Start A Blog
Click Here to see all of the tools and equipment we use.
Secrets Revealed: Are you interested in learning how to start a Food Blog? We started Natasha’s Kitchen in 2009 and I’m so glad we did! It has grown into a very fulfilling and seriously FUN full time career for my husband and I. We’ve gotten so much helpful advice from top food bloggers over the years and we are so happy to be able to do the same for you. We’ve found that the most successful people are also the most willing to help others. We created this page to share advice based on what we’ve done that worked and also mistakes we’ve made (and some were so time-consuming and stressful that we want to spare you the same troubles we had).
Your blog can be LIVE in less than 30 minutes; no technical skills required! Let’s dive right in to: How to Start a Food Blog 🙂
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means we earn a commission if you purchase something after clicking the link. As always, we only recommend products and services that we trust.
How To Start a Food Blog:
First of all, I wanted to share a really great resource with you that I think would be super helpful for many of you.
If you have a blog or are considering one (even if it’s not a food blog), you need to look into Food Blogger Pro. It’s a membership website for food bloggers that shows you how to set up and grow your food blog step-by-step. It has 250+ video tutorials to teach you everything from:
- Starting a blog (step-by-step video instructions!)
- Building traffic and growing your blog
- Improving your food photography, and editing photos
- Social media setup and growth
- Utilizing all the “essential tools” for your blog (Google analytics, managing giveaways)
- How to generate an income through your blog
- Writing and creating an e-book
Food Blogger Pro is a membership-based website so you have the option of a monthly membership or yearly membership. It will take your blog to the next level and that’s why I’m so excited to share it with you!
(Step 1) Naming YOUR Blog
If you are serious about your blog, take some time to brainstorm a domain name. Pick something that is catchy, relevant and easy to remember. Run your ideas by your closest friends or fam and get feedback. I think my sister Alla gave me the idea for NatashasKitchen.com! Head on over to GoDaddy and plug in your ideas. This part is fun and you can stake your claim on your unique domain name asap!
Once you’ve purchased your name, also purchase domain privacy (so your home address isn’t floating on the internet) and also open accounts on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else that you can secure your business name (i.e @natashaskitchen).
(Step 2): Webhost
1. The two biggest factors to consider when choosing a hosting company are reputation, customer service and performance. We recommend Rocket.net and signing up is easy, fast, and secure. Their hosting is delivered and optimized by Cloudflare Enterprise, making our website load quickly for all of our readers around the world. I am an affiliate with Rocket so let them know I sent you and you will get a 20% discount on your hosting plan.
(Step 3): Installing WordPress
After you’ve signed up with Rocket.net you will need to install WordPress (a blogging software). We have used WordPress from the birth of our blog and love it because of it’s simplicity; it’s very user-friendly and installation is a breeze. The team at Rocket.net can walk you through the process.
You’re there. You’re officially a blogger. Congrats!!
Choosing a Theme or Design for your Blog
Thesis Theme for WordPress
– We started out with Thesis and used it for about 2 years. Genesis is a very popular theme as well.
Free Themes for WordPress
– WordPress has tons of free themes available if you’re not ready to purchase a “premium” theme right. Please do some research and check the theme’s rating before downloading and install it onto your blog. Avoid themes with three stars or less.
If you’re serious about your blog and want it to the next level, invest in a custom web design. Cre8d redesigned our blog in 2015 and it was blog changing! We continue to work with them and I always recommend them; worth every penny. If you get a quote from them, let them know I sent you by using my referral code: NK.
Creating an Income With Your Blog
When you’re first starting out, if you decide to place ads on your site, they will help to cover costs. As your blog grows with time, dedication and hard work, it is possible to create a full time income from blogging. The primary ad network we work with is Adthrive.
Click Here for More: Blogging Resources
I hope you found this tutorial on how to start a food blog helpful and do let me know once you’ve published your first blog post. Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging. 🙂
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Thank you Natasha for information and being so kind to me.
God bless you✿✿✿
You’re very welcome! I’m glad it was helpful.
I’m a big fan, love your cooking/ baking recipes there the best! Sending lots of love from Canada!
You’re so nice! Thank you, Naomi! I’m happy you’re enjoying my recipes!
Do you recommend Bluehost or big scoot? Also, did you try mediavine or do you know anyone who tried (who does not qualify for adthrive yet) or do you recommend any others?
Thank you!
Hi Lil, please see my host recommendation above. I have been with Mediavine in the past and they were great. They are one of the top few in the industry also
Hi Natasha. I wrote a comment asking where you get your nutrition chart from, but I don’t remember where I wrote it. Any tip would be appreciated as you don’t have anything about it on “start a blog”. I’m having a hard time finding any guidance. Thanks in advance!
Hello Nelson, I have used Caloriecount.com (their recipe analyzer is free).
Hi Natasha! Im a huge fan of your blog! and super inspired. Quick question: When you purchased your domain name with go daddy was it expensive? I picked a name and its almost a $1000.00 bucks, is that how much it normally cost? how much did you pay? and how do you know its a good purchase or not?
Thanks bunches in advance!!
Hi Julie, I think I paid $10 because it was not a valuable brand when I first started it. It will be expensive to buy a common name.
Hi! I have a blog already, aliohman.com, and it has some recipes on it. I wish I had seen this before I started it a year ago. 😉 I love your blog so so much!! I have used some of your recipes including the eclairs and chocolate molten lava cake. I love what you are doing, keep up the good work!
Thank you for your informative post about food blogging. I am a new blogger and am having difficulties finding the right SEO plugin. Is there a plugin you would recommend?
Hi Heather, I use the yoast pluggin for SEO
Hello!
Very helpfull sites for all foodie beginner. I’m gald for the first time i write a comments for any food blogger.
Natasha Your recipes is outstanding. My whole family like Your cooking
I have also cooking channal but is just starting. Kindly watch my cooking channal & subscribe it.
I hope you like it. Thanks a lot
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Thanks for the info Natasha. We’re also looking to start a food blog. So much info feels overwhelming though. Did you pay someone to do all this work for you? I’m afraid I may mess up in the process if I do it myself. Thanks
Hi Nelson, it definitely can be a full time job. We started on our own and later hired a web designer when the size of our site warranted it. There is so much to learn in blogging for sure. I hope the resources above help.
yes they do help. my wife and I use you as reference on how to do many things. (we’re not stocking you, I promise) but it goes like “what did Natasha do to solve it?” we have come to trust what you do and feel identified with you through our faith as well. we’ll definitely meet you one day!
Hi! What program do you use more food labels?
Hi Monte, we use wp recipe maker and it is part of that pluggin.
I do not know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading your article. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
So lovely to hear that, Steve. Thanks for checking out my website and recipes!
HI NATASHA IAM CLARIS DISHES AND LIFE STYLE
Hi Natasha
would you have any tips or ideas for new bloggers. I’m thinking of starting a Christian blog but I don’t really know how to start
Hi Tiffany, I highly recommend going through the resources I mentioned above. There are so many great ones out there. Food blogger pro is a perfect place to start.
