There are plenty of food blogs online, but what makes for a really good food blog? Maybe you’ve been thinking about starting a food blog or you’ve recently started a food blog. What should you do? Learn from other food blogs, that’s what!
Pick a Specific Sub-Niche
There’s a lot of food out there! Sure, a food blog is a niche, but it’s still a bit broad. You want a sub-niche. You want a particular kind of food, narrowed down by ingredient, region, or preparation method. For example, the Candy Addict blog is about only candy. The Junk Food Blog is only about junk food. Kitchen Warfare, on the other hand, is a very nice blog but it just doesn’t have a tight focus. And the title of the blog doesn’t really tell you what the blog’s about.
Other sub-niche food blogs:
Pictures Matter
Pictures matter. A lot. You can’t smell or taste anything on the web, so if you want to convince your readers that a recipe or a dish is to die for, you have four choices: text, pictures, audio, and video. Video is very powerful because of the combination of moving pictures and sound. Mostly, though, words and pictures are all you got. And the one thing that’s really going to get someone’s attention is a nice, big, high-quality picture of a scrumptious dish, like this:
Show a Real Passion
You don’t always have to be an expert in something to have a great blog. But you have to be passionate about your subject. For example, you may not find a more enthusiastic bunch than Homebrewers or people who are gonzo for a particular food, whether it’s Japanese food or junk food. The more you really love what you’re blogging about, the more you will attract others who love it, too–or, better yet, people who didn’t even know they loved it until they found you.
It’s Not Always About the Food
Food is inherently a part of the place and the culture where it is grown, prepared, and eaten. In order to be more than just a recipe/review machine, you want your food blog to include the wider world of the food you’re blogging about. You can do this by:
- Tapping into a region’s history and customs.
- Discussing pop culture and food trends.
- Relating the food quality to the growing and preparation techniques.
- Recounting personal stories and memories evoked by the food.
- Making the connection between food and the law, politics, regulation, and safety.
Provide Real Value for Readers
Like any other kind of blog, a food blog will not succeed or become popular if it doesn’t provide real value for its readers. You have to go beyond just talking about food and whether you like a certain dish or style of food. Here are some ways that good food blogs provide value to their readers:
- Offer recipes (that people can actually follow and that work).
- Review products, places, and preparation/cooking methods.
- Offer other kinds of how-to advice and tutorials that aren’t recipes.
- Offer video of preparation techniques that are difficult to describe in writing.
- Offer video and pictures of place-based food preparation (food tourism — think Anthony Bourdain).
- Offer product resources to like-minded people.
Fantastic Revenue Opportunities
Speaking of product resources, food blogs are an awesome blog niche to monetize through everything from AdSense to affiliate sales programs. For examples, check out the Candy Addict blog and the Chocolate Gourmand blog. Monetization efforts are not something that makes a good food blog, of course, but I think it’s worth a brief mention here at the end.
As I was researching this article, I did some searches for food blogs that I was sure would exist for certain types of foods, only to be disappointed. I was surprised! Not everything under the sun has been done in the blogosphere. So if you’ve been considering a food blog, there is plenty of room on the plate for more!
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Oh, what a lovely photograph — that’s one that really is worth a thousand words, to convey your point. And you’ve made me hungry…
It’s interesting, although focussed on food blogs, you make good solid points in here for anyone who is considering a start-up in any niche.
@Jen: Yeah, that’s a great picture, isn’t it? Makes me hungry, too! Your observation on how these point could apply to other blogs is very astute. It’s true: this advice could be applied to almost anything. Food for thought, as it were! (Sorry!)
Never apologize for a bad pun, Michael — they’re an endangered species!
Hi Michael, thanks so much for the kind words. Reading your post I was afraid you were going to mention posting frequency, and I am so behind due to things at a new job and, more importantly, my annual Holiday candymaking marathon (I’m up to 40 pounds of candy as of last night). So even though I haven’t posted since Thanksgiving, it’s worth suggesting that one aspect of a good blog is posting on a regular basis. More often is not always better unless you can sustain quality writing and content. Find a frequency you can live with and have fun.
