Just Give Me the Recipe Already
I get it. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve heard people complain about this topic when it comes to bloggers.
Jump to Recipe
In fact, I’ve even noticed other bloggers ranting about it. And, even though I don’t really make a lot of recipes, I still understand the process.
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If you were to look through my archives, you would possibly find that I’ve been blogging for over 12 years.
I say possibly because over the years I spend most of January doing a complete site audit. I clean up broken links, delete or archive old posts, and freshen things up around here.
This, of course, is all done with you, my reader, in mind. I want to make sure my site is user-friendly and offers you the most value while you’re here.
Consider it both a respect and gratitude thing.
I am honored you stopped by! Therefore, I want to value your time and give you what you came for.
But, I also have to pay my bills.
I know the consensus out there is that bloggers don’t really work. I guess, as in any industry, there are bloggers that don’t put much effort into this.
But, I know an awful lot of bloggers who pour their blood, sweat and tears into their blog.
I know Colby and I do. It’s how we support our family.
Before I explain what types of bills bloggers have –in addition to our household bills– let’s talk about a few other things bloggers must consider.
Mostly, traffic.
No, not the commute to work, but web traffic. We can work all day, but without traffic to the blog, no one is seeing our posts.
In order for you to find this post today, you most likely did one of three things:
- Clicked over from Google (or another search engine)
- Clicked on a pin, Facebook status, tweet, Instagram link, etc
- Clicked through from an email or friend’s share
These are the most likely scenarios at least.
So, let’s break these down a little further.
Organic Search
If Google lead you here, then that means the keyword research I did before writing this post worked! Yes, there’s work that must be done before I ever sit down to write a post.
Now, really personal posts, those are straight from the heart and don’t fit that criteria for me. If I’m honest, most of those are written in the heat of the moment from my phone.
Not even kidding.
This first part utilizes keyword tools and back-end blogging resources such as the following:
That’s a short list based on the main blogging tools we use currently.
Social Media
Did you click over after noticing a pretty pin on Pinterest? Was it an image on Instagram or a link on Facebook?
Oh the agony I spend on creating those pins and pictures! If you only knew! Being a perfectionist can be daunting.
If it’s an original photo, you have to consider the equipment we use, photo props (which we have two large cabinets in our garage full of that we’ve collected over the years), editing software, and time spent taking the photos.
This is perhaps one of the most time consuming and budget-busting part of blogging. Ask any blogger who photographs their own products, crafts, recipes, lifestyle images.
Oh, for fun, the photo equipment and editing software we use:
- Nikon D750
- Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G Lens
- Nikon SB-700 AF Speedlight Flash
- LED Daylight Panel Kit
- Ravelli AVTP Professional 65mm Video Camera Tripod with Fluid Drag Head
- Jib Arm Camera Crane
- DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Smartphone Gimbal
- Adobe Lightroom
And that really only hits the basics. I still take photos with my iPhone and use A Color Story ACS+ Yearly membership or Lightroom to edit on the go.
When I use stockphotos, they often come from a stock image site that we pay an annual subscription to use.
THEN, I have to make the pins. Those are mostly made in Canva. Sometimes PicMonkey. And other times RelayThat.
We have subscriptions for all of them.
Once the social graphics are made, it’s time to share them. This, again, takes a variety of automation tools that help us have a life outside of our blog.
The automation tools we use, and pay for, include:
- Tailwind
- Social Pug (my site)
- Missingltter
- Monarch (Colby’s site)
These tools help us stay sane. Even though it can take hours setting everything up, the hours they DO SAVE us in sharing our content are priceless.
Newsletter
I know. You’re tired of the pop ups, inline asks, and submission forms for our newsletters. BUT, these mailing lists are so important to us as bloggers.
By signing up, you tell us you’re interested in what we’re doing. You want to hear more. And, based on which newsletter you signed up for, it tells us what type of content you’re looking for.
Of course, as you might have guessed, our newsletter creation takes some work too.
Ready for this list of blogger newsletter tools?
- Flodesk (AGH! Cutest newsletter tool I’ve ever seen! Sign up through this link for 50% off)
- Bloom
- Zapier (Flodesk is still new so this helps with integration)
This is in addition to content creation time setting up each email, whether it’s daily, weekly, or monthly send. Each one can definitely take a minute.
Other direct links you may have clicked could have been sent to you through a friend (who probably arrived through one of the avenues above) or from another blogger.
That last one? Networking. Most of us live within the confines of secret Facebook groups or chats where we keep up with the latest industry news, share wins and losses, and work to get through this together.
Why so many ads?
Here we are. Almost. By this time you’ve probably had at least one newsletter form pop up, right? Maybe scrolled past another?
You’ll see a video playing in the corner.
An ad or two flashing at you from the footer and sidebar.
ALL THAT STUFF I just told you about up there? Yep. The ads help us pay for them.
I sill haven’t mentioned our monthly hosting fees, yearly domain renewals, blog templates, and Genesis Framework costs.
Think of it as paying the electric bill to keep all the things running in your house.
About that recipe
So, that recipe? That one that maybe a blogger’s grandma used to make while she was teaching an important life lesson in the kitchen.
Of, that craft that was born out of the blogger’s love for her dad.
Maybe it’s a product review that came with its own teachable moment with the blogger’s children.
All of those stories, they have a purpose. One way or another, they are intentional.
So the next time you’re complaining about scrolling down to the bottom of a post to find a recipe, craft, or important answer, be grateful.
Someone else has done the hard(er) work for you.
You don’t have to order a cookbook off Amazon, or drive to the local library to pick one up, to find that ONE PERFECT recipe. You’ve found it.
Free of charge to you and ready to use right now.
Did you learn a little more about the blogger offering you that recipe along the way? Maybe. Hopefully.
But, the important thing is you found what you were looking for all because that blogger chose to share their life story, their recipe, with you.
Say thank you by pinning their recipe, posting a link to Facebook, or tagging them on Instagram when you share a photo of your finished dish, or by sending a simple note of gratitude to the blogger who shared with you.
It’s all about finding a new perspective.
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