Hey Natasha, Whould you mind sharing with me which SEO you went with? I’m looking at those that have been suggested: YOAST, Bluehost, Siteground, etc. I love your blog and appreciate you going forward with starting one when you did!
Hi Lana, we use Yoast SEO.
Hi Natasha love all your recipes
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles
Dear Natasha, firstly I admire and enjoy your blog so much, and I’m so excited to see the info that you have shared here about starting a blog. I’m considering starting one, but will share my own family recipes and wanted to also recommend other good recipes that I have tried. I noticed that you do this from time to time. I wanted to ask you about how to share other people’s recipes with proper protocol and legally. Is it O.K. to simply post a link to someone else’s blog and recommend a recipe? Do you need to ask permission first? Would appreciate any information you can share.
Hi Amy, that’s a great question. It is always best to collaborate and contract with the other party to make sure you are not committing any kind of copyright infringement. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha, Thank you for this wonderful blog, I realized after reading your blog that My website still don’t have a blog post on it. I know your tips will really help me a lot and hopefully my business too.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Alex! I hope you find our suggestions helpful!
Thank you, Natasha for sharing your knowledge of starting a food blog! I’ve been thinking and wanting to do it, but never had the courage to do so. You inspire me! ~ May
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles!
The best recipes ideas. thanks for sharing the best information.
You’re so welcome, James! I’m so happy you enjoyed our recipes!
Your site is very impressive, and you are such an inspiration to home chefs and new food bloggers like myself! Currently, Food blogger Pro is closed for enrollment. The site appears to limit their membership, yes? It’s been over a month now, and I am still unable to get through. Do you have other valuable resources you can recommend? Thank you so much!
Hi Linda, as far as getting started, that is the best resource I know of for step by step info on beginning a food blog. I’m not sure why they open enrollment in waves but be sure to get on their waiting list.
Also, you might look at the food blogger pro podcast which has good info but most of it is for established blogs and might not be relevant at the beginning stages.
Hi Natasha! Great website – very inspirational 🙂 Was the Cre8d affordable. I am just starting a website and definetely need help with designing everything in WordPress.
Hi Angela, compared to other designers, they are reasonable, but it is still definitely an investment. They do have a template they sell if you are not ready for complete site design. That is what we did initially when we were starting our blog.
Your blog is very critical I have ever seen. I’m benefited and I think others will also be benefited. thank’s for share.
I’m happy to hear that helped!
Thank You for sharing resources that have helped with your food blogging success. And kudos for your excellent SEO! It’s how I discovered your blog when searching for recipes, and led me now to exploring turning my baking passion into something more. Sending much love and grattitude.
My pleasure Mika, I’m so glad you found my page. Thanks for following and sharing your thoughtful, encouraging comments!
Hi Natasha, I ran across your blog few months back and I have not been able to thank you for a chicken marinade I got from your blog. I tried it and it was so good. I have been thinking about starting my own food blog and a little bit gardening added to it. Thank you for the info you have listed. I will be asking you tons of questions in the near future.
Hi There, I was reading your blog about your Maui vacations! We are in Maui now. Please be careful with the full snorkel masks as you stated that is what your husband uses. They are saying that there have been several drowning deaths in Maui linked to the full snorkel mask.if you goggle it you will find out more. Just wanted to make you aware I case you had not heard about it. Love all your recipes and your website. Keep up the great work!
Wow that is crazy! I had no idea those were under investigation. I removed the mention about those just in case. Yikes! thanks for the heads up! 🙂
Do you have receipes for diabetics?
Hi Yaffa, I do have plenty of them but there is no such category at this time. Our diet and all other categories can be found on our recipes index page (top menu bar).
You are great Natasha!
Thanks Grace! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
love your recipes and videos. Thanks for posting info on how to get started for bloggers. I was hoping you could help me with a couple questions I had regarding getting started with a blog. Should I trademark the name I plan to use before I start my blog? Do I have to start a corporation (register it as a business) before a website is started? Thanks-
Hi Kim, I trademarked after 7 years (I probably waited too long), but it is not something that is normally done right away. Also, we incorporated 2 years ago and before that we were an LLC for a year and then before that just a sole proprietorship which doesn’t need to be registered. Look up your state rules on registering your business name in your state.
HI Natasha, I have been following your blog for a while and find it inspirational. I caught a podcast where you talked about getting started. I’m working to get my food blog off the ground and found it very helpful. One question about what you said about ads on the website-it seems that your traffic has passed the pointy that you are using Mediavine. My question-what are some of the things you started with when you did not have much traffic?
Hi Dave, that question would require an essay. There is so much that goes into it! I would highly highly recommend checking out Pinchofyum.com and reading their revenue reports from the beginning when they first started them. There is so much useful information in them and it helped us out a ton.
Thanks for the shoutout in this super helpful post, Natasha!
~Jenny, Mediavine Marketing Associate
My pleasure Jenny!
I needed to make your wreath bread…. But i tried it out and it came out to hard…soft inside . And got even more rock hard the day after…. What did i do wrong …
Hi Francisco, I just spotted your comment on IG messenger. I rarely check that inbox which is why it’ is best to ask here. Were you using a convection bake setting? Make sure to use a conventional regular bake mode. It is normal for the crust to be crunch on the outside and crisp when you cut into it but not rock hard. It should still be chewable :).
Hi natasha, i just wanted to ask you a question on the vanilla cupcale recipe. I noticed i couldn’t ask you there so i hope you can answer me. I just wanted to know if the measurement on the flour is for sifted flour or non sifted?
Hi Maricela, it is non-sifted flour 🙂 I hope you love the cupcakes!
Thank you, Natasha! Your article was very useful for me! Two weeks ago I started my own food blog. 🙂
My pleasure Ivanna! I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying my blog! Thanks for following!
Natasha Love your recipes and presentation and I also Love your honesty girl!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your encouraging, thoughtful comments Loretta!
Hello Natsha Thanks for sharing your recipes, they helo me a lot. I send your a hug.
Hello there! Thanks for following! 🙂
This probably is not the correct place for me to post this but since I watched your great video on how to make Artisan bread I have made/baked at least 20 loaves. I have searched all all over trying to find the little flour duster/sifter you use in the video..Could you tell me where you found it? I’d love to have one..
Thanks for your time and especially for your recipe’s. Especially love the bread !!!
I’m so glad you enjoy that recipe!! That little duster is actually a seasoning ball (half of it anyway), that broke so now I use it as a duster. A comparable one would be this one from OXO. (amazon affiliate link)
Hi Natasha:) I have a question for my blog that I can’t seem to find the answer to anywhere. How do you add a more about me link that takes you to your about me page under your about me widget on the side of your homepage? I haven’t seen that option in the actual widget that I uploaded. Thanks!
Hi Denae, I’m afraid I can’t be much help with that. Our web developer custom designed that for us so I honestly don’t know how he did it.
Hi Natasha,
Love you blog and have for a long time.
