The Food Blogger Pro Podcast Bjork Ostrom

Offering services, building partnerships, and goal-planning with Matthew Gartland from SPI Media
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Unlocking Success through Strategic Goal-Planning, Partnerships, and Providing Services with Matthew Gartland
Welcome to episode 471 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Matthew Gartland from SPI Media. 
Last week on the podcast, Bjork chatted with Lidey Heuck. To go back and listen to that episode, click here.
Matthew Gartland started his creative agency Winning Edits in 2011 to support author entrepreneurs. He eventually merged companies with Pat Flynn to found what is now known as SPI Media.
Today, SPI Media is a thriving community of online entrepreneurs who have come together to build their online businesses through a treasure trove of educational content, an engaging community, and training experiences.
In this episode, Matthew talks about how strategic goal-planning, community, and providing services can help budding entrepreneurs unlock success and grow their audience. You won’t want to miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn about: Turning Your Skills into Side Hustle Superpowers: You already have superpowers (aka awesome skills)! Matthew talks about how to lean into skills you already have to create solutions to real-life problems for clients and build a fulfilling career on your own terms!
Quality is King (or Queen): Solving problems is great, but doing it with amazing service sets you apart. Matthew shares how prioritizing top-notch quality can help you set your business apart from the competition.
Community & Goals: Your Recipe for Success: Building a business isn’t just about showing up and hoping for the best. Matthew reveals the importance of strategic goal-setting and creating a roadmap for success. He’ll also discuss the power of community – how fostering connections with other entrepreneurs and building strategic partnerships can accelerate your growth.
Resources:
SPI Media Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich Episode 53 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Pat Flynn’s Tips for Building Online Businesses That Fly Shopify Basecamp Facebook Groups Teachable Snackdive Connect with Matthew via email Follow Smart Passive Income on X and check out their podcast Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group -----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership
 

Contributing recipes to NYT Cooking, avoiding the comparison trap, and working with the Barefoot Contessa with Lidey Heuck.
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Welcome to episode 470 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Lidey Heuck.
How Working as Ina Garten’s Assistant Kicked Off Lidey Heuck’s Career as a Food Creator and Cookbook Author Lidey’s first job out of college was as Ina Garten’s assistant — yes, you read that right! After 7 years working as part of the Barefoot Contessa team, Lidey has gone on to grow her own business as a food creator. She is a recipe contributor to New York Times Cooking, runs her own food blog, and recently published her first cookbook, Cooking in Real Life.
In this interview, she shares more about her experience working at Barefoot Contessa, how she balances creating content for different platforms, what it’s like to contribute to NYT Cooking, why she might want to open a brick-and-mortar shop, and so much more.
This is an enjoyable listen that will get you thinking about the many different routes a career path as a food creator can take. Hope you enjoy this fun episode as much as we did!
In this episode, you’ll learn about:
Building a Food Career Through Unconventional Paths: Lidey's story proves you don't need a perfect path to land your dream food gig. Working for Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa!) launched her career, showing there's magic in unexpected opportunities! Growth Through Diverse Food Experiences: You'll hear about how her time at Barefoot Contessa was just the beginning. She went on to conquer TV shows, big publications, and everything in between. Get ready for some serious food world inspiration! Lidey's Recipe for Success (and How She Balances Her Projects): Lidey's a total rockstar, churning out recipes for her blog, cookbooks, and even the New York Times! We'll uncover her secrets for creating killer content across different platforms and keeping her sanity while doing it. Plus, a peek into what a typical day looks like for this busy bee (and maybe some recipe development tips!).

Resources:
Lidey Likes Cooking in Real Life: Delicious & Doable Recipes for Every Day (a Cookbook) Barefoot Contessa Snackdive The Lost Kitchen NYTimes Cooking Substack Follow Lidey on Instagram and Facebook Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group -----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Outsourcing tasks, growing a social media following, and self-publishing a cookbook with Erin Collins from Meaningful Eats.
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Welcome to episode 469 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Erin Collins from Meaningful Eats. 
How Erin Collins Went from 25,000 to 250,000 Instagram Followers While Self-Publishing a Cookbook
Erin started her blog, Meaningful Eats, in 2012. Since then, she has self-published a cookbook (another one is coming out soon!), grown her site to 1 million monthly page views, and gained over 275,000 Instagram followers.
In this interview, Erin talks about how she achieves a work-life balance by delegating tasks and how being aware of her “zone of genius” allows her to focus on what she’s most passionate about. She also discusses how she committed to growing her Instagram following by honing in on her audience’s needs.
She self-published her cookbook “Gluten-Free Cookies, Brownies, and Bars” last fall and generated over $100,000 in revenue in the first nine months! It was great to hear about her process of self-publishing a cookbook. We can’t wait for you to dive in to hear more about her story!
In this episode, you’ll learn: How she balances parenthood and blogging (hint: weekly family meetings are key!) How she uses timed constrictions to be more intentional with her time How she prioritizes her work during seasons of limited time How outsourcing tasks allows her to achieve a work-life balance How to leverage your zone of genius (and being aware of your zones of competence and incompetence) for your blog How she grew her Instagram following from 25,000 to 250,000 How she decided to make the shift to quality over quantity How incorporating various series (12 GF cookies for Christmas) into her Instagram strategy drove engagement How she uses chat marketing tools like ManyChat to deliver content Why she decided to self-publish her cookbook (which saw almost $100,000 in revenue in the first 9 months!) and how she went about it. The cost breakdown of self-publishing a cookbook: working with a printing company, shipping, etc. How she’s looking to make the shift to connect with her audience and include more income streams Her number one tip for food bloggers who are just starting out (spoiler: it’s to focus on one thing at a time) Resources:
Meaningful Eats Erin’s cookbook “Gluten-Free Cookies, Brownies, and Bars” Episode 365 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast: How to Find Your Zone of Genius and Hire the Right People with Emily Perron Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett Designing Your Work Life The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel ManyChat Mixam Sticker Mule Ecwid 1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly Follow Erin on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group -----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started at foodbloggerpro.com/work-with-us.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership

