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slightly astray

an honest look at life on the road

Blogging questions on my mind

When we travel, it is not so much the sites and landmarks that get us excited, but rather the food.

People are always saying to us, “You were in this city for so long… how come you didn’t go do this, this, or that?” And we would answer, “This is just how we like to travel. We like to eat.” As long as we hit up all the local food specialties and had a few good meals, we never feel like we missed out on anything.

Food has become the biggest part of our travels, and yet, it’s the most under-represented aspect on this blog. We’ll skip over popular attractions, but we’ll go through great lengths to track down that locals’ favorite hole-in-the-wall or that always crowded restaurant. And yet, the majority of our dining experiences have gone mostly unmentioned. And I know I have a wealth of information and opinions to share.

So lately, I’ve been wondering: how can I fix this?

so much food to talk about!

so much food to talk about!

On this blog, I write generally longer, well thought-out posts, and I try to find a balance between being personal, fun, and informative. I’ve felt like that shorter specific restaurant reviews don’t really have a place on Slightly Astray. And I also worry that if I were to write about food more, this blog will get too clogged up with food posts and the travel and personal posts will take a backseat.

So right now, I’m thinking that I can:

1. Start a new blog – I can create a new blog and dedicate it entirely to shorter-length food related posts (dining experiences, restaurant reviews, recipes, etc.).  This way, I can keep Slightly Astray as a place for personal reflection and travel stories. And those who don’t want to read about restaurants/food won’t have to.

I kinda like the idea of a having a clean slate (and I rather like the name Slightly Chubby). The downside though, is that I would have to start over and build up the domain authority again. The upside is that this would be a nicely niched blog; no confusion as to what it’s supposed to be about.

– or –

2. Just publish more food posts on SA – Of course, I could just write the food posts I want to write (I know some you love them) and continue to publish them on SA. The upside is that I would get to keep my current domain authority and build on that. This blog may even grow faster with more frequent postings and all the new content I’ll be dumping in. But I’m worried that in this case, SA would turn into a mostly food blog and the posts will no longer have the personal feel or high quality of writing that my readers have come to expect. Also, the blog may get messy with too many topics.

I would really appreciate it if you could take a minute to tell me in the comments what you’d prefer! You guys are the best part of this blog and I’d love your thoughts!

Should I go in the direction of transitioning SA into a more food-centric blog? Would you want to see more food posts here? Or should I give them a new home? 

 

Comments

  1. I really love your food posts and I think they are great as they are food and travel combined – I get to learn about food in countries I’ve never been to so I’d say stick with posting them on SA so you cab build them into this blog :) xx

  2. I love reading about food! ha And I think we have the same taste in food so I find them interesting! But I love the name Slightly Chubby too… but I say stick to SA… it’s a good mix! :)

  3. You should combine the two ideas, which is something I’ve considered. Have a clear food “section” on the website (as opposed to one dumped in “other categories” which people can’t see) so that your readers who aren’t interested don’t have to scroll over it, and those who want both can have it at one place. Having two websites sounds like a lot of work and you don’t want to waste your time flip flopping between the two. :)

    • I wish there was a way I can have a “food” section and just post all food posts under that section, without them clogging up the homepage. I’ll look into if I can do that somehow. I agree that 2 blogs may be too much (I’m stressed enough already with just one!). Thanks so much for the feedback, Jen! I really appreciate it!

  4. Haha, I like Slightly Chubby, but managing two blogs sounds like a pain! How about a weekly/biweekly/whatever food day? That’s how I’m trying to manage my sponsorship interviews and WordPress posts – if I do them at all that week, it’s only on Sat/Wed.

    • I used to have a Foodie Friday for all the food-related posts but then I found that I hated sticking to a schedule, haha. Maybe I’ll try that again and just make myself stick to it. Like, I’ll post on weekends to talk about the best food I had that week, or something. Now that’s an idea!

