Start A Blog
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Secrets Revealed: Are you interested in learning how to start a Food Blog? We started Natasha’s Kitchen in 2009 and I’m so glad we did! It has grown into a very fulfilling and seriously FUN full time career for my husband and I. We’ve gotten so much helpful advice from top food bloggers over the years and we are so happy to be able to do the same for you. We’ve found that the most successful people are also the most willing to help others. We created this page to share advice based on what we’ve done that worked and also mistakes we’ve made (and some were so time-consuming and stressful that we want to spare you the same troubles we had).
Your blog can be LIVE in less than 30 minutes; no technical skills required! Let’s dive right in to: How to Start a Food Blog 🙂
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means we earn a commission if you purchase something after clicking the link. As always, we only recommend products and services that we trust.
How To Start a Food Blog:
First of all, I wanted to share a really great resource with you that I think would be super helpful for many of you.
If you have a blog or are considering one (even if it’s not a food blog), you need to look into Food Blogger Pro. It’s a membership website for food bloggers that shows you how to set up and grow your food blog step-by-step. It has 250+ video tutorials to teach you everything from:
- Starting a blog (step-by-step video instructions!)
- Building traffic and growing your blog
- Improving your food photography, and editing photos
- Social media setup and growth
- Utilizing all the “essential tools” for your blog (Google analytics, managing giveaways)
- How to generate an income through your blog
- Writing and creating an e-book
Food Blogger Pro is a membership-based website so you have the option of a monthly membership or yearly membership. It will take your blog to the next level and that’s why I’m so excited to share it with you!
(Step 1) Naming YOUR Blog
If you are serious about your blog, take some time to brainstorm a domain name. Pick something that is catchy, relevant and easy to remember. Run your ideas by your closest friends or fam and get feedback. I think my sister Alla gave me the idea for NatashasKitchen.com! Head on over to GoDaddy and plug in your ideas. This part is fun and you can stake your claim on your unique domain name asap!
Once you’ve purchased your name, also purchase domain privacy (so your home address isn’t floating on the internet) and also open accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else that you can secure your business name (i.e @natashaskitchen).
(Step 2): Webhost
1. The two biggest factors to consider when choosing a hosting company are reputation, customer service and performance. We recommend Rocket.net and signing up is easy, fast, and secure. Their hosting is delivered and optimized by Cloudflare Enterprise, making our website load quickly for all of our readers around the world. I am an affiliate with Rocket so let them know I sent you and you will get a 20% discount on your hosting plan.
(Step 3): Installing WordPress
After you’ve signed up with Rocket.net you will need to install WordPress (a blogging software). We have used WordPress from the birth of our blog and love it because of it’s simplicity; it’s very user-friendly and installation is a breeze. The team at Rocket.net can walk you through the process.
You’re there. You’re officially a blogger. Congrats!!
Choosing a Theme or Design for your Blog
Thesis Theme for WordPress
– We started out with Thesis and used it for about 2 years. Genesis is a very popular theme as well.
Free Themes for WordPress
– WordPress has tons of free themes available if you’re not ready to purchase a “premium” theme right. Please do some research and check the theme’s rating before downloading and install it onto your blog. Avoid themes with three stars or less.
If you’re serious about your blog and want it to the next level, invest in a custom web design. Cre8d redesigned our blog in 2015 and it was blog changing! We continue to work with them and I always recommend them; worth every penny. If you get a quote from them, let them know I sent you by using my referral code: NK.
Creating an Income With Your Blog
When you’re first starting out, if you decide to place ads on your site, they will help to cover costs. As your blog grows with time, dedication and hard work, it is possible to create a full time income from blogging. The primary ad network we work with is Adthrive.
Click Here for More: Blogging Resources
I hope you found this tutorial on how to start a food blog helpful and do let me know once you’ve published your first blog post. Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. 🙂
Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home. 
