounds brings different perspectives and learning opportunities. - Friendships and Support: Community offers emotional support, understanding, and celebration of achievements among bloggers. - Accountability: Being part of a community helps in settin

Have you ever felt worried about your screen time? Megan shares her personal struggles with tech addiction and offers five actionable strategies to limit tech usage for improved well-being. In this episode, you’ll learn practical methods to reduce tech dependency and reclaim control over your time and mental space. While technology makes our lives more comfortable, Megan emphasizes the importance of setting boundaries and creating healthy habits to foster a balanced relationship with tech. She covers the following key points: - Set Times for Email Dipping: Establish specific times during the day for checking and responding to emails to prevent constant distraction and maintain focus on important tasks. - Establish Downtime Before the Week Begins: Plan and schedule dedicated downtime periods in your calendar to disconnect from technology and prioritize self-care and family time. - Set Timers for Social Media: Use timers to limit the duration of social media usage, gradually reducing dependency and reclaiming v

In episode 510, Megan chats to Lily Payen about how to transition from a full-time job to full-time blogging without getting overwhelmed and while managing responsibilities as a parent. Lily, a mom of three and former math teacher turned food blogger, never envisioned ever leaving the world of teaching, but the opportunity to blog somewhat fell into her lap and she’s now enveloped into that world. When Lily had her second son, she started sharing baby-led weaning recipes online and discovered a community of parents who were also looking for similar recipes. Things took off from there and she found herself in this new profession of blogging. Now Lily can't imagine doing anything else. In this episode, you'll learn about the importance of starting with a specific niche to make it easier to rank, maintaining consistency in content creation without burning out, having backup content prepared and not being too hard on yourself when you need to rest. - Start Specific: Learn the importance of starting with a specifi

In episode 509, Amy Whiteford teaches us what to do when our niche no longer aligns with our personal or professional circumstances and the importance of mindset shifts in sustaining a successful food blog. Amy Whiteford is a food enthusiast originally from Scotland, now residing in Sydney, Australia, and has been the driving force behind the blog Healthy Little Foodies since 2012. Amy is a mum of two "Little Foodies", Finlay (12) and Rory (9), and has a background in Food Science, Education, and Childhood Nutrition. Amy is on a mission to simplify mealtime for parents of babies / young children by providing healthy and delicious recipes and feeding tips. In this episode, you’ll learn about the challenges and rewards of maintaining a niche food blog as well as insights about rebranding, staying inspired, and focusing on the expertise you've gained even if you've outgrown your niche. - Niche Evolution: Sometimes you have to adapt your blog’s niche to changing circumstances. - Rebranding Strategy: Rebranding ca

What are 5 things we do that hinder our success and happiness? Megan talks through these self-sabotaging behaviors and how to cultivate a mindset conducive to greater happiness instead. You’ll learn valuable strategies to stop sabotaging yourself and your business success, including being aware when you are making excuses or resorting to inaction as a way to avoid scary tasks. She covers the following key points: 1. Making Excuses: Recognize and challenge excuses that hinder progress. By fostering awareness, individuals can break free from self-imposed limitations and pursue their goals with determination. 2. Letting Fear Run Your Life: By confronting fear head-on, you can experience growth and fulfillment. Taking bold actions can yield significant rewards and propel you towards your aspirations. 3. Caring What Others Think: It’s important to overcome the need for external validation and embrace who you are. 4. Not Taking Action: Inaction is detrimental to progress; embrace the power of small steps towards yo

In this bonus episode, Megan Porta and Melissa Erdelac discuss strategies for pulling yourself out of a business rut and the importance of investing in your business to accelerate your success. They cover information about identifying when your business growth is stagnant and one of the best ways to find new inspiration and valuable knowledge through in-person or virtual blogging retreats and conferences like Flavor Media Summit. This is an exclusive event run by Megan and Melissa for experienced food bloggers who have successful and income-generating businesses. Their goal is to unite accomplished food bloggers for strategic networking, empowering them to thrive, collaborate and ignite long-term growth in an exclusive and transformative gathering. Flavor Media Summit is a two-day workshop-style event taking place on May, 2nd and 3rd in Denver, Colorado. Their goal is to ensure that attendees walk away with a TON of valuable information that they started applying during the event so that they are not stuck wi

In episode 507, Megan chats to Sally Cameron about the process of recipe development, including thorough testing, catering for your readers’ needs, food safety and building trust through recipes that succeed time and time again. Sally is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, online content creator, speaker, and certified health and nutrition coach. She created all of the recipes for Dr. Mark Hyman’s NYT best seller Eat Fat Get Thin, the NYT million copy bestseller “The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life” companion cookbook, and Sony Five Essentials video series. She’s been blogging at A Foodcentric Life longer than she’d like to admit. Changing her diet by going gluten-free and focusing on whole fresh foods, lots of plants, nuts, seeds, healthy fats and quality proteins helped her lose weight, get healthy, detox from heavy metals, and recover from Lyme, mold, and gut issues. With all of that, it’s no surprise that special diets are her forte, because healthy is a lifestyle. Fun Fact: Sally's

In episode 506, Jillian Leslie teaches us strategies for how to get our mindset in the right place for 2024 and stay positive, while navigating the ever-changing landscape of online business.  Jillian Leslie loves building businesses on the internet with her husband, David. In 2009, they started Catch My Party, one of the largest party ideas sites on the web. In 2016, Jillian and David built MiloTree, a smart pop-up app to help bloggers and creators grow their social media followers and email lists. And in 2021, they built MiloTreeCart, the easiest tool for bloggers and creators to sell digital products. It's built for non-techies. For the past 4 years, Jillian has been hosting her weekly podcast called The Blogger Genius Podcast. She interviews successful bloggers, entrepreneurs, and industry experts to break down what's working now in online business. In this episode, you’ll learn about the power of staying open-minded and flexible in the face of changing circumstances, the significance of surrounding yours

