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Whether you're brand new to food blogging or a seasoned pro, we're here to help you with proven tips and strategies for growing your blog. Here on the Food Blogger Pro blog, you'll learn about building traffic, food blog SEO, social media tips, and more. Keep an eye out for a new post every week!

How to Backup Google Apps with Backupify

Bjork
by Bjork on Dec 18, 2014 in

There are many things I love in this world.

For example, I love…

I’d love to talk about all of these things in this post, but I understand that you’re probably here to learn about those last two items: Google Apps and backup plans.

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This post is a sequel to the 4 ways you should be backing up your computer and blog that I wrote back in May. If you haven’t read that post yet I’d encourage you to check it out after you’re done reading this.

So let’s talk about those last two items in my list of loves. First, Google Apps.

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How to have an organized desktop

Bjork
by Bjork on Nov 14, 2014 in , ,

I worked for four years as "the I.T. guy" at a local non-profit, which means that I saw lots of different computer desktops.

Call me crazy, but I found it really interesting. 

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There were two things I noticed when working on computers:

  1. People would almost always have a random array of files and folders on their desktop.
  2. People would almost always say something along the lines of "please don't judge my messy desktop."

So, while people usually didn't have an organized desktop, they realized that they probably should.

The good news is that it's not that hard! Here's how:

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How to Keep your Gmail Inbox Neat Using Boomerang

Bjork
by Bjork on Nov 5, 2014 in

This blog post is part of a new series we’re doing on Food Blogger Pro called Keep it Neat. The series will cover simple tips to help you keep your blogging life neat and tidy.

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Easier said than done, eh? 🙂

Today I’m sharing a tip for keeping your Gmail inbox neat.

My personal goal is to "do email" once a day. When I login to my email account I try and work all the way through my inbox until it’s completely empty.

This process works great until I find an email that I can’t respond to. Maybe I don’t have the information I need, maybe I don’t have enough time, or maybe it would make more sent to respond to someone a little bit later on in the week.

Regardless of the reason, an email that’s left in the inbox results in a disappointing scenario: an almost empty inbox. I’m not sure about you, but I hate that feeling.

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3 Quick Tips for using Final Cut Pro to Edit YouTube Videos

Bjork
by Bjork on Oct 16, 2014 in ,

I'm not a YouTube or video expert, but I'm a big believer in expert enough and want to live out that belief on this blog. Hence the reason for blog posts like this one (or five things I learned in my first month using YouTube or the gear we use for recipe videos) where we share "real-time" tips and tricks.

Today I'm sharing three simple tips I use to improve our YouTube videos using Final Cut Pro X. The easiest way to learn the tips is by watching the video below, but I'll also provide some basic screenshots after the video as well. You can choose your own adventure. 🙂

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5 Ways We Plan to Use Amazon Affiliate Links

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by Bjork on Oct 1, 2014 in

Have you heard the phrase you don’t know how much you miss it until it’s gone?

That’s how I felt about Amazon’s affiliate program, Amazon Associates.

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Up until June of 2013 we had been using Amazon affiliate links in different places throughout Pinch of Yum and earning a consistent (but never significant) amount of money from it.

Then, on June 18th 2013, we received an email from Amazon that said this:

We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account will be closed and your Amazon Services LLC Associates Program Operating Agreement will be terminated effective June 30, 2013. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional Minnesota state tax collection legislation passed by the state legislature and signed by Governor Dayton on May 23, 2013, with an effective date of July 1, 2013. As a result, we will no longer pay any advertising fees for customers referred to an Amazon Site after June 30 nor will we accept new applications for the Associates Program from Minnesota residents.

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Zen Accounting for Bloggers

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by Bjork on Sep 9, 2014 in ,
Graphic of man meditating that reads 'Zen Accounting for Bloggers'

There aren’t many things I’d rather be doing than accounting.

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Okay, well… actually…

…now that I think of it there are quite a few things I’d rather be doing than accounting.

Things like:

  1. Juggling porcupines
  2. Taste testing cardboard
  3. Listening to Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini on repeat.

Are you with me or are you with me?

Here’s the deal though: if you’re working to build your blog into a business then you need to treat it like one. That means doing a good job with your accounting.

While I don’t like spending time in Excel or QuickBooks, I do like knowing that our books are in order and that we’re keeping track of our income and expenses.

So how do anti-spreadsheet people like Lindsay and I manage to keep our books in order?

We do it by using a system I call Zen Accounting for Bloggers.

It's a simple system that we developed over the past few years. This system allows us to keep really clean books while spending less than 30 minutes a week on taxes/accounting/bookkeeping.

And today I’d like to share that simple system with you.

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The Definitive List of Takedown Notice Forms

Bjork
by Bjork on Aug 20, 2014 in

Are you looking for a certain company's takedown notice form?

You’ve come to the right place.

Does my word not convince you? I bet this ninja karate chopping a computer will.

Convinced now?

Good.

🙂

Before we look through the list I want to talk about what a takedown notice is and when I think you should use them.

Quick tip: Want to watch a video instead of read the post? You can scroll to the bottom of this post to check out the "video recap" from our YouTube channel.

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7 awesome apps we’re using to build Pinch of Yum and Food Blogger Pro

Bjork
by Bjork on Jul 16, 2014 in

Trying to build a blog without good applications is like trying to build a house without good tools. You can do it, but it will take a lot longer.

Have you ever searched for a password you wrote down on a piece of paper and put “somewhere safe” (but you’re not quite sure where that is)? Have you ever tried to communicate a design concept over email using written text? Have you ever written the same sentence over and over in different emails to different people?

All of those things are examples of ways that we try and build our virtual house (i.e. blog) using crummy tools.

If you’re looking to build an awesome blog then you need awesome applications for your virtual toolbelt. The following seven apps are the first "tools" that I'd suggest you purchase (or download for free).

Note: Some of these apps are specific to Mac OS. If there’s an alternative option for Windows then I include it at the end of the description.

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