How to Balance Cookbook Writing Plus Growing and Marketing Your Food Brand

Photo by Elevae

“I think I’d rather start marketing once I have a book deal and something to say.”

“Once I’m through this busy season, I’ll really buckle down after that.”

“I’ll start my email list about 6 months before my book comes out. It’ll be plenty of time to get a lot of people on my list.”

With all the love in my heart, no. I understand where you’re coming from, but that’s not how any of this works.

If you’re waiting on a book deal to have something to talk about, you don’t have enough to talk about in the first place. 

Think a busy season will just end with a magical amount of free time on your calendar? Maybe, but you’re the person who has to block out time on your calendar.

And starting an email list takes more than a pre-order incentive to take off. Trust me.

As a cookbook coach, one thing I help people with is their book proposals aka the business plan for their book. This 40-60 page document is sent to agents and publishers to show them there’s a need for your book, and you’re the only one to write it. They also want to see that you can reach a ton of freaking people with your network. And how you’re already marketing yourself is a gigantic piece of that. 

It’s also what overwhelms people the most because they believe “the work” is more important. But if the Barbie movie taught us anything, it’s intentional marketing can connect audiences to a great story over and over again. You could have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t know how to emotionally and physically reach your audience, it doesn’t matter.

Here’s how to balance cookbook writing plus growing and marketing your food brand. It’s time for you to live freely in the and of all the things, so you can step into the career of your dreams. 

Get Your Attitude Right

One of my favorite marketers, Marie Forleo, regularly says when learning something new: It’s about your attitude, not your aptitude. 

And I agree 100% . 

So, the first thing you have to do if you’re going to balance writing your book (or book proposal) and marketing yourself is changing your attitude. A lot of clients will tell me with a sense of panic that they don’t know where to start, which is their excuse for not starting. With Google, your social groups, and professional connections, you have SO many resources to help you figure out a marketing plan. So, the only reason you’re not starting is because you’re choosing not to. 

The great news? You can choose to start now. Don’t worry about the email list you didn’t start two years ago. Stop beating yourself up about not posting more on Instagram. Let go of your fear of pitching yourself to magazines and podcasts.

Trust you will find the people you need along the way, and if you make a mistake, it’s just feedback. You’re not going to get it right all the time. There will be New York pizza slices of time spent on trying to figure out how to use a website or piece of software, and you’ll want to throw your computer across the room. It happens, and even if it doesn’t feel like it, nothing is wasted.

Choose to be curious and gracious with yourself as you’re learning and growing.

It’s a sparkling new day, and you’ve got a new marketing ‘tude. 

Understand the Difference Between Working In Your Business and Working On Your Business

Creating a food brand is exciting. From photography to food styling and brand partnerships to recipe development, there are so many ways to expand your business. But the mistake most food creators make is getting lost in invoicing, emails and the actual work. So, there’s no time to do the things that’ll make their business grow—like marketing.

In Michael Gerber’s “The E Myth Revisited”, he talks about “The Technician” which is what most business owners become, believing they have to do all the things. And with that, they get stuck in a constant cycle of doing that they’re not owners—they just have a job.

(Quick note: I only recommend products and services I can’t shut up about. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links at no additional cost to you and may put some dollars in my pocket.) 

So, with your new marketing ‘tude, it’s time to understand you need space to work in your business and on your business. Randomly posting to Instagram or TikTok isn’t a marketing strategy, and even if you see growth with that method, long term, you’ll need more. Converting followers into subscribers and buyers takes more effort than scoring a few thousand likes on a post.

Practically, schedule 4-6 hours a week just for marketing. This will give you time for planning, ideating, creating, and publishing. 

Publishing a book is a great marketing tool, but if you don’t have experience marketing your work before your book comes out…woof. Here’s the thing: you want to help people, so you have to make it easy to find you. There’s no point in showing up half-way and ruining your chances of getting a good cookbook deal or growing your business. Or if you have a book deal, you have to really lock in your marketing strategy now, so you can make the most of this super cool opportunity.

Choose One Place to Show Up Regularly

Keep it simple and choose one place you’re going to show up consistently.

It could be a weekly newsletter, which I’m a big fan of because you’re able to connect with a warm audience and share content you don’t have anywhere else. It’s why I created a free 5 day video course, Writing Gold, to teach you how to use email writing to kickstart your cookbook writing.  

Or you may host a weekly Instagram live where you share a recipe or do a cooking demonstration.

You could even have a weekly Ask Me Anything with followers sending in their questions, and you answering directly in Instagram Stories.

Whatever you choose, make it a place you’ll like. Don’t do something just because everyone else is doing it. Chances are, you know the place you want to show up consistently, but you’re blocking yourself. Chat about it with a trusted friend or fellow food creator and see what they say. They could see potential for something you want to brush off as a bad idea, or they could suggest a resource to help you get it off the ground. 

Commit to showing up consistently for at least 3 months. Plan out your content, create a schedule for writing, creating, and then posting. Add every piece of the process to your calendar and make a spreadsheet so you can keep track of your content schedule.

Afraid you won’t have enough things to talk about? Start with the top 3 questions you get asked the most and go from there. Creating is funny—the more you do it, the more ideas you have.

And once you have one marketing platform down, you can add another one. Go slow and stick with your strengths.

Trust You Can Balance Book Writing and Marketing

I find most food creators talk themselves into and out of a lot of things. And most of the things you’re probably talking yourself out of, are the exact things that’ll make your business and book pop off. But with your new marketing ‘tude, understanding the difference between working in your business and working on it, and choosing one place to show up consistently, you’re on your way to balancing book writing and marketing.

Trust that you’ll know how to create space for both. And if you need help along the way, snag a spot on my coaching waitlist, so when my next slots open up, we can make the most of what you’re already doing.