Your advice is great. I looked into the blog designers your recommended but the average food blogger like myself can’t afford the $5,000. What company would you advise to seek help from that wasn’t so expensive?
Hi Lynn, I have gone to less expensive ones and I sure paid dearly for it in lost time (tons of site down time) and stress. I have heard good things about the genesis theme and I believe that pinch of yum also has something out that is a pre-made customizable template. Since finding cre8d, I have stuck with them because even though it costs, it is worth every penny for me :).
Hi Natasha…I love your food blog. I had thought of one time to do blogging on food but I don’t know where to stand. After reading this info about food blogging I really want to start. But I guess I need to have a debit card to pay for the service. Thank you. I will be asking you questions from to time. Is that okay? I will let you know when I start
Hi Natasha, and thank you for this page! I’ve toyed with the idea of a food blog for some time, but have never felt very confident about doing so, so this is really appreciated. I’ve noticed on Facebook that you post a combination of your own material, which you also repeat occasionally, as well as links to other blogs. It’s obviously impossible to come up with new recipes daily, but still, it never feels like you are just constantly recycling the same old stuff, so I was wondering if you have some kind of ratio that you use for original material, repeats, and links? Whatever it is, it works!
Hi Roz, I have a schedule that I follow and I post 6-7 times a day with 1 to 2 of my own videos, 3 video posts from blogging friends and 2 photo recipe posts. I post a new video every Friday and I re-share my own videos because Facebook typically shows to only 10-25% of your audience so I re-share, especially if something is really doing well on Facebook because that builds momentum and it just works on Facebook. I hope that helps! I would suggest studying Facebook pages you admire and finding a groove that you like. I use Facebook insights and watch the pages that I admire and I copy success, tailoring it to my own style 🙂
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Hi, sometimes I get a 503 website message when I view this page. I thought you may wish to know, regards
Hi Nury, can you refresh and let me know if that is still happening for you? I’m not seeing the error on my end but I definitely want to make sure things are working properly. Thank you!!
HI Natasha!! Love the page! I am posting one of your recipes for my Arbonne customers because it is great and fits into our healthy living challenge. Do you have a # (hash tag) I can tag you in so they can visit your blog?
Yes absolutely it’s #natashaskitchen and thanks for sharing!
Natasha, if you follow English grammar rules in this sentence it should say: “it has become a full time thing for my husband and ME”, not I. For +object =For me. “I” in objective case would be ME. Just thought to let you know. Love your blog and recipes BTW. Very colorful and engaging. I am from Ukraine and teach English here now.
Thanks for the tip Alia! Thank your for following.
Hi Natasha, I got a question regarding ad inserting. You know how you add ads within the post instead of just sidebar? I’m currently transferring from Weebly to WordPress and I can’t find an answer how to insert like MediaNet and Google Ads in the middle of posts. Is there a plugin for it or how did you do it? On Weebly it was copy/paste and it worked by itself and here it’s not that simple. Thanks
Hi Olga, to be honest I have no idea. My ad provider does it for me. Have you considered signing up for something like adthrive? I’m not sure what their qualifications are for publishers but you might check them out. They optimize everything for you.
Hi Natasha,
Is the recipe box a plugin or is that part of the theme you’re using?
I’m using easy recipes plus, although their customer service and responding to issues is really poor right now and no one knows why. I may switch in the future but I have been using the easy recipes pluggin for a long time.
Those plum pictured are called “Italian” plums.
Hi Natasha, Thank you so much for your Bloggers. I have been thinking about a blog for myself for a long time. Your blog has inspired me a lot. I will let you know how far I can go. Thank you once again.
Hi Natasha! First off, you blog is beyond inspiring. I’m a new blogger, just trying to get started. I was wondering, if one draws inspiration from another blog, how would you give the credit? Like, do you link to their blog at the bottom or when describing the recipe? I know this is a pretty dumb question but like I said, I’m brand new to this.
You can do it whatever way feels comfortable for you. It can also depend on how much changed the recipe is, but no one will ever look down on you for giving credit where credit is due 🙂
Hey Natasha, I am a first time food blogger and loved your jello cake… wanted to try this for so long. Going to try today with a left over fruit cake… will send you my pics. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. 🙂
You are welcome Shilpi and I will be waiting for those pictures 😁.
Hey Natasha! I was thinking of starting a food blog because I love cooking and sharing recipies 🙂 but a lot of the recipies I share are from “all recipies” which is where individuals share their recipes, sometimes I look at a couple of top rated recipies and blend them together into 1, is that considered copying? I guess the big question is are you allowed to use recipies that you did not create on your own from scratch?
And let’s I do find a recipie I like is changing 1 ingredient considered my own recipie then? Sorry for any confusion if there is!
To be on the safe side, I always give credit where credit is due 🙂 I have found that readers don’t ever mind if you credit another source. I hope that helps!
Thanks for the tip about Food Blogger Pro! I just launched a lifestyle blog featuring stress-free recipes and I’m excited to find new resources to help me get going. By the way, your site rocks!
You’re so nice! Thank you 🙂
Thank you for sharing your resources and how to start a professional blog. I have been meaning to start on but wanted to do it the right way. I found the info you provided very helpful.
I’m so glad you found it helpful 🙂
Hi I just want to say that I love your blog , I did so many recipes and they always been a success . What computer do you use for your blog , Apple or PC also what camera are you using to take all this beautiful photos as well as video
Thank you so much
Tanya
Hi Tanya! We use an Apple computer. Here is a list of the tools we use 🙂
I have 1 more question. How do u load great videos to Instagram? I’ve been looking everywhere and not finding how to load from pc to instagram. There’s a software called blue something and it keeps freezing and crashing (doesn’t work), and if I load from cellphone it’s really poor quality. What app or software would help fix this issue? Thank you
My husband does all of that for me. He does not use an app. He creates a square video in Final Cut Pro and then exports it to our dropbox. From there I download it to my phone and upload it to Instagram.
Hi, Natasha, I was so inspired by your recepies! After reading your “for bloggers” section, I decided to give it a try and create my own blog with recepies that my family enjoys. Can you check my website and give me any comments or suggestions?… I know my pictures are not the best yet lol
Congratulations on starting your new blog!! It’s a great time to start a blog because there are so many resources out there for growing it and improving. I’m so glad my blog inspired you 🙂
Wow! thank you so much for posting this. I just started a food blog, or to be exact, I’m still in the process of setting it up and let me tell you this post is priceless for a newcomer. I read some other stuff but this is better then anything else out there. And what a coincidence, my sister Alla came up with my blog name too 🙂 thanks again, Natasha
That’s awesome and congratulations on starting a blog! I wish you great success! 🙂
What type of software or equipment you use to make videos with the recipes?
Hi Ella, we have everything listed here
Natasha!! Thanks sooo much for the help! It really means a lot that you’re reaching out to other food bloggers and willing to share it with us 🙂
I do have one question, If you had to start your food blog all over (from scratch) where would you focus all of your marketing efforts? Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, etc?
