Episode 772: How to Grow On Instagram Using Stories (Without Overthinking It) With Shannon McKinstrie

EBT772 – Shannon McKinstrie

[00:00:00]  Supercut 

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[00:00:38] Megan Porta

If Instagram stories feel intimidating or just like another chore you have to complete, this episode is your permission to keep it simple and start today. Social media strategist Shannon McKinstrie is here to detail, demystify stories showing how casual, everyday moments, yes, even silly, funny, weird, crazy ones, can build serious traction. We cover the first three stories you should post every day. Sneaky, smart ways to boost engagement and the metrics that actually matter. No perfection, no overthinking, just real talk and real results. Starting right now.

[00:00:38]   Intro

Hi food bloggers. I’m Megan Porta and this is Eat Blog Talk. Your space for support, inspiration and strategies to grow your blog and your freedom, whether that’s personal, professional, or financial. You are not alone on this journey.

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[00:00:38] Megan Porta

Shannon, hello. Welcome to the podcast. How are you?

[00:02:19]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I’m good. Thanks for having me. I’m excited. Yay.

[00:02:21]  Megan Porta 

So nice to meet you today and to talk about this early in the morning. Before we get into inst. Instagram stories, which I’m super excited to highlight. We would love to know if you have a fun fact to share about yourself.

[00:02:34]  Shannon McKinstrie 

See, fun fact, I think. Well, this one people think is really funny, but I was a seat filler at the BET Awards in 2006. And you can see me in several clips, especially during Jim Jones. We fly high and I’m in between TI and Lil Wayne. And it’s very funny.

[00:02:57]  Megan Porta 

What? You bumped shoulders with them.

[00:03:00]  Shannon McKinstrie 

That’s so. It’s right when goes Ballin. And it’s right in the beginning of it. And you can see me doing it. And it’s just hilarious because it’s like, what am I doing there? And it was just so funny. It was like 2006. It was just. My mom had recorded it on VHS.

[00:03:13]  Megan Porta 

It was just so cute. How does one become a seat filler?

[00:03:17]  Shannon McKinstrie 

So I actually, when I lived in Atlanta back in 2004-2008, I just knew friends, like, in the music industry.

[00:03:23]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:03:24]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Either at CNN or at the music. In the music industry. It’s like one or the other. So, yeah, they were like, hey, they need people. And I was like, gladly. I will. I will volunteer.

[00:03:34]  Megan Porta 

That’s so cool. Yeah, I know. I’ve always heard that’s a thing, but I’ve always been like, how does. How do you. I suppose you just have to know someone and be in the loop.

[00:03:42]  Shannon McKinstrie 

It’s just random. They just moved me a few times. So I was sitting next to Russell Simmons a little bit. Then I was sitting next to. Who was the other person? I can’t remember. But Yin Yang twins were a few rows behind me. I mean, it was just hysterical. It was just a great time. I just had to pretend I was supposed to be there.

[00:03:56]  Megan Porta 

That’s the. That’s the tricky part. I’d be like, where I’m like, trying not to fangirl.

[00:04:01]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I’m like, oh, my gosh.

[00:04:04]  Megan Porta 

Like, can I get your autograph? Passing pens down the row. Oh, that’s awesome. I’ve never had that fun fact before. That’s a great one.

[00:04:13]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Very random one.

[00:04:15]  Megan Porta 

No, I love it. That’s what this is for. We can learn all sorts of weird tidbits about each guest here on Eat Blog Talk. We’re so happy to have you here today. You’re going to talk about Instagram stories. I was telling you before we recorded that we’ve never published an episode just about Instagram stories. So first time for everything. But to kind of give that a backdrop, do you want to tell us a little bit about your business?

[00:04:39]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Sure, yeah. So, well, as I mentioned, my background is in, like, broadcasts, so I worked at CNN for a while. I studied TV production all through college, and. And then after, you know, I left cCNN because it’s just. It was Just honestly a traumatic experience for me because just looking, you know, I was there during Katrina, the tsunami. It was just a lot of hard things to watch all day long and all night long. And I was just like, maybe news isn’t for me. And that was really sad because I was like, that’s what I wanted to do. I want to sit in the control room and direct and. And I was like, what do I do?

[00:05:09]   

And so then I bounce around marketing and sales roles and never. Nothing ever fit, nothing ever excited me. And then social media started going from more personal to business, and I was already super active on MySpace, which is aging me, but MySpace, I remember my space. Oh, my gosh. I treated my MySpace like it was so important.

[00:05:28]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, I loved it.

[00:05:31]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And then, you know, and I was always the friend that would help my friends come up with, like, their Facebook captions and, like, it was just silly, so. Because it morphed my love of, like, creating, which that wasn’t even what they called it then. It was just, you know. So then when social media started kind of getting more businessy, I was working at a 9 to 5 in a sales position, and they were like, we need someone to do our LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

[00:05:52]   

I was me. Obviously I didn’t get a raise for it, but I was like, I’ll gladly do it because it was like everyone thought I was just a fad. And anyway, so that I realized, I was like, oh, my gosh, I’m obsessed with this. This is so fun. Helping brands and businesses figure out social media because they were all confused about it.

[00:06:09]   

Then I had my daughter. So long story short, I had my daughter. And I was like, I couldn’t bring myself to go back to work. And I was like, if I can just get some clients. And I asked my husband, I was like, can I start doing social media? I was like, a business.

[00:06:20]   

And he was like, yeah, you’re not going to make any money. I was like, no, I know. Yeah, you know, post on Facebook. So I got a few clients. They were mainly realtors in the D.C. area where I lived. And then I started teaching free classes. And who knew? It just went bonkers because by then people realized they had to be on social media.

[00:06:38]   

So I went from managing to consulting, and now I have memberships. I have a book coming out, I’ve got a podcast. It’s just been absolutely crazy, but it’s really just. I’m obsessed with it. Like, it’s all I want to talk about. I love social media. I know you know, there’s a lot of bad things about it, but I just.

[00:06:53]   

My passion is just helping people get their voice heard and their passions heard. So food, whatever it is, it’s like, we want to see. We aren’t. You know, I was joke, like, and I was saying to you earlier how almost all the content I absorb is food, and I love to eat, and, you know, there’s so many things I learned that I don’t know.

