how to become an instagram blogger

Ever wondered how to become a food blogger in 2020? Then let me give you a quick rundown of food blogging 101 and explain what it takes in order to start a food blog! I will be giving you many helpful tips and share some important insights of how to get started in the blogging sphere with you.

What fuels you with passion?

Make sure to find a topic or niche that you are really passionate about. I am a fitness food blogger and since I have started my blog I did not have one day where I couldn’t think of a recipe I wanted to make. The ideas just keep coming and I could be in the kitchen everyday whipping up my next low carb or keto creation. I just have so much love and interest in what I do that the ideas keep coming. So, my tip for you is to really pick a topic that you know won’t get dull and boring after making 30 recipes. If you think you should be a vegan foodie because vegan food is trendy right now, but don’t eat vegan yourself or find it that interesting because you would rather eat juicy burgers and cheesy fries you will soon run out of motivation.

Setting you up for success

After having defined your niche and blogging topic you can start to set up your blog and Instagram account. These two platforms are the most important right now in my opinion. I get most partnerships over Instagram, a lot of them also requesting a package deal of a blog post and Instagram posting in combination.

If you decide to start your own blog you will need a web host. I can recommend signing up with Bluehost! This is where you can buy your domain name (they have a one year for free offer right now) and get your email address. Bluehost also has a one-click WordPress installation, which makes starting your own food blog so much easier. Moreover, they have really great customer service, which is always important if you run into any troubles and need guidance.

For my website I also use WordPress. This can be a bit challenging at first, but after a couple of hours you will get the hang of it. It lets you do much more than other sides with easier user interfaces like jimdo or wix.

Regarding Instagram I recommend you open a business profile because this will give you much more access to interesting statistic. Also make sure your account is set to public and to to private! Start learning about how to grow on Instagram with my 10 top tips. You might also enjoy this YouTube video explaining some growth tips.

The right equipment for a food blogger

In order to take photos I really recommend you to get a DSLR camera. I shoot with a Nikon D750 which is great because of its speed and easy handling. If you are just starting out I recommend the D7500 with a 50mm 1.8 lens. Right now I am shooting with a 35mm 1.8 lens that takes beautiful photos as well.

Besides camera equipment it is important to have a nice setup for your photos. It makes sense to get a backdrop paper or a big marble platter you can use for shooting. Gather some nice kitchen towels, cutlery, glasses, dishes and other fun deco items.

I have an amazing blog post on „basic food blogging equipment“ that you should definitely have a look. It shows you the absolute basics you should acquire as a food blogger.

Food Styling

What can really set you apart from hobby bloggers is the way you style your food. Anyone can make a cake and take a photo of it. But to really draw attention to the shot you should master some basic skills of food styling. Decoration can make all the difference. Experiment with flowers, sprinkles, berries and so on to really add details and layers of interest to your photos.

Here are two blog posts you simply need to check out:

Useful tools for a food blogger

There are some tools that make your life a lot easier when it comes to scheduling posts or designing layouts for your Pinterest. My favorite tools that I use all the time are: Canva, UNUM, Unfold, Lightroom, Hype Type, Mailerlite and Hyperlapse.

With Canva you can design all kinds of awesome layouts. I use it to make my Youtube headers, Infographics and invitations and Pinterest graphics.
UNUM I use for scheduling my posts and planning my gallery. It is very useful to see how your future feed will look like!
I edit all my photos in Lightroom. This tool literally makes all the difference and you should invest your money in it.
Hypetype, Hyperlapse and Unfold are great tools to pimp your Instastory
Mailerlite: this is my email marketing provider which I use to create email lists

There is another awesome blog post about this topic here.

Putting in the hours

Many people don’t see the work that goes behind producing high quality food pics and engaging posts on Instagram and our blogs. There are countless hours invested in the kitchen, preparing the dishes, the set, shooting the photo, editing it, writing amazing copy for the blog posts, putting the recipe together and then promoting the whole thing on our social channels. If you really want to become a food blogger you need to know that you also have to put in the effort and hours to make this successful!