  5. I feel like you writing about food still falls within what this blog is about and I like reading whatever you write. I think you should combine the two, personally. And people are always welcome to skip those posts and read the ones they want to — though I doubt there will be much skipping. :)

    • Awwww you’re too sweet, Erika! Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m definitely leaning towards just incorporating more food into this blog now. I just have to be careful not to turn it into a food blog! I’d hate for the personal side to disappear!

  6. I think food fits well in this blog, it is an important part of travel and it is interesting to show that there are different ways of traveling. Yours is discovering new food, and that is what it makes it more personal.
    I agree with Jen that creating a specific section/category for food would be a good idea.
    Finally (I should have started with this): follow your intuition :)

    • Thanks Laia for the input! Food is such an important part of travel for us and I’d like to showcase that more, but without turning this into a food blog at the same time. I will create a separate food category by country. I think that’s a great idea! :)

  7. I used to have a food blog and a personal blog, and decided to mesh them when I moved abroad. food kindof disappeared for me due to allergies, but I think if you are passionate about it you should share it. I agree with both Erika and Kelly below- maybe designate a specific day for food posts and if someone doesn’t want to read they can skip. plus you’ve eaten some really interesting stuff I’m sure! I’m always curious what the food will be like when I visit somewhere new.

    • Yeah! We eat some really interesting stuff and we usually seek out the locally famous places in each city, so I’d love to share all that! I just don’t want this blog to become one restaurant review after another. I worry that it’d become boring to people and stop being personal. I used to do food on only Fridays, but I hated sticking to a schedule. Maybe I’ll try to start doing food on weekends and see how that works out!

  8. Well, I think you have your answer! I agree with the lovely ladies below. Combine, conquer and divide, open up a new pantry on this blog and see where it goes. Food is a HUGE part of travel, culture and being on the road. Sometimes I get annoyed with niche blogging, maybe bored is the better word. I like learning about the person behind the blog, I like behind the scenes stuff, I like variety. Niche is all smart and stuff, but broader topics, keep me engaged and interested. Bon appetite!

    • I think I do have my answer! I’m glad so many people are supportive of more food posts here. I agreed that niched blogs tend to get boring! I was thinking that if I were to have a separate food blog, that one would be more of a guide/resources blog, while I keep this one as my personal blog. I think I will just combine the two however, to have the most accurate representation of our travels! :D

  9. Oof tough question! I think I mostly agree with the ladies here who have suggested keeping it all on this blog. It’s easier for your followers who want to read everything you write ;)

  10. Okay, here’s what I think:

    I know Slightly Chubby sounds nice, but that is so NOT a suitable blog name for you because you are the worst possible representation, the opposite of the word Chubby XD. You run a blog with that name, next thing you know there would be lots of people accusing you with words like “hypocrite” or “disrespectful to fat people” or something…

    Also, whoever dislikes reading about food on travel blogs clearly has issues and we need to help with setting him/her straight instead!

    And, you set this blog up as a travel blog but I think there were some instances where you lament that you are not writing specific travel pieces as much as you like. If you set up another food blog then I’m pretty sure you will end up lamenting not writing more about food over there as well.

    And you are right in that you already have some authority going for this blog, so it is easier to keep expanding on this one. If you have long foodie post then you can post them here. If you want to write short food description then there is always Instagram and your Facebook page (which will also help pull more new readers to come here).

    Long story short: Option 2…

    • Haha I wondered too if I will make people mad with Slightly Chubby… but I am getting chubbier with all the eating! Thanks for your feedback!! I think I will stick with just SA, and maybe slowly transition it to more food-based (we’ll see). I need to remember to use FB and Instagram – I’m horrible with social media! But that’s a great idea, I can develop my FB page more. :)

  11. Both Franca and I had this same dilemma when we decided to start bringing our veganism into the blog and we were unsure how things would work out. In the end, our vegan posts do better than we could have every imagined and we regularly have non-vegan parts of our community having the most to say in the comments to each vegan post.

