How to start a food blog on instagram

How to Start a Food Instagram - 12 Tips to Become an Instagram Food Influencer

Want to know how to start a food Instagram account? We’ll cover everything you need to know in this complete guide.

If you’ve been thinking about starting a food Instagram account, there are a lot of factors that can contribute to your success.

Let’s just get something out of the way first – this is an incredibly competitive niche. There are thousands of food accounts on Instagram, so you need to make sure you take the right steps to set yours up properly.

The good news is that this is also a very popular niche with plenty of potential to attract loads of followers.

In this guide, we’ll show you step-by-step how to start a food Instagram account. Follow these strategies, and you’ll be on the best path to attracting millions of followers and building a successful food brand.

1. What Are Your Instagram Goals and Objectives?

Before you start creating content, you’ll need to decide what you want to accomplish with your Instagram account. What’s your long-term goal?

This should go beyond gaining a lot of followers. Rather, determine the kind of impact or incentives you want to achieve.

Setting clear goals at the start of your Instagram food journey is important because this will keep you on the right track. If you’re planning on making money from Instagram, then you’ll need to make sure your account is on the right track.

Here are some goals you should consider for your food Instagram account:

Mission or purpose: Sharing your food journey to inspire and help others could be your main goal. Maybe you want to promote healthy eating, a special type of diet, or want to teach people to cook better with less effort? Whatever the case, think about how you’re going to inspire your followers. Having a clear mission in place will help you to gain a loyal audience and create more meaningful content.
Think about brands: One of the most popular ways to earn money from a food blog on Instagram is to work with brands. This involves creating sponsored posts (more on this later). From the beginning, think about what types of brands you aspire to work with and set your Instagram account up in a way that attracts the right audience for this.
Attract clients: Your food Instagram account can also be used to attract new clients. Maybe you sell cooking classes, food photography courses, or do catering. If this is a goal for you, then think about how you can build your Instagram account around your potential client base from the beginning.
Ecommerce: Your Instagram food blog is also a great place to sell products to your audience. If you want to do this, think about how you’ll integrate this into your content strategy and goals from the start.

Once you’ve got your goals in place, every step that follows can be made in line with these goals.

Choosing your name, planning your content, setting up your account, and measuring analytics should all be done with your goals in mind.

2. Set Up Your Instagram Account

Once your goals are in place, it’s time to set up your Instagram account. This is the fun part.

Here are a couple of steps to take.

Decide On Your Niche

In case you haven’t already, you’ll need to decide on your specific niche.

“Food blog” might be your main niche, but try to be as specific as possible. There are many different types of food accounts you could start. For example, your account could be focused on:

Healthy eating
Plant-based food
Barbeque and beer
Family recipes
Outdoor cooking
Baking and desserts
Japanese food
Eating out
Cocktails
And plenty more!

Each of these niches will have its own different audiences, and being specific will help you to tap into them.

Also, get a basic idea of how your content is going to look. Will there be a human behind your food account, or will it just be photos of food in unknown locations? Will you be sharing recipes or will you be sharing your lifestyle as a foodie?

The more specific you are with your niche, the easier it will be to create content, gain followers and work with brands.

Decide On Your Name

Next, it’s time to choose your food blog name.

A good food blog name should be simple and descriptive. People should know exactly what your food blog is about by hearing your name. For this reason, using descriptive words like “baking”, “nourish”, or “eat” in your name is a good idea.

It’s also a good idea to use small words in your name. For example, “Healthy Eater” becomes “The Healthy Eater”. This will make a big difference. If your goal is to become a food influencer, you could also just use your own name or a variation of it like “Tom’s Food Adventures”.

Your name is important, but don’t worry about this too much. The type of content you post later is more important than your name, and this is what your audience will associate with your name.

Pro Tip: If you’re planning on starting a food blog or YouTube channel as well, then reserve all of these names and make sure they’re consistent across each platform.

Set Up a Business or Creator Account

Brands and businesses shouldn’t be using personal accounts. If you’re setting up an Instagram food blog, consider it a business and use the right account. This is important because it will allow you to access Instagram Insights to learn more about your followers and engagement.

This is incredibly important for being able to look back at your account goals and monitor your account’s success.

You can follow this guide on how to create a business account for Instagram.

3 Things Every Instagram Business Account Should Have

It doesn’t matter what type of food content you’re going to post, you’ve got to get the basics down first. These are the three essential things to include when you start a food account:

Profile picture: Use a professional logo or headshot for your profile. The ideal Instagram profile picture size is 180 x 180 pixels. But Instagram profile photos must be at least a minimum size of 110 x 110 pixels. Try to avoid making your photo look too filtered.
Bio: Your Instagram bio is like a mini trailer, showing people who you are and what kind of content they can expect from you. Choose your words wisely. For tips on how to create the perfect Instagram bio, check out 10 Tips to Create the Perfect Instagram Bio to Attract a Bigger Audience.
Link: If you have a website or food blog, let your followers know by adding it to your profile. If you don’t, you can share blog content, ebooks, or YouTube videos.

3. Define Your Ideal Followers and Join Your Food Niche

Think about the type of person you want following you. That’s who you will be creating content for on a daily basis.

Defining your ideal follower is also known as creating a buyer persona. Not to get too technical, but when you know exactly who you want to attract to your Instagram page, you’ll be able to create more specific content that they’ll be sure to love.

Look into your competitors in your niche and see what their audience looks like. Try to create a list of your audience’s interests, and make sure you’re always able to create content that they want to see.

