Resources for Food Bloggers
Starting a recipe blog?
Building a food blog from the ground up is an exciting endeavor, but there’s always a big learning curve. The right set of tools and resources will go a long way in jumpstarting your success. Here are my essential recommendations.
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*note: This page contains affiliate links. This means that I may receive a commission if you click on the link and decide to purchase. Thanks for your support!
Web Hosting
Siteground – This is my favorite hosting and what I use on this website. It came recommended to me by many bloggers in the industry for its ease of use and excellent customer support. They have three tiers of subscription based on the level of monthly traffic you expect.
Tools and Plugins
Keysearch | SEO – I have a professional background in SEO, working in agencies for about six years after college. Most of my experience was using ahrefs, but the tool is really pricey, and most bloggers can’t afford it at first. I found Keysearch to be the best, most comprehensive tool for its price. I love the keyword research functionality, the backlink checker, and the competitor gap analysis functions the most — but it can do way more than that.
Monster Insights | Web Analytics – Combined with Google Search Console, Monster Insights makes it so easy for me to see how my web traffic is doing, where it’s coming from, and what my top pages are — all from my WordPress dashboard.
Tailwind | Social Media – Tailwind is my go-to social media scheduling tool. I find I’m happier when I’m not scrolling and engaging on social all day, and TW makes it so easy for me to set aside a couple of hours to schedule out posts for the week. I use it for Facebook posts and Pinterest pins, and it has saved me so much time.
MailerLite | Email Marketing – I recently switched over to MailerLite from Mailchimp based on community recommendation, and I’m so glad I did! MailerLite’s interface is very user-friendly, and they have a lot more features available on their free plan than Mailchimp does — my favorite of which is being able to schedule a campaign send for the future.
Businessese | Legal Templates – Perhaps the most intimidating part of starting your blog will be the legal aspect. I’m in no way shape or form a legal expert, so that’s why I wanted to make sure I sought professional help. Businessese has a comprehensive library of legal templates for your privacy policy, terms and conditions, and whatever else you need to disclose.
Cooking
I can’t speak highly enough about Rouxbe. They’re a self-paced online culinary school that offers a plant-based program. They’re recognized by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation, and you receive a certification at the end that you can carry with you into your food career.
Rouxbe increased my confidence in the kitchen by instilling proper knife technique, refining my palette, introducing me to new techniques, and so, so much more. Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a beginner, you’ll benefit from their programs.
Photography
I do a lot of my photography on my iPhone. I also use a Cannon DSLR and a tripod that I’ll link to in an upcoming article. For now, here are my go-to recommendations for getting started in food photography:
Adobe Lightroom – This is the industry standard for photo editing. I keep it easy and mostly use presets that I’ve purchased from other creators whose aesthetics I admire, but occasionally I’ll manually adjust photos.
Replica Surfaces – This brand creates really good backdrop stands for your shoots. I love how portable and easy to set up they are, plus the variety they offer is so fun. From marble to subway tile to butcher block and so much more, they’ll take your food photography up a notch.