Are you looking for the right guide on how to start a successful food blog?, okay, I’ve got you covered because this article explains every detail you ever need to start a successful food blog.
What is food blogging?
Food blogging is simply content creation about food, recipes, and cuisines of different countries or cultures.
It includes taking pictures, writing articles or capturing videos of the food and publishing them online (on a blog or social media platforms).
Food blogging features content that recommends or experiments with different types of dishes or edibles.
Who is a food blogger?
A food blogger is a journalist, content creator, food photographer or vendor whose purpose is to review, experiment, present or recommend food recipes or cuisines of different types which represent different cultures or countries.
Do food bloggers get free food?
Most food bloggers who review restaurant food pay for the meals, additionally, bloggers who create content at home cover the cost (out of pocket).
Although, popular influencers in the food blogging niche get paid to review or promote restaurant meals.
Occasionally, food bloggers get complimentary meals, but it is false to say food bloggers get free food.
What does a food blogger need to succeed?
Your food blog will only succeed if you give real and undiluted value to your audience.
Post original content (articles, images and videos) and be honest.
Optimize your content for SEO and learn how to write content that will rank on search engines.
Most importantly, be consistent. Create a content plan and stick to it. Post daily if possible or at least twice weekly.
People should feel satisfied after reading your content, this is the only reason to revisit your blog.
How do I start a career in food blogging?
A food blog isn’t different from a traditional blog, the rules are the same;
Choose a sub-niche:
Choosing a niche is more like choosing an area of speciality within the food niche.
Most beginners are tempted to do everything and cover every topic or food type in one blog. This is not a beginner-friendly strategy.
Decide to focus on either coffee, smoothies, dessert, or African dishes. Built authority and become the go-to blog for your selected niche.
Choose your blog’s identity, a domain name:
A domain name is what people will type on a web browser to access your website, for example, www.yourwebsite.com.
Domain names can end with a domain name extension like .com, .net, .org,.co.us etc.
It is not necessary to select a name that contains food in it. Chose something easy and memorable.
Here are some examples of food blog names
| Food Blog Name | Website Address (URL) |
| Chef’s Pencil | www.chefspencil.com |
| Cookie and Kate | www.cookieandkate.com |
| 9ja Foodie | www.9jafoodie.com |
| The Food Blog | www.thefoodblog.net |
| Smitten Kitchen | www.smittenkitchen.org |
| Afro Lems | www.afrolems.com |
Did you see the pattern of domain names above? There is no right or wrong way to choose a domain name, but keep it simple and relevant.
The website names above can be referred to as custom domain names, meaning you can choose any name you want, as long as it has not been selected by another blogger.
Domain names cost between $8 to $15 per year. Name cheap is a beginner-friendly place to buy a domain name.
Use a Good Web Host:
A web host is a company that will house your blog online. The job of a web host is to keep your website and website’s information online 24/7, allowing everyone to access it anytime.
Firstly, get a domain name, secondly, buy a web hosting plan. These two items become your website or blog.
You can buy both a domain name and web hosting plan from one web hosting company or separate places.
Namecheap’s first year’s hosting plan cost over $22.
Install a Website building software:
This software is installed inside your WebHost Cpanel. WordPress is the most used blogging or website-building software. It is beginner friendly and does not require coding knowledge to start.
There are many free YouTube videos on how to build a blog.
My Ebook Titled: Blogging Income Secrets, gives you access to a mind-blowing beginner-friendly website-building course, with ways to monetize your blog in less than a month.
Build Your Blog:
Once you secure your domain name, and web hosting plan and install WordPress, it is time to design your blog.
You need to:
- Install a Theme (Google Adsense-friendly theme)
- Install plugins for cookies, use the “Company” website cookie plugin, and other relevant plugins.
- Optimize the site for website for SEO, using the RankMath SEO plugin.
Begin to Write and Publish Content:
A beautiful blog without content will not be successful. Publish only SEO-optimized content on your blog.
Recommended Article: How to Become an SEO Content Writer.
How much do food bloggers make a year?
The highest-paid food bloggers earn over $150,000 per year. The top earners average between $5,041 to $12,500 monthly.
Some top earners in the food blogging niche are;
- Clean Eating Couple of thecleaneatingcouple.com earns over $12,500 every month.
- A Sassy Spoon of asassyspoon.com earns $5,000 per month.