Once you’ve chosen your niche and you understand your audience, then try to only post this type of content.

Follow Other Instagram Food Accounts in Your Niche

Instagram is a social platform. You’re not just there to post content. Instead, use your Instagram account to follow other food bloggers in your niche.

This will help you connect with prominent food bloggers, get inspired by their content, and stay on top of industry trends. Most importantly, it will make you part of a community.

This is what your Instagram audience wants to see.

When you decide on your niche, join it and become an active member within it. Engage with other food bloggers’ content, discover new ideas for food photos, and embrace the “social” side of this social media platform.

4. Post High-Quality Food Images and Videos

Your Instagram food blog account is all set up, so now it’s time to start posting.

When you do this, make sure you post the highest-quality food photos that you can. This is the bread and butter (excuse the pun) of your Instagram food blog, so you can’t afford to produce food content that isn’t up to standard.

Instagram is a visual platform, and high-quality images are everything. There is a lot of competition out there, so you need to get your food snaps looking amazing if they’re going to attract followers.

This can be tricky when you first create your food account because food photography is a whole new kind of art in its own.

The best approach is to practice your food photography skills every time you eat something. If possible, try to build up a bank of content before you start your account. This will let you post more strategically.

Here are a few tips to help you take amazing Instagram food photos:

Shoot in natural light: The best light for food photography is soft, natural light. Avoid harsh lighting. If you don’t have professional lights, you can dampen regular lights with a white sheet.
Use a proper camera: If you’re serious about food photography, consider investing in a high-quality camera. A quality DSLR will make a huge difference to your photos. Of course, phone cameras today are very impressive, so you can always use them. However, if you want to take your food blog to the next level, and it’s within your budget, a professional camera will make a big difference.
Know your angles: Play around with different angles and understand what kind of an impact each one makes. Aerial food shots are always classic and work well on Instagram.
Learn to edit: Touching up your photos afterward can really make them stand out. Editing is also important for maintaining a consistent Instagram aesthetic. Adobe Lightroom is a good editing option.
Invest in equipment: If you’re serious about food photography and take lots of photos in your kitchen, then you might want to invest in some proper photography equipment. Professional lights, a quality tripod, and props can make a huge difference.

Understand Food Styling

When you start a food Instagram account, you’ve got to think about how you’re going to style each shot. Here are a couple of pointers for great food styling:

Use textured backgrounds: Place your dishes on different textured surfaces, like marble slate or wooden boards. You could even get printed photography boards to give you different textures.
Tell a story: Don’t just photograph food, but think about how someone would eat it. Include a fork sticking into your bowl of spaghetti, a hand drizzling syrup over a stack of pancakes, or a few crumbs sprinkled around a slice of cake. If there’s lemon in your sauce, you could include a bowl of lemons in the background of your image. Great food photography looks natural and entices the viewer.
Think about depth and scale: Objects like human hands, cutlery, or a glass of wine add depth and scale to your images.
Use the light you have: Studio lighting is great, but food photography often comes out best in completely natural light. Experiment with different areas to shoot and find ones with the right light.
Choose natural angles: Try to shoot with realistic angles. Think about the view someone would have if they’re actually eating the cake or drinking the coffee. There’s no need to get too creative.

Top Tip: If you’re creating a food blogger//influencer account, then include your face in photos. This could help you get 38% more likes.

5. Start Posting

Now you’re all set up, so it’s time to get posting. This is the exciting part you’ve been waiting for. When you post your content, here are a few best practices to consider.

Focus on the Caption

Your caption engages your audience, and it can help you to crack the Instagram algorithm.

Focus on writing engaging captions. As time passes, you will soon see what types of captions your audience responds best to.

Here’s a helpful guide on writing Instagram captions.

Top Tip: Using emojis in your captions is always a good idea.

Use the Right Food Hashtags

Hashtags are one of the best ways to get your content more exposure and more reach. Luckily, there are many seriously popular food hashtags out there.

Each time you post, make sure that you use hashtags. It can make a massive difference to your organic reach.

Some of the most popular food hashtags include:

#food
#foodPorn
#yummy
#delicious
#dinner
#breakfast
#yum
#foodphotography
#foodie
#foodstagram
#foodblogger
#instafood
#foodlover
#instafood
#instayum

Tag People

Tagging a popular food influencer in your post can help it to get seen by them and their followers. When relevant, think about tagging your friends or other influencers in your posts. Just make sure it’s not spammy.

Add Your Location

Adding your location to your post can help you get more visibility. This is especially important for local marketing. If your food blog is also about traveling or visiting different restaurants and locations, then this is important.

6. Post Plenty of Reels

Instagram Reels are one of the most important features on the social media platform. Right now, short-form video content is dominating social media. It’s one of the hottest trends in marketing and online content, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

And when it comes to creating a food Instagram account, reels are awesome ways to show off your content. Why are reels so important to focus on?

They’re a great way to hack the Instagram algorithm. They can help you achieve more organic reach and get your content going viral.
Reels are fun and high engaging
Video is a perfect way to really show off your food content – especially recipes
Reels allow you to show off more of your personality. They’re great for behind the scenes content

So don’t be afraid of video. Embrace video and experiment with Reels. This seems to be the direction that social media is taking. If you get good at creating Reels, you’ll soon reach a much larger audience.

