5 Days To Your Own Food Blog

Bonus Resource Guide

by KRISTEN STEVENS The Endless Meal

Hi, I'm Kristen.

Four years ago, I was working in a job I didn't love and was craving a creative outlet. On a whim, I started The Endless Meal. I had no idea at the time that it would grow into a full-time job that I absolutely love. Every day I'm thankful for taking the plunge and starting my food blog.

When I started blogging, there were very few resources available to help me. I spent hours (days/months!) combing the internet learning everything I could. It took a lot of time, but it was the only option.

To help you on your path to becoming a successful food blogger, I've put together a guide book of the most useful resources I've found. These are courses I've taken, books I've read and websites I reference.

I'm really excited that you've taken the step to join me in food blogging. I hope that this resource guide will help fast track you to success.

~ Kristen

Courses and Membership Sites ……………………………………….. page 2

Books ……………………………………….. page 3

Blogging Associations ……………………………………….. page 4

Websites ……………………………………….. page 5

Social Media Tools ……………………………………….. page 6

Table of Contents

All of the courses and membership sites in this list I either currently belong to, or have been a part of in the past. I highly recommend each one.

I currently belong to Food Blogger Pro and LOVE it. It's run by Bjork and Lindsay Ostrom of Pinch of Yum, and there's tons of useful information and videos. My favourite feature is the community forum where you can connect with other bloggers. I find it really useful to be able to learn about how other bloggers are dealing with similar issues. Learn more about Food Blogger Pro here.

Note: there is currently a waitlist for registrations. Please keep joining in mind for when they are accepting new applications.

Food Blog Academy is run my Tessa Arias of Handle the Heat. This is an excellent blogging resource that walks you through monetizing your blog. The focus is on creating relationships with brands, something Tessa excels in. When you're ready to start monetizing your blog, you want to check this out. Learn more about Food Blog Academy here.

Food Photography School is run by Dana Shultz of Minimalist Baker. The program consists of over 130 videos that will walk you through everything you need to learn about food photography. Nothing is missed.

Learn more about Food Photography School here.

Courses and Membership Sites

Books

The Food Photography Book is written by Nagi Maehashi of Recipe Tin Eats. It's well laid out and includes lots of pictures so it's easy to follow along. It's a great book for the beginner food photographer.

Learn more about The Food Photography Book here.

Tasty Food Photography is written by Lindsay Ostrom of Pinch of Yum. It's one of the first food photography books I bought and it's perfect for the new food photographer. It walks you through your camera settings and discusses all the basics of photography. If you're starting out, this is the book for you.

Learn more about Tasty Food Photography here.

Food Photography Behind the Scenes - Bright Food, Dark Shadows is written by Nicole Branan of The Spice Train. I love this book. It is full of tips and tricks to help you achieve beautiful, dark food photography. If you're new to photography, work through one (or both) of the books I've recommended above. Once you're comfortable with your camera and ready to progress, buy this book.

Learn more about Bright Food, Dark Shadows here.

Blogging Associations

Visit the Association of Food Bloggers here.

Visit Food Bloggers of Canada here.

Visit the International Bloggers' Associations.

Blogging Advice

http://thenectarcollective.com

http://www.smartpassiveincome.com

http://www.foodbloggerscentral.com

Help with Foodie Pro

http://www.ramsonsandbramble.com/2014/10/introducing-the-extraordinary-foodie-pro-theme-a-complete-review.html

http://minimalistbaker.com/?s=foodie+pro

Extras

http://www.jonloomer.com/2015/05/11/facebook-image-dimensions-2015/

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com

Websites

Below is a list of websites that I have found helpful …

Social Media Tools

These are the social media tools that I use. I prefer to schedule my social media ahead of time as I find it overwhelming to do on a daily basis. Both Facebook and Twitter (if you have a Twitter business account) allow you to schedule posts and tweets directly from your account.

Tailwind is my favourite social media scheduling tool. I use it to schedule all of my Pin to Pinterest. It's super easy to use and a great way increase your Pinterest traffic. It also has awesome analytics so you can keep track of what's working, and what's not.

Find out more about Tailwind here.

Ahalogy gives you the ability to schedule pins, but I don't find it as easy to use as Tailwind. What I like about Ahalogy is that they share pins with the brands they're working with.

Learn more about Ahalogy here.

MailChimp is an email service provider that lets you easily stay in contact with your readers. It's perfect for new bloggers as it's 100% free until you get 2000 subscribers. I recommend creating an automated RSS campaign so that each time you post a new recipe an email will be sent to your subscribers letting them know.

Learn more about MailChimp here.

Tech Support

There will come a time when you're going to need a little extra assistance with your blog. When you do, contact Codeable. I've tried other tech support, but these guys are the best. They're professional, prompt, knowledgable and fairly priced.

Find out more about Codeable here.