Hi Natasha,
I always wondered how you get Russian text to show up on your blog. Is that a feature of Thesis theme or a plugin or something else?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I have no idea! I’ve only seen it through google translator. Did you see Russian text somewhere on my blog? Oh, maybe someone has left a comment in Russian. If that’s what you are referring to, it just shows up 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Here is an example: https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/11/28/finnish-meringue-cookies-recipe/ In this post, you have some Russian words, Финские Булочки. This is what I’m wondering about. How do you get it to show up in Russian? When I do it on my blog, it just shows up as question marks. 🙁
Anna are you in WordPress?
Yes, I am. Self-hosted.
You are so…. techy. Any advise for us non-nerds? hahah ( don’t take personally-i mean it as a total complement!!)
I just got married to a Ukrainian man and I am American. I just wanted to say how much I love your website and it has helped me so much in learning how to cook Ukrainian/Russian food that my husband grew up with. Everything that I have made for him he and his family has loved and its all thanks to you and your amazing recipes. I love how in detail the recipes are and the pictures are great for people who are not use to cooking this type of food. Thank you again and God bless
Amber
Amber, I’m so glad you like the recipes and step-by step photos (they take forever!), but I’m happy they are useful to you 🙂
I do have free wordpress. I knew it was too good to be true! Hah.
It was good in the beginning to get started. I used it for two years! Maybe if I was brave enough I would have switched over sooner??
Another question! 🙂
How do you balance how much you expose your family and relatives on the website? My family is “here and there” about it, some family pictures and even decorations by my little sister are apparently deemed “private” lol, I’d love to showcase our family traditions of course but not everyone feels the way I do. Some bloggers keep even their family members’ names private and no photographs of their kids. Any situations with that for you? Of course, if I post someone specifically I ask for permission (they usually ask to see which pic they’re in and if they look good… 🙂 I’d love your advice!
I try to be careful about that too. I’ve never had any protests from my family members but I respect peoples privacy. If I’m taking pictures at a party; I’ll tell people with a smile “hey this might end up on my blog.” Most people smile and don’t protest, but if they did, I would not post it. I usually just post photos of family members because I know they’d be ok with that or if I specifically tell someone that they may show up in a post. My family is of the “If you have something good; share it with the rest of the world so they can benefit” nature. We don’t believe in keeping secret recipes. I think a copycat is a great compliment!! 🙂 You just have to figure out who wants to be in your blog and who doesn’t and go from there. That’s really the best advice I can give 😉
I juse Foodgawker ALL THE TIME!!! 🙂 For over a year now. I discovered it through my iphone apps. Before pintrest came out I was obsessed with Foodgawker like nobody’s business. I still am. Amazing inspiration and professional photos. I tried uploading a recipe a few days ago and it was a hassle because I’m still a code newbie so I gave up. I need to post more advertisements to have any actual use of higher traffic to my site 🙂
What was it you said about wordpress, they charge 50% of your commission from what you make through ads? Isn’t that a crazy percentage?
That’s if you have the free wordpress.com site. Yeah it is crazy!!
You’re the talk of the town here in Sacramento, Ca 🙂 My sister and I started a Russian/eclectic food blog and she admits to going to YOUR site instead of me for advice and ideas (I was horrified but had to check out my competition 😉
Your photos are great, your website is accessible, your ads are decent. I started my website with a private domain, also through godaddy, hosted by a personal friend in the biz so really I have not a single worry lol. Many of my pictures and gallery are comprised of old pictures of past recipes from bad quality cameras, I hope to eventually redo all those recipes but gosh it takes time! I edit my photos in Picasa, export my collages and resize in one swift motion as I export out. Yep, wordpress has a very low limit for photos when uploading! I learned it from my first post and got the ball rolling on the resizing right away. One question; how do you track your visitors’ comings and goings? Is it a plugin? I don’t want it as a “counter” on the webpage.
Our website is www.a-mothers-treasure.com and our grand opening was Nov. 19, just earlier this week 🙂 We have big plans ahead!
I agree about the whole coding deal. I can’t wrap my head around it, I dig my heals in and just CAN’T. But I have to. I’ve been getting my ads from Commission Junction, plenty of familiar brands and not the headache that Google Adsense put me through. Many of others rejected me outright, which is understandable I suppose 🙂
How much time per week do you spend on responding to posts and filtering the spam? How much time do you spend on photoshopping the pictures?