Here are some top tips to help you create amazing Reels:

Use trending music in your Reels
Follow other popular content creators to stay oin top of trends. If you post trending types of Reels, you’ll have a much better chance of going viral. Always try to hop onto trends as quickly as possible
Posting 30- 60 second reels is optimal
For food accounts, you can post quick and easy recipe reels. You can always use this to link to a full video recipe on YouTube or a full recipe on your food blog
Get creative and have fun. Reels don’t need to be high-production videos. They should be fun and show off your real character

If you’re looking for new Instagram Reels ideas, then check out this helpful guide.

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A post shared by Teresa Ulyate (@cupcakesandcouscous)

7. Commit to a Regular Publishing Schedule

Another important way to beat the Instagram algorithm and attract a more engaged audience is to post on a regular basis.

This could be once a day, once every second day, once a week, etc. What’s important is that you post often and that you keep your posting consistent. Also, ensure you post content when your audience is most active and online. You can discover this in your Instagram Insights tab.

The best way to post consistently is to plan your content in advance using a social media scheduling tool. This way, your content can be automatically posted at the right time.

Between your scheduled content, you should also post plenty of Instagram Stories.

You can post these every day as often as you want. There’s really no limit to how many Stories you can post. This is an excellent way to stay engaged with your followers and reveal more behind your brand.

8. Make Money From Your Food Instagram Account

Now that you’ve started a beautiful Instagram food account, it’s time to turn it into a business.

There are many ways that you can make money on Instagram. This could be a passive side-hustle, or it could be a full-time business. Whatever the case, it’s always a good idea to know how you can monetize your Instagram food blog.

The more followers you gain, the more money you can make. Understanding your different income opportunities from the start is best. This way, you can build up your Instagram food content, especially for this purpose. \

Here is a quick breakdown of 5 different strategies you can use to make money from your Instagram food blog.

1. Instagram Shopping

You can use Instagram’s shopping feature to sell products directly through Instagram. You might not have products to sell, but if you gain a large following, this could be a good option to consider.

You could sell anything that relates to your food count. This could be cooking utensils, your cookbook, homeware, photography props, or anything else.

Instagram shopping has many different features, like shoppable posts, shoppable stories, live shopping, and shoppable ads. This all gives you loads of social commerce opportunities.

Image: Instagram

2. Monetize Your Content

Just like YouTube, Instagrammers can monetize their content. This includes earning from video ads and using live badges during live streams. You could also make use of third-party membership sites, like Patreon, to gather support for your Instagram content.

3. Affiliate Marketing

Joining affiliate programs that your audience will be interested in is a great way to make money through your food account. You can promote affiliate products in your posts, such as the mixer you used, and earn a commission each time someone purchases that product through your link.

4. Paid Influencer Promotions

This is the most popular way to make money on Instagram. You can use your popularity to work with brands and promote their products through paid posts. This will involve reaching out to suitable brands and coming up with an agreement with them.

To do this, you will need to have a strong understanding of who your audience consists of and what their interests are. The more defined your niche is, the easier it will be to find brands to collaborate with.

5. Sell Digital Products

You can also leverage your popularity and sell non-physical products. This could include things like cooking classes, a food photography course, a digital recipe book, or even your original presets.

Understand your audience, know what interests them, and see if you can create a product around their needs. This is a relatively easy way to make money from your audience without having to hold any stock.

*For a complete overview of how to make money Instagram, including a list of 10 money-making strategies, follow this guide. *

9. Go Live On Instagram

Going live is a great way to make your account stand out. All of your followers will be notified as soon as you go live, which will help to gather a lot of interest in what you’re doing.

You could do regular live cookalong videos, live food tastings and reviews, or just do live vlogs.

This is a fun and effective way to get more engagement and more interest in your food account.

10. Network With Other Food Influencers

Reaching out to food influencers in your niche and collaborating on content is a great idea. This will help you tap into the influencer’s audience and raise your popularity. This should be a win-win situation where you both benefit from the extra exposure.

You can collaborate through:

A giveaway
Behind the scenes photos or videos
Fun recipe collabs
Product collaborations (like a collaborative digital recipe book)

Make sure that the person you collaborate with has a large following or creates amazing content. You also need to choose someone who will attract the same audience as you. Your aim is to tap into each other’s audiences to attract new followers. If your niches are too different, their audience won’t be interested in you.

Make a list of influencers and reach out to a few of them. You can never have too many collaborations.

Top Tip: You don’t have to collaborate with food influencers. Think about influencers in other niches that your audience would be interested in, and try to collaborate. For example, if you have a healthy eating account, you could collaborate with a yoga influencer who has an audience with similar interests.

11. Host a Contest or Giveaway

Hosting an Instagram giveaway is a quick way to grow your Instagram followers and brand awareness.

Anyone can host a giveaway, no matter how many followers you have. And as soon as you find a giveaway that works for you, you can repeat this process to continue growing your followers and increasing your engagement.

Here are four things you need to host a successful Instagram giveaway:

Choose a prize that fits your niche. The prize you choose should be something your followers are interested in winning. For example, if you’re a barbeque foodie, then you could give away a new barbeque set.
Have a start and end date for your giveaway. This gives you time to monitor or promote your giveaway and lets your contestants know how much time they have to enter.
Follow Instagram Giveaway Rules when you’re hosting your giveaway. This protects you from any legal complications down the road.
Write clear guidelines on how to enter. You want to make sure your instructions are fool proof to help increase your giveaway entries.

Need some inspiration for your Instagram Contest. Here are 10 Amazing Instagram Contest Examples.

12. Share Your Story

A great way to create a deeper connection with your audience is to share your personal story.