I’d really love to know your opinion and advice. I love you and thanks again! 🙂
I would do them all and focus on growing them one at a time. Secure your blog name for all of the social medias and start with Pinterest because that is the biggest traffic driver for me of all the social media channels. I would make the rest secondary because I do beleive it is important to connect with your readers on those channels. When you connect with your tribe on social media channels like Instagram and snapchat, they are the ones that become your loyal tribe and share your stuff for you.
Hi Natasha,
I was wondering how you watermarked your photos? It looks almost transparent, but isn’t….if that makes sense.
I have been blogging for a few years now and would like to “up my game”, which means I need to re-vamp my blog some what. Also, I would like to try a few of your recipes and feature them on my blog, with a link back your yours…if that would be alright with you. Thanks for all of your help…I love and admire your blog~
Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
We searched on google for transparent watermark and found some tutorials that way. I didn’t keep the links though, sorry. You can design them in pic monkey or photoshop and then if you are using lightroom, you can adjust the opacity there. If you would like to feature any of my recipes, my policy is: you must re-word the entire recipe in your own words and use only 1 final picture from my site with a clear link back to the original recipe on my site from your recipe post. I wish you success in your blog! 🙂
Hi Natasha! I’ve been toying with the idea of starting my own food blog and I have to admit it’s pretty overwhelming. One of the things I’ve been wondering about is how often do you post recipes when you just starting out?
Thank you!
To be honest, I didn’t keep a schedule when I first started because it was so much a hobby then and I was in school and working and I just posted when I could. If you are serious about starting a business, work on building great content and really focus on cranking out quality recipes with the best pictures and instructions possible. Do what you can in the time that you have. Everyone’s life is so different and there isn’t really a specific mold that you have to conform to to succeed. If I had known my blog would grow to where it is now, I probably would have upped my game earlier on rather than pursuing other things. It really just depends on you and what you have time for. This page may help: https://natashaskitchen.com/blogger-resources/
This link appears to be broken
That’s strange since it is working for me. Scroll to the to of my blog and on the menu, click on “for bloggers” and you’ll get to the same page. Maybe it was a temporary glitch?
I got it, thank you!
Hi Natasha! Is it free to sign up at media.net? Do they accept blogs written in other languages? Thanks!
Hi Cher, the sign up is free. I have no idea about the langue question. You will have to ask about that one.
Hello! Love love your site! And your food pictures are awesome! Makes me want to eat them off the screen! Lol I’m just starting on my blog. It’s all kinda intimidating! 😬 Anyways, God bless you and your beautiful family! 😃
Welcome to the site Sheila and thank you for the warm wishes ?. To make your blog stand out, focus on improving your photography. I would strongly recommend reading this book – Tasty Food Photography. It will be a big help to your blog. Also check out our Blogger Resources page for more tips.
http://americanfoodbloggers.com/
#36 — up two places!
Congratulations!
That is so so awesome! This made my evening. Thank you for sharing that with me. I feel overwhelmed when I think about what a blessing it is to be #36 on that list. So thankful! 🙂
Up to #33!!! 🙂
Woohoo!! ) I’m so thankful for it. Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂
#25 as of May 14th! LOOK!
http://prntscr.com/b46pfx
Yay!!! That’s so exciting! I’m so thankful for that 🙂
Natasha, did you approach BlogHer and media.net to have ads placed on your blog? How does one go about this? Thank you!
Here are the links to sign up: Click Here for Media.net. Click here to sign up for BlogHer. You sign up and they get back to you. I didn’t do anything special really :).
Hi, Natasha!
I like your photos. Mind sharing what you’re shooting with?
You can find all of our camera gear right here. Post-processing is a big part as well.
Not sure if you know, but your website has been blocked by Pinterest. I tried clicking on the Pelmeni Recipe, but I was blocked. Then I tried going directly to your website from your main Pinterest page, and the link to your website is blocked… Please try and fix this, I really enjoy your recipes
Thank you!
Cynthia
Thank you so much for letting me know. I contacted Pinterest about it earlier this evening and they were apparently having issues with “false spam blocking to various sites, mostly blogs” but my contact there said it has been resolved now. Apparently their spam filter went overboard on safety! She said it was fixed for my site but if you are still having the issue, please let me know. Thank you!!
By the way I went to check american best food bloggers, and you’re # 45. By the way you’re the first one from russian/ukrainian food bloggers. congratulation. keep it up… I hope in near feature to see you in top 20 🙂
That’s so so exciting!! Thank you for sharing that with me :). I’ll make it my goal to be in the top 20 :).
Natasha,
I love your recipes!!! However, the slow cooker stroganoff recipe (as if would print) has an error in the ingredients. It is only listing the beef. I hope that you will correct this since it is a delicious recipe. I want to print it off and keep it.
Thanks
I’m sorry that happened – I’m not sure what caused that but I have gone through and fixed it up. Thanks so much for letting me know! I sure appreciate the heads up 🙂
Hello Natasha I had write to your mail some questions and did not get any answer so I decide to ask here ))) how much did you earn from blog? thanks so much
Hi Rozana. I wonder if your email ended up in my spam box? Anyways, I don’t disclose that information. Sorry I’m not much help. Pinch of Yum does a great job of disclosing where there revenue comes from.
thanks Natasha I was not expect to get informations anyways
your personality is Goood )))
Hi. I just found out about your blog.
I read that you live in Idaho. And you are from Ukraine. I was so excited. Because I am from Ukraine. I was adopted when I was 10. 8 years ago. I also lived in Idaho for almost 3 years. I and my family moved from there 2 years ago. To South America.
I wondered where you live in Idaho?
Here is my sisters food blog that you might enjoy. Gringalicious.com
Thank you for sharing that with me! It sounds like you have traveled the world.
Hello Natasha ))thanks for sharing ideas and experience and give a chance to others.it is really great to able be with kids and make in a some income at the same time. I am mother myself)) I have some questions could you please help me with it? my email..kotik30@yahoo.com thanks alot
HI Rozana, you can email me if you have specific questions and I will do my best to answer them: natashaskitchen @ yahoo.com (no spaces)
Thank you for sharing.
HI Natasha,
I have been a regular visitor to your website. I looked into this resource regarding food blogging and I have some questions. Could you please private message me to my email?
Thanks,
Aliya
done 🙂
Hi, Natasha, thank you so much for your blog. I recently have become a stay-at-home mom and have beeb rediscovering my culinary skills and joy of cooking for my family. Your blog is one of my greatest recipe sources!
Since now i’ve been cooking often enough I can justify buying a Kitchen-aid mixer (before i didn’t see a point of paying $400 for an item i rarely use) and I saw you had a link to the similar one you own, but can’t find that link anymore. There used to be a link to all the items that you recommend, but I can’t find that either.