    Eating is such an integral part of travelling. It would be a shame to leave that out.

    • I’m glad I’m not the only one who overthinks this! I’m glad your vegan posts are doing so well, and I think you guys beautifully transitioned your blog to a vegan travel blog. :) It’s so true that eating is such a huge part, and I don’t want to keep on leaving it out anymore!

  13. I vote for food, who doesn’t love food. You could schedule them in a segment, that way you don’t really need to worry about it overwhelming people. :)

    • Thanks so much for the input Domenica! I think I will probably do food on weekends, so whoever doesn’t care for food just can stay away then. But I’m glad to hear that most people like to read about food! :D

  14. I’m with everyone who said add more food to Slightly Astray. Mostly because I LOVE those posts and as already said, food is such an integral part of travel. Plus, I’ve heard from other bloggers that maintain more than one blog with separate themes can get tedious. I think these two subjects are intertwined enough that it works. Hope that helps. :)

    • Thanks Caroline for your thoughts! Two blogs probably would be too much work (one is a lot of work already!). I just wasn’t sure if anyone would care about reading about restaurants, but I’m glad the response has been good!

  15. For me, I’d totally be up for seeing more food posts on here. I reckon if you wrote reviews on the food and the places, they’d probably be the only ones I’d read, since I love your writing.

    I can’t really give advice with the whole niche thing, since I’m a bit of everything – although in my head I’m trying to work something out, but I have yet to find out the magical answer…

    Your blog, your rules, is my input :) But I come from the input of not making money or a career, so my advice is probably stupid if you want to do that.

    Bring on the FOOOOOOOOD!!!

    • I like that your blog is a bit of everything! Keeps the reader from being bored. :) And that’s my worry – that SA would turn into a food blog, since food is what I have the most to write about! But I’ll just try hard not to overwhelm this blog with too many food posts. And yep, I’m also in the same boat of not making money or a blogging career, lol.

  16. Stick to one blog. Not only is it common for bloggers to burn out maintaining more than one blog (or to gradually shift from one blog to the other and neglect whichever one they’re not primarily focusing on) but personally, I come here for your writing. Write whatever you want to write about here on SA — I’ll still be here reading. On the flip side, if you branch out to a new blog, I’ll be reading that too. But if most readers are like me (which I suspect they are, as is the nature of personal/lifestyle blogging nowadays), they’ll come here for your writing, no matter what subject you choose to write about :)

    • You’re so sweet, Amanda :) Thanks for reading no matter what, I really appreciate it! I feel like writing about food & restaurants can be really impersonal, and I know a lot of people read for the personal side. I’ll just be careful to let that side disappear!

  17. I personally liked your post about trying to find the best beef noodle soup in Taipei. Next time I go to Taipei I am definitely searching out that cheaper noodle place. I tried to write more about food by doing a “food photo Friday” but I eventually abandoned it because it felt disjointed. Now I just write about food within my other posts, or I write about funny food experiences like trying stinky tofu for the first time, or I did a post on all the weirdest foods I’ve eaten abroad.

    • I used to do a Foodie Friday too, but then found that I hated sticking to a schedule! So I just wrote about food whenever I wanted too. I think I’ll probably go back to writing about food on weekends. I hope you do look for that beef noodle place in Taipei when you go back! I can’t wait to go back and search for other locally famous ones too. And stinky tofu – so good!

  18. Looks like you’ve well and truly got your answer – but thought I’d chip in my two cents’ worth too! Definitely agree that you should stick to the one blog. Your personal voice and the Slightly Astray ‘touch’ will naturally come through in your foodie posts (as they have already done!), and so I think that these will seem much less out of place or niche than you might think! :D

    • Thanks so much for your thoughts, Terri! I’ve refrained from doing too much restaurant reviews here because I felt like they don’t fit, but I want to start documenting meals I want to remember!