Tell your followers about why you started your food account, what inspires you, and what your food goals are. Having a post dedicated to your personal story gives your account more meaning, and it will help to build more loyalty and more of a connection with your followers.

Follow the Best Instagram Food Bloggers

An important part of running a food Instagram account is connecting with the right people. Whether you want to engage with them on a collaboration or simply follow them for inspiration, here are 10 of the best food Instagram accounts to follow.

1. Minimalist Baker

For simple recipes that require 10 ingredients or less.

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A post shared by MINIMALIST BAKER (@minimalistbaker)

2. Georgina Hayden

For Greek Cypriot food, wholesome family cooking inspiration, and travel insights.

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A post shared by Georgina Hayden (@georgiepuddingnpie)

3. Hetty Lui McKinnon

For plenty of delicious dinner inspiration – mostly Asian-inspired foods.

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A post shared by Hetty Lui McKinnon ?? (@hettymckinnon)

4. Ashley Alexander

A popular personal food blog full of simple, wholesome recipes.

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A post shared by Ashley Alexander | Recipes (@gatherandfeast)

5.

Sarah Brunella

A Swiss food blogger and Instagram food influencer showcasing all kinds of delectable treats.

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A post shared by Sarah Brunella ?? (@sarah_fel)

6. Dorie Greenspan

A cookbook author and master baker.

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A post shared by Dorie Greenspan (@doriegreenspan)

7. Yolanda Gampp

A cake artist releasing weekly cake videos and posting plenty of baking inspiration.

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A post shared by Yolanda Gampp | Cake Artist (@yolanda_gampp)

8.

Deliciously Ella

One of Instagram’s most popular plant-based food influencers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Deliciously Ella (@deliciouslyella)

9. Half Baked Harvest

Simply put, this is an account dedicated to good, honest food.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tieghan Gerard (@halfbakedharvest)

10. Fit Men Cook

An Instagram influencer focused on healthy eating and fitness.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kevin Curry (@fitmencook)

Conclusion

Starting an Instagram food blog is a brilliant way to showcase your passion and tap into one of the platform’s most engaged niches. Before you just post random photos and Stories, make sure you understand your foodie brand and develop a clear strategy to help you succeed.

Follow the tips we’ve outlined above, and you’ll be able to create great content, produce an irresistible Instagram feed, and build a strong audience. Being a food blogger is an awesome way to build a brand online, and Instagram is possibly the best platform to do this.

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tom

How To Start a Food Instagram – Alex Eats Too Much

I’ve been asked quite a few times how to get started in creating a Food Instagram or a food blog. I had no clue what I was doing when I started my food blog and Instagram in August 2017. I wish I had more of a guide. I did a whole bunch of research on the Pittsburgh Food Instagram scene before I launched trying to make sure there was a place for me to add something new to what I thought was a not so crowded blog and Instagram scene. I was following a few accounts that were regularly posting content and thought I could do it just as well as they do. You can read in detail why I started here. In the end, it really boiled down to trying new foods and restaurants, documenting my eats, sharing them with people, meeting some new people, and all the great and selfish benefits of being a popular food “influencer.”

I learned a lot over the last three years as I tried to build my Instagram, my blog, and my overall brand. Since I have created something which has become recognized as a top Pittsburgh food Instagram I’ve been wanting to share some of what has worked for me and what has not worked. Others who have been interested in starting their own Food Instagram or blog have also reached out to me to ask for tips or help. I am normally glad to share, but I remind people that these are the things that have worked or not worked for me. I also fully acknowledge that sometimes I really have no clue what I’m doing. Sometimes I don’t have the time to dedicate to making my brand moderately successful into very successful. Take it with a grain of salt. What worked for me might not for you and what works for you might not work for me. I also have no formal marketing training. I’m usually just winging it. So here it goes, here is what I have learned and the advice I can give.

Anyone Can Start a (Food) Instagram

This is the first piece of advice I always give. If you want to start a Food Instagram or any Instagram, go for it. Anyone can create a username and start posting photos of the food they have eaten or cooked. This doesn’t mean your Instagram will become popular. A popular Instagram might not even be your goal. You might just want to document your meals or share them with your friends. If those are your goals, that’s fine! This advice really works for any subject that you are passionate about. The best Instagram, Blog, TikTok, Podcast, whatever is based on something that allows you as the creator to have a channel for your passions and creativity. So if you want to start an account do it, with the exception…

Do NOT Start a Repost Account!!!

If you are planning on using someone else’s art, photos or videos to try to become popular without giving proper credit or contributing anything of your own, don’t do it.

Do Your Research

When I started AlexEatsTooMuch, I did a bunch of research about the current Pittsburgh Food Instagram landscape. I missed so much. When I started following accounts, I only found about 10 accounts at most in Pittsburgh. I felt I could do things better than some and different from others. There were a few making really great content. However, only a couple actually had a strong “influencer” following. After I started my account and started posting, I actually found many more accounts in Pittsburgh than I realized. Many accounts were owned by people who didn’t post regularly. This was in 2017. Now there is a new Pittsburgh Food Instagram every couple of weeks.

