Is Food Blogging Too Hard?

I take pictures for my food blogs and it seems the bigger the picture the more likely it is for the blog post to be featured. And I mean HUGE pictures. Do you think that is accurate?

The Patty Beat can be found at  http://pattyabr.wordpress.com ( http://pattyabr.wordpress.com/ ) where The Fearless Cook resides ready to take on your most feared items in the kitchen.

Congrats on making the leap to full-time blogging. It's so great that you still find it fun and a learning experience.

Maybe they were disappointed because they were harboring a fantasy that blogging is not work. The thing is, you can work hard and love it too. You have discovered that.

These sound like wonderful reasons to have a blog, Melody. I like that you can get satisfaction out of it without trying to make it a commercial success.

Some great comments here, so I'm not sure what to add, except that I started out as a pure hobbyist and b/c it was a great way to share my original recipes and some from my clippings file with friends and family in far flung places. For me, that really tapped into the passion for food and cooking that others could see but that I wasn't ready to admit. Now, I'm blogging fulltime, which definitely shows.

I'm still learning all the time whether with cooking, writing, photography, or just the tech stuff. Does anyone emerge into blog-land fully formed with a perfect site with hundreds of commenters and followers? Maybe that is what some of the folks were missing. It is work, wonderful work for me, to build your identity and point of view in your slice of the blogsphere, but that is part of the fun and the growth process. I find out new things and get to meet new people all the time. Maybe they don't want to do the work to get to the end result. Even the bloggers whom you mentioned had to start somewhere.

Hey, I've been at it for 1.5 years and still feel like I'm at the start of a journey.

Sounds like you are on the right track, Mairi.

We've become so visually-oriented in the last 20 years vs. text oriented. It's tough for people who love the written word, who want to write about food and don't know much about photography. Steep learning curve!

usually end up on YouTube rather than being a separate blog these days.

People who like food tv seem to like them. I think it takes quite the personality to pull it off.

Retro-Food.com

has never been a cook and I grew up hearing tales of her throwing out foods she tried to cook that didn't "look right" at one stage or another. I presume she would be of the very visual food/cookbook type.

I just trust in my cooking and shrug-the finished result is in the taste.

Retro-Food.com

I just hate new photos. Weird I know.

Retro-Food.com

and reading your comment because it makes me smile, a lot.

Retro-Food.com

I have been blessed my this little hobby I started almost 2 years ago. I work full-time and have 3 small kids, so I only post once a week. I don't get as many comments as I used to when I had more time to comment on other blogs, but I enjoy putting something "out there" each week. I think I enjoy it more now that I'm not constantly thinking about my next post.

The blessings this blog has brought me:
1. My family who lives 2,000 miles away from me can see a glimpse of what I have been up to.
2. I have learned new skills in the kitchen and have tried a lot of great new foods.
3. I have been able to make some money being a reviewer with BlogHer. SO FUN!
4. I have actually made some great friends out there in cyberspace!
5. It is something I do for ME!
I hope to continue to learn and as I have more time (and a better camera) I would love to take better pictures, etc.

Good attitude! You are likely to succeed.

Thanks. Baking particularly needs photos, because the finished product needs to look a certain way, versus say, soup or a roast.

Self-discovery is an important part of blogging. I have not written about that enough. But that's different from acquiring readership. In fact, they often don't have much to do with each other. If it doesn't move past navel gazing, people aren't going to be interested.

And I agree, I don't think you can set out to be famous by blogging, unless you're a relentless self-promoter. It's way too much work, and if your heart's not in the writing, you can't sustain it.

The original post created a valuable discussion, like this one only longer! If anyone wants to read it, is here:
http://diannej.com/blog/2010/12/is-food-blogging-too-much-work/

Hey, what's odd about wanting some validation and response for all that work and creativity? Certainly the responses on my blog make it the most worthwhile part for me.

This particular post is up over 200 on www.diannej.com/blog ( http://www.diannej.com/blog ).

Oh my gosh,it takes people hours to stage and take the photos, load them, chose them, insert them, add captions, plus write a recipe and a cool intro. Don't know how they do it.

Absolutely agree. For me it is a journey and I am just enjoying that. After all they do say it is all about the journey rather than the destination.

Maybe not. It was a 2-hour class for $20 or $30, so it was pretty low risk.

Typically I teach day-long classes on food writing or book writing that cost $125-$150. Even so, I get a lot of dabblers who are not really going to pursue it. That's okay. People have to find out what's expected of them, and then they can decide.

"Journalism" according to the dictionary, just means communicating with the masses. I suppose it implies a level of professionalism, but I don't think much is cast in stone.

People think it's fun to write about a recipe they've tried, but they don't think about the implications of reproducing someone else's work on their blog.