  19. I can relate to your dilemma!! And I’ve experiment with ways to address this very issue. I will say, from my personal experience with trying to manage two different Instagram accounts (mine, and then one for food), it gets to be quite a headache to manage. Plus, it’s difficult for followers to keep up with another blog. I think if you approach the food related posts in the same thoughtful, intentional way that you craft your other posts, that could be a winner. Or, alternatively, create a series dedicated to food. That way you can keep your longer form posts, and then maybe publish one a week or so that are shorter sort of highlights of your food experiences. Food for thought!! ;)

    • I’m glad to hear your thoughts, Amy! I can imagine how hard managing another blog would be, so I was thinking that the food blog will be less words and more pictures, heh. I think I will probably leave the weekend days for food posts, that way whoever doesn’t want to read can just not visit on weekends :) It could be fun to start highlighting the best things we ate that week! :)

  20. Before we left to travel we had a house and renovation blog. I almost started writing about our travel there, but at the very last minute decided to switch gears and start another blog. I am glad I did, because the two subjects are so different. However, I am sad to say that I barely have time to keep up with House to Laos, and have zero time to spend on my house blog, as much as I love it. And, just to play the devil’s advocate: a lot of LIFESTYLE bloggers have food, travel, DIY, inspiration, and personal stories on their blogs. But most post everyday, and do maintain a balance. It’s a tough one, looking forward to more food posts either way :)

    • Oh I wish I could be one of those bloggers who post everyday! I don’t know how they do it. I’m so behind on blogging but I feel like if I did post more often, the quality of posts would most definitely go down… And I’m not willing to compromise on that! I think it’s true that keeping 2 blogs would be too much work. If I did have a separate food blog, it wouldn’t be the same quality as SA. I wish you had more time for HtL because you’re doing sug a good job with it! Every post is so well written and informative!

      • Aw thanks so much Anna! I LOVE your posts — I scroll through my feedly to those first :) Can’t wait to discover more of China through your writing and photos, this part of your journey has been so fascinating to learn about!

  21. Keep the one blog and keep posting whatever it is you want to post about! Travels, personal stories, food… I will keep reading! I personally think it’s fascinating learning about food in Asia (and everywhere else you’re going to travel) because food is such a big part of life and it’s always so unique based on the location.

    • Thanks so much Mere! I really appreciate it! I agree that food is such a huge part of travel and I really want to start documenting our food adventures more. But I can barely even keep up!

  22. Sorry, I’m so late in commenting (I’d saved your post in Pocket to read/comment on/share later, but later never arrived – until now!) but I definitely agree with the general consensus on here too. Food is such a big part of travelling for me, and is such a great way of learning about other countries’ cultures and traditions. Two blogs would be way too much work too!! Keep doing exactly what you’re doing, because in my opinion you’re doing it so well :-)

    • I’m always happy to have your opinion Kiara! :D And thanks so much!! That means a lot to me :). I’ll try my best to write more about food, though I do worry the quality of posts will go down :/. I’m already so behind!

      • You think you’re behind….I’m still writing posts from experiences I had in Bolivia last summer!!! Good job I haven’t travelled to a huge amount of places since then! ;-)

        • I’m actually really impressed at how well you remember the details! If it’s been past a couple of months for me, then I can’t remember anymore so I just don’t write about it!

          • I have rather extensive notes on most places I visited, otherwise I wouldn’t! Plus I’m not still on the road so I have less of a build up of experiences that have happened since those I’m writing about :-)

  23. This is late (too much traveling lately!) and you’ve already made your decisions, but I vote: moar food! :D I really like your food posts so I’m happy you decided to go that way. Though, I really like the name Slightly Chubby. Maybe get the domain and keep it around for future projects?

    • Thanks so taking the time to give me your opinion, Adelina! Hehe I like Slightly Chubby too, and I am toying with the idea of just getting it and maybe still do some kind of short food guides on there (just as a resources blog, maybe), but that still seems like it may be too much work!