Pick a Good Handle

I have found there are three different options for picking a name or a handle for your Food Instagram or Blog. The first is probably the easiest but the least obvious which is to use your own name. This would work best if you are trying to build your brand very specifically around your name. This is great if you are planning much more to be published. However, it might also be less catchy or memorable. The second is to do something based on the very specific food or location which you will be featuring. This is why you’ll see thousands of accounts based just on burgers or dozens of accounts in a city featuring a variation of that city name. This can work best to create a theme or attract more interest based on people looking for that topic, but it can be limiting and not very original. Pittsburgh has tons of accounts with Pittsburgh, Burgh, PGH, 412, etc in the handle name. The third name option is what I did which is come up with something somewhat original that no one else would have. There are a couple of people that have a handle similar to mine but no one has felt the need to create AlexEatsTooMuch3. This allows me to post more non-Pittsburgh food and if I ever happen to move I don’t have to rebrand. The downside to an original handle is if you are trying to focus on a specific city, Pittsburgh for example, you need to hustle more to get noticed because your account isn’t just going to show up on a search of a bunch of city-specific terms. I know that issue has impacted me at times.

Be Yourself

This might be harder than it sounds. Many people will try to imitate someone else’s Instagram or blog because they like what that person is doing. This can work to an extent, but put your own personality into it. People can tell if your Instagram or blog has nothing to say. It will also stand out to Restaurants, Brands, and PR firms if your Instagram is not just a copy of another one posting the same images. You are your best brand when trying to show off you have something to say or contribute.

Building a Following

Getting followers is not easy. Start out by telling your friends and family to follow you. You can also follow others that may have a similar interest and they may eventually follow you back. There is the ability to gain followers organically by creating great content and using hashtags. Another option is to follow everyone. I see this a lot where a new account follows everyone that likes one of their posts or follows other similar accounts. I’m not much of a fan of the following everyone approach. There is also the ability to have a promoted post so new people will see your post and account. Definitely do not pay for followers or Likes. This will hurt your following in the end because you may appear like you have a lot of followers, but they aren’t real and they will not engage in your posts.

Quantity vs Quality

There are two different thoughts to posting content. The first would be Quantity of posts. You can create Feed posts multiple times a day or create several Feed posts from the same meal or post to Stories constantly all day. This will definitely allow your account and content to appear more in the Feeds of your followers or in search results. However, if the posts are not engaging they may get skipped, your account hidden, or even unfollowed. I tried this method early on trying to post multiple times a day and post whatever I had available. However, this was before Feed posts were allowed to have up to 10 items, and before Stories existed. Now I create Feed posts 3 to 6 times a week and I try to have at least 2 items in each Feed post. Everything beyond that goes to Stories or doesn’t get posted. Feed posts with at least 2 items will show up in a follower’s feed at least 2 times if they did not Like it the first time and they happen to scroll a lot. The thing I find more important is the Quality of a post. I truly don’t feel the need to create a Feed post just to post something. If a meal wasn’t photogenic or the photos were crap, I probably won’t post it even if the meal was amazing.

Create Engaging Posts

I always do at least two things on every Feed post. I make sure the photos are quality photos and the caption is something of value. In my captions these days I like to create an attention grabber or headline in a different font. The rest of the caption is something about the dish or my experience eating the dish. If someone actually reads your post they can learn something about you, the restaurant, the recipe, or the dish you cannot get just from the photo. As I mentioned in the last section, try to have two photos or items per Feed post. This allows for the viewer to swipe between the photos and possibly spend longer interacting with your post. Lastly, use hashtags on the posts to have them show up for others who are searching for a topic. There is a maximum of 30 hashtags per post. There are lots of theories as to the right number of hashtags to use. I just use 25 to 30 on most posts.

Learn the Basics of Photography

Phones have amazing cameras now. They can make taking a high-resolution photo very easy. However, just because you have a good camera, it doesn’t mean the photo will be great. Friends make fun of me all the time when out for a meal because of the amount of time I might use taking photos. I will stage the food in several ways. I will play with lighting. I will try different angles and distances. I will also take a ton of photos. There are times I will take only a couple of photos and sometimes I will take over a hundred photos if I’m doing multiple dishes or want to try multiple things. In the end, I still might only have one or two good photos. Likewise, having a fancy camera isn’t going to ensure you take a great photo. You just have more options and the ability to take a nice photo. I think my photos do turn out better when I use my DSLR, but I don’t always use it. The things I try to look for or do when taking a photo are as follows:

Natural lighting or a well-lit spot
- Pro tip: Use a friend’s phone if possible with the flashlight on or the Notes app open (not in Dark Mode) to create a fill light
Reduced shadows from lighting
No flash
Remember the rule of thirds when trying to frame the food
Play with Pro mode on your phone or download camera apps that allow for the ability to change shutter speed, iso, and other settings.
If posting to Instagram, remember that your rectangle photo in 4:3 or 16:9 is going to probably be posted in a square 1:1.

Edit Your Photos

You can easily make a mediocre photo look pretty good by spending a couple of minutes editing. It can seem intimidating to try to edit because you can easily make a photo worse. However, most phone apps make it so easy and do most of the editing for you. Instagram has built-in editing tools and filters. They aren’t the strongest but they can be a good start. I like to use Google Snapseed when editing on my phone. It has a lot of preset filters and a lot of basic and intermediate options for adjusting the photo. I have also tried using Adobe Photoshop Express and Adobe Lightroom Express which I think need a little more skill to use. If you want to go to the next step or edit photos taken on a separate camera, I’ve used Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and Corel AfterShot. These are definitely getting more difficult to use.

Experiment

Don’t be afraid to occasionally try something new. This could mean trying to do new angles, trying videos, trying different caption formats, or even working with other people. It could help you find a new audience or a new talent you are not exploring. An Instagram or blog is all about having a place to channel creativity. If something interests you, then try it out. If you don’t like it, stop doing it.

