How to be Food Blogger?

In the modern trend, it seems food blogs are no longer the main place for many people looking for information. The growth of Instagram and Facebook had turn many people to hit onto those platform as their main target platform for information. The question that I constantly face recently is, food blogging is dead.! Since alot people ask me how do I started it or do it, well, here I am going to share How to be Food Blogger?

Well, depends how you see it. There is no dead food blogger in my dictionary. I always ask back to those people who ask me question. I have to agree that many people now turn to Instagram and Facebook as the main source of information. However are they reliable? Where do you turn to next? Eventually they will answer blogs. Are blogs dead? NO. Let me and Bitcatcha tell you why while teaching you how to become a food blogger.

Alot of my friends thought that I do not work. My life is about attending events and eating good food. Social media, this is what we project. Only the good side. However I do have day time job. Do I get income from my blog? Yes, through Google Ads with peanuts earnings. To build a sustainable full time income? Then you need to do alot of hardwork!

I have been blogging for more than 10 years now and what is my blog about. Its only a passion on food that I wish to share with everyone of you out there. If my taste bud deems fits and recommendation is alright, then I will keep blogging.

The main question that I always got asked, why food bloggers rarely write bad about an eatery. I used to give alot bad ratings as to avoid diners from wasting money in that outlet. However I learn over the years that :

1. You do not like the food, does not mean other diners would not like it
2. Alot of us always dream of owning a F&B if there is a possibility. We save up alot, over the years. Business operating. A batch of “so called critics” based on you.
3. Business bad, have to close down. Few hundred thousand gone just like that. Have to pay debt and others.
4. Alot of diners do not understand the prep work involve in a food. Eat is not easy till you are involve in an kitchen operating.
5. Diners just open mouth, throw it in, munch and swallow.
6. If I do not like it, why waste time writing it? A post required quite an effort or even in FB.

The magic question, that I got on and off are: How to be a food blogger? Very simple.

1. You can start off by using your latest smart phone. (nowadays every one is also food blogger, be it Facebook, Instagram or Blog – depending which platform you would want to conquer). Need not any fancy gear till you are serious about it.
   2. Register yourself at Blogspot.com (as they have tons of free nice template to start off with, watch youtube to learn how to build and modify the template you gotten)
   3. Just type any thing you can think of related to your food. (there is no right or wrong as this is very personalize)
   4. Then just make the post live after that.

Whoola. Congratulations, you are a food blogger.

My questions for you guys would be:
1. How persistent and consistent are you, as you start off with zero traffic with no one views for first 6 – 8 months
2. What are your strategies?
3. Are you willing to build your content daily? (my first 2 years of blogging, I have more than 1200 contents with average 42 contents a month)
4. Do we get feed free food? Yes and No. Hard work for first 2 years as I eat around with my friends to generate my content. My first food review is 2 years later. With modern trend, it would be much easier to be notice compare to 12 years ago.
5. Once I accepted a food review, in return I must give them a blogpost, as this is the deal I stuck with the business owner. (not like now days, many people attended food review and do not blog. Making the industry bad. It is like you eat you pay. I eat FOC in exchange for a post)

Process of Food review:
1. Communication via email, instagram or Facebook page
2. Confirmation of deliverable and agreed by both parties
3. Travel to location
4. Eat, write notes and remember taste, take picture,
5. Select pictures (from 100 pictures choose 20), Edit pictures, posting write up then post

The whole process easily take at least 6 hours.

Along the way, I read up a lot, ask for guidance from senior bloggers, and recently my friend introduce me to this website – Bitcatcha after found out my site load slightly slow than the average standard response time. By checking out their website, I get to learn what to improve on my blog especially ranking higher in search engine.

An informative site that currently I am learning from them on how to further enhance my blog. It is good source of information for both blogger and online business owners. Besides that, they have a free tool for you to check your server speed as well. Just go to Bitcatcha and enter in your URL, then you will get your result like this.

My questions for you after reading the whole post. Are you ready to be a professional writer blogger or just a passionate food blogger or to climb to be the top blogger in Malaysia?