[00:07:11]   

And I think people, you know, you think all the time, oh, everyone knows this. Everyone knows this recipe. No, we want your perspective. We want to see yours. So it really just excites me. And. Yeah, that’s my story.

[00:07:22]  Megan Porta 

That’s amazing. So you’re excited about it? You said obsessed with it, which makes you the perfect person to talk about it, because I feel like if you have that ingrained passion for whatever reason, then it’s something that you are really good at, and that’s why you’re here. So, yeah, we’re going to talk about Instagram stories specifically. Do you think that Instagram stories for food bloggers are important?

[00:07:47]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yes. And you know what? I do tell a lot of people because stories really stress them out, and it’s funny. So I’m like, those are. If Instagram was just stories, I’d be happy as a clam because I just love documenting my day. I used to use Snapchat back in the day all the time.

[00:08:02]   

And that’s, you know, then Instagram realized Snapchat was taking off. They then introduced stories, and I was like, oh, Instagram’s trying to be Snapchat. And I was kind of mad. I was like. And then I was like, wait, this is so much more fun because I actually, you know, have a lot of friends on Instagram at the time, on my personal.

[00:08:18]   

So in my personal, I would just share what I bought at Target that day. I would share what show I was watching. Like, and so when I started my business, Instagram, I did the same thing. And so, because a lot of people ask, like, how are you so? Like. Because, I mean, I.

[00:08:31]   

I get told a lot. People love watching my stories, and I’m like, really? Like, I just share my dumb day, you know? But of course, I mix in business as well. So for food bloggers, it’s a great way to drive traffic to your blog. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your Pinterest, your TikTok.

[00:08:46]   

I love stories for, like, I tell a lot of people. If you hate stories, you’re like, Shannon, I literally don’t care, then the biggest thing to do is just use stories to drive people to where you love showing up. If Pinterest is more your thing, use stories to drive them to Pinterest. Use stories to drive them to TikTok.

[00:09:03]   

And a lot of times, my most engaged with stories, again, like I said, are something so silly. Like, something like, I spilled my coffee all over, or I’m the girl that takes the mug into the car to do drop off. It starts those conversations of like, oh, my gosh, I did this too.

[00:09:17]   

I thought I was crazy. And then what happens is you mention something that you do or that you buy or you use. That might be a little different. When they go, do it, buy it, use it, they’re thinking of you.

[00:09:29]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:09:29]  Shannon McKinstrie 

So it’s beyond just food you’re allowed to share. But if. If you’re like, I actually don’t want to do that, fine. You can use stories however you want. And that’s why I think it’s such a great thing. Because there’s really. There’s no rules in content creation mainly it just needs to resonate, make people feel.

[00:09:43]   

But stories, there’s literally no rules. Like, you want. Get on there and vent about you’re mad. So and so got booted off Dancing with the Stars. Do it. Yeah. It’s just to get them. It’s behind the scenes. It’s to help them get you to know you so that they connect with you. And I think I like to always say to people, I think the reason people feel like they know me so well, it’s not for my content, because my content is mainly educational.But I think what gets me remembered by people is my stories. So I don’t know.

[00:10:09]  Megan Porta 

That’s the key right there, right? Yeah. I love what you said earlier about just, like, your dumb day, like, the. The little silly things that happen. And I think a lot of people just don’t see those things. You have to train yourself to see. Like, oh, my. I remember my boys when they were littler.

[00:10:26]   

Their school pickup line was madness. Like, the people were ins. I’m like, who are these parents? What, you can’t just honk your horn? And so I would start putting those on stories, and it was. People loved that crap. But I think. I think you have to, like, you dismiss those sorts of things.

[00:10:45]   

Like, no one’s gonna be interested in this. This is just my life. But it’s really funny. Like, if you just start seeing those things and, like, okay, someone would really laugh at this.

[00:10:56]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yes. And I remember one time I did, like, the Target checkout camera.

[00:11:00]  Megan Porta 

Oh, yeah, it makes you look.

[00:11:03]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And I was like, these are so bad. I mean, I have actual makeup on. And I’ll look at it and be like, who is this beast? And I’m like, I got in the stories. People are cracking up, and then they’re tagging. And I remember, even when I first discovered oat milk, back in, like, I think this was 2018, this is when I started really showing up on stories consistently.

[00:11:22]   

And that’s right when oat milk started kind of showing up places. But it was only, like, the bougie coffee shops.

[00:11:26]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:11:27]  Shannon McKinstrie 

So I started doing, like, an Instagram, like, okay, well, this coffee shop have oat milk. And, like, people would join me on this journey, and I’d be like, they do. And all of a sudden, people are tagging me in their Instagram stories with their oat milk lattes.

[00:11:38]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:11:39]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And I became known as, like, the oat milk latte girl for a while. It was just funny. It’s like, they don’t have to be serious. And it’s kind of a fun place to really showcase your personality. Like, I feel like I hold my personality back sometimes, my content, just because, like, you know, I’m really trying to help people.

[00:11:53]   

Like, no, you gotta listen to me. So I don’t wanna be silly goofy all the time, but I’m very goofy. I’m very, like, I just take nothing seriously. So my stories, I get to, like, really embrace that side of me.

[00:12:04]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:12:05]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And it’s fine. And people like it.

[00:12:07]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, absolutely. People like being able to relate to you. Right. Even as a content creator and a business owner, it’s still like, okay, you’re a human behind all of that, and we want to see how amazing you look on the Target camera. Yeah.

[00:12:22]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Great. So we know we’re not alone.

[00:12:24]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. Why is that camera so terrible? I look up and I’m like, I have bags under my eyes. I look like I’m 90 years old.

[00:12:32]  Shannon McKinstrie 

It is almost like a filter telling you what you’ll look like when you’re 90. Like, oh, my gosh. It is so.

[00:12:39]  Megan Porta 

It is horrifying. Every time I. I actually avoid it now, I’m like, nope, I can’t look at that.

[00:12:43]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I don’t look at it. I don’t look at it.

[00:12:45]  Megan Porta 

I’m like, yeah, I want to have a good day today.

[00:12:47]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yeah.

[00:12:48]  Megan Porta 

So first, stories, for those that are, like, more on the silly side or the real side, how much of those do we sprinkle in with, like, actual recipes and things? We’re selling and that sort of thing.