Would you help me find it please? Thank you
Hi Luda, yes, here is the link for our “shop” I haven’t found a place to put it on my new site design: https://natashaskitchen.com/shop-3/
I’m also interested in it items you recommend, but when I click that link it says page not found 🙁
Ashley, I looked at the links on this page and couldn’t find any broken links. Can you send me page address, if you don’t mind so that I can get it resolved. Thank you :).
Do u make chicken encheladas in white sause?
I’ve tried a couple times but the recipes I were was using were not great. If I come up with something wonderful I will definitely share!
Hello Natasha! Ive started my own blog. Did you start out with the Thesis theme when you first started? If so how much did you pay at the beginning? email me directly at iramishkov@gmail.com. thanks!
Hi Irina, We are still using Thesis although we hired someone to redesign it (coming soon!) :), but it was a good starting point for us. You might also look into Genesis.
Thank you! Your information has been very useful. One other thing i wanted to ask- where do you find the genesis theme?. For some reason i cant find it.
Are you on wordpress? It should be searchable under the “appearance –> themes” portion of your dashboard.
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for sharing on how to start a food blog :).
Noticed that you need to pay the webhost for the blog. I remember there is free blog offered by google website. May i know whats the difference between this paid blog and unpaid blog?
Thank you for your time, i am thinking to set up one but wondering whether i can manage it or not.;)
Love your food blog.
God bless you!
Joo
Hi Joo! I’m not familiar with the free google website, but with wordpress, you don’t have full control when it’s the free one. For example, you can’t work with most ad networks and place ads on a free one, where you can on a paid one.
Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re very welcome 🙂 I hope you found the info useful 🙂
Hello Natasha,
I stumbled across your blog while googling “road trip snacks”, as my husband and I will be going to see The Who Wednesday night with friends, and wanted ideas for a take along dinner. I was drawn in by the chocolate cream cheese frosting and just started lurking. Thank you for your genuine kindness, that comes through on your posts and your “getting started with a blog” piece. I have toyed with the idea and currently have a list of subjects, but that’s about is. Your shared knowledge is truly inspiring – may you have continued success! – Christine
Thank you so much Christine and welcome to the blog! It’s awesome to know that we can be found through that search 🙂 I’m so glad that page is helpful to you about starting a blog. I’d definitely encourage you to start 🙂 It has become such a rewarding career for us.
Nice!
Just found your site by googling “chocolate cherry cake” I’m going to make drunken cherry brownies today and wanted to see if there was a recipe I could use to mingle w/recipe I plan on using.
Anyway, I found your page on starting your own blog too and I’m delighted and moved by your generosity and affection for your readers.
Thank you!
Welcome to the site! I’m so happy you’re here :). Thank you so much for your sweet comment 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for the information and tips on how to start a blog. I enjoy your blog and recipes. I am a graduate of California School of Culinary Arts, Le Cordon Bleu, and am planning to start a food blog. My fear of starting a blog was that it would take away any of my free time from my husband and 2 boys. How do you manage to do it while being a wife and mommy?
For us, it has become a family business. We try to do our work while our son is at school now. It was a little tougher to time manage while he was younger and before he started kindergarten. It was especially tough while I was in school and working full-time as a nurse. It was a gradual switch from working as a nurse and my husband working at Verizon over to both of us working full-time on the blog. I did not spend nearly as much time on my blog when I first started up compared to how much time I spend on it now. I would recommend doing what you can . If a blog is something that you are passionate about, it’s definitely worth starting. I wish you great success and blessings to your family!
Hi Natasha! Thank you for the information. It’s very and very useful. Could I ask you to visit my website to say your professional blogger opinion. It seems to me that my blog is the worst among all food blogs. I’m struggling with styling and taking pictures of the food I cook. Some pieces of advice? What helped you to take such beautiful pictures? And can I write you in Ukrainian? Thank you very much!
Your layout looks nice to me! I think you don’t give yourself enough credit. When we started our blog, we were way behind where you are. You have a great collection of recipes! As far as tips – there’s so much to go into :). What photo editing software do you use? Do you shoot in raw format? I’d suggest you only photograph in natural light if possible. I’d suggest getting the Tasty Food photography ebook that we linked to above if you want to improve photography – that helped us a ton. It’s much more difficult for me to try to read Ukrainian so I prefer English. Thanks for writing in 🙂
Natasha:
I love your site. I am just getting started and my focus is lower calorie home cooking. Would love for you to take a look. I am from Idaho originally and reside in the Spokane area. Hope to continue conversations.
Eldonna
Your website looks great! Thanks for writing. It’s always nice to meet other bloggers :). I love that you offer health-focused cooking classes. That’s brilliant and must be so fun!
Hi, Thank You very much foe sharing this information to start a blog.My daughter wants to start a blog.
Take Care,
Dave Olivia
San Diego, CA USA
My pleasure, Dave :).
I have a funny question…can i make money blogging??
It’s a perfectly legitimate question. Yes. 🙂 The blog became a full time job for my hubby and I. It got so busy and took so much of our time that we both chose to quit our jobs and work on the blog full time.
Hi Natasha, i am wanting to start a blog, and was thinking to go with wordpress. do you recommend to start only with that or would it be better to do a self host right away?
HI Tanya, Have you read my blogger resources page? It’s located under the about tab at the top. https://natashaskitchen.com/blogger-resources/ I talk about how I got started and when I made the switch. Hope that helps.
Hello Natasha! I am a huge fan of your blog ever since I found it a year ago. I’m Filipina and married to a Russian guy. I recently started a food blog through WordPress.com and paid extra to have my own domain name. I am planning to switch to self hosting as soon as I can figure this thing out. I am still learning though and the info you shared is a big help!My questions are, was it easy to switch to a self-hosted site? Where did you buy your theme for the site, and lastly how did you customize it to look as gorgeous as it looks now? Thanks!
It was definitely a good move since we knew we wanted our blog to grow 🙂 We went through inmotion hosting and they helped us get set up. We are using thesis 2.0 and we initially set up the design ourselves (through practice and trial and error, but they have templates you can start with). We recently hired a site designer to customize it the way we really wanted it and so we updated it in the past 6 months. Another great resource for getting started is with Pinch of Yum’s blog. Look into their food blogger pro program.
Thanks! I appreciate the reply 🙂
Natasha-
On your first website I see that you were able to categorize your recipes. Do you remember how you did that? Or know where I could find the information? I’m just beginning and very new to wordpress.
In wordpress, in the right column when you are writing a blog post, you can either choose or make a new category. I hope that helps 🙂
Sorry, I forgot to ask another question- in your video recipes there is a tune that plays, I was wondering where you downloaded/bought it. I can’t seem to find anywhere that has those things. I checked itunes but I can’t find it maybe I not looking in the right place?…
My husband gets free music from incompetech.com They have royalty free music.
hi , i’m really thankful for all the recipes that i found all of them are looking good and very delicious , and do you know a recipe named ( COCONUT MACAROONS )
I don’t have a recipe for coconut macaroons, but if I find a good one, I’ll be sure to share it 🙂
Hello!