Megan explores 5 ways to celebrate wins in our business and life so that we can cultivate happiness every day. We tend to overlook our wins while constantly striving for the next best thing or goal. This way we never truly feel happy in the present moment. Megan therefore highlights the significance of pausing to appreciate our journey and accomplishments because by reflecting on our progress and successes, we can boost our happiness and mindset. She covers the following key points: 1. Acknowledge Your Present Wins: Consider how often you appreciate your current circumstances and reflect on your journey over the past months or years. 2. Celebrate Your Achievements: Celebrating wins sends a powerful message of gratitude. Whether through quiet moments of acknowledgment or indulgent treats, celebrating reinforces the value of our accomplishments. 3. Five Wins to Celebrate Now: Track Blog Statistics, Completed Projects, Physical and Mindset Progress, Goals and Dreams realised and Financial Gains. 4. Cultivate a H

In episode 504, Megan chats to Erin and Ben Clarke about running a business as a couple, including the importance of setting boundaries and dividing responsibilities. Erin Clarke is the creator of the tremendously popular recipe blog Well Plated and the author of the best selling Well Plated Cookbook and forthcoming book, Well Plated Every Day. She's fearlessly dedicated to making healthy cooking easy, affordable, and of course: delicious! She specializes in lightened-up comfort foods, easy weeknight meal ideas, and wholesome versions of your favorite treats. Erin lives in Milwaukee with her husband Ben and their lazy, loveable beagle mix Teddy. In this episode, you'll learn about the challenges and rewards of running a business as a couple and the importance of over-communication, mutual understanding, and adapting responsibilities to suit each partner's interests and strengths. - Over-communication is Key: Clear and frequent communication helps navigate challenges and expectations effectively. - Recognize I

In episode 503, Jenny Meier teaches us 3 ways to build a community on Substack and how to use the platform to network and increase our blog's reach. Jenny founded Kitchen Skip in 2019 as a place to share easy dinner recipes with busy parents like herself. Almost 20 years earlier, Jenny had attended culinary school and spent years working in restaurants, cheese shops and wine stores before she started developing recipes for food and wellness websites in 2009. Finally, in 2019 Jenny started her own food blog. She monetized with MediaVine at the end of 2021 and started her Substack newsletter in June of 2022. In this episode, you'll learn about how to get started on Substack and why it's a great platform to build community and expand your reach and knowledge, and how embracing new writing platforms can enhance your skills and open doors to collaboration opportunities. - Alternative to Email Newsletters: Substack makes it easy to send out newsletters to subscribers, helping you build a community around exclusive

Megan discusses the importance of decluttering our life, its impact on mental health and productivity and 5 ways in which we can get started. Decluttering your life is an easy, practical way to open up space for good things to come into your life. Megan shares strategies for decluttering physical spaces, electronics, calendars, relationships, and your mind. She also provides actionable insights to help you enhance your well-being and productivity by creating space for positive change through decluttering. She covers the following key points: 1. Declutter a Physical Space: Decluttering spaces like closets, cars, desks, and pantries, can be broken up in bite-sized tasks and will affect the way you feel. 2. Declutter Electronics: Tips include organizing phone apps, deleting unnecessary files, and managing email subscriptions. 3. Declutter Your Calendar: Evaluate commitments and redistribute tasks to prevent burnout. 4. Declutter Relationships: Assess and adjust relationships for mental well-being. 5. Declutter Y

In episode 501, Amanda Polick teaches us how to embrace rejection so that it becomes a catalyst for personal growth and resilience. Amanda Polick is a cookbook and food memoir coach. Her work has been featured by Cooking Light, Time, Southern Living, and Food & Wine. She’s a proud member of Cherry Bombe, Les Dames d'Escoffier International, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Amanda lives in Nashville, Tennessee now, but a piece of her will be in California forever. In this episode, you'll learn about handling rejection gracefully by staying true to your purpose and the value of embracing feedback, and supporting fellow creators amidst challenges and uncertainties. - Remember Your Identity: When you get rejected, remember your identity and purpose to help you maintain self-assurance and direction. - Embrace Rejection as Growth: Rejection is a catalyst for learning and personal development, essential for building resilience and determination. - Boldness and Authenticity: Uniqueness

In episode 500, Megan chats to 3 SEO experts: Ty Kilgore, Samantha Blake and Steve Wiideman, about what SEO strategies will help food bloggers grow most in 2024. Ty Kilgore has been geeking out on SEO and Digital Marketing for over 14 years. He founded Everything Digital Marketing in order to share his passion and to clearly instruct, guide, and help influencers overcome the frustrations related to SEO and Digital Marketing. Samantha Blake began a web design and SEO business after food blogging didn’t go as planned. While she still enjoys cooking and baking as a hobby, she learned she truly had a love for web design and SEO pieces when it comes to business. Sam particularly loves designing and developing websites and coming up with SEO strategies for food bloggers - it's the best of both worlds!  Steve Wiideman is the Orange County, California based strategic planning specialist, founder of The Wiideman Consulting Group, and renowned as “SEO Steve” for the extraordinary breakthroughs he helped achieve for For