[00:13:01]  Shannon McKinstrie 

No, I love that you asked this because I actually every time I share it, it goes semi viral for me is I have this system that I teach people the first three stories to share every day. So that way if you don’t want to do more than three, you don’t have to. If you want to do one, you can do one.

[00:13:15]   

I don’t care. Like there’s again, it’s like whatever floats your boat. I do a lot more than three typically. But on a weekend or a day that I’m exhausted, I. I will do this. And you’ll see it even in my stories, the first three are typically the same formula, if you will.

[00:13:30]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:13:30]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And then the rest is just rogue. I just share whatever the first one is. Me just saying good morning. Here’s what I’m up to today. Sometimes I’ll talk to the camera like it’ll be me making my coffee or oftentimes and most times because I’m the mornings are crazy is all. Like once my daughters go to school, I’ll put my routine is today show coffee and usually checking in with my community in my membership.

[00:13:53]   

So I’ll have my laptop open today show in the background coffee. And it’s just a picture, it just says hey guys, happy, whatever. I’m doing this and that. And oftentimes I’ll put a sticker to get them engaging and I’ll say what content do you want see today? And I’ll do a poll. So there’s a lot of things like I’m showing behind the scenes.

[00:14:11]   

I’m letting them know, hi, I’m here. And two, I’m reminding them of what I do and that I have this membership on one, so that’s story one, just greeting them, adding a sticker. You could say like, how are you feeling today? Excited, you know, just make it fun. And the second one I use to convert because after 3ish stories, people honestly just naturally start kind of falling off viewing.

[00:14:34]   

So that’s why I would say those first three are so important. So the second story, if I just had the reels lab, my membership open, I’ll be like, oh, by the way, speaking of reels Lab, get in here and I’ll list out some benefits. I’ll put a message that someone said, right. I’ll put some sort of social proof done.

[00:14:49]   

Third one is just whatever the heck it’s that target story, right? Or it’s the whatever I’m doing, you know, if I’m going to on a walk or if I’m you know, found a new podcast that everyone needs to listen to. Or I found a new thing at Trader Joe’s that’s. Oh, my God.

[00:15:05]   

Like I’ll. So it’s something again where it’s relatable. Yeah. So we got. Hello. Hi. We’re friends. I’m glad you’re here. Two conversion, third, just relatability. And then from there I go on. But I will say, oftentimes, let’s say it is like you’re sharing a recipe or you just came out with a cookbook.

[00:15:23]   

And you know, we know we’re not typically purchasing that from that first story. Something like that, I might add. The first story will still be the same stories, 2, 3, 4, will all be about the cookbook if I was you guys. Right. Or it would be all about the recipe that I really need to get out.

[00:15:38]   

Or a podcast you were on that you need to get out, you know, talk about it. Really kind of treat it as a sales sequence in a way. So again, there’s no magic way. But that’s the formula I use. And you’ll see it every day in my stories. I start with it’s every.

[00:15:52]   

It’s every single day. But if I’m going through a launch or something big, the sale, the selling stories, I go way more in depth. Like, I’ll explain it and I’ll do several stories to make sure that they are clicking that actual link.

[00:16:05]  Megan Porta 

And then what’s the payoff that you see from that? Do you get, like, if you’re promoting your membership, do you see a lot of signups daily from the stories alone?

[00:16:15]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Daily.

[00:16:17]  Megan Porta 

Daily, okay.

[00:16:17]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I will say if you want more clicks, promote something on stories that’s free. Right? Like when I’m like, hey guys, I have this free guide. But you know, they get some on my email list and converts from there. So that’s another thing. When I push my podcast or I push, oh my gosh, did you guys see this article about this new thing with Instagram?

[00:16:35]   

I mean, that’s gonna get a whole lot more clicks. Cause the people following me, they know the Reels Lab. If they. They already know the price, they know, right? But almost every day I get at least one sign up from story and I tell everyone I sell in stories more than on my feed.

[00:16:48]   

And I usually use my feed content to get them on my email list or get them to listen to the podcast because people are way more skeptical. Right? And I know with you guys with, with blogs, I mean, that’s free content. So they’re going to click like crazy. But again, I, you know, there needs to be something in the story that mentions why they need to click.

[00:17:08]   

Right? Like, got your dinner for you tonight. Or if you don’t make this for Thanksgiving, you’re crazy. And, like, make it fun. It’s food. It should be fun. Right? So I don’t just go join the reels lab. Like, I. You make sure that story, if you’re trying to convert, whether it’s a new subscriber, selling a book, whatever it is that you make it exciting.Yeah, of course. As always. Right? Yeah.

[00:17:27]  Megan Porta 

Are there too many stories to publish in a day? You know, remember, like the. I don’t know, a couple years ago, it’d be like so many stories in a feed that you would see the little dots on the top. I was like, that is way too much. I’m never gonna wait for all of these.

[00:17:41]  Shannon McKinstrie 

It’s way too much. And I know I would say the majority of people will either not get turned off. I don’t want to say that. But, like, I know for me, I’m like, I don’t have. I can’t. Unless it’s like, maybe there’s a really big event in yalls world that everyone goes to and they’re like, no, I want to go to that.

[00:17:58]   

I’m going to watch every single thing. Like, something like that. And you can even say, like, if it was me and I was at a conference or something, that I know everyone’s like, oh, my God. They’re clued in. They want to be there with me. I’ll start the stories, be like, hey, guys, this is going to be a lot.This is what it’s about. Stick around. I promise it’s worth it. Or. Or just get out now.

[00:18:16]  Megan Porta 

Right? Save yourself. Run. Yeah.

[00:18:19]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yes. Save yourself from yourself. If you’re not interested in this. But I. I aim for. I do about 10 a day on average.

[00:18:26]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:18:26]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I feel like over 10. We just kind of get exhausted. But I will say, like I said, those first three are so important because after three or four, you really do see like a drop. And that’s natural. That’s not saying your stories suck. Yeah, it’s just like, guess what the. I don’t. I don’t like to tell people.

[00:18:40]   

Only post one or two or three. Because there are people who stick around. And I still make sales. Right. Like, and the other day I was venting about, you know, how this is hard. This is a lot to create content and have a business. That’s. It’s a lot. And the pressure is on.

