Meet the Food Blogger Pro Experts

Psst… did you know that Food Blogger Pro members get exclusive access to experts in the field of recipe SEO, WordPress, Pinterest, email marketing, and more?

It’s true! We work with an incredible group of experts (who we like to call the Food Blogger Pro Experts) who help answer member questions in the forum, participate in Live Q&As, and contribute to our courses.

And honestly, Food Blogger Pro wouldn’t be what it is today without our wonderful experts, so we wanted to give you a chance to get to know each of them in today’s post.

Without further ado, let’s get into the introductions!

Andrew Wilder — WordPress Support Expert

What’s your job/title? Founder and CEO of NerdPress. We provide support, maintenance, and optimization for WordPress sites, helping take some of the stress of managing a site off your plate. I launched my own food blog way back in 2010, and soon other bloggers started hiring me to help with their sites… and things grew from there. We’re now a team of thirteen, supporting hundreds of websites — most of which are food blogs, of course!

Where do you live? Santa Monica, California

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? For those starting out: Don’t be too hard on yourself! Your content probably won’t be great (or perfectly optimized for SEO!) right out of the gate. That’s totally normal and is part of the journey. It’s more important to just keep going — you’ll improve over time. Don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good,” or you’ll never get your site off the ground. If you’ve been doing this for a while: Build a team as soon as you can! There are dozens of different tasks and skills needed to run a blog, and just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Try to do more of what you are really good at and enjoy doing, and start hiring help for the rest as soon as you can.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about site speed or hosting? Oh, there are so many! For site speed, I’d say that while it is important, it’s not nearly as critical as having great content. So many people stress about their speed “score” when in reality, it’s a small ranking factor. Especially for a newer site, it’s much more important to focus on creating lots of great content that resonates with your readers. Faster is better, of course, but it doesn’t solve any other underlying issues. As for hosting — don’t skimp! Your site will not reach its potential on a cheap, shared host that only charges $1.99/month. That doesn’t mean you have to pay a fortune, though. For example, BigScoots has excellent hosting that starts at $35/month and provides fast, reliable hosting with phenomenal customer support and service. They work with hundreds of food blogs, so they understand the unique demands of this niche — something you don’t get at a commodity host that has millions of sites.

Where can FBP members find you? Our website is www.nerdpress.net, or you can reach me at [email protected]. Leslie and Alexa also remind me to check in on the FBP forums from time to time too… so I’ll see you there!

👉 You can find Andrew on Food Blogger Pro here.

Casey Markee — SEO Expert

What’s your job/title? Founder, Media Wyse
Where do you live? Ramona, CA (East San Diego County)
What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Don’t blindly follow the example of a bigger blogger.
What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about SEO? It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Even the best advice takes time to show results.
Where can FBP members find you? You can find me on Twitter @MediaWyse or on Facebook.

👉 You can find Casey on Food Blogger Pro here.

Kate Ahl — Pinterest Expert

What’s your job/title? CEO, owner of Simple Pin Media

Where do you live? Portland, Oregon

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Find what makes you stand out among the crowd, and it doesn’t always have to be your recipes. It can be branding, humor, writing, etc. There’s room for all of us at the table, and you have a unique spin on the food you create.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about Pinterest? That it’s not very fun to use it as a marketing tool sometimes, but it’s an essential part of the marketing plan for food creators. It’s where people go to search for recipes and new ideas. It’s not magic; it takes investment and planning. But it doesn’t have to take all your time. Take a step back from all the Facebook groups where people share amazing success stories or complain about the platform. Let your data, goals, and marketing plan be your guide. Then, add in some resources and education along the way to keep you moving forward.

Where can FBP members find you? You can find me at simplepinmedia.com, or you can DM me on Instagram @simplepinmedia!

👉 You can find Kate on Food Blogger Pro here.

Danielle Liss — Legal Expert

What’s your job/title? I’m the owner of Businessese, where we provide DIY legal templates. I’m also an attorney at LISS Legal, where I focus on simplifying legal for online business owners.

Where do you live? Las Vegas, NV

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Don’t forget to include legal in your business planning and strategy. Way too often legal gets ignored because it’s overwhelming or complicated. By including it in your overall strategy, you can ensure that you are taking a more proactive approach. After that, always make sure you get it in writing in a contract.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about the legal side of blogging? Your legal needs can change based on what stage of business you are in. If you are just starting out, there are definitely aspects of your business that you should consider. As your business grows, so do your legal needs, so don’t assume you can (in the words of Ron Popeil) set it and forget it. If you want to learn more about the different stages of business, I discussed this at length in a podcast episode.

Where can FBP members find you? For DIY legal templates, visit businessese.com. For legal services, visit lisslegal.com. You can also learn more from the Simplifying Legal for Small Business Owners podcast.

