instagram algorithms
K J Espinel
IS ORGANIC GROWTH ON INSTAGRAM STILL POSSIBLE ...

NOTE: This blog post is part 18 of my INSTAGRAM SERIES - content all about helping YOU manage your way around instagram. In the INSTAGRAM SERIES I've touched on subjects such as why am I losing followers on instagram , how the instagram algorithms really work and how to get paid influencer work on instagram. Just click here to find all the other parts in the series. 

'What if organic growth on instagram is no longer possible? What if I post my most amazing images on instagram, use the best hashtags, leave thoughtful comments but still don't gain new instagram followers?' It's a question one of my creative community members asked a few weeks ago and one that somehow lingered in my mind. Like her, many of the talented and committed creatives I speak to daily are struggling to gain real traction on instagram or worse, losing followers week after week, month after month.  

IS ORGANIC GROWTH ON INSTAGRAM STILL POSSIBLE IN 2018?
mastermind, instagram algorithms, instagram tricks
K J Espinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW INSTAGRAM ...

NOTE: This blog post is part 17 of my INSTAGRAM SERIES - content all about helping YOU manage your way around instagram. In the INSTAGRAM SERIES I've touched on subjects such as why am I losing followers on instagram , how instagram is trying to get rid of (food) bloggers and how to get paid influencer work on instagram. Just click here to find all the other parts in the series. Now on with today's post!

DISCLAIMER: One of my lovely creative community members, Roberta alerted me to the article I will be referencing through this blog post. Thank you Roberta. So grateful.

It has been a while and a half since I've penned a piece for the instagram series; that's because it's been all kinds of busy behind the scenes at The Little Plantation HQ. But with instagram's unprecedented move to speak openly about how their algorithms really work and whether the shadow ban is or isn't a thing, I HAD to create another part in my popular blog series. So according to this article here's what they said in a nutshell and - more importantly - here's what it means for you as a (food) blogger, instagrammer and influencer. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM
mastermind
K J Espinel
1-DAY SMALL BUSINESS MASTERMIND INTENSIVE

Have you started a blog or small business that is earning you money, but not as much as you'd like? Are you unable to find direction in your business and need support nailing your focus point? Do you feel isolated as a solopreneur and lacking a community of like-minded people who totally get what you do and can help you progress? Do you know a lot about your business but not so much about reaching your ideal customer and getting more clients through the power of a website, blog and social media? Then my first 1-day small business mastermind intensive may be just what you're after! 

1-DAY SMALL BUSINESS MASTERMIND INTENSIVE
K J Espinel
NEW INSTAGRAM STORIES FEATURES! WHAT THEY MEAN ...

NOTE: This blog post is part 11 of my INSTAGRAM SERIES - content all about helping YOU manage your way around instagram. In the INSTAGRAM SERIES I've touched on subjects such as why you're losing followers (and what to do about it), how to grow your instagram following and the one thing no one talks about in food blogging. Just click here to find all the other parts in the series. As for today, I'll talk in detail about the new instagram stories changes and, more importantly, what these changes mean for YOU if you're trying to make it as food blogger or instagram influencer.

Love instagram or not, the one thing no one can call instagram is boring, stagnant or uninventive. Nope, this platform is ALWAYS constantly and continuously reinventing itself, pushing boundaries and thinking outside the box. And the new instagram stories features are - yet again - instagram showing off its innovation and creativity.  

NEW INSTAGRAM STORIES FEATURES! WHAT THEY MEAN FOR BLOGGERS

VEGAN DATE SYRUP SESAME TOFU POWER BOWL + A COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!

VEGAN DATE SYRUP SESAME TOFU POWER BOWL + A COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!

If you love plant-based food, are partial to moody flatlays and adore scrolling through instagram, chances are you’ve come across Rakhee Yadav AKA @boxofspice’s super pretty feed and if you haven’t you’re in for a very special treat. Rakhee, a food blogger and food photographer living in The Netherlands, but originally from India, is known for her plant-based Indian food that she’s adapted to the herbs, spices and flavours available to her in The Netherlands. As a result, her plant-forward Indian recipes are less traditional and more rebellious than what you may be used to!

After years of sharing her recipes and photos online, Rakhee has worked with Page Street Publishing to bring us a gorgeous collection of her recipes and images in book form called Heavenly Vegan - Dals & Curries. And as luck would have it, Rakhee kindly sent me two copies of her debut vegan cookbook - one to keep and one to gift to YOU! Want to find out what the book is like and how you can win a copy? Then please read on…..

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LONDON CAKE STYLING WORKSHOP BEHIND THE SCENES - A SUMMER'S BOUNTY

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LONDON CAKE STYLING WORKSHOP BEHIND THE SCENES - A SUMMER'S BOUNTY

There’s the romance of being a creative/photographer/stylist and then there’s the very grounding reality - how do we stay inspired, how do we keep pushing ourselves to do better and how do we avoid repeating the same tried and tested formula, making way for new forms of creative expression instead?

Though attending food styling workshops like the one Silvia and I taught late last month isn’t the answer to every creative stumbling block a budding food blogger or food photographer might come across, it IS indescribably nourishing and creatively stimulating to see the world of food through someone else’s lens.

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ARE INSTAGRAM ADS WORTH IT FOR BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS?