Collaborate

When I made this Instagram and Blog, I barely reached out to anyone to work with them in the first 9 months. I would see in other cities, Food Instagrammers were all hanging out with each other and doing meals together. The first time I got a group of us together, it was super successful. Over the years, we have been able to get more regular meals and drinks together. It helped to build more of a community and increase our reach. It also really gave me an opportunity to make some of these people who have the same interest in eating and cooking into my friends. It also led to show that a large group of Food Instagrammers getting together could create a promotional blitz for a product or restaurant.

Working with Restaurants, PR Firms and Brands

This is such a complicated topic. In my first year, I was only invited into two restaurants. I was waiting for restaurants to acknowledge my existence and it was not happening. It took time for me to build up my brand to make it appealing to other brands. When brands started reaching out, I didn’t turn down anything. It helped me to show I could promote these other brands. The moment I realized I needed to start turning things down was when a restaurant invited me in to try their new burgers and it was one of the worst burgers I had ever eaten. I like to only try to work with brands that really fit my brand theme. I also had to learn my own value. I had to explain to brands what I was willing to do, what I would require as part of the partnership and what I should be paid if that was required. I would say when first starting out, don’t expect to get invited to many things and don’t expect many free meals. If you really like a restaurant and would like to ask them to collaborate, do it appropriately. Explain to the restaurant what you have to offer. Some might be interested. Others will not be interested. If you ask nicely about a collaboration and they are rude to you in return then maybe they weren’t the best to collaborate with in the first place. Definitely don’t ever act like you are entitled to a free meal.

Promote Yourself

Don’t be afraid to tell people about your Food Instagram and Blog. How else are people going to find out? Early on, I went to an info session led by a local PR firm with a panel of Influencers. People in attendance would ask questions, but not mention who they are. Take those opportunities to say who you are! I asked my question and immediately led with my username. I also occasionally share it all over social media. I cross post back to my personal accounts when it’s something I’m really proud of doing. I will try to comment on other people’s posts. Find opportunities for others to find out who you are and what you are doing.

Create a Media Kit

Not everyone needs a media kit. However, some brands will want to see basic facts about you and examples of your work. I created multiple versions of my media kit to have it available. I have a one-pager that just gives why I created my account and statistics about my account. I also have a much more detailed media kit which includes examples of posts, what types of posts I offer, and how much I charge for some posts. This can be helpful for larger brands and PR firms to see but it can also help you to be taken more seriously.

Create a Website

A website can be incredibly important. Something that was explained to me is social media platforms are fads while websites are not going away. As soon as people start to lose interest and move on to the next type of social media, your website can still exist as a place for your content. It can be as simple as just a portfolio to let people know you exist and link back to your social media. The best would be to create a simple website and create blog posts. Utilize one of the many free platforms that exist. If you are really planning on going all out, you can buy a domain (a web address), pay for hosting for more space, and create a larger website with lots of posts and images. As long as you keep the website active and pay for your hosting if required, your web presence will continue to exist even after people leave Instagram for whatever is the next great social media.

I know this is a lot of info and a lot of tips. I hope this helps someone out who’s starting a new Food Instagram or Food Blog. This certainly isn’t what will work for everyone. Many people won’t even think this is good advice. Hopefully, for some of you, this will be the help needed to get started. Two other resources I will provide are from two of my favorite Instagram Bloggers. SkinnyPigNYC shared this year a great post about fears to get over when starting a blog. She has also posted many other great pieces with tips about blogging and creating a media kit. I also would highly recommend checking out some of the tips from Jeremy Jacobowitz, formerly Brunch Boys, who has built a brand over the years and has created a lot of YouTube videos with tips, but also a podcast talking about branding, outlets for creativity, and changing your brand.

How to create a culinary blog in 3 steps

Want to create your own culinary blog but you don't know how? Well, don't worry, at Thermorecetas we'll help you create a cooking recipe blog from 0 to in 3 easy steps that's accessible to everyone, even if they don't have any prior knowledge of the internet or technology.

Choose a domain

The first thing you need to start a food blog is choose the domain you want to use . The domain will be your image and brand on the internet so this is a really important point and it is worth taking some time to choose a good one as you can change it later but it is a difficult task and it will be necessary for the specialist to help you.

Choosing a good domain for your blog is the key to success

Some tips for choosing a good domain for your blog:

Choose a name that is easy to remember it means something. For example, if your name is Sarah, it could be something like lasrecetasdesara.com or similar. nine0022
Try to make the domain as short as possible so it will be easier to remember.
If I'm or more explicit, as far as goes. If your blog is about recipes, then the domain name should make it clear to everyone who reads that this is a recipe blog.
Enable keywords within the domain. If your blog is about desserts, try putting the word "desserts" on your domain, like todosmypostres.com or similar.

extension .com

Once we choose a name, the next step is register it in your name . Here we recommend using Godaddy as it is one of the platforms, best price offer and with all warranties. To register your domain, you just need to click here, enter your chosen name (make sure it doesn't exist first, as if it does, you'll need to find another name) and pay for it.

Also now you have Special feature of why you can buy a .com domain for for only 0.85 € by clicking here

Steps to buy a domain Godaddy platform. nine0007

Steps 1 and 2

step 3

If the domain is available, then you're in luck. Now press the select button.

step 4

Click on the button continue to cart to continue the purchase process.

Step 5 and 6

Indica number of years you want to buy a domain (we recommend at least 2 years) and then click "Proceed to Payment". From here you only need to register online and you can easily pay with your credit card or PayPal. nine0007

That's it. With now you already have a domain bought we will see the next step: hosting.