Most people who start blogs start them as a hobby. Even the people whose blogs I showed were probably hobbyists at first, or just trying something new. I don't know that Elise Bauer, for example, knew at the beginning that she was going to make an excellent living at it.

You aspire to be a mediocre photographer? I doubt that.

I am fairly new to writing a food blog so absolutely appreciate tips on how to do it better - so thank you! I have rejoined the Twittersphere! For me it is actually my way to relax. Yes it does take time & effort but it is what I love to do - cook & take photos - so I somehow find the time.
I think quality is important, but I am at the start of a journey & hope to continue to improve for quite some time to come. For me it is making each post count & it is all about knowing your potential audience & I guess why you blog in the first place so that is is relevant & has value.

Great post! This is my first year of blogging and feel like my entire life is currently on a learning curve! Photography and social media stuff being the biggest stumbling blocks.

I think it IS difficult to be successful because there are so many of us food blogging, BUT that doesn't mean it's impossible. I like a challenge!

www.aspicyperspective.com ( http://www.aspicyperspective.com )

Not only was the original post spot on but it really helped me to read the other readers' comments. I've been food blogging since April because I needed to organize my brain now that I'm no longer working as a professional baker. I didn't want to lose what I knew and was already spending half my day answering texts from friends about their baking questions. The more I blog, the more I appreciate the professionals in the biz.
I find photography really important in this area because it provides the reader a chance to see what the finished product is supposed to look like. My blog focuses on the "how-to" aspects of cooking/baking so I'd be lost without photos. And there are about a bazillion recipes out there so all I'm trying to do is "home-test" them for others because some recipes are just impractical (aka crap).
If it's a hobby, then the writer doesn't need a lot of readers. It's self-discovery for them....and if they burn out, they aren't the first.
Food is really a personal thing in many ways, with so many angles. So if you find a community that appreciates your perspective, there's your affirmation. But hard work gains the respect of more people over time. I don't think most of the best food bloggers out there set out with the mind-set of "I wonder how fast I can become famous?" I think readers can pick up on that motive pretty quickly.

I find it hard to find time to comment on other blogs I follow, take good pictures, edit them, create a decent "storyboard" and then find the time to actually blog about it. Not to mention the actual cooking and creating recipes is also time consuming too! Between school, work, managing a social life and me time.....to answer your question, yes, I find food blogging to be pretty difficult.

I do it as a hobbyist and also to keep me accountable for my goals. I'm going to try and work on my blog using your suggestions though because having followers makes me oddly happy :)

I guess that's why I decided not to do a food-only blog. I want mine to represent all of me. I have also found out that taking step-by-step photos of a recipe (which is my favorite way to read a recipe) is TOO time consuming for a mom of two little ones. Maybe in the future I can do more of that, but for now...food blogging IS hard! :)

You are most welcome, Lydia. Thanks for commenting.

That is not surprising, Morgana. Consider the 5 percent rule: Only 5 percent of all queries to magazines and newspapers are accepted, and 5 percent of all book proposals are accepted by agents and editors. Probably only 5 percent of my students are successful. Probably only 5 percent of bloggers are truly succeed.

Right. No reason to read a blog that's done badly, unless you are the mother or best friend of the blogger!

I guess you're an extremely visually-oriented person then, Lisa. There are many cookbooks without photos that do well, but it seems like everyone wants photos to see what the finished dish looks like. It's kind of ironic, since with all the food styling most home cooks can't reproduce it that way anyway!

You have a good excuse for why you don't post too often.

When I show people other blogs I want to inspire them, not intimidate them! That is not good.

I also showed them a beginner blog by a client, and pointed out a post that didn't work so well. I didn't want him to know, though, so I didn't include his blog in my post.

Hey Stacey, good question. I think most food bloggers have not ventured into video. It's hard enough to figure out how to be a good photographer.

Check out this video food blog: blog:http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/

Good luck with your new blog.

Another rule I'm breaking regularly is the frequency that I post. Because I'm ill I can't tinker in the kitchen much and because I'm honest I don't want to post other people's recipes, this means that I often don't post for weeks. Meh, that's life with CFS.

While I agree with you on the photos and I love the professionally produced blogs they can be intimidating to a beginer. I think if I had seen any of those as an example of what I should be producing I may have never started my own blog. There are many types of blogs and bloggers and variety is the spice of life. If I ever produce a cookbook that sells I might just hire someone to snazy up my own blog. :-)

www.whenpigsflyblog.com ( http://www.whenpigsflyblog.com )

I guess it just depends what you want out of it. If you want to get noticed and perhaps make a name for yourself in your niche, you are going to have to treat it like a job. If you just want to dabble and connect here and there it doesn't really matter.
I would think people who are attending a workshop would be more serious about the whole thing and realize that it takes work.
But, I know that even when you do put the time into it finding a readership and following is tough.

