Hi there.
I haven't blogged in awhile, though I promise, I'm taking Peanut Butter Is My Boyfriend to the next level in the coming months.
There's a lot of different things I'd like to get better at in regards to the blogosphere and perhaps if I write them down and put them out there, I'll be held a little more accountable. Maybe. No promises.
Food Photography
The number one way to draw people into your blog is with pictures of food that makes them drool. Come on, you know it's true!
I've been trying to take the time to practice my food photog skills but I'm trying to read as much as I can on the subject as well. There are some phenomenal bloggers out there who have written extremely detailed posts about their tips for capturing that 'grammable, Pinnable, postable pic.
There's much more that goes into a food picture than pointing and shooting your iPhone at it. Natural lighting, backdrops, DSLR cameras, "food props" - these are all things that I'm having a great time learning about. It's a little overwhelming, especially when there are so many talented ladies out there, but I'm inspired and slowly but surely I'm trying to improve the quality of the images here on Peanut Butter Is My Boyfriend.
This was my photography session with some Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Bites using a recipe from Gimme Some Oven. Her recipes are a new favorite of mine!
If you want to learn more on the topic, I recommend checking out this post by Nicolesy on Food Props and Styling Resources and this post by Laura at A Beautiful Plate about using cheap, everyday items as backgrounds for food photographs.
Becoming Part of the Healthy Living Blog Community
Since Kaitlin added me to the Bloggers Gonna Blog community on Facebook, I have learned a TON about the huge network of Healthy Living Bloggers out there. These women are so inspiring, so intelligent, so motivating and so damn bad-ass. Not to mention they are successful.
One goal of mine is to become more involved with the community aspect of blogging - leaving comments on others' blogs, taking part in meet-ups and link-ups and contests and exchanges. There is so much that I can learn from these ladies - and I am so grateful to have Georgie and Christina leading the charge on this amazing community.
Creating Catchy Graphics
Though I'm not a big fan of Pinterest, I know that it's a HUGE way to draw traffic to my blog. And the way you get noticed on Pinterest is with clickable graphics. This involves not only good photography, but good design.
Learning to use programs like Canva and PicMonkey while trying to figure out the ins and outs of Pinterest is another major goal for the coming months.
I'm straight up terrified of Pinterest but, we'll see if I can make the plunge!
These were granola cups that I made from Chocolate Covered Katie's recipe - they were perfect for a potluck brunch!
Become a Brand Ambassador
There are tons of brands out there whose products I love and who I think my readers would love too. I hope to team up with some brands this year - to not only get some free goodies, but to share these awesome brands' products and stories with readers!
There are some healthy food companies out there with wonderful messages, business practices and stories and to have the opportunity to interview some of the folks behind these companies would be so interesting and rewarding for me.
Make Some Ca$h Through Advertising
You may have noticed some sidebar and banner advertisements going up on Peanut Butter Is My Boyfriend. So far, I've made a few cents. Literally, cents. But I'm learning the whole business side of blogging slowly but surely and while it's certainly not an easy task, I hope to one day make Peanut Butter Is My Boyfriend somewhat profitable.
Post More
Sounds so cliche, but it's true. I'd love to come up with a schedule and pump out more content.
What types of posts are your favorite to read?
GET TO KNOW YOU ALLLLLL - MY BEAUTIFUL READERS
Seriously. My biggest goal is to connect with the people who read this. I hate looking at my "metrics" and not having a clue who is behind them. So come out of hiding anonymous readers!
Leave a comment. What's your name? Where are you from? Do you know me in real life? What's your favorite food? Did you watch Making a Murderer?
LETS BE FRIENDS.
Any and all feedback is always appreciated - thanks for sticking around :)
