Ep #26: Putting the Creative Back in Food Blogging with Amanda Rettke

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Most of us start our food blogs with a passionate goal of sharing our recipes and food photography with others. It doesn’t take long, though, before the science of blogging kicks in. Analytics. Charts. Data. And although understanding the science behind a food blog is important, you’ve also got to find a way to stay in touch with the passion for why you started in the first place. That’s why today’s discussion is so important: Putting the Creative Back in Food Blogging with Amanda Rettke.

Amanda Rettke

Amanda Rettke is the creative force behind the blog I Am Baker, with recipes and photos that are so ubiquitous that you immediately recognize them, like her amazing Surprise Inside Cakes. It’s no surprise why she’s such a well-loved food blogger!

Amanda has a few tips for food bloggers looking to make their own mark on the world. Her first tip? Don’t box yourself in too much. Although it’s tempting to have a super narrow niche, Amanda points out how we as humans are complex individuals with a lot of interests, so why not allow our blogging to be as well? Amanda does this by offering both I Am Baker, where she shares mostly baking and dessert recipes, and I Am Mommy, where she blogs more about life and other non-dessert recipes.

Regarding developing your creative process, Amanda explains that some people find the most comfort in having a publishing schedule whereas others feel better with a little more flexibility in what’s going to be published. The most important thing is to understand what works best for you and your process.

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. A great quote on pursuing your creativity! #choppedcon Share on X

Amanda credits creativity with over 50% of what she does as a food blogger. When she’s feeling a little uninspired she looks to things in her environment, whether it be the bumper sticker on the car in front of her or the colors in an outfit or whatever. She encourages people to take a quick note so you don’t forget these nuggets throughout the day.

You can enhance your creativity by being organized in your process for gathering the ideas that come to you throughout the day.

The best way to have an interesting blog is to have an interesting life. — Amanda Rettke #choppedcon podcast Share on X We're the best at what we do when we're living life to the fullest. — Amanda Rettke #choppedcon podcast Share on X Live life in a way that has nothing to do with your job but everything to do with your joy. — Amanda Rettke @choppedcon podcast Share on X

Amanda is a big believer in using statistics and analytics to help guide your decisions as  food blogger, however, she’s also a proponent of knowing your creative process and understanding what works best for you. A lot of bloggers feel shame when it comes to this topic and Amanda encourages you to have freedom with your time to encourage more creativity.

Featured Content – Putting the Creative Back in Food Blogging

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

  • Why Amanda started her blog I Am Baker
  • Amanda describes her cooking journey. It’s interesting, for sure!
  • Amanda encourages you to find ways to create relationships with readers
  • Amanda talks about the different ways we as adults learn and the importance of connecting with other bloggers to learn as much as you can about blogging
  • Amanda talks about the complexities of combining both creative and technical skills required of food bloggers
  • Amanda talks about the importance of remaining organized to capture the ideas that come to you throughout the day.
  • How to push ideas to their limits!
  • What to do when you find yourself in an idea “drought”
  • Amanda talks about the importance of getting away from your computer and getting together with other bloggers
  • Why Amanda quit comparing herself with everyone else and abandoned her editorial calendar to find happiness as a blogger
  • Amanda advises including creativity in your social media sharing as well
  • Amanda shares about her creative and playful Instagram direction
  • Amanda mentions that 80% of Facebook users only use it via mobile so it’s important to look at the posts you’re sharing via mobile as well
  • Amanda encourages you to embrace your power as a food blogger!
  • Amanda doesn’t believe in competition within the food blogging community. Let’s embrace and encourage one another!

Show Notes

This episode includes references to some 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. Tickets for the 2015 Chopped Conference are available. You can also attend a Food Photography Workshop with Matt Armendariz or participate in the dynamic Food Blog Success Summit. Take your food blog to the next level…learn more and buy your tickets today!
  3. Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking is the next guest on the Chopped PodcastOur next podcast interview is with Gaby Dalkin of the site What’s Gaby Cooking. Gaby and I are talking about recipe development for food bloggers. Gaby is a professional chef but specializes in easy and accessible recipes. Listen in for tips to make your recipes easy for your readers as well! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss it!

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Thanks so much for listening to today’s podcast. I hope you found it informative and helpful to the work you do every day. Make sure you don’t miss out on any of the Chopped Podcast episodes by heading on over to iTunes to subscribe to the Chopped Podcast. While you’re there, provide a review and rating is a great way to help other podcast listeners find it too! That’s it for today’s podcast. As always, thanks so much for joining in the discussion!

Posted in Food Blogging, Podcast