Monetization Strategies for Food Bloggers
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Blog Title: FodMap Everyday
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About: My background: Dédé Wilson has 30 years experience in the food business as a professional recipe developer, writer and spokesperson. She has 17 cookbooks under her belt, is a former Bon Appetit magazine editor and now the co-Founder of FODMAP Everyday, along with Robin Jaffin.
We create content for the 1 in 5 people worldwide who suffer with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and who are following the clinically proven low FODMAP diet, which is over 41 million people in US alone.
Notes from Episode #072: Create Smart Content Based on Emerging Trends
Fun fact Dede shared: Dede has published 17 books. 1 has been translated into Bulgarian!
Fun fact Robin shared: Robin and Dede have had three businesses together with a 20 year hiatus between the last venture and this one.
Dede and Robin met each other a long time ago. They know each other’s work ethic and savvy and know how to get through disagreements. They have a relationship that’s been around a long time and therefore have been able to build a strong relationship. They complement one another and there’s a natural independence of their lives too.
A fad and trend are not necessarily a clinically proven diets like the low FODMAP diet. Scientific data backs up this diet. Dede personally had success with it to help her heal from IBS.
Bloggers, business models and business opportunities: There are always going to be shorter term gains for things that are trendy in the moment and if you have the capabilities and resources and experience to be able to capture that market when it rises and move on before it falls, that’s great. There’s a huge rise in these types of fads but they don’t stand the test of time. They aren’t backed up with science.
That’s not what Dede and Robin are working towards with their content. They are looking long term and wanted to find value, authority and depth in what they could create for content and share. They’ve built 750 recipes in 2 years, and have over 50 articles. They have a narrow focus and they are working with people who primarily have a diagnosis of IBS.
Dede and Robin named their team of trained dieticians their “success team.” These are registered dieticians who can offer beneficial medical support to the content and advice given. The Low FODMAP diet offers scientific data and evidence based on medical diagnosis for people who will benefit from it.
Dede and Robin saw potential for this market. As they considered creating content for an emerging market they knew for them it had to be.
You can be medically driven, a little more dry and scientific OR
Have a lifestyle and foodies perspective.
They married the two concepts.
Robin and Dede did a lot of research into how much market there was for this specific diet and realized there was 15x more market share than the gluten-free market.
They were able to look at where the trends were coming from around the world and it was just coming to the US. They recognized they were in prime position to get started but they had to jump on it or they’d lose their positioning because they’d be ahead of the curve. This brought a few challenges and opportunities that wouldn’t be there if they waited.
Do your homework. What does market research say about your niche market?
Are there enough people interested in what you’re talking about?
Is there buzz and information about this topic to help you lift as the waters rise?
Who has authority in your niche? Surround yourself with these people and build relationships with people who are well-respected in this topic. Align yourselves with this community. Maybe get certified, bring on board people that lift you up.
What role do you want to play? Make sure you’re the best at what you do!
They recognized that no one was owning the lifestyle of this diet and making it available to everyday users. They’d seen success in Dede’s life and knew it could be translated into a lifestyle blog with recipe creation that would be helpful to people suffering from IBS and give relief and heal people.
Branding was important so they could show people how they could thrive with IBS and be pain free from following this diet.
When an emerging trend comes around – there are two groups you want to capture in your marketing, branding and SEO:
those who understand what you do
those just starting their journey into healthy eating or repairing a health issue with better eating
You might have to restructure and alter content to reach both groups. You want to be a resource for those groups.
Keep track of what others are doing too to be sure you’re not missing out on key components of communicating with your audience.
Tools used to research:
Find scientific data to back up your information.
What’s published on your niche diet? Who are the people to follow?
How to create the best recipe?
Frame the recipe very carefully. Use quality equipment – is it calibrated?
Experience and education, practical experience.
Test your recipes.
With respect to the low fod map diet, the nitty gritty details on a recipe are important because of the way it affects someone’s body.
Niche matters. Know your audience and market because details and specifics in relation to a recipe will change depending on who you want to communicate with and build a relationship with. How you educate your audience will be important depending on your niche.
Flexibility and transparency are important keys to working together to build a business that’s beneficial to your audience.
If you are coming from a place of serving (your community and audience, you will grow.
It’s great to be in a community where you can realize you’re all trying to benefit each other and the community you want to help see success. If a new researcher or dietitian came out with something that supported the Low Fod Map community, Dede and Robin wanted to celebrate that and not see them as someone taking something away from them and their blog/business. It benefits the community that you are trying to help!
You have to love recipe development for this type of niche to succeed. Smart content development has to interest you and have a passion for it. It’ll come through and help you stand out. You are unique. Whatever you are bringing to your topic, it’ll be noticed and it’ll have that positive energy.
Every day that you can create success for other people around you, how is that not better for all of us?
A quote Robin saw on Instagram from “Long Distance Love Bombs”: “Stop overcomplicating your life. You are the thoughts you think, the things you do and the stuff you eat. Choose Better. And life will be better. The End.
Helpful references from the episode:
The Low FODMAP Diet Step-by-Step
Monash University
FODMAP Friendly
Join the Low FODMAP for FOODIES Facebook page
FODMAP Everyday Facebook page