I Juat found your site and the super good looking recipe for paska but I’m wondering where I’d find the paper bags you used. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, so a Canadian source would be helpful,
Lorna
I purchased them online on Amazon and I’m not sure where they might be sold in stores. I’ve seen them in stores like TJ Max on occasion. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Are there any others to design a logo?
Lots of people are using Adobe Photoshop.
Another question (sorry)
How do I start earning money for my blog?
Have you had a chance to read through this page where I talk about how I monetize my blog? Another great resource is: pinch of yum’s website 🙂
Hello. I’d like to know how I can create a logo for my site.
I used Microsoft Publisher to design ours, but that’s just the program I am most comfortable with.
Hello! I found your wonderful site when I was looking around online for a rose cupcake tutorial! I run a cupcake of the month club, where each month, subscribers receive recipes, decorating tools, liners and specialty ingredients. I was wondering if I could feature you and your tutorial for next month’s Rosewater Cupcakes. Basically, I’d like to do a brief Q&A with you (via email) and then feature a link to your site for them to watch the rose decorating tutorial. Please let me know if you think this is something that can be arranged! I am planning to ship out each BakeBox by Feb 10. Thank you!! I look forward to hearing from you 🙂 – Lindsey
Yes that would be fantastic! My email: natashaskitchen (@) yahoo.
Hi Natasha! I am very excited to have found your blog. I’m 2 generations removed from Ukraine and trying to get back to my roots with cooking Ukrainian recipes. I have some recipes that have been passed down but look forward to learning more Ukrainian recipes through your blog!!
I hope you find many more new favorites 🙂
Hi Natasha, I just started my food blog. I feel kinda lost with all that technical stuff. You are such an inspiration! Your blog was the first blog that I’ve ever visited. It gave me an idea on how to collect my family’s recipes, so my daughters ( I have 3 ) can refer to them one day. I’ve been taking pictures of the food that I cook before digital photography took place. Now I have to try to becoming better friends with my new camera. Thank you for this great post. Its been helpful.
I’m so glad it is helpful to you! 🙂 I wish someone would have shared the same things with me 😉
Thanks! I know I have a long way to go but I’ll get there 🙂 I got PowerShot G12.
How fun! Blogging is so fun and it’s been such a blessing to me. Meeting all kinds of great people and it’s been a real blessing to my family 🙂
Hi! Thank you for this post! I went to my brother, you know him 🙂 Vovchik Radion, for advise on camera but everything else I had to figure out on my own. This helps out tremendously 🙂 I beat my hubby to my Christmas present and just purchased the Lightroom Photoshop 🙂
Your site is awesome! Another great resource is pinchofyum (they share a ton of good blogger resources). What camera did you end up getting?
You’re such a sweetheart Natasha! 🙂
So kind of you to share your recipes & the steps to successful blogging 🙂
You are an awesome example of a Christian 🙂 May God’s name be glorified through you always! 🙂
Thank you so much Anna! God bless you for your sweet words 🙂 Are you starting a blog?
I am so impressed and surprised that you shared all of your blog “secrets”! Most people would keep them and never share anything! In the past I had a hard time to get this or that recipe from our church cook because it was her “specialty” or a travel agent’s contact number or e-mail with nice vacations deals or cheaper ticket deals!!! God bless you! 🙂
I think most people are willing to share but there are a stubborn few that take their secrets to the grave with them rather than blessing others with a great recipe. Oh well. 😉 All of my best recipes are here and I’m constantly coming up with new ones. I can’t help but share them with you all! It’s a really good feeling! I hope you find some new “specialty” recipes of your own here. 😉
Hi Natasha! Great info! Thank you! The only question I have is what is that little sticker on all your pictures? The one with your website name? Is it more of a copyright thing? And how did you make one? Is it photoshop’d in all your pictures from the original? Thanks!
Claudia
The little sticker is a watermark for a copyright. My husband designed that in a Photoshop. We use Lightroom for all of our blog pictures, it has a option to add watermark to all the pictures that are being exported. You can find tutorials online for creating watermark. Hope this helps :).
Hi Natasha!
Your blog is so good and the info you provided here is also very helpful as I’m in process of creating my own blog. Thank you for the inspiration!
Best,
Tatiana
You are welcome Tatiana, don’t be shy to ask any questions :).
Great Blog!!.
I am starting in the Foodie blogging world and your resource page was extremely helpful.. =) =)
Thanks much,
Fondly -Valentina
I’m so glad you found it useful. Welcome to the blogging world!
Hi Natasha,
I have been thinking of creating a nutrition blog for quite some time. How do you get paid, though? I heard that you have to post advertisement links on your blog and then you get paid when people actually click on the advertisement.
It depends on which network you are with. You are referring to a pay per click like google adsense. I’m currently working with primarilly blogher, lijit and cox digital solutions. They pay per thousand impressions, so per view of the page, not per click. It usually equates to about the same amount whichever route you go, or you can have both.
I see! What a shame! 🙁 I am currently saving all of my recipes on my computer. I would like to have them all nicely formatted and then printed out.
Natasha, I need some of your help. I have about 500 recipes that I have collected over time (including yours). When I find a recipe that I like on your website, I print it out. I really really like the printing format you offer on your blog. How could I print all of my recipes using that kind of printing format? Did you buy it somewhere? Can you give me any advice, suggestions, tips. Thanks.
Hmmm…. it’s a pluggin called easy recipes (I upgraded to easy recipes plus) and it’s only available for wordpress blogs (as far as I know). Where are you currently storing your recipes?
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for such helpful info. I’ve started my blog just a few months ago so anything I can learn from the “veterans” is great. I also started with free WordPress but wondering if and when I should switch over. I understand it’s impossible to join BlogHer network while being with WordPress. You mentioned Google Adsense. Is that a widget that is available with WordPress or no ads at all until certain amount of traffic? I do submit to foodgawker and tastespotting and it does bring traffic but I find they are somewhat transient. They don’t stick around. Is that your experience? Sorry for too many questions! 🙂 Julia
Julia, about food gawker they do give you more traffic as you post more and more because people search for recipes on food gawker and they come to your site. Have you checked out our resources page on our blog? We share a lot of advice on that page. Definitely sign up with blogher as soon as you can; it’s an awesome network and we’re very happy to be part of it. Switch over as soon as you feel like you can at least cover your costs running an independent blog. Write in and let me know if you have any questions I’d love to help.
Natasha, I am struggling to find a retailer to purchase the actual wafers for making layered waffle wafer cookies – I live in MB and am accustomed to ordering items online, but am having no luck – can you help me with a resource for this. Love your recipes.
TY
I always bought waffles premade so never really looked in to the waffle maker. The closest thing i see is here on Amazon.
Hi Natasha!!i love love ur website!!i love that u show step by step,it is really helpfull!!! I watched ur videos on cooking and I loved them!! If it is possible could u make more of them? I’m sure people would love it too and appreciate as much as I will!!you are an amazing cook and so creative!!! God bless u and ur cute little family!!!:)
Aww thanks Tanya. It’s so tough because I work full time right now… I’m hoping to do more and more 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Can I post an add on your blog? I thought I saw that button on your site earlier but now I can’t find it. I sent you an email a few days ago but I’m not sure if you got it…
Hi Inna, I sent you an email about this today. 🙂
i think its very humble of you to put this info out there. Its gonna help me with my flower site. (the hosting stuff) thanks so much for all the yummy recipes!!