Choose a good hosting

When we have a domain, the next step is to buy a good hosting . In this case, we recommend using the services of the Raiola Network, a Spanish provider offering quality services at a good price and with 100% support in Spanish. To access the Raiola website and hire the best hosting, click here. You have good hosting from 2.95 euros per month!

Steps to buy a hosting

If you want to buy a domain, we will explain step by step how to buy a good hosting.

Step 1 and 2

step 3

Choose the hosting plan that best suits your needs. Here is our recommendation to buy the plan for 6.95 euros per month for being very powerful at a very reasonable price. nine0007

Steps 4, 5 and 6

Write the domain name you previously purchased for your site. In point 5 you have to indicate that you want to install WordPress (it is recommended to always install the latest version) and as the last step you just have to click on the Checkout button. From here, you just need to complete the registration as a new customer and that's it.

Once here, we have already bought a domain and hosting.

Install content manager

At this point, the next step is to install the content manager in order to be able to publish recipes on your blog. There is no doubt here, the best recommendation is WordPress , the tool that manages most of the world's blogs, and which we also use in Thermorecetas (Note: WordPress can be installed automatically during the hosting purchase stage, but just in case, we will tell you how do later).

You don't need technical knowledge to install WordPress on a new host. Raiola has a tool installed by default that allows install WordPress with 4 very simple clicks . If you want to see how to do it, here is a video that explains the whole process step by step.

Create your blog

Well, your blog is almost ready. Now you only need to get the design of that you like and you are done. When looking for a design, we have two options:

Use Free Design : WordPress offers hundreds of free designs that you can easily install on your blog and start using. Its technical name is themes and you can see the entire catalog. entry to this page. nine0022
Use payment design : This would be the most recommended option since is just over $40 we can have a really professional design for our blog. Now I'll show you something.

Recipe WP Theme

This is a very professional design and ideally is optimized for recipe blogs. You can download it for $48. Press here.

Food and Recipe WordPress Theme

Another design made especially for food blogs. What's more, adapts perfectly to mobile phones and tablets so your blog will look beautiful on any device. It only costs $48 and you can buy it by clicking here.

Once you've reached this point, your blog is ready and all you have to do is start posting your first recipes.

Here we are going to give you some tricks to succeed with your new website. nine0007

How to create a successful kitchen blog?

Create a successful recipe blog!

Photos needed in the food blog. It doesn't matter if your recipe is great if the photo that comes with it is poor quality. You will need to take very eye-catching photographs, and there are some helpful tips for this, such as using a neutral background (preferably white), and re-designed plates that give it a different look. Of course, always remember that the recipe should be the main character of the photo. nine0022
Add a watermark with your blog name to your photos. This will help your readers remember your website and at the same time prevent them from being used by other websites without your permission.
Follow the same pattern make all photos (same size, same background color, etc.) to let users know your style.
Placed a photograph of the finished dish at the beginning of recipe . Then, if you want, you can post photos of the interior with the intermediate steps to follow, but the first photo that the reader always sees should be the finished one. nine0022
Give yours individual approach to recipe . There are thousands of recipes on the internet, so to stand out you will have to add value to your readers. Give each dish a special touch and you will have a loyal audience that will read you every day.
Use close tone . Your readers are your friends, talk to them as if they were lifelong friends, in a close and warm tone. They will definitely appreciate it!

And that's it!. Now it only remains for us to wish you good luck with your new blog and wish you much success.

How to run Instagram the right way: making your account successful

Instagram has evolved from a social network where people share news and photos of food to a blogging platform. The audience is used to quality content, and the competition is high: you compete with users from all over the world, because photos do not care about language or geographic location, and professional models, photographers, makeup artists and artists also actively use the social network. Of course, many do not know how to manage Instagram so that it develops and generates income. nine0007

But everyone has a chance to find their audience. Both schoolgirls from small towns and big brands with interesting content are becoming popular on Instagram. We figure out how to come up with a concept, take photos, write posts and maintain an Instagram account so as not to sink to the bottom of the algorithmic feed, but to find subscribers.

How to Instagram

Instagram is not just your page on a social network. Of course, no one will forbid sharing news with friends, we are talking about blogging on Instagram for a person or business, which will be of interest not only to your loved ones, but also to strangers. nine0007

Look at the pages of stars: they rarely combine photos with each other and generally bother with content, but fans are interested in any news from the life of idols. If you do not have a couple of million fans, you will not be forgiven for low-quality and uninteresting photos.

Start with an idea. Even if it’s hard to decide, and “taking pictures of everything that surrounds me” seems like the best way out, focus on a specific topic. Culinary blogs, profiles about proper nutrition, about dancing, about clothes, make-up - yes, Instagram already has it all. But you will do it your way. And people don't collect a list of subscriptions based on the principle "I already subscribed to a food blog, so I don't need another one." nine0007

Of course, if your idea is interesting and relatively new, it will be easier to move forward. But if you don't find one, don't give up. Maintaining Instagram is constant experimentation and finding a balance in content and interaction with the audience.

How to be in business? You need a concept too. Remember the character of the brand, decide on the tone of voice. Create value for subscribers: talk about topics related to your product. Consider that SMM from 2010, when beauty salons could post "10 hairstyle ideas" and get thousands of likes, is in the past. People won't subscribe to something they can google. Create authoring content: create a branded character or choose your storytelling style and list of topics you can cover. nine0007

Instagram profile design

At first glance, your account should be clear what it is about. Briefly formulate the topic of the blog in the bio and tell us about yourself. Typically, users enter their first name, age, and city.

