Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience Archives

Pinterest Strategy for Food Creators in 2026 with Kate Ahl

by Emily @ FBP on Jan 27, 2026 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 555 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Kate Ahl from Simple Pin Media.

Pinterest has changed a lot in the last year — and food creators are feeling it. With the rise of AI-generated content (aka “AI slop”), many established bloggers have seen traffic declines, while newer creators are still finding success on the platform.

In this episode, we’re joined by Kate Ahl to break down what’s really happening on Pinterest right now. We talk about how AI has impacted the platform, whether Pinterest still offers a strong ROI for food creators, and what strategies actually work in 2026 — especially if you’re an established creator wondering whether Pinterest is still worth your time.

Kate also shares practical, actionable advice for using Pinterest more intentionally, building trust with users, and showing Pinterest (and your audience) that there’s a real human behind your content.

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Reclaiming Your Audience and Moving Beyond Google with Phoebe Lapine

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Jan 13, 2026 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 553 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Phoebe Lapin from Feed Me Phoebe.

In this episode, Phoebe joins us to talk about her evolution from the early days of blogging to the current landscape, opening up about why the constant SEO headaches finally pushed her to pivot toward Substack. She shares exactly how she’s reclaiming her connection with her readers and why shifting your focus from “content creator” back to “writer” might be the best move for your brand right now.

But this conversation isn’t just about switching platforms; it’s a masterclass in creative longevity. Phoebe gets real about the systems that keep her from burning out, including the game-changing decision to hire an SEO team so she could get back to doing what she loves. We also dive into why picking a niche that genuinely excites you is the only real secret to sticking around for the long haul. Whether you’re looking to shake up your workflow or just need permission to step off the algorithm hamster wheel, this episode is a must-listen.

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Coaching Call: Expanding Your Reach and Republishing Content with The Cafe Sucre Farine

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Dec 30, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 551 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re sharing the replay of a Coaching Call that we released earlier this year with Chris and Scott Scheuer of The Cafe Sucre Farine.

In this Coaching Call, Bjork is joined by Chris and Scott, the husband-and-wife team behind The Cafe Sucre Farine, their daughter Cait, and daughter-in-law Lindsay! On their site (which they started 14 years ago!), they share food that tastes amazing and actually works in real life through easy, elegant recipes that bring people together and help build meaningful connections around the table.

Their goals for their blog include expanding their reach through social media and email marketing, introducing new team members to their audience, republishing and updating their arsenal of almost 2,000 (!!!) recipes, and figuring out how to prioritize their time.

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Ask Bjork Anything: Our Holiday Q&A Special

by Emily @ FBP on Dec 23, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience, Running an Online Business

Welcome to episode 550 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we are sharing a replay of our December Live Q&A from within the Food Blogger Pro membership — our annual Ask Bjork Anything session.

Every month within the Food Blogger Pro membership we host a Live Q&A for our members to attend. For most of these Q&As we welcome Food Blogger Pro Experts — people like Casey Markee, Andrew Wilder, and Allea Grummert — to answer questions based around their expertise. But every December we like to host an ‘Ask Bjork Anything’ to answer a wide range of questions from members!

We wanted to share an edited version of the Q&A with our podcast listeners over our holiday break so that you could get a taste of what the Q&As are like in the membership and learn from all of the great questions our members asked! Happy Holidays!

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Finding Your Authentic Voice and Scaling Your Food Blog with Rachel Cunliffe

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Dec 16, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 549 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Rachel Cunliffe of Cre8d Design.

This episode is packed with wisdom on thriving in the current food blogging landscape! Rachel Cunliffe, who tracks all the trends in her Best Served Hot newsletter, emphasizes that you absolutely have to stop chasing every trend out there and lean into your own style. Your authentic voice and that irreplaceable “human touch” are the only things guaranteed to truly connect with your audience, even as AI enters the mix. This is your number one priority for sustainable growth!

Beyond the content, Rachel reminds us that the basics still matter: website usability and good design are often neglected, but they are crucial for keeping users happy (and staying monetized). With the food blogging market constantly evolving, success requires striking a balance between a strong, unique voice and paying attention to new monetization opportunities!

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Food Blogging News Roundtable: Black Friday Strategies, New Raptive Requirements, and a Guide to GEO for 2026

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Nov 4, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 543 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re bringing our very own Emily Walker (Associate General Manager, Food Blogger Pro) back to chat with Bjork about the articles we shared in our latest blogging newsletter!

