Welcome to the FAQ
1. What is the Foodie Blogroll?
The Foodie Blogroll is the first blogroll just for food bloggers.
It was created in 2007 by Jenn, The Leftover Queen. When she started her food blog, she looked for a way to network with other food bloggers through a central networking community, but there were none to be found.
So she decided to create The Foodie Blogroll! This is all about building the best community online for foodbloggers!
2. Why Should I join The Foodie Blogroll? What's in it for me?
The Foodie Blogroll is the first of its kind and is one of the fastest growing online communities for foodbloggers. With close to 5500 members spanning the globe, there is a reason for its popularity. It is the first blogroll just for food bloggers. Imagine what being exposed on over 5500 blogs about food would do for your traffic.
Benefits:
- Contests : Weekly and monthly giveaways sponsored by some of the most exciting food related companies!
- Forum: A great benefit for joining is a forum for members (and other foodies alike) to hang out with each other and get to know each other and talk about our favorite subject – FOOD, here a the Foodie Blogroll Forum.
- Finest Foodies Friday : Every Friday we feature a selection of blogs from the Foodie Blogroll! If you are not a member, you can't be featured.
- Exposure: Being exposed on over 5500 blogs about food. The Widget is seen over 22 million times per month over our network of blogs.
- Networking: Meet and greet your favorite food bloggers through our community website. Easily find any food blog with our search tools.
3. What is The Foodie Blogroll Widget?
The Foodie Blogroll Widget is a small badge with several features that help your site be exposed and receive more traffic, including: links to the "5 Most Recent" blogs added to the directory, the randomly generated "5 Random Blogs of the Day.
The Foodie Blogroll Widget keps you up to date with the current Contests and Giveaways.
Please Note: Displaying your personalized Foodie Blogroll Widget on your blog is a requirement to be eligible for contests and giveaways and membership to the Foodie Blogroll.
4. What are the requirements for joining?
- Display the Foodie Blogroll widget on your blog's sidebar - The widget must be located on your blog's sidebar.
- Your site must be a blog - this means that it must be in blog format, meaning that there are posts that follow a chronological order by date. It cannot be a static HTML website. If your site is of a purely commercial nature (like you are selling food related products or publications), but you still want to be a part of the blogroll, you check out our advertisers information page.
- Your blog must have at least 5 entries - and these entries must be specifically food related - recipes, reviews, how-to s, food related product reviews and the like.
- Your blog must be at least one month old. If your blog is older than one month, then it must have been regularly updated in the past month.
- Your overall blog content must be 80% food related.
5. My request to join The Foodie Blogroll was rejected however, my blog fits all the requirements. Why didn't you send me the Foodie Blogroll Widget?
Most Foodie Blogroll Request Rejections happen because information you typed into the registration form was incorrect. Most often URLS are misspelled and therefore cannot be verified as a food blog. If you feel you fit all the requirements to join and you received this rejection in error, please contact us and let us know why you feel this was an error.
Other times requests are rejected because you have less than 5 posts (that are food related) or less than 80% of your blog is food related. If this is the problem, feel free to let us know when your blog meets the requirements and we will review your blog for approval.
6. I have a Wordpress.com blog and they do not alllow SCRIPT code. What do I do?
Blogs hosted on Wordpress.com (not to be confused with blogs using theWordpress platform) cannot use SCRIPT elements in their blogs. This is a restriction imposed by Wordpress.com.
We didn't want you to miss out on any of the new benefits due to the limitations imposed by Wordpress.com, so we created a new Foodie Blogroll Widget just for our members using on blogs hosted on Wordpress.com.
Placing this new widget on your site, will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of the new features including the contests and rewards!
Our members hosted on wordpress.com normally receive the wordpress specific widget code when they are accepted in the Foodie Blogroll.
Need help? Please refer to the Foodie Blogroll Widget Wordpress Tutorial for detailed instructions on how to place the Widget on your blog.
7. I have a Blogger/ Blogspot blog, how do I add the Foodie Blogroll Widget to my blog?
If you have a Blogger/Blogspot Blog and do not know how to add the Foodie BlogRoll Widget code to your blog sidebar, please follow the blogspot.com tutorial.
8. I don't like the way the Foodie Blogroll Widget looks on my blog from a design standpoint. Can I change the look?
You can now choose a different style (size and color) for the Foodie Blogroll Widget for a better fit to your blog design by visiting the Get Widget link in your account Manage My Blog page.
Please note: You have to login to your account first.
9. I have changed domain names, URL address or blog title (or any other changes), how can I get that changed on the blogroll?
You can easily manage your blog details from within your Account page.
Follow these easy steps:
1) Login to your account first.
2) Go to Manage My Blogs.
3) Select the blog you need to update and click on Edit Details.
Please Note: Changes to your blog URL and Title will be reviewed for approval. Your blog will be temporarily removed from the directory while the changes are being reviewed.
10. I have not seen my blog featured in the 5 Most Recent blogs section of the Foodie Blogroll Widget. When can I expect to see it there?
Your blog might be featured in the 5 Most Recent Blogs section in the Foodie Blogroll Widget on the day you receive your approval email saying that you have been added to the blogroll.
Generally, between 10 and 20 new blogs are added every day, so there is no guarantee that your blog will be one of the 5 blogs (out of those 10 or more verified that day) that will appear on the Foodie Blogroll Widget.
