Food Bloggers: Make your content worth reading, please

Posted on 02. Nov, 2009 by Franz in Announcements

“Food… I need food…” was the thing I said yesterday. I skipped dinner a day before and had quite a few drinks – So I woke up in the afternoon and felt like going to a Japanese buffet. Seeing that I do not know KL well, I decided to Google it.

There were tonnes of websites offering their reviews, experiences and provided information on promotions/business time/taste/location/stupid-looking-shots/etc. But it took me more than 30 minutes (and I use Google heavily) to search for an updated blog. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. I was disappointed.

Food Bloggers – Problems

Sure, your stories are great and it seems like you guys enjoyed yourselves well. I like reading blogs like these because they are less pretentious, more casual and sometimes have pretty good shots (of food and girls). But here’s your problem – You don’t update the site.

Here’s a list of my problems when I visit your site(s):

1. I’m hungry. I need information fast and I don’t care where I got it from as long as I found what I’m looking for. So if you’re going to visit the place ONCE and place OUTDATED information, I will not remember your site/bother to look further.
2. I’m impatient. When you don’t show that you have updated information on the place, you give me a headache. I want to see this month’s promo, not last year’s door-opening promotions. If you show me “2008-ad-banners”, I’ll LEAVE immediately.
3. It’s tiring! Too many photos. Of course, I’d love it if you have more photos. But don’t cramp them into 20-mouse-pulls with SO LITTLE TEXT that I can’t get information I need. I’m not here for leisure surfing. I need to USE your information.
4. I’m confused! Messy blog. You have 1,000 links and 300 pictures on your sidebars. Huge header picture, music playing in the background and loads of high resolution pictures. “HELLO?” I’m using “STREAMYX”. “STREAMYX SUCKS.”
5. I’m annoyed! Your ads are disturbing me. Fly-over ads, too many Google Adsense columns and misplaced pictures of Nuffnang ads make me (X) your blog in 5 seconds upon entering your blog. Please, minimize it or find a way to let me click it.
6. I’m lost! Why do you post 10 entries a day?! Life stories are great. But don’t mix it with your food blog. It’s meant to be a food blog. Now, I’m your regular reader. How can I find your blogpost/recommendations in 10 seconds or less?
7. Say; what restaurant is that? If you blog about a restaurant, please tell me “Where it is”, “Landmarks nearby”, “How to reach there from common places”, “Book 2-3 days in advance”, “Average menu items prices”, “Type of foodstuff served”, etc.
8. That place is too pricey. No alternatives?! You should give me alternative choices (suggest another restaurant that’s less pricey, or another that cooks up the same cuisine differently, etc.) You only recommend one restaurant out of the hundreds?
9. I can see the picture. No description needed. You don’t need to fill up your blog by telling me exactly what’s happening, what’s inside, what I may be allergic to or what Jenny cooked the other night but screwed it up. I need ‘HUNGRY STRANGER INFORMATION’ please.
10. WTF? Restaurant ‘chap-lap’? Best part. You give me information about this cool restaurant but it’s not available for business anymore. You make me go all the way there and wasted all my time jamming in the streets of KL. Brilliant.

Food Bloggers – Any ideas?

If you’re responsible enough to put ads on your site, be responsible enough to make your content worth reading.

One of the great things you can do is to make people trust in you when you blog about things – That’s the way to go. Same goes like this, “If your blog tells me that the oyster is 110% guaranteed satisfaction, make sure it is – ALL THE TIME. If you’re unsure, please say, “Guaranteed 110% MY PERSONAL SATISFACTION.” Don’t put me off later, as a stranger.

1. Taste is subjective. Not everyone loves pan-fried salmon or poached pork belly. Recommend but don’t over-do it.
2. One round of fresh oysters isn’t all-time fresh oysters. If you think these foods are fresh, tell them you had it fresh. Ask for comments rather than giving a guarantee. Every round of serving in a restaurant isn’t always spectacular.
3. Tidy-up your blog. Mommy is not going to grumble anymore. It’s strangers like me. You have too much ‘extra’ content in your blog. Keep it clean, straight-foward and simple. Want to impress me? Give good content.
4. Update your damn post. Why are you telling me promotion ends September 2008 when it’s November 2009 today? If you can’t keep up, then don’t talk about it.
5. If you’re responsible enough to put ads on your site, be responsible enough to make your content worth reading. Self-explanatory. Seriously!
6. Recommend me alternatives. The ‘You might also like’ widget cannot represent your alternative recommendations. Take some time to explore other outlets and talk about it too.
7. Make your photos smaller and place them in a gallery, displaying only relevant ones to your storyline. Also, get “Lightbox” so that you can shrink your photos down to the right size.
8. Do your strangers a favour - List out stuff like, “User Comments”, “Restaurants by Place” and “Price Range”. That encourages more attention to your blog.

Maybe I can’t think of more. Maybe you can tell me more about this.