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ARE INSTAGRAM ADS WORTH IT FOR BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS?

NOTE: This blog post is part 23 of my INSTAGRAM SERIES - content all about helping YOU manage your way around instagram. In the INSTAGRAM SERIES I've touched on subjects such as how much money should bloggers and influencers earn, how the algorithms really work and is your instagram account worth following. Just click here to find all the other parts in the series. Now on with today's post...

INSTAGRAM ALGORITHMS ARE AWESOME! Said no one ever! Or did they? Well, you may be surprised to learn that when I was researching the instagram algorithms for one of my INSTAGRAM SERIES posts last year I came across this guy on twitter who was raving about how awesome the algorithms are and how his blog traffic and business had exploded since they were introduced. WHAT!? I thought - as did a number of perplexed tweeters. HOW? He explained that he used instagram ads and promoted posts and noted that IG algorithms’ ability to target the right audience for his blog was incredible!

That different take on the algorithm stuck with me, so much so that when I heard THE social media expert Gary Vee REPEATEDLY say that entrepreneurs/business owners/probloggers who don’t use ads, are making a MASSIVE mistake, I took serious note. Was I playing it small by not going down the paid instagram route?

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1-DAY LONDON FOOD STYLING AND VISUAL STORY TELLING COURSE: A SUMMER'S BOUNTY

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1-DAY LONDON FOOD STYLING AND VISUAL STORY TELLING COURSE: A SUMMER'S BOUNTY

Want to fine tune your food styling and create a naturally, effortlessly and organically styled look? Do you wish to do gain a solid understanding of the founding principles of composition? Then I have just what you’re looking for!

This June, talented food stylist, photographer and vegan baker Silvia Bifaro will join me again :), to teach this brand new 1-day food styling and visual story telling course, entitled A Summer’s Bounty. We’ll be teaching how to create, plan and shoot a visual food story, focusing in on shooting a seasonal vegan cake. The aim is to create a set of food images that will allow you to…

  • have LOTS of hands on practice

  • gain a solid, technical understanding of styling and composition

  • get a sense of how to prepare to work on a professional food set

  • learn the art of editing in Lightroom

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FREE 9 DAY SPRING FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE

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FREE 9 DAY SPRING FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE

It’s my most favourite season of the year, it’s my birthday month and the season in which this very blog was born. Hence a celebration of all things food and creativity is in order, don’t you think? How about we celebrate with everyone’s favourite: MY FREE INSTAGRAM FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE!!!!

As in the seasons that came before (see here, here and here) I’d love to take you on a journey, exploring all things food photography, food styling and creativity. PLUS you get to be part of the BEST online creative community EVER! This mid-year challenge will be a little shorter than the Winter or the Autumn challenge, but twice the fun, I promise! Ready to make a commitment to your learning and master the perfect insta foodie flatlay? Then please read one... 

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SPRING FOOD STYLING AND FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY E-COURSE 2019

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SPRING FOOD STYLING AND FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY E-COURSE 2019

Want to learn food photography and food styling from the comfort of your own home?

Eager to find how to get the most out of your camera and discover your light?

Learn best by practicing, doing and being held accountable?

Then my online food photography, food styling and visual story telling course is for you! Unlike most other online food photography and food styling workshops, this e-course is LIVE so that I can be there with you and support you on your journey, every step of the way!

The Spring and Autumn online food styling courses completely sold out as did the one the one this past Winter, giving me lots of online teaching experience and consequently a really good understanding how best to support you best through the course. With some new features for Spring 2019, this is the best online course I’ve created yet and I’m so excited to work with you alongside a small, but mighty student group. Are you in?

EASY VEGAN GRANOLA RECIPE WITH POACHED RHUBARB + A COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!

EASY VEGAN GRANOLA RECIPE WITH POACHED RHUBARB + A COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY!

What makes a good cookbook? It’s the question I asked on my instagram a few weeks ago as well as inside my creative community and it was so interesting to hear everyone’s thoughts. Some people felt that it’s all about the recipes which need to be delicious, easy and creative. Others believed that engaging writing was what set a good cookbook apart from a mediocre one, and yet others thought it was all about the food photography.

I believe a great cookbook should have all three - photos that make me WANT to cook, recipes that sound delicious, yet achievable and writing that warms my heart. Ryan and Adam, also know as Husbands That Cook, have just released their debut cookbook and it has everything a wonderful cookbook should have! And moreover, YOU can WIN a copy of the book on the blog this week!

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LONDON FOOD STYLING AND INSTAGRAM WORKSHOP / BEHIND THE SCENES

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LONDON FOOD STYLING AND INSTAGRAM WORKSHOP / BEHIND THE SCENES

In the lead up to every food photography and food styling workshop I host right here in London, I’m always frantically running around till the 11th hour, sourcing the most photogenic food, getting the right food photography props and scouting the perfect lunch locations, whilst wondering if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. But then, when students come from near and far, I realise it is all worth it and that I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

As I had such a wonderful time this March teaching the 3-day London workshop, I thought perhaps you'd like to see what happened over the course of those days, what the final shots taken during the workshop looked like and basically, what exactly went down. Ready to take a look behind the scenes? Awesome, then please scroll down and read on …