[00:18:53]   

I was like, going on and on. I was like, I don’t know where I’m going with this. And like, I got so many DMs being like, Shannon, I need this thing. And I was like, I needed. I need to get it off my chest, you know? So the people who need to hear or want to see what you have to say will stick around.So if it’s going to be beyond 10, go for it.

[00:19:09]  Megan Porta 

Okay. And then follower count, does that matter? If somebody has 500 followers and they’re like, shannon, this isn’t going to take me anywhere. I’m not going to do it. Does. Should we consider that or just do it anyway?

[00:19:20]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I would do it anyway. I’m telling you. I. When I had 500 followers, stories were. I didn’t post a lot back in the day because I was just creating content for so many other people and I had a baby and I was just like. So I rarely posted, but I was consistent on stories.

[00:19:33]   

And that’s where I started growing. So I know people don’t look at stories as growth, but it keeps you top of mind. So if someone’s like, oh, I need social media help, they’re gonna go, oh, you need to follow my friend Shannon. Because even though I wasn’t posting a lot, I was in stories.

[00:19:46]   

And stories are where they really get to know you so much more. So I would, I absolutely would. And again, use them like you would a personal account. But if that isn’t your thing and you’re like, no, I’m a very private person, that’s fine too. But show us your grocery store finds. Show us what creamer you put in your coffee. Like, we love that stuff. We love it because we can relate. We can say so we can chime in. I know if I see someone giving tips on taxes, I have nothing to say.

[00:20:15]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, I’m out. Yeah.

[00:20:17]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Someone talking about what they found at Costco, I’m like, oh my gosh, did you and did you know this? Like, we wanna. It gives us more chances to have a conversation when it’s something dumb and mundane. It just is.

[00:20:29]  Megan Porta 

Right? No, I love that. And then as far as selling, okay, so obviously we have a lot of recipes to link to from stories and. But if we have cookbooks or ebooks or you mentioned email list or Pinterest, I love that idea. I. I don’t think I’ve ever thought to send people to Pinterest. Brilliant. How else can we use stories to get people other places?

[00:20:52]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Oh, I love this. Okay, so. And I’m so glad you love the Pinterest tip. Because what I do sometimes is again, we’re lazy. And I’m, I don’t. I’m. I’m lazy. Right? We’re just. When we’re scrolling Instagram, we’re not in let’s get stuff done in life mode. We’re in past mode. So if you use that question box in stories and you can literally say, put your email here if you want it, and I will literally, at the end of the day, screenshot all the emails, send them to my virtual assistant, Crystal, who’s incredible, and she will literally.

[00:21:23]   

So if you have someone on your team or while you’re watching Jeopardy that night or Wheel of Fortune, like, go grab the screenshots, dump them in throw. I bet you could even take a Screenshot thrown in ChatGPT and ChatGPT will make, you know, gosh. And then, I mean, again, I know there’s rules around emails and stuff like that, but if you’re not.

[00:21:40]   

And you could even say, I’m sure you could put something in stories. Like, if you put your email here, you are getting. You are opting into whatever, but maybe you’re just sending the guide and calling it a day. And maybe in that email you could say, if you want to continue getting emails from me, click here.

[00:21:52]  Megan Porta 

Right.

[00:21:53]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Just so I don’t piss off any email marketers who are like. But no, I do that a lot. I’ll use the question box and say, put your email. Because sometimes we don’t even want to click the link and get out of Instagram. So that’s a great way to say, hey, if you’re interested in my interest, drop your email and I’ll send you the link.

[00:22:08]   

And then again in that email, you can say if you want more. Or you could use the question box sticker again to say, like, what do you have coming up in your life that you need a recipe for? Great way to come up with content ideas too. But as far as getting them to Pinterest, TikTok, that’s a great way to do it, is the question box and just email it.

[00:22:27]   

Because they were too. And sometimes we forget to check the dm, you know, so that’s just like a little trick I use sometimes.

[00:22:34]  Megan Porta 

Or YouTube. I know a lot of food bloggers are really digging into YouTube so you could get people over to that channel too.

[00:22:40]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Thousand percent. Yeah. Because again, like I said, sometimes people don’t want to.

[00:22:43]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:22:44]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Even click the link because they are. They’re in scroll mode.

[00:22:47]  Megan Porta 

Right. That’s A good point. Yeah. They’re usually at the end of the day or the beginning of the day. Just chill mode. So they don’t necessarily like, okay, I’m going to take notes now and whatever. That’s not the mindset they’re in.

[00:23:00]  Shannon McKinstrie 

No. Yeah, yeah.

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[00:24:19]  Shannon McKinstrie 

It is, like I said, it’s the silly, mundane stuff. Use the polls as much as you can. There’s, that’s easy, low effort for them to just, you know, vote. Right. So I mean you could even say like, what’s your go to grocery store for xyz? What’s your favorite? I mean especially with the seasons, you guys, like, we love, we love to share our opinions.
  

Right. So if you’re like, okay, what is your favorite thing? Thanksgiving. I mean, I will tell you. Every Thanksgiving I go off on polls and stories and people love it. I’m like, are you team apple or pumpkin? And I just do a bunch of them and people go nuts because like, it’s just fun.

[00:24:57]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:24:58]  Shannon McKinstrie 

So anything around season, like really think. And right now it’s, we’re already seeing Christmas recipes so you could do. That’s just a great way to get people used to engaging with you. It’s almost like training them. Like, I’m here and I’m not just here to shout at you. I’m here to connect with you.

[00:25:12]   

And then of course with the question boxes are great, like what recipes? I don’t know. I think it would be fun to be like, you know, what kind of things do you guys have coming up that you need, you know, content around and just let them, let them. That’s something easy. They might be like, oh, I’ve got.

[00:25:26]   

I’m hosting a. A, you know, martini party, or I’m hosting a whatever, and. And then you can even get on stories and reply to them and be like, okay, I love this. Here’s what I would make. And then you can even put the link to the blog and people will appreciate it. I think that’s another reason stories are so powerful, because they see you actually care about them.