Excellent article, Michael. It almost inspires me to start a good blog! Of course, I think I’m much better at eating food than I am at writing about it, so maybe I’ll have to settle for being a spectator, rather than an opinion maker.
@Brian: You’re welcome! Yes, the idea here was not be critical. I think we could probably add to the list that good food blogs need to be timely with holiday-related posts. However, because of all the other stuff you are doing so well, I’ll let that one slide.
I can see how these tips would apply to any blog niche. Someone from ABQ had a great food blog niche but they seem to have fizzled. It was all the restaurants down RT 66 in Albuquerque. Talk about a niche! As usual Michael great food for thought
- Ashley
Picture says a thousand words. Michael, I almost think that you are changing your occupation to a food blogger.
Some of the points mentioned are useful and I guess can be applied to my tech blog as well. Thanks.
@Damien: LOL, I did just become a food blogger! I became convinced of my own research.
Nothing to show for it, yet, but maybe in the future I’ll say what they are. 
These points could be applied to a tech blog–especially yours. By that I mean pictures. Pictures help explain techy things. Better yet, video. Like screencasts.
First, I want to thank you for the link to my blog in this article. I happened to notice a spike in the traffic to my homebrew blog, tracked it down to here. This is a wonderful thing you are doing, keep it up!
@David: You’re welcome! Thank you for being a good example.
If there was ever a passion that mixed well with blogging, I would have to say home brewing is it. I used to do a little home brewing myself. Got to the point where I was doing my own mash. Although it was a lot of fun, it wasn’t a lifelong passion. But now my more educated palate appreciates fine beer. 
Once a man (person) has tasted a real beer, there is no turning back. Although, I have friends that drink many different brews, and basically, to them at least, beer is beer, but not to me! If you want a real beer, brew it yourself. Once you pay $10 or more a six pack, and like it, learning that the same can be brewed (close anyway) for less than half, not only is it a passion,but it becomes an economic necessity, depending on how much you drink…..Burrrrp!
That sure is an amazing photo, it looks so delicious.
I’m having plans to start a food blog, and this post was really interesting.
Hey Michael,
Thanks for leaving a comment on my site…I’m a Vermonter as well, from Shelburne originally. Actually back there right now for Christmas.
You absolutely must try Al’s again, it’s terrific. You can ask for mayo and they’ll give you mayo packets, they don’t have it available to spread on the burger though. Don’t think they have pickles, but you can get raw onions and they also offer relish. The burgers are great, but the fries are definitely the highlight, especially with vinegar. I’m going to get lunch there tomorrow actually.
Jon, enjoy your holiday back in town. The weather’s getting a bit nasty, isn’t it? Be careful. I dig malt vinegar on fries, as well (but not on potato chips — not the same thing at all). Take care and Merry Christmas!
And don’t forget us food review bloggers – just a slightly different angle on “food blogs” :0)
Thanks for the mention and links to Candy Addict! It warms my heart to know that someone counted us as a good food blog
Thanks!
Brian
Wow, I’m flattered that my ramen blog is listed as an good example! Blush. I’ve never had any “formal” food writing experience and wanted to let you know I picked up some good tips on how to improve in your article.
One of the commenters above mentioned timeliness. I’d like to know your opinion on “qty vs quality.” Those of us who aren’t naturally gifted writers can might need a while to write, revise, revise again to make a good article, but then I hate having long lulls between articles. Any opinions on a “good” frequency to target? Once a month? Week? Quarter?
@edusted: More than once a week is best if you can swing it, generally. But other than that, it’s definitely quality over quantity.
Hi Michael,
Just stumbling into your site and this post caught my eye because I author a food blog myself.
Yes, from reader’s comments, I must say that pictures play an important role in food blogs. For my type of food blog – which gives out recipes – the ease of cooking is also a pulling factor for returning visitors. I guess there is always a demand for easy recipes which a newbie can whip up with minimal fuss. The language of food is so wide and diverse that any food blog can be a sub-niche in itself
http://chibbqking.blogspot.com/
you gotta have the love of food and know you are one of the best at doing what you do.