Start a Cooking Blog – and Profit!

Written by Nicole Dean

Have you seen the movie Julie and Julia?

A woman, Julie Powell, decides to dedicate a year of her life to cooking all the recipes in Julia Child’s first book while blogging about the adventure. Here are a few of my favorite lines from the movie…

Julie: I could write a blog. I have thoughts.

And, another of my favorite lines…

Julie: You’re not a writer unless someone publishes you. See, that’s what’s so great about blogs. You don’t have to be published. You can just go online, press enter and there it is, out there.

What Julie didn’t realize when she started her blog is that you can also make money blogging.

Most everyone is now familiar with what a ‘blog’ is. This world-wide form of logging our thoughts is popular with many people, and for many reasons. Perhaps blogging started out as a method of getting our ideas down on ‘paper’ but it has gone way beyond a simple diary or journal.

Beyond keeping a log, blogging offers an opportunity to earn real money online. Because blogs are easier than ever to set up and learn, more and more people are looking at blogging as a money-making venture. Along with the simplicity of setting up a blog, the cost now is minimal, and sometimes even free. With today’s modern blogging applications and tools, most anyone who wants to blog can get started in about an hour, or less.

So, blogging is fun, easy to set up, inexpensive, and can make you money. That leaves only one hurdle to starting your own blog…

What should I blog about?

Let me ask you a few questions. Have you taken recipes and tweaked them a bit here or there to make them come out just right? Do you enjoy testing new dishes on your family and friends? Do you just like to cook?

Did you answer yes to these questions? Well, then, I think you have your answer. Why not blog about cooking!

Recipe blogs are some of the most popular resources for people who cook as a hobby, people who don’t know how to boil water, and gourmet chefs, too. A cooking adventure, whether successful or a total flop, is something people want to read about. And guess what? Those same people are spending money!

But, you’re saying “Nobody will want to read about my cooking stories, nor will they want to try one of my recipes.” Guess again! Making money with a cooking blog doesn’t depend on whether you are a gourmet cook or not. Stories of cooking woes, like my famous “never mix cheese and cabbage” disaster, makes for great reading. People love to relate to real cooks making real mistakes. Then, when you share your success stories, they see a real person behind the blog. Connecting with people who share your interest is a great way to turn your stories and recipes into profits.

Even the most experienced chef still needs more than an interest in food to start a cooking blog. There are several simple skills required to start blogging about your cooking stories and recipes. Here are a few things to consider:

You have to enjoy cooking. You don’t have to be a chef, you just need an interest in food, and in talking about food. A successful blog requires that you like what you are doing. This will give you your own unique style that appeals to other cooks, who will become your readers.

You have to be able to organize your thoughts, and get your recipes in an understandable order so readers can find what they want. However, if this is not your talent, there are people who can do that for you at a reasonable price.

You will want to take pictures. You don’t need to be a professional photographer, but you will want to learn how to use a digital camera. If it’s not possible to include your own food pictures, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the publicly licensed food photo sites.

You will need patience. If patience is not one of your virtues, you will need to learn it. When you get your blog all nice and pretty and send it out there for the world to see, you will be disappointed in how few people find you. Traffic (those people who find your blog) will increase with time and work, but never as fast as you would like. It takes time for people to discover how wonderful you and your blog are.

After all this planning, designing, and finally launching your blog, you are now thinking “This is great, but what about making money?” We understand. Making money with your recipe blog is where we came in. Let’s take a look at the methods bloggers, just like you, use to create a real home-based business that can produce the kind of income you want for you and your family.

Make Money Selling Products

Some people enjoy the retail aspect of cooking. These folks enjoy kitchen gadgets and cookbooks. Visitors to your blog will welcome your advice and reviews, and will stop and shop if they see you are offering something they need, or want. Putting together your own info-products, like cookbooks, can be very profitable, too.

Make Money Selling Advertising

When traffic starts coming your way, you’ll find advertising on your blog to be a nice way to generate income. You won’t really hit your stride making money with this method until you start getting readers, but it is something to log in your business plan for down the road. There are many avenues to explore in advertising, but you can take it slowly and learn as you go.

Make Money Selling Your Blog

You may not think of this in the beginning because, well, you’re just so in love with your blog! However, when your blog becomes popular, you have a valuable asset. Things change. Perhaps it’s time you moved on to another project. It may be appropriate to consider selling your blog at some time.

Whether sharing family recipes, your own favorite regional dishes, your cooking successes, or your cooking disasters, you can create a recipe blog that will have readers coming back time-and-time again. If you’ve been thinking about writing a blog for fun, and for profit, why wait? Take the first step and watch your recipe blog come to life!

How to Start a Recipe Blog for Fun and Profit

To learn exactly how to set up your blog and how to create a recipe blog that people love, talk about and come back to, grab the guide “How to Start a Cooking Blog“. You’ll also learn how to get traffic to your blog and make money doing something you enjoy.

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