[00:25:42]   

It’s not just a follower count, but like I said, the easiest way to get them to start engaging with you is just the tap. You know, a little tap a heart, slide a heart. And I love, I, like I said, almost every week, or almost. Not every day, but several times a week, I’ll say, what do you want to see this week?

[00:25:57]   

And I’ll put a poll with four ideas and people go crazy. They love it. And it’s like, I’m already planning on all four, but I’ll put them in the order that they got the most votes. That’s just another way to let them know you’re there for them.

[00:26:09]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. And with recipes, there’s so much content that we can put out. We could put, I mean, the world. The options are endless for that.

[00:26:17]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Endless.

[00:26:18]  Megan Porta 

Go crazy.

[00:26:19]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yeah.

[00:26:20]  Megan Porta 

And then for. How does this play into like, like reels? Do we have do be. I don’t know, like publishing so many reels a week if we want the stories to work, or does it matter?

[00:26:32]  Shannon McKinstrie 

No, but I mean, and even the head of Instagram has said, like, frequency, it doesn’t matter how many times you post. It’s just about the quality. There’s people that post two, three times a day. There’s people that post once a week. There’s a creator. And a lot of her content is about food.

[00:26:48]   

I can’t think of her name right now, but I think she posts once a week or once every two weeks. And every single time, millions of views. Ah, so. But her focus is high production, so you can’t crank those out every day. I mean, that’s a lot.

[00:26:59]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:26:59]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And I think she spends a lot of money on editing and equipment and things like that. My content is very low lift, so I can, I mean, I can throw out two a day if I want to. I don’t always. I usually skip. Like I skipped yesterday. I didn’t post at all. I post typically five, six times a week on average, my clients post four to five.

[00:27:17]   

One of my clients only does like three, because that’s all she can do. But they all do well. So I think it’s just, you know, and if you really like creating content like me, go for it. You know, put out as much as you want. But Stories algorithm is totally different. So, yeah, it’s very.

[00:27:31]   

But I will say if I have a reel, you remember how I said that second story was more for conversions? Sometimes that story is my reel of the day, because I’m like, okay, I really need people to see this reel, and I really want it to go crazy. I’ll put that as my.

[00:27:44]   

My conversion for the day. I’m like, hey, guys, I just shared this. Go, go, go. And I’ll give them a hook like that. So Stories can actually even help drive. Because again, since the algorithm is so different, maybe they’re seeing my stories, but they might not have seen my post. Or maybe they’re not scrolling the feed right now.

[00:27:58]   

They’re more so focused on stories. Because I know a lot of people that are like, oh, my gosh, I spend most of my time in stories. Some people don’t watch them at all. They just go to the feed. But this way, you’re hitting every point.

[00:28:07]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, okay. So interesting. And then this veers off of stories a little bit. But how important is the. Like, your profile and the information that you have there?

[00:28:15]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Ooh, like the bio and stuff.

[00:28:17]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:28:17]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yes. I think it’s really important. I think it’s less. I know we used to stress over the perfect bio, and now we’re kind of back to very human bios. Like, I like to yap about food. Like that could be. And people could love it. Like, that could be your entire bio and they’d be like, oh, cute.

[00:28:31]   

Ah. We used to have like an I help statement. And I changed my bio. I hate my bio. I change it all the time because I just. I. I love writing bios for others and, like, I hate my own. It’s one of those things. So you can change as often as you like, but I think the most important thing in your bio is your name field.

[00:28:50]   

So you’ve got your username right. And you don’t want to change that very much because people probably know your username by heart and search it. But your name field, if you don’t have this, I would change it immediately. Make sure there are key words in there. So if your weeknight quick and easy dinners, put that.

[00:29:08]   

Because if someone’s searching weeknight dinner, your account’s going to come up, so don’t miss out on those words in the name field. And if you have the certificate, like you pay for Instagram, the blue check, you’ll have to resubmit your driver’s license, et cetera, et cetera. So it’ll take 14 days. But it’s worth it because those keywords are really, really important.

[00:29:29]   

But yeah, your bio can be whatever you want it to be. And I would look at testimonials to grab words that people say about you and your food and use ChatGPT. I mean, it’s not always going to nail it. Of course, it can be a little cheesy sometimes, but that’s what I do for clients.

[00:29:44]   

Sometimes I’ll grab their testimonials, like, here’s what people are saying about my client. Can you create a 150 word, you know, bio that says something cool about them? And then of course, if you want, I like the bio to at least say kind of what they are, sorry…

[00:30:01]   

It says, like, what you do, kind of what you’re known for, but then again, like what they can expect. If it’s daily dinners. Yeah, say that. If it’s sheet pan meals and I don’t know, whatever, or meals for picky eaters, say that. If you’re all over the board, you can say that too.

[00:30:18]   

From recipes to this to that. Like, say what they can expect because we just, we like to. We’re going, we’re probably going to see your content, then we’re going to head to your profile before we actually hit follow typically.

[00:30:30]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:30:31]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And we’re going to search around, be like, is this person, Do I like them? Do I want to learn from them? Do I want to follow them? Content in my feed? And then so the bio is definitely just what’s the vibe, Right?

[00:30:40]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, because I’ve been in stories plenty of times where I’m like, wait, who is this I? And then I’ll click over to the B bio just to see who they are. So I think that does tie in here. Yeah, it’s important to. I love your idea of having chat GPT take testimonials and turning them into a bio. That’s brilliant. Love it.

[00:31:00]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And see, that’s good for me to know that because I’m like, oh, I.

[00:31:02]  Megan Porta 

Can make that a real I. Yeah, that’s. That’s brilliant.

[00:31:06]  Shannon McKinstrie 

You know, you always wonder, like, is that a good tip? I don’t know.

[00:31:09]  Megan Porta 

I hope it is. That was great gold. Thanks, Shannon. And then you mentioned the blue check. How important is that?

[00:31:17]  Shannon McKinstrie 

So the reason I do it is because I want. There’s a lot of imposters out there, and you don’t even have to have, like, more than a thousand followers to have someone faking your account. There’s just thieves. I mean, they’re like. It’s creepy. They’re in there. They’ll make an account with your name.

[00:31:32]   

I get it on TikTok even more. And people will write me and they’ll be like, are you this? And I’m like, no, I do not talk Bitcoin. And they’re trying to scam them and they’re using my picture. So for me, with Instagram, that’s why I do it, so that people know that’s my account.