It depends on timing and a bit of luck.
But, please don't forget that your blog will be on the Foodie Blogroll Blogs listing page.
11. My question is not here. Where do I get an answer?
If you can't find your answer here, please contact us at via our contact page. Please also let us know if there should be any other questions/issues you'd like to see answered here.
We always welcome suggestions and ideas for new features.
We do also have a Forum. If you have a question that this FAQ is not answering, it is likely that one of the kind members of the Foodie Blogroll community has had similar issues and posted about it on the forum. Please post your question on this section of the forum and we are confident you will get help from a fellow member. Foodies are some of the nicest people ever!
12. Why can't I find my blog on the listing? Am I eligible for the giveaways?
Only Verified blogs are listed on the Foodie Blogroll listing and are eligible for the giveaways.
New blogs are not listed nor eligible.
When you submit your blog to us, it is considered a New blog.
Getting your blog verified involves the following steps:
- Approval - The first step is to be approved by our staff. Usually it takes a couple weeks.
- Getting the Widget - When your blog is approved we send you an email with the Widget code to be placed on your blog's sidebar.
- Verification - After you place the widget on your blog sidebar, the system will be able verify your blog is displaying the widget correctly and your blog will become eligible and listed.
Please Note: A blog can lose its eligibility status if the Foodie Blogroll Widget is not found on the blog's sidebar. The system periodically scans blogs to verify the Widget is present. If not found, your blog will not be eligible for the giveaways and it will be also temporarily removed from the listing. To restore your blog, simply place the Foodie Blogroll Widget back on your blog's sidebar.
13. I have not seen my blog in the Today's 5 Random Blogs yet. When can I expect it to be there?
Every day we feature 5 blogs on the Foodie Blogroll Widget section titled : "Today's 5 Random Blogs".
The blogs featured in that sections are selected automatically by our system via a random process.
Being featured in the Today's 5 Random Blogs section is entirely a matter of chance.
Some blogs might have to wait a few days, some a few months or more to be features.
It depends mostly on luck.
But, please don't forget that your blog will be on the Foodie Blogroll Blogs listing page.
14. My blog is hosted on posterous.com. How do I add the Widget to my blog?
Blogs hosted on posterous.com cannot use SCRIPT elements in their blogs. This is a restriction imposed by posterous.com.
This means you can display only the image version of the Foodie Blogroll Widget. You will still enjoy the benefits of membership, but you won't be able to theme you widget to fit better with your blog look and feel, as at this time, we offer only 1 style of the image version of the widget.
Placing this new widget on your site, will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of the new features including the contests and rewards!
Please follow this Tutorial for detailed instructions on how to place the Widget on your blog:
http://www.foodieblogroll.com/tutorials/foodie-blogroll-widget-posterous-tutorial
Please Note: You can obtain your widget code by loggin into your account. Then to go "Manage My Blogs", then click on "Get Widget". Select the wordpress.com hosted version.
15. How do I get more exposure for my blog?
This is a question we receive often. There is no easy answer, but fortunately, being part of the Foodie Blogroll gives you a good starting point.
A food blog that is listed on the Foodie Blogroll is easier to find than a blog that is not part of any community. Anyone searching for food blogs on Google, will come across the Foodie Blogroll in the first page of their search results. Being listed on the Foodie Blogroll, might help users looking for specific blogs find yours.
As for exposure, your blog chances of being found are higher if you do all or some of the following:
Make sure your enter blog tags. These are keywords that will make it possible to find your blog when users search for words related to what your blog is about. Use tags (words) that represent your blog.
Participate in the Forum discussions. This will also get you in touch with other members, growing your network of food blogging friends.
Add Friends to your member profile on the Foodie Blogroll website. Find members that share common interests or whose blogs you like, and send them a Friend request.
Also, by being with the Foodie Blogroll, your blog has a chance (every day) to be featured on the Widget, which would bring a lot of exposure. Every day we feature 5 blogs on the Foodie Blogroll Widget section titled : "Today's 5 Random Blogs". The blogs featured in that sections are selected automatically by our system via a random process. Being featured in the Today's 5 Random Blogs section is entirely a matter of chance.
Have friends vote for your blog, using the Rank Blog button (it can be found on every blog's details page). Later on, we will feature blogs with the highest ratings on the website front page, which should bring even more exposure.
Use Twitter to talk about your blog, new posts, etc.
16. My blog is hosted on Windows Live Spaces. How do I add the Widget to my blog?
Blogs hosted on Windows Live Spaces cannot use SCRIPT elements in their blogs. This is a restriction imposed by posterous.com.
Please Note: You can obtain your widget code by loggin into your account. Then to go "Manage My Blogs", then click on "Get Widget". Select the wordpress.com hosted version.
This means you can display only the image version of the Foodie Blogroll Widget. You will still enjoy the benefits of membership, but you won't be able to theme you widget to fit better with your blog look and feel, as at this time, we offer only 1 style of the image version of the widget.
Placing this new widget on your site, will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of the new features including the contests and rewards!
Please follow this Tutorial for detailed instructions on how to place the Widget on your blog:
http://www.foodieblogroll.com/tutorials/foodie-blogroll-windows-live-spaces-tutorial
