Blogger Spotlight: Andrea Soranidis, The Petite Cook

Andrea Soranidis, author of The Petite Cook started blogging to document her ‘adventurous foodie life’. With an archive dating back to 2013, the blog is full of recipes and tips. In this spotlight, Andrea chats to us about how she measures the success of her blog, how she likes to work with PRs and how she uses social media to share her content. 

Why should people read your blog? What makes it different? The Petite Cook is where I share easily accessible recipes made with simple wholesome ingredients. My main mission is to help others cook and eat better and share my tips on how to source ingredients that are good for you and how to make healthier cooking choices. If you’re looking for a food blog filled with recipes that make the best of seasonal produces, uses less if none processed ingredients, with loads of gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free options, then you’re in the right place.

How do you measure the success of your website? My main way to measure the success of what I do is when someone tells me how much they loved a recipe, or how well it turned out. Of course, I also check my analytics and stats, to see what my audience is more interested in, and focus on better content in that direction.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a blog? My first advice is to always be true to yourself. Be passionate of what you blog about, and be a positive voice on the web. Blogging is not easy as it seems and requires lots of time and energy. So try to enjoy what you’re doing, and don’t focus too much on numbers and audience or monization. Fresh, interesting and creative content will eventually pay off the effort and offer you great working opportunities.

How do you work with marketers and PRs? I work closely with few hand-picked agencies and PRs. I like to collaborate with brands which I know well and I use on a daily basis. They trust my opinions the same way I trust them with their products. A few ways I recommend these brands and organizations to my audience, is by developing new exclusive recipes, video recipes, sponsored articles, promotion on social channels and by sharing trips and events I attend.

How do you use social media to promote and share content? What are the challenges? I use all my social media primarily to interact with fans and share the latest content from my blog. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Flipboard are the best platforms to share posts for us food bloggers.

Social media for me is also a way to share more of my personal experiences whether food, travel related or not. I think the main challenges are not oversharing your own content, but sharing also fresh and valuable content from other blogs and media with your audience.

What can PRs do in working better with you? I want to focus on consistent and high-quality content, and I find long-term partnerships the best way to achieve that. I’d love more PRs out there willing to work with us on a more structured and consistent basis.

I still occasionally get approached with work-for-free & exposure offers. Please, just stop.

What has been your blogging highlight? One of the most fun things I did was flying to Japan to film a foodie feature with the CNN. I can’t say much until the short-film goes live at the end of October, but I feel blessed for this huge opportunity. A truly unforgettable experience.

What will be big in your blogosphere in the coming months? Who knows? The food blogospheresurprises me in tons of different ways, everyday. I think one of the things we’re going to focus more is making the cooking process a lot more sociable. Instagram stories and Facebook live are the key. I love how they allow us to share sneak peeks of our recipes/ foodie tricks, and interact in a fun spontaneous way with our followers.