[00:31:46]   

I think it’s also good, like, if something tragic were to happen, like your account is hacked, like, because you’re paying, you can actually get their attention a little more. So I do it more for protective reasons and just to make sure people know. Know which account is mine in case a fake one does pop up.

[00:32:00]  Megan Porta 

That’s a good point. I’ve always thought, I don’t know if I want to pay that. But you hear about the stories where people get their accounts totally hacked and they never get them back.

[00:32:11]  Shannon McKinstrie 

It’s horrible. It’s horrible. Like, they should have other things around.

[00:32:15]  Megan Porta 

That they should be put in jail. Like, that is a. It’s so terrible when that happens. I just. My heart hurts for those people. Yeah. Okay, what about something like. Are you familiar with Grocer’s List or something that it’s kind of like. Like a link DM or Manychat, except they have a feature where you can put links in stories, I believe.

[00:32:38]   

I don’t use Grocer’s List, but I know a lot of people who do and love it because of the stories feature. Do you think something like that is worthwhile? Yeah, like they do auto replies to stories, I think, and things like that?

[00:32:50]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Oh, yeah, I think so. I mean, manychat has completely changed my business. So if it’s similar to that, I mean, by email list, I think before Manychat was at like 5,000. I’m like at 25,000 now.

[00:33:02]  Megan Porta 

Oh, wow.

[00:33:03]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Just for Manychat.

[00:33:04]  Megan Porta 

Okay.

[00:33:04]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Because I use Manychat for. Is my freebie and it goes. Right. They have to opt in and then they’re on my list. So. And, you know, I would just make sure you. I always say the most important thing with tools like this with automated replies is just make sure it’s an opt in they want.

[00:33:20]   

You know, obviously we’re going to want a list of dinners, we’re going to want a grocery list. We’re going to want your tried and true Thanksgiving menu. Just make sure it’s something they’re like, oh, my gosh, I need that now. And then that way, it really comes down to being very worth paying for every month because.

[00:33:35]  Megan Porta 

Right.

[00:33:36]  Shannon McKinstrie 

It’s on autopilot. It’s awesome.

[00:33:38]  Megan Porta 

All right, I’m kind of running out of my own questions. What else do we need to know about stories from the food blogger perspective?

[00:33:46]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yeah, I think it’s. They’re more. They’re more powerful, I think, than anything else on Instagram. And I say that with. I know it’s not the way to grow necessarily, but it’s how people stay. I think if people didn’t know my day to day or they didn’t connect with me over my love of, you know, oat milk, wine, margaritas, my daughters like the outer Banks.

[00:34:06]   

Like, that’s where people get to know me and like me. Beyond just, oh, this girl shares Instagram tips. And while I don’t have as many followers as a lot of the Instagram experts out there, I think stories are another reason I get asked to speaking events. I think it’s why people connect with me and remember me, because I’m not just like, hey, here’s an Instagram hack.

[00:34:25]   

I’m like, hey, I’m also who likes this, that and the third? And I just share that stuff, you know, and my daughters are really silly and goofy and they like to, you know, I know a lot of people don’t like to show their kids, but I don’t show them too much on my feed.

[00:34:38]   

But in stories, they really get to know them and, like, look forward to, oh, I’m so proud of Chloe. Look how far she’s come. You know, it’s like they’re part of my life. Yeah. So I would just say, and if something doesn’t land? And so that’s an, oh, here’s another one. I used to.

[00:34:51]   

Also, before I really knew what my people wanted, I would test things out on stories. So if I was like, is this gonna land? Is this a. Again, the tip about Chat GPT, I’m like, does. That’s something I would maybe share on stories first. And if people are like, oh, my God, I didn’t think about that.

[00:35:07]   

Done. There’s my next post. So it’s another great place to go. Do people know this Hack about butter. Right. Do it on stories. And if they’re like, holy crap, you just changed my done. There’s your reel for the day, the next day, or Carousel. So that’s another reason I think they’re so powerful.

[00:35:21]   

They’re a great testing ground for the people who already love you. And it’s just. It creates more loyal fans because they’re. You’re in their brain beyond recipes, for sure.

[00:35:31]  Megan Porta 

And it’s such an easy testing ground, too. You can create a story in like. Like, three seconds and put it up and just see if it resonates and not overthink it.

[00:35:39]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And I don’t ever overthink stories. Even the other day when I was yapping, I was like, I don’t know what I’m saying. And I just kept going. It’s like, who cares? I mean, I wouldn’t probably put that as a reel, but when people DM me and go, oh, that hit hard. I’ll be like, okay, that part.

[00:35:52]   

I’ll turn that into a reel. You never know. You’re gonna throw something out, and people are gonna love it or they’re gonna not respond in anything that. And you can look at your insights. You can look at what that people are tapping through. I love to see what people went back on.

[00:36:06]   

So if you have a story where someone went back to watch it again, hello. That’s huge. They’re spending. They just spent two minutes watching the story over and over again. So that’s really telling too.

[00:36:17]  Megan Porta 

Yeah. I mean, that takes effort to go to. I’ve done that before. I’m like, I can’t believe I just spent, like, two minutes to go find that other story. I know. Yeah.

[00:36:25]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And you know what else, too? I think another reason I’m still in this game. After years of, you know, doing this, shouting out other people in my field who I love, I’m like, oh, my gosh. Did you see this? Did you see this? I have collabed with people. That’s helped me grow. And stories are a quick way to show other people in your world love.

[00:36:44]   

And you can be like, oh, my gosh, I’m not an expert in baking. Maybe you don’t do any baking. Maybe you’re just strictly, you know, cooking and whatever. You can be like, oh, my gosh. I know I don’t share a lot of desserts with y’, all, but you have to check out my girl over here, right?

[00:36:59]   

And then, like, you know, my. This girl Lynn, who’s in my membership, and she’s amazing, and she shares all this great stuff. And it’s like, she makes baking feel possible. Right. So if I said that in stories, like, she makes baking feel possible, like, that’s good also for her to take that information and be like, oh, is that what I do?

[00:37:15]   

So many people tell me stuff that they’re like, I learned this for Jan, and it’s oftentimes they’ll tag me in their stories and they’re like, oh, my gosh, her account. Da, da, da. And I’m like, I didn’t even know that about myself. Cool. So it’s another way to give other. You know, give yourself your community.