Adsense is good if you block and filter all the inappropriate ads. Read through the Blogherads.com requirements and see if that might be a good fit for you. Join them as quickly as you can. It’s an awesome network! We also have quite a few pictures that we are updating over time. It does take awhile but people will search out those recipes in the future and we are embarrassed by some of the photos! 🙂 My husband helps me a crazy amount behind the scenes too. We use google analytics and plug the code into the background of our blog (ask your web host friend about how to do this). You can track your statistics very accurately and get a detailed idea of what people are searching and where they are coming from. Try uploading some of your best photos to foodgawker; it’s hard to get them approved but it’s worth the effort to post there. One of our recipes (spinach and artichoke dip) has sent over 23,000 visitors to our site from Foodgawker. Here’s the proof: http://foodgawker.com/post/archive/natashaskitchen-com/ 🙂 Hope that all helps. We’ve been doing this for 3 years and are constantly learning and trying to improve. It takes time; lots and lots of time, but really worthwhile! Great blog by the way!
Thanks Natasha, I appreciate your help!
Do you have a recipe for a good marinated eggplant. My grandmother boils them, put a heavy item on them to drain and get flatter. Then she will cover them with carrots, bell peppers, dill, garlic and parsley (all diced up) and them them stand for a few days. They get a tad sour. Then to serve she cuts them she puts onions and oil. They are very good. I just tried another verson of it at a church party and they are different and so good! My grandmas version is extremely good too, but I on on the hunt for this other version.
Hi Vicki did you see the eggplant recipe I have posted?
Hi Natasha, thanks for your recommendations. I checked all of them, and I ‘m a little bit confused. . You have been used several sites since you started your blog. Which one is the best one and easier to use for first time user? You mentioned: wordpress, go daddy, something else, and the last one was Blogher. Blogher looks busy and very informative, but is it the good for me in your opinion? Thank you for sharing your experience with me!
I used wordpress. Godaddy is a way to register your blog name and Blogher is an advertising network.
Hi Natasha, I have name and idea about my future site… for now . Then I ‘m thinking to go to wordpress or go daddy to create a website. I’m ready to invest my time and money into this project, and I’m so excited about it. And now I have financial question. Can I make money by posting ads on my website? Would I get some commissions from these companies? How does it work? Is it called Affiliate Marketing ? Sorry for so many questions, but I think only experienced person like you could answer my questions 🙂 Thanks a lot!
Hi Anna, it was at least 2 years before I could even cover my costs for my blog. I started with Google Adsense. I’d recommend applying for Blogher as soon as you can. I currently use: BlogHer, Cox Digital, Ifood.tv, Amazon associates and Ebay affiliates. Hope that helps.
Thanks Natasha, It helps! I’m probably worring about it too much.. I should just try 🙂
Hi Natasha, Here is a lots of a good info about blogging, and I got some ideas about it. But I’m absolutly new in this field and still have a lot of questions. What would you suggest to me? Maybe books, links or video, some kind of step by step instractions?
I really, really like your website. I’m going to use your recipe to make adjika next weekend! It looks like my grandma used to do..:) Thank you!
Anna, if you start with wordpress, or blogger or any major blogging platform, they are usually free and offer step-by-step instructions. That is where I got started. If you are really tech savvy, you could probably start with a private host, but it sounds like you are in the same position I was in 3 years ago. I started with the free wordpress version and paid for my name to be natashaskitchen.com instead of natashaskitchen.wordpress.com. I don’t really know of any great general step-by-step videos out there for blogging, but then I haven’t really searched. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha.. Love love love your site!!! Pretty much use it every week =) I’m looking for a good recipe for the “chocolate kolbasa.” Would you have one that you can share??
I do have one that I’ve made but it turned out a little too moist and didn’t form that well even after freezing. I think it just needed more cookies or less condensed milk. I’ll definitely be giving it another try and will post it once I get it right 🙂
This is SO helpful, Thank you! I am still trying to figure all this ‘blogging stuff’ out. It looks way easier than it is:)
It is very easy to start out. It’s just complicated to transfer to a paid host, but it was worth all the trouble. I just hope to spare you that same stress
Hi Natasha! I just recently went on google and typed ” ukrainian recipes” and your website popped on my screen. I just want to say thank you for your hard work! Cooking is not my hobby but im so inspired by your website!! Your story and your passion about God and family is beatiful and priceless. May the Lord contunie to bless you and give you favor in everything that you do!