In this episode, Bjork Ostrom and Emily Walker discuss the latest articles from the Food Blogger Pro blogging newsletter. They talk about where digital marketing is headed and how to make sure your brand doesn’t get left behind. Spoiler alert: If you’re only focused on Google, you’re missing out! Bjork and Emily break down the reality that users under 45 are looking for answers across an average of five different platforms (yes, we’re talking TikTok, Reddit, and all the rest). We delve into the exposure effect, which is a fancy way of saying that the more consistently people see you in different places, the more they trust you.

Tune in to learn why adapting your content (aka not just copying and pasting) to fit all of those channels is your biggest opportunity right now for brand discovery and building genuine credibility with your audience!

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Maximize Efficiency with AI (Without Losing Your Voice) with Trey Griffin from Raptive

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Oct 21, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 541 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Trey Griffin from Raptive. This is the second episode of Can’t Be Automated: A Raptive Series on Scaling, Standing Out, and Staying Human.

In this episode, Bjork and Trey Griffin get real about AI, which is here to be your new workhorse, not your competition. They dive into how tools like Custom GPTs can give you a massive efficiency boost, helping you move past the grunt work of brainstorming and drafting so you can focus on creative risks and developing better ideas. By letting AI handle the routine tasks, you’re freeing up your most valuable resource (your time!!!) to strategize and stay ahead of a rapidly changing content landscape.

The biggest factor that will keep you relevant? Your human touch. Since AI can create a mountain of content, your unique personal branding and authentic storytelling is now more crucial than ever. They’ll talk about why the creators who build genuine connections and layer their own personality into their work are the ones who will stand out in a saturated market. This episode provides the blueprint for leveraging AI for speed while ensuring your core content remains something only you can create.

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How Jessica Robinson Built a Profitable Food Brand Without SEO

by Emily @ FBP on Sep 30, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience, Monetizing an Online Food Business

Welcome to episode 538 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jessica Robinson from A Farmgirl’s Kitchen.

From publishing her first two cookbooks to launching her site, Jessica walks us through the early days of her journey as a food creator and the strategies she used to help her gain momentum — fast! She talks about why she chose to focus on Pinterest and Facebook instead of traditional SEO and how those choices paid off, allowing her to monetize her business within just a few months.

Jessica shares her tips for growing her audience on social media, monetizing through the Facebook Content Monetization program and Amazon affiliate links, and how her short-form videos not only drive traffic but also boost her SEO. With over 430k followers on Facebook and a rapidly expanding presence across platforms, Jessica emphasizes the importance of diversifying income streams and traffic sources and connecting with her audience through relatable, authentic content and storytelling.

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Food Blogging News Roundtable: AI-Generated Food Content, Optimizing Opt-ins, and Building A Personal Brand

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Sep 23, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 537 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we’re bringing our very own Emily Walker (Associate General Manager, Food Blogger Pro) back to chat with Bjork about the articles we shared in our latest blogging newsletter!

In our latest episode, we sat down with Bjork Ostrom and Emily Walker to talk about the future of food blogging. The main takeaway? Don’t let AI steal your thunder! We dive into why your personal stories and unique perspective are more crucial than ever to standing out. We also cover why building an email list is your most valuable asset (stop us if you’ve heard this before!) — it’s the one place you can directly connect with your audience.

So if you’re looking to create content that feels genuine and builds a real community, this episode is a must-listen. Bjork and Emily share tips for creating high-quality content that not only ranks with search engines but also earns the trust of your readers.

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Branding, Blogging, and Q4: How to Stand Out Online with Madison Wetherill

by Emily @ FBP on Sep 9, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

Welcome to episode 535 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Madison Wetherill from Grace and Vine Studios and Joyfully Mad.

In this conversation, Madison discusses the importance of personal branding and website optimization for food bloggers, especially as they prepare for the critical Q4 season. She emphasizes the need for food creators to carefully define their niche and audience, effectively communicate their brand message, and integrate your brand into your site.

Madison also shares strategies for standing out in a saturated market and the significance of calls to action on websites. The discussion highlights the evolving landscape of content creation and the need for bloggers to adapt to stay relevant and connect with their audience.

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