Recipe for a successful blog

My practicum project is dedicated to travel and cooking, two topics I chose specifically because they are things that a huge audience can relate to. I thought that people would be interested in offering cooking tips or stories of travel experiences. Instead I've encountered a lot of difficulties when attempting to create connections online... it seems as though the majority of bloggers are significantly more interested in creating their own content than consuming the content of others.

That being said, there are a handful of leading cooking blogs that have managed to gain widespread popularity despite the challenges. After comparing their practices with my own experiences, I've come up with a list of things to do to create and maintain a successful blog.

1. Be human.

The largest cooking blogs are written in an extremely conversational tone. They're fun to read, and successfully develop a relationship between the visitor and the writer.

2. Watch the wallet.

Today's consumers are very budget-conscious, looking for big flavors without a big price. Big bloggers seem to take common, inexpensive ingredients and combine them in uncommon ways to create new dishes.

3. Keep it simple, stupid.

Kitchens can be intimidating. They're full of heating elements, bulky/ loud pots and pans, the possibility of complete disaster... all legitimate concerns. Popular blogs do a good job of breaking recipes down and making them seem as though failure is an impossibility. They also tend to avoid posting recipes with lots of radical, unfamiliar ingredients.

4. Talk.

Provide an outlet for feedback or commenting, and as the moderator respond to comments to show you're listening! When people feel important, it seems they're more likely to revisit the blog and continue their engagement.