[00:37:29]   

Love shouting at other food creators and help them grow. And then they share it on their account. And now their audience sees your account and goes to your account. So that’s another cool way to use stories to grow.

[00:37:40]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, that’s great. What about people who are afraid to show their voice and or face? Do you have thoughts about that and encouragement for them?

[00:37:49]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yes. I hate my voice. I cannot stand the sound of my voice. Like, if my husband’s watching my stories, I’m like, turn it off.

[00:37:56]  Megan Porta 

I think we all do that. I don’t think that’s unique to you.

[00:37:59]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yeah, I think it’s definitely like a psychological thing. So just know if you don’t like your voice totally fine. A lot of people are worried because they’re slow. Like, they talk slower than most people. Like, you know, now with reels, we can even tap on if, you know, you’re a slower talker and people are like, can you get to the point?I mean, so I see so many rude comments on social media where people.

[00:38:18]  Megan Porta 

Are like, I know. Yep.

[00:38:21]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Well, we’ve got a button for that on Instagram. You can tap and speed up the reel. But for stories, if you don’t like the sound of your voice, again, it’s almost kind of a good way to just. If you aren’t using real. Your voice in real stories are a good place to start to see, to kind of get comfortable in talking on camera.

[00:38:38]   

If you don’t want to show your face, that’s. That’s totally fine. I am not into face, faceless accounts because I’m like, who are you?

[00:38:47]  Megan Porta 

Right.

[00:38:47]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I don’t want to give my money to someone. I can’t see their face. And. But because it is food, if you don’t want to show your face, you absolutely don’t have to. If your food is, you know, we’re going to follow you. If you’re giving us great recipes, we don’t need to see your face.

[00:38:59]   

I would just encourage you to show your face. But like I said, that’s why stories are so great. That’s where I started talking. I mean, reels didn’t exist when stories came out. Right. But I yapped on stories all the time. Then I was like, oh, God, now my voice can be out there for the world.

[00:39:13]   

But it got me used to it. So that’s kind of a good way to just again, test showing your face. Test, you know, using your voice. But yeah, I think with food, you definitely don’t have to show your face or even talk if you don’t want to, but make sure this the the content you’re sharing.

[00:39:27]   

Like, I know the reels that I love that food creators do is something like it’s literally just showing the recipe playing out. And it’s like POV, you were craving blank. But either, you know, something like you were craving kava but didn’t want to order out. So you make this bowl with blah, blah, blah, and it basically just tells what you’re looking at.

[00:39:47]   

Those POV reels are so powerful because you’re just reading what the person’s creating and you put some trending audio and you put the recipe in your caption, you’re done for the day. So that’s a really good way to create content. If you don’t want to show your face, if you don’t want to talk, plenty of food creators are out there who don’t do either.

[00:40:03]   

But I will encourage you, especially if you are a creator who’s going to make a cookbook, you’re going to want to do you want to be invited on stage somewhere to talk, you need to start showing your face and talking. If that’s not your goal, do you know? Do you.

[00:40:14]  Megan Porta 

Right. I just feel like the direction of things right now is going toward showing your face and doing video in some capacity or in person events. If you’re going to do video on YouTube, start showing your face on Instagram stories as just kind of a, you know, dipping your toes in the water sort of thing.

[00:40:33]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yeah. And a lot of food bloggers do voiceovers. So if you’re like, I struggle talking to camera. Start the video of you showing the recipe and just smiling. And then show the process. And then you do the voiceover. Today we’re gonna make da da da da. And then you can go from there.

[00:40:49]   

And again, with the hating of the sounding of your voice, all I can say is just get over it. I know. It’s like, I hate my voice. I start a podcast. I never. I never want to start a podcast. I hate my voice. And then I hear people say, oh, my gosh, I love your voice.

[00:41:01]   

I’m like, what are you talking about? So just know everyone hates their voice. Also, I love to tell people this. The late. The last stat I heard was this. I don’t know if it’s still true, but years ago, they said 80% of people are watching without the sound. So there you go. They’re not even hearing your voice.

[00:41:17]  Megan Porta 

They might not even hear you anyway. So.

[00:41:20]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Please, please, please use the caption sticker, because there’s people who are hearing impaired, and then again, there’s people who have the sound off. So if you’re doing a voiceover or whatever, but you can also use audio and just use the words on screen to tell the story of the recipe you’re sharing.

[00:41:34]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, Okay. I love that you’re encouraging people to do that. And then I was gonna ask you about, okay, so Eat Blog Talk. That account is probably my most active Instagram account. Every time I post a story about my family. So we do these kind of theme park adventures. We have a son who’s massively obsessed with roller coasters, so we do a lot of traveling, and we do that every single time I publish a story about that.

[00:42:02]   

Like, maybe it’s us with the roller coaster in the background, or after a tired day where we’ve been walking around for 12 hours, people go nuts. Like, so many hearts and comments like.

[00:42:13]  Shannon McKinstrie 

This is so cute.

[00:42:15]  Megan Porta 

So what does that tell me, Shannon, do? I mean, obviously, I’m not at theme parks every day or every week or every month. So how do I tap into that magic?

[00:42:24]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I would do reels on the food at the theme park, because then that merges.

[00:42:28]  Megan Porta 

Oh, that’s a good idea.

[00:42:30]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Of rides. And you’re like, you can even start off the vlog. You know, just take. Take tons of clips. Like what I did at Disney. I just took so many clips. I was gonna try to do a vlog, and then I lost steam. But we were just at Disney, right? So what I would do is, like, take all those clips.

[00:42:44]   

That way you’re not overthinking it. You’re not, you know, worrying about it. And then at the end of your trip or whenever it is, you could even. Maybe the first shot is you and your family walking into the park, and you can even say, my son. That way, you work in that. And you can even say, just because this is almost. It’s kind of a trick to do on instagram but, like, as you guys know. So someone who doesn’t know you, they’re like, what, I don’t know.

[00:43:05]  Megan Porta 

I’m supposed to know this. Yeah.

