Eat Blog Talk | Megan Porta

Balancing work and life while working from home is not easy! Sarah and Laura give us their best tips: - Establish boundaries with work space and also with time. - Self care throughout the day can impact productivity hugely and positively. - Consider taking "think retreats" where you can get away, focus on your business and rejuvenate. - Do what you can to keep your energy levels up. - Trick yourself into believing that every day is a vacation day.. with a little work sprinkled in!

Establish your brand in the community while expanding your food blog! Diana gives us her best tips inside the episode: - Find a need that's not being met and fill that demand. - Show up, be accessible and consistent. - Remember: You are where you are because of the people who support you. - Establish relationships with restaurants in your area. This will provide a ton of opportunity! - Brainstorm what you do online and how you can take that into the real world. There is a lot of opportunity outside your blog, so keep your eyes open for ways to serve your community.

Creating a business plan for your blogging or entrepreneurial business will change the game for you. Plans are vital! Download the free business plan guide and let's get started! There are 5 steps involved in the plan: - Define your audience - Define your business - Evaluate competition - Network and collaborate - Create a plan (and an UNplan!)

Finding inspiration, being unique and harnessing creative momentum is a piece of food blogging that doesn't always get the focus it deserves. Rachel talks us through how to do this! - Figure out what inspires you about others' work and find 1-3 things you like about it (consider lighting, angles, subject matter, props, etc). - Consider taking a break from social media in order to truly create from within yourself. - Trust yourself, tap into intuition and create from a space that doesn't feel pressured. This episode is GOLD! Rachel's insights are inspiring!

Liz Falcigno shares why updating old blog content is important and how you can see organic growth with this. - It is a great way to save time and ultimately make more money (ears perked!). - Updating older content is applicable to any blogger who has been in the game for more than a year (not just for long-time bloggers)! - This helps our blogs to be the absolute best resource for our readers imaginable! - Don't limit yourself to excuses when combing through old stuff. - Liz shares strategies for getting started with updating content inside the episode!

Food conjures up feeling and emotion and this can add an element of magic to your recipes. Priya talks about tapping into history to bring food to life in a new way! - Modernize recipes passed down from previous generations. - Think back to childhood. What foods lit you up as a kid? - Pay close attention to what people are saying about the food you make and create based on that. - Break SEO rules a bit and actually talk about the story behind the recipe. - Create memories for others with your food!

It is impossible to make an effective plan for your business if you don’t know who you are speaking to. Your avatar will be your guide as you create your amazing content! - What is an Ideal Customer Avatar is and why do you need one for our business? - First, you need to gather information about your audience. - Give your avatar a name and start filling in the details about him or her. - Define specific struggles he or she is having. - Now it's time to strategize about ways to solve your avatar's unique struggles. - Put it all together in a place where you can access it easily and frequently.

Whether you are considering having contributors on your blog or being a contributor yourself, you can't miss this episode! Jessica shares all the details about how to dive into contributorships: - Seek out applicants who write in differing styles than you. - Ask applicants to share 3 posts they are proud of. - Scope out favorite blogs you're interested in contributing to. - Stay organized and the process will flow smoothly. There's so much more great info, so join us inside the episode!

Use meal planning and meal prep as tools to help streamline your life and business. Amanda shares so many great tips with us in this episode! - Allow meal prep/planning to open up time and also mental space in your life and business. - Find out what the most common meal planning mistakes are (and how to avoid them). - There are ways to NOT be totally stressed at dinner time. - When it comes to meal prep, start where you are. Don't over-complicate it! Amanda shares a ton of practical tips that we can employ TODAY!

Brian shares his story about joining his wife in her blogging business. We dig into the nitty gritty in this episode and Brian shares some great nuggets with us! - First thing's first when a spouse wants to come into an existing blogging business: learn basic marketing and sales skills. Facebook Blueprint is Brian's #1 recommended place to start with this. - Go in knowing that there will be challenges and growing pains. Be prepared for this, but work through the kinks. - Create a business plan and refer to it daily. - If you or a spouse doesn't have a passion for blogging, there's no need to push it.

