We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brooke Carman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brooke, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I keep my creativity alive by changing up the kinds of places I go to. One day, I’ll grab a juicy cheeseburger at a local diner while the next day could be sushi at an upscale restaurant. I feel that if I visited restaurants that offer similar menus often, my content would become stagnant and wouldn’t be nearly as interesting.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Three years ago, a friend had suggested that I start a food blog because she had enjoyed reading my posts in a Facebook local foodie group. At first, I was apprehensive about it because I had tried starting a blog before but I had a hard time with keeping interest in it.
So one day, I started The Pickens Foodie. I started going to different local restaurants around Upstate SC, taking photos of my food and posting about my experiences on it. I figured that my friends and family would be the only ones following the blog, but my page grew quickly through those restaurants sharing my posts with their followers and also word of mouth.
I hear from followers regularly that they have visited the places that I posted about and wind up being happy with their experiences as well so it makes what I do enjoyable.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Definitely taking great photos that show off the food that you’ll be posting about. Practice makes perfect and even I’m constantly trying to improve. Taking multiple photos at different angles helps too. I prefer to take my food photos where there is good lighting, but sometimes that can be tricky when the lighting is less than optimal. So, I try to improvise in those situations by asking to be sat somewhere that’s brighter if it can be accommodated. If not, I just hope for the best.
Post consistently, but take time-outs when you need to. Early on, I was posting new content on The Pickens Foodie about everyday. After awhile of doing that. I did experience burnout and found it difficult to write anything at all. I’ve learned to press pause when I need to, read a book, go for a hike or on a field trip elsewhere and then come back ready to rock n roll.
Also, it’s helpful to find a good group of blogger friends that you can vent to, rely on, and get feedback from. I met my blogger friends through various Greenville foodie events that I’ve been to and they have been such a blessing to me.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to continue with collaborating with local restaurants to help promote their businesses in the Upstate SC area. The restaurant business is on shaky ground due to the economy and changes in people’s eating habits. It’s more important now than ever to keep these small businesses open so they can continue to operate for years to come. They can connect with me by sending an email at [email protected] or messaging The Pickens Foodie on Facebook and/or Instagram.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/thepickensfoodie
- Facebook: Facebook.com/thepickensfoodie
Image Credits
Brooke Carman
