You may have heard Benjamin Franklin’s “Eat to live, not live to eat” so many times. You know that there’s good wisdom behind it. If you are a food lover, though, that adage is easier say than to live. Perhaps guilt has become a common feeling that grips you after indulging in a gastronomic experience.

If you think that food tops the list of the things that make you happy and you would want to give it your full attention without guilt, why not write or blog about it? Sharing your experiences and the local food culture in your area can do the trick, aside from making some money on the side.

Challenge 1: Honing blogging skills.

So you found your passion – food. To be able to blog about it, you don’t need to be a chef or a creator of recipes. You should, however, be able to write, take pictures or record videos in ways the subjects can be appreciated by your readers/viewers.  Thus, some skills you need to polish to be a food blogger are the basics of writing, photography, and video-making.

Since words are to be used as a medium to share your food and related cultural experiences, you need to make the blog as “picturesque” in the readers’ minds as the photos. You can achieve this by writing creatively, describing the photos. What food blog doesn’t feature photographs or videos? The goal is to make them look like the readers/viewers can almost taste and smell the food.

Challenge 2: Acquiring and developing technical skills.

If you have above-average writing skills and, because you have a smartphone, you have the basic skills for taking pictures and recording videos, you may assume that blogging isn’t that hard at all. Not so fast, though, because there are other “know-what” and “know-hows” that you must be familiar with to be able to use them with ease.

If you are building and developing your own website, there’s a long list of things you should do and know. While virtual assistants can be hired or employed, it can make your start more costly. You may opt to start easy by learning from the successful bloggers who share their tips online. If money isn’t an issue, fast track the process with able help.

Challenge 3: Getting your blog noticed.

Once your website is all done and your blogs have been posted, your next challenge could be getting your site found by your target audience so it can be monetized. With so many blogs on the Web, the competition is stiff. Getting the attention and the traffic can be tough, but it isn’t impossible. Don’t give up. Evaluate and re-evaluate your website, pages and the blogs – visual appeal, quality of content, usability features, value to your visitors, etc.

Write as a guest blogger to other related sites that would allow you to link your own website. Use the social media. Apply SEO. Make your site and blogs one-of-a-kind. Make your blog posts interesting and useful.

You could be food blogging “more than you can chew.” If food is a passion, make the process an enjoyable experience. You’ll get there. With food blogging, you may do more than just bring your local food culture online. You can also earn from it and be able to travel free.