Tapping into a really specific niche is only going to help your blogging business. Figure out who your audience is and SERVE THOSE PEOPLE. - Get good at the mechanics of food blogging first, then focus on your audience. - The magic formula: your passions + what people need = stardust magic blogging success! - Figure out what you want to be known for, yes, but also what you DON'T want to be known for. - Tomorrow is made in the here and now, so do the work NOW and you'll reap the benefits later. This is such an inspiring and encouraging episode. You do NOT want to miss this one!

Figuring out your food photography style and brand is hugely important! Listen in for Amanda's solid advice on the topic: - Study other bloggers' photos that you admire. - Settle on a specific type and color of props and stick with them most of the time. - Use FOOD as props! - Nail your photography first before focusing on any other aspect of food blogging. - Learn lighting - don't let the sun dictate your life. - Practice practice practice!

Enduring a trauma can put stress on our minds and bodies, so what things should we focus on in the midst of chaos? Also, how do we move forward? - First and foremost, make sure you are taking care of yourself. Be gentle. Move back into work only when you're ready. - Once you're ready to dive into work, be sure to deliver relevant content. - Back to the basics. Meet people where they are at. - Listen in for ideas about new and creative ways to deliver your content. The most creative, consistently-delivered is going to skyrocket right now!

If you're feeling the weight of these uncertain times, listen in for encouragement about how to keep spirits up and your business afloat! - Don't freeze up! - Be consistent and persistent. - People need you right now! - Good things are waiting on the other side of this craziness. - Now is the time to fall back on those good habits. - See the beauty. It is there! Yes, now! - Express gratitude every single day. There is always so much to be grateful for, even when times are tough. You're not alone. You've got this. We're in this together!

Establishing good habits in your life is KEY to finding lasting success as a food blogger. Natasha shares her best advice with us in this episode that will set you up for your best game. - Be consistent with the content you publish. - Stop the all-or-nothing mentality. - Routines breed habits! - Evaluate your priorities and put those things into your schedule first. - Tiny little changes turn into consistent habits.

Prepear is a connected recipe platform for food bloggers to diversify their revenue streams while giving users the best digital recipe experience. Natalie and Russ saw the need for a platform where food bloggers have more control over revenue. - Benefits to food bloggers: recipe card metadata testing can potentially help standing with Google and it can be an additional revenue stream. - Benefits to users: ability to compile recipes from different bloggers and recipes that aren't bogged down with ads.

Self care plays a vital role in your food blogging journey because the better you are taking care of yourself, THE MORE SUCCESSFUL YOUR BUSINESS WILL BE! The more creativity will flow through your content. The more money you will make. The clearer your visions will be and the more productive you will be. In this episode we cover 20 ways you can start practicing self love: - Schedule self care into your weekly calendar - Time management - Declutter your life - Make sleep a priority - Remove unnecessary resistance - Exercise and diet - Be a time protector - Carve out time for creativity - Create a joy list Join us inside the episode to hear the rest of the tips and to be inspired to kick your self care up a notch!

Blogging and parenting CAN happen simultaneously and Karli shares her secrets on the topic: - Don't use your kids as a crutch. Get creative about how to fit blogging tasks into your week and MAKE THEM HAPPEN. - It's helpful to see your kids as helpers as opposed to things that stand in the way of your work. - Tap into the power of intentional planning. - Outsource whenever possible! - Consider having dedicated family time every day. "The most important work you do will be within the walls of your own home." - Harold B. Lee

Laura is the author of multiple time management books and she shares a wealth of knowledge on this topic inside the episode. Time management is a massive part of the food blogging puzzle, so listen in! - Time logging is a really important first step because if you don't know what you're currently spending your time on, then you can't change what you spend your time on! - Focus on what you WANT to be spending time doing and the unnecessary garbage will go away. - Schedule the following week every Friday! - Plan for white space/down time/backup time. - Manage your energy levels as efficiently as possible. - Give your best self to your most productive times/days.

Todd Bulloch of the Hey Grill Hey empire talks us through his experience as he joined his spouse in her blogging business. Todd's story is super inspiring and he is overflowing with encouragement, supportive words and tangible tips for others considering taking this leap. He talks us through ways a spouse can find his/her "space" in a world that might seem so foreign at first. We also get to hear about the more challenging parts and Todd provides takeaways for getting through similar scenarios.