Becoming a private chef, prioritizing projects, and sharing your aspirations with others with Kenneth Temple.
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Welcome to episode 468 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews celebrity chef and food blogger Kenneth Temple. 
Breaking into the Private Chef Industry and Sharing What You’re in Pursuit of with Celebrity Chef Kenneth Temple Kenneth Temple started his food blog in 2017 and has been a private chef since 2009 so he’s got a lot of great insights to share with us in this interview. He now finds himself cooking for NFL, MLB, NBA players, and Grammy artists. On the blog side, he qualified for Mediavine in November of 2023—a huge milestone!
In this interview, Kenneth and Bjork discuss how he broke into the private chef industry, landed his first celebrity client, and why he chose to go down this route over working in a restaurant. They also talk about the importance of putting yourself out there and sharing your aspirations with others and the power of word-of-mouth marketing. They also chat about what blogging as a chef looks like and how he had to adjust his strategy after learning about SEO and searchability.
Even if your goal isn’t to pursue a career as a private chef, we find Kenneth’s advice on managing your time and promoting yourself extremely valuable and think you will too. We hope you enjoy the episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn: Kenneth’s background as a private chef and why he chose this path over working in a restaurant. How he was able to land a private chef gig with an NBA player from the New Orleans Hornets. How he went about pricing his work. How he prioritizes his time due to the seasonality of his work and what his day-to-day looks like now. How he maintains a professional relationship with his clients. Tips for those looking to break into the private chef industry. How he grew his network by sharing what he was in pursuit of (and why you should do the same!). How he used his knowledge as a private chef to create a 21-day meal prep challenge to help his clients with weight loss. How he got into food blogging in 2017 and blogged as a chef (and what that means exactly!). How he learned about searchability and adjusted his blogging strategy. What his experience was like as he grew his site and got accepted to Mediavine. The pros and cons of working in realms that were 1:1 and 1:infinite. How he saves time and stays productive by batching recipes. How he chose to de-prioritize certain projects because he realized they weren’t solving problems for his audience. How he’s now looking for pursuits that will allow him to solve problems. Resources:
Kenneth Temple Meiko and the Dish Mediavine Grandbaby Cakes Follow Kenneth on Instagram and Other platform - facebook, youtube, tiktok, whatever seems most important for them Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group -----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Strategizing for growth, pivoting to Pinterest as an alternative to SEO, and branding on Pinterest with Kate Ahl from Simple Pin Media.
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Welcome to episode 467 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Kate Ahl from Simple Pin Media.
Pinterest Strategy in 2024 This is a super special episode of the podcast, as it kicks off what we are calling our Summer Membership Spotlight. Over the next three months (June, July, and August) we will be sharing a piece of content that is normally exclusive to Food Blogger Pro members here on the podcast.
We are starting with a replay of our Pinterest Live Q&A with Kate Ahl! This Q&A originally aired in April. Food Blogger Pro members submitted lots of great questions all about Pinterest strategy — branding, pinning strategy, types of pins, you name it.
We’re so excited to share this Q&A with you (it’s a really informative one!) and hope you’ll tune in for our other membership spotlight episodes throughout the summer.
In this episode, you’ll learn: What constitutes a “fresh pin.” Whether hashtags still relevant on Pinterest. The differences in performance between video and static pins. How many pins you should create for each blog post. Kate’s favorite scheduling tools and how to approach hidden pins. What outsourcing the management of your Pinterest account looks like. When you might start to see growth on Pinterest. The importance of branding when creating Pins. How to audit your Pinterest boards. Resources:
Simple Pin Media Pinterest Predicts Tailwind Follow Kate on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group -----
This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Memberful. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Why SEO is about more than building traffic, how to think more holistically about your SEO strategy, and the importance of community with Ann Smarty.
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Welcome to episode 466 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ann Smarty from Smarty Marketing.
How to Respond to the Recent Google Updates Ann Smarty has been working in the SEO industry for over 20 years, and she has lots of expertise to share with us in this interview! Bjork and Ann chat about the current state of SEO, including a deep dive into the impact of the recent Google Helpful Content Updates.
They also discuss the history of backlinks with SEO and how to approach link-building as a content creator (and why it’s more about community than you might think).
Ann has a really great perspective on the importance of developing a holistic SEO strategy and why diversifying your income and traffic sources matters now, more than ever. Don’t miss this episode!
In this episode, you’ll learn: About the current state of SEO (is it as bad as it feels?!). Who was most impacted by the recent Helpful Content Updates. Why backlinks seem to have protected sites during these Google updates. More about the ‘backlink controversy’ in the SEO industry. How to approach link-building as a content creator. Why building a community and saying “yes” is so important in this SEO environment. What you should do to strategically take advantage of traffic when you have it (to prepare for when you lose it). The importance of diversifying your traffic and income sources. Resources:
Smarty Marketing Moz SparkToro Google SearchLiaison Pinch of Yum Search Engine Journal Tax Smart Real Estate Investors Podcast Memberful Skool Follow Ann on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.