To sum it up I am sharing with you my personal story of how I became I food blogger:

If you want to stay up-to-date with all my food blogging tips you can sign up for my food blogging email list. I will be sending you a bundle of my best food blogging tips and tricks straight to your inbox <3

I also have a full fletched food blogging online course that will teach you everything you need to know in order to become a food blogger and start getting your first company cooperations. Click here for more infos.

xoxo,

With roughly 1 billion monthly users, Instagram’s powerful platform carries massive value for brands. If you’re looking to turn your Instagram influence into a side hustle or rather a full-time business, keep reading to learn five tools for Instagram bloggers to help you become an established influencer yourself.

Kicksta

It’s extremely difficult to become an established Instagram blogger without a solid following. The key, especially for micro-influencers, is to get more followers who have a genuine interest in your niche aka will actually want to read your blogs and engage with your posts.

Gaining followers on Instagram can be a time-consuming and tedious process. Instagram growth services, like Kicksta, use specific methods such as liking photos posted by people in your target audience, following users in your audience or auto-commenting, to name a few, to get you more organic Instagram followers. Practices like this will avoid gaining robot followers and have you on your way to reaching your goal of an esteemed Instagram blogger. Check out Kicksta now.

Lightroom

Gone are the days of posting any old unfiltered photo on Instagram. Prospective and current followers expect your account to maintain a certain look, theme, or color palette. Today, the importance of upholding an Instagram aesthetic is key when striving to become an established Instagram blogger.

So how does one create an aesthetic? Editing softwares like Lightroom were originally intended for professional photographers, but now are accessible to everyone.

For new bloggers or for those with limited time, presets aid in speeding up the process. Presets are editing actions saved into a file, so you can categorize projects, batch edit quickly and produce a consistent look for your Instagram feed. Popular influencers now sell their presets to help other inspiring bloggers edit their photos. So whether you’re editing yourself or turning to your favorite bloggers for help, Lightroom is the perfect outlet to ensure your aesthetic is on point.

This is the before and after of a photo I edited in Lightroom:

LinkTree

Linktree allows you to get the most out of your Instagram bio link. This tool creates a custom link for your Instagram profile that houses multiple links like newsletter signups, blog posts and links to promotional products.

Linktree maximizes your Instagram bio and takes away the hassle of constantly switching out the link if you have more than one blog live or simultaneous collabs going on at once. If you’re searching for tools to become an established Instagram blogger, this solo link in your bio is extremely powerful. It is definitely one of the best tools for Instagram bloggers!

Canva

Creating graphics is essential for your blog and social media platforms. Thankfully, if you’re no photoshop wizard, Canva is the best solution. Canva is incredible for creating graphics of all shapes and sizes. This tool is your new best friend to create branded images.

Canva offers a wide range of templates whether it be for social media, blog graphics or headers. No matter the use, Canva captures your social following’s attention and allows you to create like a pro. You can upload images, edit, filter, choose from hundreds of fonts and change the templates’ colors to make one of a kind creations. Did I mention it’s free?

When it comes to social media and becoming an established Instagram blogger, Canva is the graphic design tool you need to create better-branded images, pinnable posts, and engaging Instagram stories.

This is for example a graphic I made for my Pinterest board in order to link to this blog post:

UNUM

When we are taking about tools for Instagram bloggers this last one can’t be missing. This free app is my favorite tool for scheduling my posts and planning out my gallery. I usually sit down once a week and prepare all my posts for the upcoming days.

UNUM not only saves users time but also helps influencers and brands design a visually appealing feed. By scheduling posts, you can actively plan how your feed will look ahead of time to match the aesthetic you’re aiming to create.

Additionally, UNUM aims to help users get more engagement and views by providing optimal times to post. While you can do this manually by reviewing audience metrics through Instagram Insights, UNUM does this work for you.

Here is a screenshot of what my UNUM gallery planning looks like at the moment:

Everything over after the blue line is what I have scheduled for the upcoming days. It is so helpful to see the posts next to each other and helps me to color code my feed.

It’s a wrap on my favorite tools for Instagram bloggers

Now that you’re equipped with an arsenal of various social media marketing softwares, find your niche and get working. Nothing will make you an overnight success. However with patience, determination and these programs under your belt, you’re guaranteed to see results and become the established influencer of your dreams.

Here are some more blog posts on Instagram growth if you are interested in learning more about this topic:

You can also sign up for my free food blogging success email list to get important blogging info delivered straight to your inbox:

I hope you enjoyed this blog post on my favorite tools for Instagram bloggers. Let’s talk soon!