Oui, rules are meant to be broken. However, if you're not an engaging writer, people aren't going to stop by more than a few times.

Thanks for such a thoughtful post. Even though I devoted 16 pages in my book to how to photograph for a food blog, I can see that your blog is successful without photos. It is definitely a needed service.

I'm also glad that most of the recipes are your own. I know it's a lot of work, but it's probably a huge part of what makes your blog original and worth the time.

Good point about showing different levels of blogs. Next time I will do so.

That was a very difficult challenge, and I'm sorry you announced it publicly and then couldn't go through with it. It was definitely way too much.

So now you'll be more realistic about how much and how often you can blog, and it will all work out in the end.

Diane, I guess it's all about knowing your audience. I completely agree with you, that if you are taking the time to have a "blog" rather than a recipe share page..then the responsibility would be to test your recipes and be sure they are your own. You then can honestly address questions. It seems the people you spoke to were hobbyists and weren't really interested in the journalism part of blogging.
Such a shame.
Laurie Alves

http:// ( http://www.journeytosagacity.blogspot.com )

is terribly hard. 2008 was the hardest and yet the most rewarding year of my life. It was easy in that I did not have a baby in the house----the big kids were 3 and 6 at the time, and were in half-day school (FTMP).
the challenge wasn't cooking and posting everyday, the challenge was that I was working 2 part-time jobs and writing a book (on housekeeping, which got canceled, but is now back in the works) AND doing the blog.

What was my motivation?

pure fear. I HAD to do this. I had to prove to myself that I could invent a job for myself that I could do in my jammies while caring for the kids.

and it worked. and for that, I'm truly grateful. :-0

this past year? was much harder. growing babies is much harder than blogging daily.
xoxo

totallytogetherjournal.com and crockpot365.blogspot.com

If I attend a talk on blogging I expect to be inspired not patted on the head. Without a doubt I want to see the best of the best. Seems odd that bloggers only interested in hobby blogs would attend a talk on starting a food blog. Succeeding at anything takes a lot of hard work.
That said- an excellent photograper? Isn't there another way...

I like your writing and you're definitely a good storyteller. That is more important than whether you define yourself as a food blogger.

This is a response to TW, but it is in the wrong place!

Ha. Your comment made me laugh.

It's true that bad photos of food can really put people off. What's so funny is that in their day they were considered excellent!

Of course, not everyone has to be a professional blogger, and if you're having a good time, that's worth a lot.

There's no way you're in the "good enough" category, though, Anne-Marie. Most bloggers can only dream of your kind of success.

I'm not a fan of putting someone else's recipe on one's own blog. Unfortunately recipes cannot be copyrighted. But it still seems wrong.

Yes, I know what you mean. She might find a whole new audience of people who are thrilled with fancy baked goods, and you are free to find another blog that suits you better.

Growing means challenging yourself, I think, and learning who you are. It would be hard to be static and be a blogger.

Lydia

Thank you for this! These are all questions that I was actually pondering this morning, and bam! Here are the answers. Thank you for not beating around the bush and telling it like it is. Have a great day!

Sure. It just gets a little confusing when they want tons of people to read them and comment. Can't have it both ways!

I think a lot of hobbyists who blog for a bit, then disappear get discouraged easily. I've written for over 100 blogs in the last 8 years and each time I get a criticism I take it as an opportunity to improve.

Now, I'm able to start something meaningful with all that experience.

Most bloggers don't take the same process, though. At the first criticism, they crumple or get defensive- neither of which impresses readership.

Exactly. You have to be the judge of your own work, Melissa, because otherwise you'll go crazy wondering what everyone else thinks.

There are certain standards in photography, things people can improve, such as good lighting, food styling, and how to structure a photo. There's always more to learn. I think I wrote 16 pages on that subject in Will Write for Food.

The food bloggers I know are inquisitive, always willing to try harder, and they work hard. It's such a pleasure to know them, actually!

It's kind of a chicken and egg thing, perhaps? Most people who start blogging can't sustain it, because it's a lot of work. And perhaps if they don't get comments they don't see the point.

Some people just want to do it for fun and they don't care. For those people, I'd say they shouldn't expect people to read their blog!

I agree completely that tweaking a recipe in a minor way doesn't make it worth a blog post. You have to have something else to offer. I like the way you approach it.

I have a fairly new food blog that I started in September, but I don't consider myself a food blogger. I'm a mom, a Catholic, and a teacher who loves to cook and read good books. I'm a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks, and my food blog is based on his books. Kinda cheesy and quirky, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Problem is, I don't have the time to post something every week, and coming up with original recipes for every post seems overwhelming. Any suggestions? Here's a link:

http://cookingnicksbooks.blogspot.com/

Thank you! :)