How to get a business account to start Instagram?

The company account must contain contacts, information about the work of offline points and detailed conditions for ordering or recording. If you are unable to fit all the necessary information in your bio, you can use the multilink service. nine0007

Use emoji to highlight different information blocks in your bio. It is not necessary to choose bright and intrusive ones: dots, arrows, squares will look neat, but everyone will visually separate the text (name and topic of the blog) in meaning.

How beautiful to lead Instagram

There is an unspoken rule: profile photos must match. Open the pages of bloggers again: you will surely notice that the pictures standing next to each other were taken in the same tone or overlapped with each other in vivid detail. nine0007

A Facebook study showed that users spend 0.2 seconds per post on the mobile feed. Therefore, your posts should be visually cool and catchy at first sight. Let's figure out how to manage Instagram to be qualitatively different from others.

Photos must be of high quality, interesting and well processed. Instagram has its own trends - just try to bring photos processed in the Retrica app to your audience.

Follow Audience Members to find the visual style for your profile. See what content they post, what profiles they follow. nine0007

It is not necessary to use professional equipment, but you will definitely have to learn how to photograph and process images. See the photos you like, save them, don't be afraid to repeat, you're unlikely to be seen through, but you'll get your hands on it.

Layouts - a separate big topic. Think this is a joke? Try to create something similar yourself. You will find that you don't have many items that match. And those that exist cannot be organically placed in the frame. nine0007

To make high-quality layouts, bloggers buy accessories (candles, sparkles, postcards, fruits, garlands, frames, flowers) and spend a lot of time on them.

How to blog on Instagram

In 2017, a new trend appeared on the social network: users are interested not only in photos, but also in texts. Thematic blogs have appeared that talk about proper nutrition, makeup, motivation, parenting, or just about your life. And judging by the number of subscribers on such accounts and interactions under publications, users are ready to consume not only visual content in contact, but also read texts, even long ones. nine0007

Therefore, the desire to create and maintain an Instagram blog may be a good idea. But first, how to lead it? As with the concept of an account, a blog also needs one. Define a list of topics you write about, designate them in the profile header.

Follow the pages of users whose content you like. Pay attention to how often they publish posts, at what time they do it. How the audience is asked questions in posts, and what topics the audience is discussing more actively.

How to broadcast on Instagram

Anyone can broadcast on Instagram. After the end, it will be available, like stories, 24 hours. nine0007

To start the broadcast, go to the news feed, click on your profile picture (just like when creating Stories). Select the option "Live" in the horizontal menu below. Now by clicking "Start" you will be able to broadcast live on Instagram.

How to attract an audience to a live broadcast?

Warn your subscribers about the broadcast in advance: make an announcement in a post or story. Pick a time when your audience is online. To do this, analyze the social network account in Popsters. On the chart "Activity / Days of the week" and "Activity / Time of day" you will find the most successful days and times for live broadcasts. nine0007

Wait for a larger audience, don't jump straight into the main topic of the broadcast. But at the same time, you can’t lose the audience who have already arrived: figure out in advance what will take the waiting time. Tell stories about the topic of the broadcast or arrange an interactive one: answer subscribers' questions or, conversely, ask them about something.

How to start Instagram?

Keep step-by-step instructions for maintaining an Instagram account:

Decide on a topic if you're blogging. nine0022
Find a photo style and processing style that you will follow.
Learn more

How to start a food blog on instagram

How to Start a Food Instagram - 12 Tips to Become an Instagram Food Influencer

1. What Are Your Instagram Goals and Objectives?

2. Set Up Your Instagram Account

Decide On Your Niche

Decide On Your Name

Set Up a Business or Creator Account

3 Things Every Instagram Business Account Should Have

3. Define Your Ideal Followers and Join Your Food Niche

4. Post High-Quality Food Images and Videos

Understand Food Styling

5. Start Posting

Use the Right Food Hashtags

Tag People

Add Your Location

6. Post Plenty of Reels

7. Commit to a Regular Publishing Schedule

8. Make Money From Your Food Instagram Account

1. Instagram Shopping

2. Monetize Your Content

3. Affiliate Marketing

4. Paid Influencer Promotions

5. Sell Digital Products

9. Go Live On Instagram

10. Network With Other Food Influencers

11. Host a Contest or Giveaway

12. Share Your Story

Follow the Best Instagram Food Bloggers

1. Minimalist Baker

2. Georgina Hayden

3. Hetty Lui McKinnon

4. Ashley Alexander

5.

6. Dorie Greenspan

7. Yolanda Gampp

8.

9. Half Baked Harvest

10. Fit Men Cook

Conclusion

How To Start a Food Instagram – Alex Eats Too Much

Be Yourself

How to create a culinary blog in 3 steps

Choose a domain

Steps to buy a domain Godaddy platform. nine0007

Steps 1 and 2

step 3

step 4

Step 5 and 6

Choose a good hosting

Steps to buy a hosting

Step 1 and 2

step 3

Steps 4, 5 and 6

Install content manager

Create your blog

Recipe WP Theme

Food and Recipe WordPress Theme

How to create a successful kitchen blog?

How to run Instagram the right way: making your account successful

How to Instagram

Instagram profile design

How beautiful to lead Instagram

How to blog on Instagram

How to broadcast on Instagram

How to attract an audience to a live broadcast?

How to start Instagram?

Learn more