👉 You can find Danielle on Food Blogger Pro here.

Allea Grummert — Email Marketing Expert

What’s your job/title? Email Marketing Strategist & Conversion Copywriter and owner of Duett

Where do you live? Lincoln, Nebraska. Go Big Red! 🌽

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Someone needs what you’re creating — so confidently share it!

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about email marketing? You don’t have to do “all of the things” in order to use email marketing successfully. Start today, even if that’s a simple welcome email and an RSS feed to send your new recipes out to subscribers. Make it easy on yourself to share your recipes easily!

Where can FBP members find you? You’ll always find me behind my inbox, sending helpful emails all about how to get the most out of YOUR email marketing. You can hop on the list through any of these resources (I recommend you start with the first one: Your First Welcome Sequence.) If you’re on Instagram, you’ll find me at @alleagrummert.

👉 You can find Allea on Food Blogger Pro here.

Lauren Gray — Web Development Expert

What’s your job/title? I am the founder and lead web developer at Once Coupled! Mostly that means I’m a nerd 🤓 with nerd 🤓 friends that I get to work with!

Where do you live? I am in the beautiful Sunshine State, Florida! I currently reside in Clearwater, near Tampa. I love central Florida because we have amazing, warm weather but it’s milder than other parts of Florida (like the panhandle, where I grew up). So the summer is cooler and the winter is warmer and basically it’s paradise if you love humidity (and somehow I do)!

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Whatever you want to do: do it! Like, today. Launch that site today, publish that article today, share something personal — today. You can always improve it tomorrow. 😉 I think this niche attracts so many of us perfectionists and we have to work extra hard to practice 1% infinity with Bjork, because we want to do the “infinity” part all at once, until we have it, well, perfect! But — at the risk of sounding soooooo cheesy — today is perfect.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about web development? Keep it simple. There are so many cool things that fancy development can do for you. But those things can’t build your traffic, only assist a great content strategy. A simple theme, minimal plugins, and stellar content will go further than getting the perfect theme, design, plugins, widgets, etc. Plus (at the risk of totally getting too techy here) some themes or plugins can actually make it harder for you to do a custom theme in the future. The more you’re focusing on content and the less you’re worrying about tech, the better position you’re in long-term. (Disregard that I’m totally anti-selling — is that a word?? — my profession! Custom themes are great for user experience and can assist SEO, speed, etc. But later, ya know?)

Where can FBP members find you? Gosh, right now I’m a straight hermit. I have a limit on my phone that lets me spend exactly 2 minutes on Facebook, so you could ping me there and I’ll probably see it eventually! 😂 Or if you live in Clearwater and have a dog, you can find me 3x a week at the dog park #ClearwaterDoodles!! 🐶 OK, in all seriousness the best way to do a Q&A with me is in the FBP forum! I love answering questions about themes, development, CSS, and will do my best with plugins too.

👉 You can find Lauren on Food Blogger Pro here.

Andrea Balogun — Social Media Strategy Expert

What’s your job/title? Owner + Lead Strategist & Designer, Balogun Strategy & Design

Where do you live? Nashville, TN

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? My #1 tip for food bloggers is to document everything. Many content creators believe they have to create everything from scratch, but the advantage food bloggers have is that they can repurpose content they’re already producing by recording their processes behind the scenes.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about social media? Social media is a great place to find your ideal clients and community, but you shouldn’t build up your audience to keep them there. The goal should always be to move them to your website and/or email list.

Where can FBP members find you? I spend most of my time on Instagram @andreabalogun and Pinterest @balogunstrategydesign.

👉 You can find Andrea on Food Blogger Pro here.

Brita Britnell — Social Media Video Expert

What’s your job/title? I’m the CEO, owner, and creative director at Food with Feeling, which is a vegetarian-focused food blog!

Where do you live? Portland, OR 🌲

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Focus on mastering one thing at a time! Especially when you’re just starting out, there are SO many things to learn from web development, design, photography, SEO, and the nuances of each social platform. It’s SO MUCH! When I decided that I really wanted to turn my blog into a seriously profitable business, I picked a new thing to master and hyper-focused on it until I felt like I had a good handle on it. Video was one of those things and it took longer than most. Then, I spent a month on Pinterest, etc. Some you can learn in a day, most take a month or two to feel proficient, and others even longer. But I tried not to move on to the next thing until I felt proficient in what I was learning at the time. And once you’re able to: HIRE THOSE THINGS OUT to free up time to learn more (or just to enjoy your life more)!

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about video? It doesn’t need to be perfect. I’ve ALWAYS said that but the heavy focus on Reels and TikToks has made that even more so. The lighting doesn’t need to be good, the food doesn’t need to be perfectly styled, and you don’t need makeup on to produce a highly engaging video that’s capable of reaching millions.