- Midwest Foodie of midwestfoodie.com earns an average of $3,753 monthly
- Piping Pot Curry of Pipingpotcurry.com earns $5,000 monthly
- Butternut Bakery of Butternubakeryblog.com earns $5,041 on a monthly average. (Source)
51+ best food blog niche ideas that are high in demand
These are the food blog niches that are high in demand;
- Vegan and vegetarian
- Pasta
- Nigerian dishes
- Pizza
- Grills
- Mediterranean
- Smoothies
- Appetizers
- Italian dishes
- Korean foods
- Ice Cream
- Food for people with allergies
- School Lunch pack food ideas
- Meals for breakfast
- Meals for breastfeeding moms
- Fast food on a budget
- Coffee
- Farm fresh food
- Traveller’s feeding advice
- Keto diet
- Paleo diet
- Desserts
- Healthy eating
- Exotic cuisine
- Family meal planning
- Holidays, weddings and anniversary meals
- Baking
- Spices
- General food recipes
- Food for people with Asthma, Diabetes and others
- Restaurants reviews and menus
- Cooking utensils
- Kitchen guide and safety
- Low carbohydrates foods
- Homemade juices
- British food and recipes
- Salad
- Affordable restaurants in Europe
- African special dishes
- Tofu
- Homemade animal feed
- Best diets for pets
- Low cholesterol foods
- Indian recipes
- American soups and special recipes
- 5-star hotel menus in the UK
- Egyptian recipes
- Afghan foods
- Weight gain diets
- Diets for muscle building and Abs
- Home gym foods and meal planning
8 ways to make money from a food blog;
The are many ways to money from a food blog,
Display Advertising:
This is the fastest way to make money from a new good blog.
This is done by signing up with ad networks like Google Adsense, Ezoic and others.
Your revenue comes from ads clicked on your blog by your readers.
You will also be paid for every 1,000 impressions (RPM).
Brand Promotion:
This is mostly the case for food bloggers whose traffic is gaining momentum.
Restaurants, dairy food brands and cookware manufacturing companies will seek your partnership to promote their products like special delicacies, dairy food, pizzas, kitchen utensils etc.
Your earnings depend on how they perceive your traffic value.
Affiliate Marketing:
It is advisable to get your blog approved for display ads before adding affiliate links, this is because most ad networks like Google Adsense do not approve websites containing affiliate links.
Once your blog is set up for display ads, find relevant affiliate products and services and add the links to your food blog.
Here’s how it works;
Identify an affiliate program in the food niche, and check if you are eligible to join. Sign up, copy the affiliate link and add it to your blog posts.
You can sign up for many affiliate programs,
A good way to get relevant affiliates to promote is to search on Google for affiliate programs for a food blog.
Alternatively, sign up with affiliate networks like Commission Junction, ShareASale, PartnerStack etc., and search for products related to the food niche to promote on your blog.
Cookbooks or meal plans:
Create and sell recipe books and special meal plans to help your audience get better at cooking with quicker results. These can be ebooks or hardcovers.
Stream Live Cooking Masterclass:
Create a better experience for your die-hard fans, and let them see you do what they like. This will provide hands-on support to them.
There should be a Q and Session during the Live Class.
Charge a reasonable fee for this class.
Sell physical products:
You can decide to create an eCommerce store and drive traffic from your food blog to the store.
Sell items like cookware, wholesale or retail ingredients and other kitchen needs.
Partner with brands for deals:
Reach out to relevant brands via email and offer to promote their products or services.
Write a good email pitch and demonstrate why they should sign a deal with you.
Your sales pitch should focus on what the brands will benefit from your audience. Do thorough research about the brands and understand their pain points.
Promise to solve their problem.
For instance, a company may struggle with product sales. If your audience has an appetite for the brand’s products, you have their solution in your hands. Reach out to many brands in the food niche, and increase your chances of getting deals.
However, companies can reach out to you, if this becomes the case, good for you.
Charge what you are worth, charging too less or too high can be a problem. Deals may last for months or years.
Write sponsored articles:
Partner with brands to write reviews and publish them on your blog for a fee or gifts.
The food niche is very lucrative, with many monetization opportunities.
Action points to help you succeed.
- Download and read my Blogging Income Secrets
- Join the Blog Ranking Academy to learn mind-blowing Google ranking secrets
- Get to work, and build your food blog.
FAQs About Food Blogging
Why do food bloggers fail?
Not focusing on a sub-niche. A lot of food bloggers want to write about everything and cover all the areas in the food niche. This is why they fail.
The secret is deciding on serving a narrow audience with a good search volume.
Which food blogger is the best?
A lot of food bloggers exist out there, but who’s the best?
The best food blogger is one who has something to learn from. Find food bloggers in your sub-niche, read their blogs, join their email lists, and watch their marketing communication patterns.
Follow them on social media and check the comment sections on social media and blog post
What are people saying about their content?
Do they feel satisfied?
If yes, then they are among the best, if not continue doing your research.