You are welcome Zhanna :).
Hi Natasha!!! My friend recommended your site, and I realy like it. but I have question, do you have recipes in russian language, I wanna recommended your site in Ukraine.
Thank you!!!
I don’t, sorry :(. Have you tried to use google translate?
Dear Natasha:
Friend of mine show me your site when I was struggling to make my own blog. Thank you so much for many great advices.My children always wanted for me to start my cook book to collect techniques and recipes just for our family,but I was always too busy to start big project such as writing and publishing book. My friend,instead suggested to start a blog,so I did, but it was exhausting to deal with tumblr and then go to world press + avoid charges all the way ;))
THanks for the pointing to the right direction,hope to share some day on recipes and many more.
Your welcome 🙂 i’m happy to help!
I am about to try your recipe for the potatoe pancakes. My potatoes are a little soft, can I still use them.? I took the buds off.
thanks, my mother used to make them.
jerry
As long as they aren’t moldy, slightly soft potatoes are ok 🙂
Thank you Natasha for this information. I just started my blog and feel like I’m talking to myself.:) Your recipes look amazing!
Thank you 🙂 blogging is awesome and it’s worth it to talk to yourself for awhile! 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I always wondered how you get Russian text to show up on your blog. Is that a feature of Thesis theme or a plugin or something else?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I have no idea! I’ve only seen it through google translator. Did you see Russian text somewhere on my blog? Oh, maybe someone has left a comment in Russian. If that’s what you are referring to, it just shows up 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Here is an example: https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/11/28/finnish-meringue-cookies-recipe/ In this post, you have some Russian words, Финские Булочки. This is what I’m wondering about. How do you get it to show up in Russian? When I do it on my blog, it just shows up as question marks. 🙁
Anna are you in WordPress?
Yes, I am. Self-hosted.
You are so…. techy. Any advise for us non-nerds? hahah ( don’t take personally-i mean it as a total complement!!)
I just got married to a Ukrainian man and I am American. I just wanted to say how much I love your website and it has helped me so much in learning how to cook Ukrainian/Russian food that my husband grew up with. Everything that I have made for him he and his family has loved and its all thanks to you and your amazing recipes. I love how in detail the recipes are and the pictures are great for people who are not use to cooking this type of food. Thank you again and God bless
Amber
Amber, I’m so glad you like the recipes and step-by step photos (they take forever!), but I’m happy they are useful to you 🙂
I do have free wordpress. I knew it was too good to be true! Hah.
It was good in the beginning to get started. I used it for two years! Maybe if I was brave enough I would have switched over sooner??
Another question! 🙂
How do you balance how much you expose your family and relatives on the website? My family is “here and there” about it, some family pictures and even decorations by my little sister are apparently deemed “private” lol, I’d love to showcase our family traditions of course but not everyone feels the way I do. Some bloggers keep even their family members’ names private and no photographs of their kids. Any situations with that for you? Of course, if I post someone specifically I ask for permission (they usually ask to see which pic they’re in and if they look good… 🙂 I’d love your advice!
I try to be careful about that too. I’ve never had any protests from my family members but I respect peoples privacy. If I’m taking pictures at a party; I’ll tell people with a smile “hey this might end up on my blog.” Most people smile and don’t protest, but if they did, I would not post it. I usually just post photos of family members because I know they’d be ok with that or if I specifically tell someone that they may show up in a post. My family is of the “If you have something good; share it with the rest of the world so they can benefit” nature. We don’t believe in keeping secret recipes. I think a copycat is a great compliment!! 🙂 You just have to figure out who wants to be in your blog and who doesn’t and go from there. That’s really the best advice I can give 😉
I juse Foodgawker ALL THE TIME!!! 🙂 For over a year now. I discovered it through my iphone apps. Before pintrest came out I was obsessed with Foodgawker like nobody’s business. I still am. Amazing inspiration and professional photos. I tried uploading a recipe a few days ago and it was a hassle because I’m still a code newbie so I gave up. I need to post more advertisements to have any actual use of higher traffic to my site 🙂
What was it you said about wordpress, they charge 50% of your commission from what you make through ads? Isn’t that a crazy percentage?
That’s if you have the free wordpress.com site. Yeah it is crazy!!
You’re the talk of the town here in Sacramento, Ca 🙂 My sister and I started a Russian/eclectic food blog and she admits to going to YOUR site instead of me for advice and ideas (I was horrified but had to check out my competition 😉
Your photos are great, your website is accessible, your ads are decent. I started my website with a private domain, also through godaddy, hosted by a personal friend in the biz so really I have not a single worry lol. Many of my pictures and gallery are comprised of old pictures of past recipes from bad quality cameras, I hope to eventually redo all those recipes but gosh it takes time! I edit my photos in Picasa, export my collages and resize in one swift motion as I export out. Yep, wordpress has a very low limit for photos when uploading! I learned it from my first post and got the ball rolling on the resizing right away. One question; how do you track your visitors’ comings and goings? Is it a plugin? I don’t want it as a “counter” on the webpage.
Our website is www.a-mothers-treasure.com and our grand opening was Nov. 19, just earlier this week 🙂 We have big plans ahead!
I agree about the whole coding deal. I can’t wrap my head around it, I dig my heals in and just CAN’T. But I have to. I’ve been getting my ads from Commission Junction, plenty of familiar brands and not the headache that Google Adsense put me through. Many of others rejected me outright, which is understandable I suppose 🙂
How much time per week do you spend on responding to posts and filtering the spam? How much time do you spend on photoshopping the pictures?
Adsense is good if you block and filter all the inappropriate ads. Read through the Blogherads.com requirements and see if that might be a good fit for you. Join them as quickly as you can. It’s an awesome network! We also have quite a few pictures that we are updating over time. It does take awhile but people will search out those recipes in the future and we are embarrassed by some of the photos! 🙂 My husband helps me a crazy amount behind the scenes too. We use google analytics and plug the code into the background of our blog (ask your web host friend about how to do this). You can track your statistics very accurately and get a detailed idea of what people are searching and where they are coming from. Try uploading some of your best photos to foodgawker; it’s hard to get them approved but it’s worth the effort to post there. One of our recipes (spinach and artichoke dip) has sent over 23,000 visitors to our site from Foodgawker. Here’s the proof: http://foodgawker.com/post/archive/natashaskitchen-com/ 🙂 Hope that all helps. We’ve been doing this for 3 years and are constantly learning and trying to improve. It takes time; lots and lots of time, but really worthwhile! Great blog by the way!
Thanks Natasha, I appreciate your help!
