What is the one thing you are missing out on as a Food Blogger? Learn all about the secret ingredient for food blogging success from Kristy Bernardo!
Food has always been a central part of building any lasting relationship. Great friendships are forged over cups of coffee or pints of beer. Births, marriages and even deaths in a family are occasions where food and drink play important roles. So it is only natural that a group of people who write about their journey with cooking and food would naturally veer towards each other. And that is exactly the case with the ever increasing food blogging community.
It’s a community where great friendships are formed and there is a genuine support for budding bloggers. One of the most active and engaged thought leaders within this community and a dedicated community manager for food bloggers from across the world is Kristy Bernardo of The Wicked Noodle.
She has been a huge personal inspiration and once you hear what she has to say, her warmth and sincerity will be enough reason to make you want to be a part of this community. That is the real strength of community building.
Find out what building a community means, what you can gain from being a part of a community and what it really means to be the person behind getting all these people together with a thirst to grow and learn.
There is no hard and fast rule as to what community building is. So what according to you is community building and how does it help a blogger?
The interesting thing is that I never set out to build a community outside of my blog and it never occurred to me that I was doing so. It’s in my nature to want to learn from others as well as share any knowledge I have; that trait has served me well in my blogging life. I’m a believer in hard work and building one another up, never tearing down, and I enjoy the friendships and mentor-mentee relationships I’ve cultivated over the years. I enjoy being in both roles as there is always more for me to learn and, therefore, always more for me to pass along.
Personally, having a community to learn and share with has made me grow further in my career than I ever could have without it.
In your opinion, how different is building a community to handling a tribe? The kind of thing that Minimalist Baker talks about on their blog.
In my opinion, Minimalist Baker is essentially building a community, she’s simply calling it a tribe. The way she approaches it is right in line with my philosophy. To expand on that, I also believe in creating a community of peers, which, for me, includes bloggers, writers and photographers of all types.
I believe that we all have so much to learn from one another and it’s gratifying to be able to share without the weight of competition hanging over you. I admire bloggers who believe enough in their work that they’re able to share and grow with one another.
I have always believed that my only competition is myself.
A lot of bloggers must be approaching you for help, especially when they start off. I know I have, and your group has been very helpful. But what is in it for you?
First of all, I really enjoy helping others, it’s who I am and how I was raised. Secondly, helping bloggers just starting out does several things for me: it reminds me what it was like to be new and be so unsure of what I’m doing. It also helps keep things fresh in my mind in terms of what’s important (after you’ve been doing this awhile it’s easy to forget)! And it creates more relationships that I truly value, some which have lasted years. What it really comes down to is that I’m just a Midwestern girl at heart and I simply carry the “help your neighbor” mentality through to my profession. It’s easy for all of us to forget that we’re dealing with real people on the other end of our computers. So don’t forget — it’s simple.
What has been your biggest challenge when it comes to community building, and if possible could you elaborate?
My biggest challenge is when people take but don’t give back. There’s a lot of that present in the blogging world and my best advice is to always give people the benefit of the doubt. If they continue to take after that and not reciprocate, cut them loose. It may sound harsh, but a community is only as good as its members.
How much time do you spend on your community building efforts?
I spend 2–3 hours per day on community building. Much more if you take the hours in the day that I put into Jalapeño Mania(Jalapeno Mania is a photo aggregation site Like Food Gawker that Kristy has set up, which features any recipe with peppers in it!). It’s not something I sit down to do each day, it’s simply a priority that I made a long time ago. And that’s what I would recommend to others looking to become a community leader: make it part of your mission, not something you have to force yourself to do. If you believe in it, it will happen naturally. And this can only help you grow your own business!
Is Jalapeno Mania also geared towards a community building effort?
Jalapeño Mania is one hundred percent a community effort, that’s what I love so much about it! Yes, it’s a photo-aggregate site similar to Foodgawker, but we’re different in that we really believe in promoting our contributors as often as possible. Each day we feature members photos from our community on Instagram, tagging them at least twice in an effort to help them grow their audience. We’re also launching “20 Questions with our Favorite Food Bloggers” which is a fun way to help our bloggers spread the word about their blog and what makes them unique. We also plan on launching some brand campaigns in the near future. What’s unique about our brand campaigns is that we’ll be pitching our most loyal contributors first, regardless of the size of their following. We want to reward our contributors since, without them, we wouldn’t have a community at all. And we’re grateful!
What are the best parts of being a thought leader in the food blogging sphere?
I’ll reiterate what I’ve already stated about the value of relationships. Nothing is better than those! Of course, being respected for my work and community is positive reinforcement with I think we can all use more of. And it helps to keep me on my toes because I’m always trying to be better than the person I was yesterday. Having a community helps to hold me accountable. And, when I feel like slacking off, I remember that I’m not really in this alone. That’s always a good way for me to get motivated!
This might seem a lot like social media promotion, to you right? What’s the difference then? The singular difference is the give-and-take dialogue that happens with community building. With promotions, it’s a lot of give or a lot of take. Both don’t happen simultaneously.
Essentially community building is the one sure shot way a blogger can measure their effectiveness. In an offline world, it’s easy to judge ones popularity and effectiveness. Online, not so much. And this is way better than simply having a fan page, because it facilitates learning, introduces friendships and basically makes you feel better.
It is what brands and bloggers do to engage in an ongoing give-and-take dialogue with their reader/audiences to get the most out of that relationship.
There are a few essentials in community building:
- A give-and-take dialogue
- Frequent and useful communication
- An easy, open and approachable environment
This means the community leader has to be approachable, committed, and is genuinely interested in what their community has to say.
This is what makes Kristy tick. She has been the one face from international blogging circles who I have had a very easy communication with. Not once has there been condescension or high-handedness. This is what makes a true community leader.
While all of us may not be Kristy Bernardos, we bloggers certainly need a few of them in our lives. It’s a highly evolving, mature industry that we food bloggers are a part of now. So to be part of that community, foster and growth has become essential.
To find out more about Kristy and her efforts check out The Wicked Noodle and Jalapeno Mania. Or drop her a line. She replies! If you are anything like me, you will be hooked. And your blog will be the wiser in this case, with improved traffic, better pictures and an overall professionalism.
