Today, SweetNSpicyLiving turns 3

How I got into food blogging

2 years ago, I asked myself why I should start a food blog, what’s in it for me? Despite my friend convincing me to do it, it took quite awhile for me to decide to give it a go. I work full-time in an IT company, and although baking and cooking has always been my passion, unfortunately I cannot have that as a career, enough to pay off my living expenses. I thought If I cannot make it my full-time career, maybe I can make it as my part-time job. You know the after work or weekend part-time kind of job. The problem is that although I have knowledge in baking and cooking, that doesn’t count in the resume when applying for a part time job. I can rumble and talk about it, but without experience to prove it, it meant nothing. This was how my journey in food blogging started. My friend convinced me to make my own website to showcase my passion for baking and cooking. Something that I can use in the resume when I apply for a part time job, like a portfolio. It did work, I almost got a job and the interviewer was quite happy and excited on what I can offer them. The only problem was that they wanted me take longer hours,  which I cannot do. I cannot leave my full time job no matter how much I wanted to be in the food industry. I guess I cannot have both world at the same time. Nonetheless, I decided to continue on my food blogging and sharing recipes.

Find your passion and do it …

I absolutely fell in love with the process of food blogging. The creativity involved is what I love the most. The recipe research, the baking, the sharing of my bake products with my friends, and most of all the food styling and photography. Not to mention my recent addition, making a food video and entering the world of YouTube. The process was never easy (but they were a LOT of fun), I wish I could say they are but the reality is that there are more work than what you can imagine. There’s a lot of work that it is a full-time job on its own. A single post could be around 1-2 days in the making, from start to finish. Sometimes even longer if I had to redo it again and again. Even when taking the photos, I’ll be lucky if I could be satisfied with 50 shots of the dish, at the most I could have about 200 photos from one single recipe, sounds crazy but it’s true. And out of 200 photos, I only choose 6 that will go into the blog. The end to end process is long, sometimes repetitive, there’s really a lot of things going on behind the scenes of food blogging. The process is not easy, but I’m not complaining at all because you know what? I love doing it, and when you do something that you love, it’s never considered work, not all. Food blogging is very exhausting and rewarding at the same time, and for me it is really worth it.

Don’t do it for money ..

Food blogging could make you money in the long run, but money shouldn’t be the first thing in your list when you decide to do it. If not money then what? Because you LOVE doing it, because you have the passion for it. Why so? Because when you do something that you are passionate about, you give your best and you are determined to face the challenges ahead of you. You need to have the passion that will make you not give up on the first try, and the passion to make things better and better. Passion, Perseverance and Patience are just some of the qualities that you need to make it through.

But don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you shouldn’t aim to earn something from food blogging, who doesn’t want an extra income? At some point in time you will reach a point where you will think if it is time for you to earn something from your blog. For some people, they jump right on to it, and some people wait for the right time until they qualify for the requirements. Depending on your blogging site (I am using WordPress), the monetization requirements could differ.

I started monetizing my blog only after 2 years, and I wouldn’t have done it my friend did not convinced me to do it. I am so thankful for my friends who always believe in me and in what I can do. It was after all the right direction to go and I am glad I did it. But then If you think you are ready to monetize your blog as soon as you meet the monetization requirements, then go for it and do not waste any time. Making a living from blogging is a lot of work, money changes everything in terms of how much time you dedicate in your blog. It is literally a full-time job on its own. It is a lot of work, it is challenging, but it is also very rewarding not only in monetary terms. Earning money from your blog is very rewarding no matter how small it is. I remembered being so happy and ecstatic when I had my first earning,  it was almost nothing compared to the time and effort I had spent, but nonetheless I was very proud of it, and I felt very accomplished.

Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” ~ Saadi

The money will come gradually once you have established yourself and your website. If you focus on money first, you might end up being disappointed because earning money from food blogging doesn’t happen overnight. They don’t hand it down to you that easy. You have to build your content (which means hours and hours of polishing the recipe post and photo), you have to build readers trust (more subscribers the better) and these things do not happen instantly. Up to now, I still remind myself of that and everyday I work hard to make sure I deliver a post that will benefit the readers more than myself. It is almost like my part-time job in terms of how much  time I devote to it. Money in food blogging doesn’t come easy unless you are a celebrity who have established followers and readers. For regular people, it will be like climbing the ladder one step at a time. Even the established food bloggers started from 0 followers, and I believe that they also worked hard to get where they are right now. So, be patient, you’ll get there  in time. I myself is a work in progress. I still have so much to learn, my website alone still needs a lot of work and improvement. It’s far from being perfect but I’m working on it one day at a time.

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for

It’s been 3 years now since I started my blog, and every single day I am thankful for it. I am thankful for You for subscribing and even just for reading my post, for taking time to provide feedback and comment. It really meant a lot to me seeing your comments and likes. Thank You so much, and I hope you’ll stay and keep me company as I go through my lovely food blogging adventure.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank You ♥♥♥ Happy 3 Years Anniversary to Us

Whether you currently have your own blog, or thinking of starting one, I would like to know what motivated you to start your own blog and what you love about blogging. Share your story and leave me a comment

My Food and Travel Blogging Journey

• I am a solo traveler, and I LOVE it!
• Solo Traveling: Dream it, Plan it, Do it!
• Take a Peek at the Behind the Scenes of Food Blogging
• Inspired Post: It’s Been Two Years of Blogging Now, So What’s Next?

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