There are more than a million food-related blogs, according to blog directory Technorati. The overwhelming majority of these are amateur food blogs, but some bloggers are professionals that use their blog to make money through affiliate marketing and product sales (especially cookbook sales). Others use their blog to promote a business such as a restaurant or photography business.
Let’s take a look at two successful bloggers who use their posts to support and promote their products and businesses.
101 Cookbooks: THE Food Blog Example to Behold
Blogger and cookbook author Heidi Swanson uses her website to promote her books and other ventures. So what makes her blog so successful?
- For starters, her photography is outstanding and so is the writing.
- Then there’s the content: Heidi mostly shares recipes, but she also writes about travel, natural living, and events. Just as in life, variety is the spice of blogging.
- And, like Sarabeth who you will meet in a second, she injects her own personal experiences into her posts.
The Goddess of Bakedom Bakes from the Heart
Next time you are in New York City, make a stop at Sarabeth’s for breakfast. The jam cannot be beat and neither can the restaurant founder’s blog – it’s chatty, fun, and successfully complements the restaurant. Pastry chef and restaurant founder Sarabeth Levine shares her thoughts on food and recipes, which is generous and smart business. She aims to keep restaurant patrons coming back for more. The recipes are timely and either uniquely hers or things she enjoys eating herself.
While I wish she blogged more often (and used more paragraph breaks), I like the tone of her writing. It’s conversational. It’s not too polished. It feels like Sarabeth is talking to me.
Hopefully you notice a theme here. It doesn’t matter if you are running a food blog or business-to-business organization. It pays to make blog posts personal.
Getting hungry? What do you think makes a successful food blog?
About Sara Lancaster
Sara is The Condiment Marketing Co.’s founder and creative director. She oversees client relationships, strategic marketing plans, as well as a bit of copywriting and social media management.
