Food Blogger Pro has been on my to-review list for a long time. This course was created by the owners of Pinch of Yum, a successful food blog that currently earns five figures per month. The owners share their knowledge on how to start a food blog and make a profit.
As a blogger myself, I’m always interested in how other industries work, where they make their money, and what platforms send them traffic. This is not a one-size-fits-all career! While we can all buy a domain and install WordPress the same way, the road to success can go in different directions from there. When a reader asked if I’d consider doing a Food Blogger Pro review, I was happy to oblige. You never know what you’ll learn!
First impressions
Shit! There is way, way more information out there than I ever expected.
The cancellation policy was not as prominent as most membership sites. As a consumer, this is especially important to me. I had to do a little digging and finally found it under the terms link at the bottom of the site. (In case you’re wondering, you can cancel at any time. You’ll have access to the member site until the payment date, which in most cases is a 30-day period.)
Learning in the process: My favorite thing
- Bjork is the head coach. He is welcoming. He explains everything well and doesn’t talk down to newbies or go off on editorial tangents. Hello!
- I prefer that little details that are often avoided by those beginners – but eventually become important down the road – are covered. The course is also good for those who haven’t bought a domain yet or even know the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. Those are the first steps covered. There are even some really great customization tips included.
- If you are a seasoned blogger, you can skip the basics. You can skip modules if you want. There is no “unlocking” course before you move on.
- I liked that they didn’t assume you knew your way around. Many tutorials jump into small details like changing the color of your theme, you know, or telling you on Google. Food Blogger Pro has them covered. If you’re still confused, there’s a community forum for help.
- This course contains a lot of information. A lot! But it’s usable and how it’s presented ensures it’s not overwhelming. Most videos are around 6 minutes.
- Updates are available to members. They added new videos like last month. Some courses within the program have also been updated due to changes in the blogging landscape or specific tools. You are not abandoned after completion.
- Most of Food Blogger Pro is budget-friendly. Most of the basic setup is done with free tools available online, with more advanced techniques and premium offerings optional, though recommended in some cases.
- There are some really cool things here that I didn’t expect to see and don’t remember seeing in any other course I’ve taken; Google Alerts, URL Shorteners, FTP, Giveaways, etc. Great information on what, why and how these things are.
Down to Food Blogging Business: Traffic, Money and Image
Photo – When I think “food blog” right now, I think lots of traffic potential and eye-catching images are absolutely essential. There is a huge divide in image quality in this industry. Those who have it are commanding big traffic numbers from Pinterest and the Recipe Network. Without it those who are struggling in many areas. Linsey takes over the photography department and she does an amazing job. His videos cover everything from aperture on your DSLR to lighting to editing in Photoshop and Lightroom. This is not such a budget-friendly category but it will make a huge difference in securing your referral traffic. Oh my goodness there is some good stuff here!
traffic – Food Blogger Pro covers almost everything you need to know about getting traffic; Best Referral Sites for SEO, Food Blogs and Getting the Most Out of Your Social Networking There’s also a section full of easy traffic tips that include little things that can get people from other places online to your blog.
income – I like that they include more than AdSense which has always been a cop-out in my opinion. Things like affiliate marketing or creating an ebook is a course in itself so some programs ask you to install AdSense and you can learn the rest somewhere down the road when they don’t have to bother with you anymore. Not here. They provide you with several great options and tell you how to get them up, run, earn money and compliment each other.
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I’m not a huge fan of video because I just don’t have the attention span anymore. Blame it on blogging. That being said, being forced to watch video slows me down. I can’t skim or skip. That is sometimes a good thing. There’s a lot of great information here about why you should use certain things and how to customize them to fit your needs and preferences – information I probably would have skipped over in the written text.
While I’m not a big fan of ongoing memberships, I think the one-time price for this amount of in-depth information would be out of reach for most beginner bloggers. I don’t even know if you want to deal with everything here in a month. If you’ve ever blogged, you know it’s a marathon and not a sprint Most of the time you are not ready or able to monetize in your first few weeks online. This course and community are here to support you long-term, just as your new food blog will hopefully be. I was blown away by this program.
Visit the Food Blogger Pro site to learn more and start your new food blog today. It opens to new members a few times a year, so get on the waiting list while you can!
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