In April I will be celebrating three years of writing Gourmet Getaways. It has been a huge commitment, but an absolute labour of love, so the time has just flown by.
My website has allowed me the privilege of working with so many wonderful people, brands, celebrates, chefs and PR companies. I feel truly grateful that my reader base has grown from 3 readers per week, in the early days, to over 10,000 unique readers each month. I love every comment I receive from followers and fellow bloggers. It is so nice to know that people a reading along with me, and are interested in my little corner of the world.
I know so much more these days about food blogging, photography, marketing and social media than I did in the early days. If you are a new food blogger I am happy to share any of this information, just ask the questions.
So in the lead up to my “3 Year Blogaversary” I would like to compile some tips for new bloggers in a weekly post.
…but now it’s time to turn my attention back to delicious food. Last night I was trying to organise my 5 external hard drives which contain images and past Gourmet Getaways stories. This saw me opening a lot of dessert pictures and wandering back down a food filled memory lane.
Somewhere in between the Chocolate Fondant Cake and the Sticky Date Pudding it seemed like a good time to take a look back at some of the early recipes. These recipes were absolutely delicious, but in most cases they didn’t get the recognition they deserved because I was a new blogger with a limited readership. So then the idea came to combine some blogging tips with a recipe from the Gourmet Getaway archives.
So readers… Do you have a new blog? Are you trying to increase reader numbers??
Here is a question I am often asked by new bloggers.
“How can I increase my daily unique views?”
To improve your reader statistics my one piece of advice would be to choose ten bloggers you enjoy and comment on their site. Continue to comment on every story they write for a week or two. I guarantee these bloggers will notice you and your website.
I think it is good manners to always respond to readers comments, and I will always visit the websites of fellow bloggers who comment on mine… after all, sharing is caring. Social Media and blogging is all about connecting! If you get return love from these websites continue the connection. Don’t forget to continue to to comment and make more new connections.
Chocolate Fondant Cake
This Chocolate Fondant Recipe is a favourite of mine because I had been searching for a lower fat recipe, and found/modified this one. It has half the usual quantity of eggs and butter, is literally melt, mix and bake. It is truly the easiest chocolate fondant recipe you will ever try, and it works everytime!
Ingredient:
- 200gm dark chocolate
- 170gm butter
- 4 Eggs
- 1/3 cup caster sugar
- 2 ½ Tbs Ground Hazelnut
- 2 ½ Tbs Plain Flour
Method:
Grease 6 Ramekins, Dariole moulds or Muffin holes with butter and dust heavily with cocoa.
Melt butter in the microwave in a ceramic dish. Add broken up pieces of chocolate to the butter and stir until melted and smooth. If necessary microwave for 1 minute.
In a separate bowl mix eggs, hazelnut, flour and sugar until combined. Add the chocolate mix slowly to the egg mix stirring constantly.
Cool the mix in the fridge, min ½ hour. Preheat the oven now to 200 degrees.
2/3 fill moulds and baked 10-12 mins. Fondant will still be wobbly but crusty around the edge. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Run a palette knife around the edge of the pudding and unmould on a serving dish. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
Enjoy!
So fellow bloggers I would really appreciate it if you could also answer the question…
“How can I increase my daily unique views?” for any new bloggers reading.
Our blogging community has a wealth of collective knowledge, and it would be great if you could pass on one helpful tip.