Where can FBP members find you? I’m most active on Instagram @foodwithfeeling, but I pop over to TikTok @foodwithfeeling quite often as well. 🙂

👉 You can find Brita on Food Blogger Pro here.

Nisha Vora — YouTube Expert

What’s your job/title? I’m the creator behind Rainbow Plant Life, a vegan recipe website, YouTube Channel, and Instagram page, as well as the author of The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook.

Where do you live? San Diego, California

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? My advice is to know why you got into this in the first place. Food blogging is hard. At times, it feels like you need to be a master recipe developer, copywriter, photographer, social media influencer, tech support person, and more. Remembering your purpose and keeping it at the forefront of your mind will sustain you when things feel overwhelming.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about YouTube? You need to adopt a growth mindset. Your videos are not going to be perfect in the beginning, and that’s okay. The best way to get good at making YouTube videos is to make YouTube videos. Get started, then aim to get a bit better with every video.

Where can FBP members find you? Say hi over on Instagram @rainbowplantlife or see what’s happening in my kitchen over on YouTube!

👉 You can find Nisha on Food Blogger Pro here.

Alison Bechdol — Google Analytics Expert

What’s your job/title? Owner of Digital-ade (Digital Marketing and Analytics Consultant)

Where do you live? Milwaukee, WI

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Use UTMs! UTM Parameters are extremely important for accurate attribution. All inbound marketing efforts should be utilizing tracking mechanisms to understand where users came from before landing on your site. Unsure what UTMs are? I got you!

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about video? Make sure you are using CC when possible. Not only is this important for users who don’t like to use sound while on their phone/computer but it is also best practice for accessibility. Also, Youtube counts a view after ~30 seconds.

Where can FBP members find you? You can find me at digital-ade.com or email me at [email protected].

👉 You can find Alison on Food Blogger Pro here.

Melissa Rose — Branding and Design Expert

What’s your job/title? Creative Director & Designer

Where do you live? Nashville, TN

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Even more important than the visual appearance of your brand is how your readers feel when they interact with you or your content. Always try to keep in mind that your audience consists of real people, not just numbers or avatars on a screen. They rely on you to provide recipes that are well-tested, reliable, and don’t waste the ingredients they’ve spent their hard-earned money on. Before sharing a recipe, ask yourself if it’s something you genuinely believe in and would confidently recommend to a friend.

Prioritizing quality recipes over just focusing on SEO-driven content isn’t the easy path, but it builds integrity and trust with your readers, naturally improving SEO as they become loyal fans and frequent visitors to your website. With the current state of shifting algorithms, I strongly believe that establishing trust with your audience is the most important thing for long-term success. Even if search engines or social media platforms change the visibility of your content, your readers’ trust will ensure they keep returning to your website year after year.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about branding/design? While many designers will tell you that you need professionally-designed branding, it’s often unnecessary when first starting your website. Instead, opt for a simple typographic logo and accessible color palette, then maintain consistency with those choices throughout the graphics you create. Rather than spending countless hours perfecting your branding, launch your site and refine it as you go.

Many new bloggers spend valuable time fixating on aesthetics at the beginning, when the focus should be on content creation. Building a strong brand takes time, and it’s okay to iterate and make improvements along the way. Once your site is generating income and you feel the need for more professionally designed branding, that’s the time to invest if you believe it’s hindering the vision you have for your brand.

Where can FBP members find you?

Melissa Rose Design (Design Studio)
Feast+ (Designer)
Email: [email protected]

👉 You can find Melissa on Food Blogger Pro here.

Jenna Arend — Communications Expert

What’s your job/title? General Manager at Pinch of Yum

Where do you live? Saint Paul, MN

What’s your #1 tip for food bloggers? Don’t get too caught up in the numbers, analytics, and pressure of always doing the “new cool thing” when it comes to running a food blog. Make connecting with your readers and filling whatever their needs are as the first and final goal.

What’s one thing you wish beginner bloggers knew about communications, sponsored content, or anything you do? Focus on small changes and small progress every day. You won’t create a flourishing sponsored content program, SEO strategy, or communications plan overnight, or in a week, month, or year. We’re constantly evolving what we’re doing ourselves, even after 10+ years. Set your goal from a bird’s eye view, but then focus in closer to take things one step and one day at a time.

Where can FBP members find you? You can contact me via email at [email protected]!

👉 You can find Jenna on Food Blogger Pro here.

We hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about the Food Blogger Pro Experts! They are so knowledgeable and helpful, and we’re incredibly lucky to have them as part of the community.

If you’re a Food Blogger Pro member, you can always search for any content our experts have provided to FBP by using the Source drop-down menu on our Search page.

Now we’d love to know: Have you ever interacted with any of the FBP Experts? Let us know in the comments below!