[00:43:07]  Shannon McKinstrie 

So as you guys know, my son is obsessed. Or if you follow my stories, you know, my son is obsessed with roller coasters. So I thought I’d take you along with. With us to Cedar Point, whatever it is, and go and go. But for. Because I’m a food blogger. So now you’re. Yeah, doing it.

[00:43:22]   

But since I’m a food blogger, I’m going to show you what my favorite treats or what I ate. I even saw one. I’m still getting all the Disney content since I was just there. And some girl goes, this is what I. This is everything I ate at Disney in the past 12 hours.

[00:43:34]   

And it’s going crazy, right? And she’s showing all the things and she breaks it down. So you could even start with that, here’s everything I ate at Blank, blah, blah, blah. And then go into. As you guys know, my son loves roller coasters. But, you know, I want. So, you know, so since we’re at blah, blah, blah, I thought I’d take you along to everything I ate.

[00:43:51]   

So your hook can start out with what you’re doing and then feed in and it just tells more of a story about you. And then you. In the cash, you can say if you follow along in stories you guys know. And in addition, here was my son’s favorite ride. And just that way, you’re merging all the.

[00:44:03]   

All those worlds.

[00:44:04]  Megan Porta 

Oh, I love it. Yeah. I think people also seem to like their My boys faces because they’re just adorable. So throwing those in once in a while. But I love the food thing. Just like, because I’m a food blogger. Let’s dig into the food at this theme park because. Yeah. And some of it is nasty and some of it’s good.

[00:44:21]   

You never know what you’re going to get.

[00:44:24]  Shannon McKinstrie 

You can even say, here’s what’s worth eating or worth spending your money on.

[00:44:27]  Megan Porta 

Yeah, yeah, no, I love it. That’s so great.

[00:44:29]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And plus, like I said, if someone’s going there, the algorithm already knows, and they’re shoving all that content in their face. Someone that might not know you, they’re like, oh, oh. And she’s a food blogger. I can’t believe I’m not following her. So now they’ve got the connection. Point of the fact you guys both went to the same amusement park, and then everyone needs to eat.

[00:44:45]   

So, yeah.

[00:44:47]  Megan Porta 

Gold. That is gold. Thank you so much.

[00:44:50]  Shannon McKinstrie 

You’re so welcome.

[00:44:51]  Megan Porta 

All right, Is there anything else that we’re missing before we start saying goodbye, Shannon?

[00:44:55]  Shannon McKinstrie 

I don’t think so. I just want to, you know. Yeah. I just want to encourage them that, like, everyone listening. There’s so many food bloggers, but there’s also so many Instagram coaches, and I’m still showing up. And I get discouraged a lot sometimes, too, with the numbers, but just know, you know, it’s.

[00:45:10]   

It’s. It takes passion, patience, and persistence. And I always say, the algorithm didn’t get me here. My community did. So really, if you do have 500 followers. I had 500 followers in the beginning. For months, I had just 500 followers, and I leaned on them to learn what they needed to know. And then I created content.

[00:45:29]   

Like, if it wasn’t for them in the beginning, I wouldn’t have the following I have now. So, yeah. Yeah. And even, like I said, I think the biggest shift we’ve seen in 2025, why so many people are struggling, it’s no longer Crockpot, blah, blah, blah. It’s like, here’s my favorite Crockpot, blah, blah.

[00:45:47]   

Like, we want to know your favorite, what your perspective is, why you’re at the amusement park. Right. We want to follow each other’s journeys, perspectives. So the more that if you’re discouraged right now, just know that that shift is all it’s going to take to get those numbers back up.

[00:46:01]  Megan Porta 

Oh, I love that. Final encouragement. That was perfect. Thank you. And I’ll share where your show notes can be found in a little bit. But first, I know you offer services not just for. For stories, but kind of the scope of social media. Will you tell us exactly what you offer?

[00:46:15]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Yeah. So I have a membership called the Reels Lab, and essentially every week I just give you your reels for the week. So there is a food category. There’s also a health, nutrition, you know, so if you’re in. If you do food, but like, healthy, there’s also a category for you there. There’s 30 industries, quote, unquote niches in the membership.

[00:46:33]   

So each week on Friday, I give you your audios, your hooks, your captions. You fill in a few blanks based on. On, you know, your. Your topic or your people. And there’s also a script. So if you do want to start doing voiceovers or scripts, there’s one there, too. So each week I’m just handing you your six to seven reels, whichever ones you want to do, of the week.

[00:46:53]   

And then there’s two live calls and there’s a community space. So if you’re stuck, I’m here. Like, I know it’s a lot. It’s like the. I don’t want you guys stressing of this stuff. So that’s my membership. And so essentially I’m like. I’m like your social media. A team to help you out so that you don’t have to scroll and guess.

[00:47:10]   

Yeah.

[00:47:10]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And then.

[00:47:10]  Shannon McKinstrie 

And then my podcast, which is called Good Content, which they’re really short episodes because I only. That’s all I have capacity for.

[00:47:17]  Megan Porta 

Yeah.

[00:47:17]  Shannon McKinstrie 

So if you just need a quick win every week, tune into that. And it’s called Good Content.

[00:47:21]  Megan Porta 

Amazing. I’m gonna listen to your podcast. And then by short, what do you. I’m curious what your short means.

[00:47:26]  Shannon McKinstrie 

10 minutes.

[00:47:27]  Megan Porta 

10 minutes. I love it. I do some 10 minute episodes too. And they. They just feel like if you’re talking alone, it just feels like the right amount of time. It’s like a bite sized. Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, that’s great. We’ll put everything that you just mentioned in your show notes and you can find those at eatblogtalk.com/ShannonMcKinstrie. And that is spelled. Do you want to spell that for us, Shannon?

[00:47:49]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Sure. Yep. M, C, K I N S, T, R, I, E.

[00:47:55]  Megan Porta 

So go check Shannon out. We are so grateful for your time and all the value you share today. So thank you for joining us.

[00:48:02]  Shannon McKinstrie 

Thank you so much. So fun.

[00:48:03]  Megan Porta 

So fun. And thanks for listening, food bloggers. I will see you next time. 

[00:48:10]  Outro

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eat Blog Talk. If today’s episode sparked an idea for you, snap a screenshot, post it on Instagram Stories and Tag me at Eat Blog Talk. I love seeing what resonates with you.I will see you next time.