Do you have a recipe for a good marinated eggplant. My grandmother boils them, put a heavy item on them to drain and get flatter. Then she will cover them with carrots, bell peppers, dill, garlic and parsley (all diced up) and them them stand for a few days. They get a tad sour. Then to serve she cuts them she puts onions and oil. They are very good. I just tried another verson of it at a church party and they are different and so good! My grandmas version is extremely good too, but I on on the hunt for this other version.
Hi Vicki did you see the eggplant recipe I have posted?
Hi Natasha, thanks for your recommendations. I checked all of them, and I ‘m a little bit confused. . You have been used several sites since you started your blog. Which one is the best one and easier to use for first time user? You mentioned: wordpress, go daddy, something else, and the last one was Blogher. Blogher looks busy and very informative, but is it the good for me in your opinion? Thank you for sharing your experience with me!
I used wordpress. Godaddy is a way to register your blog name and Blogher is an advertising network.
Hi Natasha, I have name and idea about my future site… for now . Then I ‘m thinking to go to wordpress or go daddy to create a website. I’m ready to invest my time and money into this project, and I’m so excited about it. And now I have financial question. Can I make money by posting ads on my website? Would I get some commissions from these companies? How does it work? Is it called Affiliate Marketing ? Sorry for so many questions, but I think only experienced person like you could answer my questions 🙂 Thanks a lot!
Hi Anna, it was at least 2 years before I could even cover my costs for my blog. I started with Google Adsense. I’d recommend applying for Blogher as soon as you can. I currently use: BlogHer, Cox Digital, Ifood.tv, Amazon associates and Ebay affiliates. Hope that helps.
Thanks Natasha, It helps! I’m probably worring about it too much.. I should just try 🙂
Hi Natasha, Here is a lots of a good info about blogging, and I got some ideas about it. But I’m absolutly new in this field and still have a lot of questions. What would you suggest to me? Maybe books, links or video, some kind of step by step instractions?
I really, really like your website. I’m going to use your recipe to make adjika next weekend! It looks like my grandma used to do..:) Thank you!
Anna, if you start with wordpress, or blogger or any major blogging platform, they are usually free and offer step-by-step instructions. That is where I got started. If you are really tech savvy, you could probably start with a private host, but it sounds like you are in the same position I was in 3 years ago. I started with the free wordpress version and paid for my name to be natashaskitchen.com instead of natashaskitchen.wordpress.com. I don’t really know of any great general step-by-step videos out there for blogging, but then I haven’t really searched. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha.. Love love love your site!!! Pretty much use it every week =) I’m looking for a good recipe for the “chocolate kolbasa.” Would you have one that you can share??
I do have one that I’ve made but it turned out a little too moist and didn’t form that well even after freezing. I think it just needed more cookies or less condensed milk. I’ll definitely be giving it another try and will post it once I get it right 🙂
This is SO helpful, Thank you! I am still trying to figure all this ‘blogging stuff’ out. It looks way easier than it is:)
It is very easy to start out. It’s just complicated to transfer to a paid host, but it was worth all the trouble. I just hope to spare you that same stress
Hi Natasha! I just recently went on google and typed ” ukrainian recipes” and your website popped on my screen. I just want to say thank you for your hard work! Cooking is not my hobby but im so inspired by your website!! Your story and your passion about God and family is beatiful and priceless. May the Lord contunie to bless you and give you favor in everything that you do!
Thank you very much Nelya, that means so much to me. 😀
Thank you so much for this post. I just started blogging less than a month ago. It has been a steep learning curve, so it’s great to hear about your experiences and lessons learned!
I sat and thought about what I would have liked to find when I started blogging. I’m happy this page is useful to you. I plan to add more in the future.
Hi Natasha
I just read this info. Wow what you had to go thru. Thank you for help.The way i started is funny I did not plan anything checked out your blog then looked at Inessa’s blog there was a button that said start your blog. I pushed on it and then that’s how i started Leascooking. Did not nave any idea how to do everything. Blogger is free and very easy to start. Everything is easy to design. I couldn’t figure out how to put adds on, then my neighbor helped me. I just have a few questions; how do you get so much views? Do you advertise? How do you make blog button, your logo? I googled it and couldn’t make it. Thanks Natasha.
Hi Lea 🙂 We’ve had our blog for 2.5 years and it just grows month-by-month. We started small and I felt like I was talking to myself for awhile. 😉 I designed my own logo with Microsoft Publisher; I designed advertisements for 7 years for a small company so I have some good experience with that. We don’t advertise, not really. I’ve never paid for an advertisement to promote my blog. It grows naturally through word-of-mouth and through google searches since it’s a well-established site and we try to include good key words and tags for each post (which is important). When I post a new recipe, sometimes I post it to facebook (but not always because I use facebook for personal reasons too). We recently discovered foodgawker which has been very helpful. I think having good pictures is key. Although we are getting better at photos, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. I’m big into social networking: pinterest, facebook, twitter, instagram, but again, not necessarily to promote my blog, but to connect with people which I guess naturally promotes my blog. It’s all about the people who read this blog. Each of them is unique and wonderful and has their own story and I care about my readers. I try to respond to every comment (takes some time but I really love to connect with my readers). Most of all, I love blogging about food and sharing recipes with others and I hope it shows 🙂
Thank you Natasha for information and being so kind to me.
God bless you✿✿✿
Thank you so much, Natasha! This is very helpful. I’m using bluehost as my webhost and they were very helpful as well. I chose to use Genesis as the theme and like it a lot too. I get A LOT of helpful info from bloggingwithamy.com. She covers just about anything you could think of with blogging and explains it in human terms:). I google just about anything too and watch youtube videos, lol. “How to …..” I hate codes, but sometimes you can’t get around it. What helped me immensely was studying blogging and especially foodblogging for about a year before I started my blog. And don’t get me started on pictures! I AM NOT A PHOTOGRAPHER and never wanted to be, but I know pictures are so important. We bought some books about food photography and there are so many websites with great photography tips. I still have so far to go, but at least there are resources out there. Anyway, I just think it’s awesome that if you want to learn something, there is such a wealth of knowledge out there! It’s incredible. I feel like the more I learn the more I don’t know, but it’s exciting. It allows me to do what I love and share it with others. and have FUN along the way.
Hi!
Question – how do you place ad’s on your website? Do you contact them or they contact you?
Thanks!
You contact them. Google Adsense worked well for us until we had enough traffic to join the BlogHer network. You can add Google adsense anytime, no matter how much traffic your site has, just adjust the categories to make sure you don’t get any weird or inappropriate ads on your site. I’ll add a section in the future about sponsors on this site. Right now we primarily use and love Blogherads.com (those are the two large ads on the right hand column). The small one under that is blogads.com.
Thanks! It’s helpful info 🙂
My mother used to prepare a salad with a beetroot and potatoes, pickled cucumbers, I remember that is a find of a Russain salad. Do you know how to prepare it?
What you are describing sounds like this: https://natashaskitchen.com/2010/06/21/russian-vinaigrette-recipe-with-beets-and-sauerkraut/