Ep #10: Avoiding the Dangers of Comparison for Food Bloggers with Ali Ebright

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We all know the saying about how we shouldn’t compare our insides to someone else’s outsides. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook — they all make great case studies to prove that point. Everyone else can look so slick and polished on social media! And that means it’s so easy to sit at our laptop and look at others and think they have their pretty, little lives together, while we feel so messed up. The same thing can be true for food blogging. We see other bloggers getting sponsored posts and we think, “Why didn’t I get that?” We might even take it a step further and think, “I didn’t get that sponsored post because…I suck.” We might think everyone else’s photographs look so amazing…and ours are not up to par. Everyone else understands SEO, while we don’t. Everyone else has original, creative content and ours is just so-so. I could go on and on. We might even go so far as to contemplate quitting. It’s a miserable feeling, comparing ourselves to others. That’s why talking about Avoiding the Dangers of Comparison for Food Bloggers with Ali Ebright today is so perfect. Ali really has some great advice. I think you’re gonna love it!

Comparing yourselves to others can be treacherous. That's why Ali Ebright with the blog Gimme Some Oven is on the Chopped Podcast talking about Avoiding the Dangers of Comparison for Food Bloggers

Do you remember that feeling when you first started your blog? You were so high on inspiration that everything felt fun and exciting. Then one day you read a post on how to grow your traffic and what does it recommend? Commenting on other blogs. “Great,” you think. “I can do that!” But then you get out and start commenting and you see all the beautiful photos, great website designs, and snappy writing. Or maybe you see photos of happy families, attractive dogs, or gorgeous kitchens. I bet some of those kitchens don’t even have junk drawers!

You see that last sentence? That’s where the comparison is creeping in for the kill. When you start comparing your insecurities to the pretty, showy look of others’ blogs (or social media), you can get into trouble. We all can be susceptible to this at times. There’s actually condition for it, it’s called Imposter Syndrome. We feel like we’re not up to everyone else’s snuff.

To be your best, creative self, you’ve got to find a place of self acceptance and inspiration. That’s why Ali Ebright from the blog Gimme Some Oven is our guest on the Chopped Podcast today. Ali’s put a lot of thought into this topic because she’s seen the havoc comparison can wreak on people.

Over the years I’ve learned to remind myself that any other blogger’s success is great for the industry. If someone else has a post that goes viral or if they get some amazing contract, that’s so good for blogging! — Ali Ebright

Ali has some great advice on the comparison game. For example, if you ever find yourself worried that you don’t have enough traffic on your site, just imagine you’re in a room and you’re the guest speaker. So if you have only 300 people a month coming to your site, imagine a room with 300 people in it. That would be a LOT of people to talk to. Serve those 300 people the best you can, and amazing things can begin to happen.

Instead of building my traffic or building social media numbers or developing some kind of reputation, at the end of the day if I do nothing else, I want to have the approach that I serve my readers well. — Ali Ebright

Featured Content – The Dangers of Comparison for Food Bloggers with Ali Ebright

Here are some of the highlights of my discussion with Ali:

  • How Ali first became interested in cooking and decided to start her blog
  • How Ali seeks feedback from her readers and friends
  • How Ali learned about food photography and how she shares it forward by giving food photography tips with others too!
  • Ali’s favorite part about food blogging involves the magic of the internet
  • Ali’s advice for how to handle jealousy over someone else’s success
  • Ali’s even better advice for giving praise to our fellow food bloggers to help kick comparison in the butt
  • Ali talks about the importance of telling your story
  • Why it’s important to believe in yourself
  • Thinking about your blogging Personal Record (PR)
  • If you’ve ever thought that your audience is too small, Ali has a great tip for helping you reframe that
  • Why you should focus on the people in your audience; Serve your audience; Serve the story
  • How to know your readers
  • Ali’s tip for getting out of a creative rut
  • Ali encourages you to start a hashtag
  • Ali’s favorite online resources.

Show Notes

This episode includes references to several resources you might find interesting. Here they are:

Announcements

  1. Learn about future Chopped Podcast episodes by subscribing to the ChoppedCon newsletter. Just add your email in the subscribe section at the bottom of this page. You’ll be glad you did!
  2. Rachel Gurk is the next guest on the Chopped Podcast talking about how food bloggers can work with brands.Our next podcast interview is with Rachel Gurk with the blog Rachel Cooks. Rachel and I talk about how food bloggers can work with brands. Whether you’re new to working with brands or an experienced pro, you’ll find something in this interview of interest.  If you’re taking steps to make your food blog your business, you’ll love the advice that Rachel shares. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!

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