Join our Waitlist for Expert Advice!

Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste on the Business of Blogging Interview with Just a Taste founder Kelly Senyei about Food Blogging for Dummies, turning her blog into a business, and generating revenue from online content.

By Shawn P. Walchef

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Takeaways from this episode:

From Hobby To BusinessKelly Senyei began food blogging as a hobby in 2008. However, once she decided to make Just a Taste a business, there were many aspects to consider in order to generate revenue.

Different Platforms. Different Languages — Kelly Senyei understands that social media is an integral part of business in today's world. The key, she says, is effectively speaking to the demographic of each platform.

Success Takes Time — In Kelly Senyei's case, it took her 14 years to be an "overnight success" If it's been said once, it's been said a million times, but the proverb remains true. It takes time to build an audience.

***

With confidence, drive and enough time, Just a Taste founder Kelly Senyei was able to turn her hobby into a business.

Success takes time. That's an adage that is often taken for granted, and even the source of frustration for those trying to break any sort of glass ceiling to reach the other side of success.

A self-proclaimed "grandma" in the food blogging space, Kelly Senyei began the Just a Taste blog in 2008 while in journalism grad school at Columbia University in New York. But chasing the hard-hitting stories began to take an emotional toll on her. She longed for work that was more meaningful. The simplified, unifying power of food was a natural draw for her.

"I wanted to start reporting on things that had a much better feel good element to them." And that's what ultimately led me to food," Kelly Senyei said on the Restaurant Influencers podcast hosted by Shawn Walchef of CaliBBQ Media. "It's because anybody can talk about food. Anybody can cook. Anybody can, you know, enjoy a meal together. You don't even have to speak the same language."

The product of a mother who was a self-taught cook and a entrepreneurial father, Senyei's "aha moment" came while doing Just a Taste as a hobby.

While studying the metrics of other food accounts in relation to her new blog, the numbers compared favorably and provided the foundation of confidence for her to make the decision to turn Just a Taste into a business.

Four years into her food blogging journey, and after graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education with the highest honors, Senyei took another leap of faith by combining her specific set of journalism and culinary talents.

With Wiley Publishing, Senyei released "Food Blogging for Dummies" in 2012, which gave an early blueprint for aspiring writers wanting to join the food space and catapulted her voice into a leading spot.

As her popularity grew, Senyei's penchant for analytics was, and remains, key to the progression of the business of Just a Taste.

"Everything is so calculated and strategic and it has to be that way when you turn this from a hobby into a business." Kelly Senyei says. "Otherwise, if you're not paying attention to who your audience is, where they're coming from, why they're coming, you're just doing this for yourself, which is fine. That's not a bad thing. But don't expect to make money when you do that."

That's the driving force behind her drive. It only makes sense that she would continue to build on the momentum she has attained over the last decade and a half. With a cookbook and impressive sizzle reel of TV appearances under her belt, Kelly Senyei and Just a Taste is set to make the next fourteen years as fruitful as the last fourteen.

***

NOMINATE A RESTAURANT INFLUENCER — Do you know someone who is killing it on social media? Let us know by emailing influencers@calibbq.media or sending the @calibbqmedia team a DM on social media.

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS:

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about Toast.

Popmenu is also a sponsor of the Restaurant Influencers podcast. We wanted to share with our audience this powerful opportunity to help your restaurant reclaim the power of your phone now. Learn more about Popmenu Answering.

Shawn P. Walchef

Founder of Cali BBQ Media

“Be the show, not the commercial.”

Cali BBQ Media Founder Shawn Walchef helps brands and leaders leverage the new Business Creator Economy with strategic Smartphone Storytelling and Digital Hospitality.

His Cali BBQ restaurant company has generated more than $35 million since opening in 2008. They operate numerous locations in San Diego and beyond.

Shawn’s weekly video series Restaurant Influencers (published by Entrepreneur Media and produced by Cali BBQ Media) has been seen by over 25 million people.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

More from Restaurant Influencers

This Food Network Mainstay Feeds His Passion for Fast-Paced Restaurant Life in Just 3 Days a Month

These Husband-and-Wife Co-Founders Started a Food Brand to Share Chinese Culture — Then a Smart Rebrand Took Their Company to the Next Level

How This CEO Breathed Life Into a 75-Year-Old California Ice Cream Brand Without Losing Its Nostalgic Identity

This CEO Was Tasked With Helping an Iconic Hawaiian Brand Regain Its Footing. Here's How He Used Storytelling to Do It.

Business Solutions

Get Big Savings on Microsoft Office 2024 for a Limited Time

Boost productivity with intelligent, AI-powered tools.

Business News

You Have One Month Left to Buy a House, According to Barbara Corcoran. Here's Why.

"If you are planning on waiting a year and seeing where interest rates go, you are out of your mind," Corcoran said.

Franchise

Having Trouble Sleeping? Listen to Some 'Kentucky Fried Chicken Rain' ASMR.

This collaboration introduces soundscapes on Hatch devices that feature gentle "fried chicken rain sounds" meant to evoke the soothing sound of fried chicken sizzling in oil.

Starting a Business

I Teach Aspiring Entrepreneurs Why It's Good to Fail — Here's How to Turn That Failure Into Success

It's important for all entrepreneurs to learn how to accept failure — it happens to everyone. Here's how you can use it to promote success.

Business News

A Wells Fargo Worker Was Discovered 4 Days After Dying at Her Desk. Her Cause of Death Was Just Revealed.

Medical examiners have released the cause of death of Denise Prudhomme, who was found dead at her desk in Wells Fargo's Tempe, Ariz. office.