Thank you very much Nelya, that means so much to me. 😀
Thank you so much for this post. I just started blogging less than a month ago. It has been a steep learning curve, so it’s great to hear about your experiences and lessons learned!
I sat and thought about what I would have liked to find when I started blogging. I’m happy this page is useful to you. I plan to add more in the future.
Hi Natasha
I just read this info. Wow what you had to go thru. Thank you for help.The way i started is funny I did not plan anything checked out your blog then looked at Inessa’s blog there was a button that said start your blog. I pushed on it and then that’s how i started Leascooking. Did not nave any idea how to do everything. Blogger is free and very easy to start. Everything is easy to design. I couldn’t figure out how to put adds on, then my neighbor helped me. I just have a few questions; how do you get so much views? Do you advertise? How do you make blog button, your logo? I googled it and couldn’t make it. Thanks Natasha.
Hi Lea 🙂 We’ve had our blog for 2.5 years and it just grows month-by-month. We started small and I felt like I was talking to myself for awhile. 😉 I designed my own logo with Microsoft Publisher; I designed advertisements for 7 years for a small company so I have some good experience with that. We don’t advertise, not really. I’ve never paid for an advertisement to promote my blog. It grows naturally through word-of-mouth and through google searches since it’s a well-established site and we try to include good key words and tags for each post (which is important). When I post a new recipe, sometimes I post it to facebook (but not always because I use facebook for personal reasons too). We recently discovered foodgawker which has been very helpful. I think having good pictures is key. Although we are getting better at photos, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. I’m big into social networking: pinterest, facebook, twitter, instagram, but again, not necessarily to promote my blog, but to connect with people which I guess naturally promotes my blog. It’s all about the people who read this blog. Each of them is unique and wonderful and has their own story and I care about my readers. I try to respond to every comment (takes some time but I really love to connect with my readers). Most of all, I love blogging about food and sharing recipes with others and I hope it shows 🙂
Thank you Natasha for information and being so kind to me.
God bless you✿✿✿
Thank you so much, Natasha! This is very helpful. I’m using bluehost as my webhost and they were very helpful as well. I chose to use Genesis as the theme and like it a lot too. I get A LOT of helpful info from bloggingwithamy.com. She covers just about anything you could think of with blogging and explains it in human terms:). I google just about anything too and watch youtube videos, lol. “How to …..” I hate codes, but sometimes you can’t get around it. What helped me immensely was studying blogging and especially foodblogging for about a year before I started my blog. And don’t get me started on pictures! I AM NOT A PHOTOGRAPHER and never wanted to be, but I know pictures are so important. We bought some books about food photography and there are so many websites with great photography tips. I still have so far to go, but at least there are resources out there. Anyway, I just think it’s awesome that if you want to learn something, there is such a wealth of knowledge out there! It’s incredible. I feel like the more I learn the more I don’t know, but it’s exciting. It allows me to do what I love and share it with others. and have FUN along the way.
Hi!
Question – how do you place ad’s on your website? Do you contact them or they contact you?
Thanks!
You contact them. Google Adsense worked well for us until we had enough traffic to join the BlogHer network. You can add Google adsense anytime, no matter how much traffic your site has, just adjust the categories to make sure you don’t get any weird or inappropriate ads on your site. I’ll add a section in the future about sponsors on this site. Right now we primarily use and love Blogherads.com (those are the two large ads on the right hand column). The small one under that is blogads.com.
Thanks! It’s helpful info 🙂
My mother used to prepare a salad with a beetroot and potatoes, pickled cucumbers, I remember that is a find of a Russain salad. Do you know how to prepare it?
What you are describing sounds like this: https://natashaskitchen.com/2010/06/21/russian-vinaigrette-recipe-with-beets-and-sauerkraut/