Anyone remembers the East Bay Express, LA Times and the Boston Globe articles that gave this site a side mention? Those are literally gold in terms of publicity for the site even if it was just a little mention. Mainstream food publications are read by many people who loves food so any ongoing mention is going to help bring eyes and participation to your regional board.
Remember, yes we can look similar to Chowhound, but we don’t have to compete with Chowhound and don’t need to anyway. You can really mold your board into whatever way you are especially interested in. I personally am interested in learning more about little known cuisines in the SF Bay Area that are not trendy, that’s why I tried #3.
Maybe you are really interested in Laos cuisine, then invite people who cook/ write about that stuff here. And let’s face it, I have never done that on Chowhound, partly because its a company. Here, you are the beneficiary of your board, so feel free to get anyone influential to give us a plug, and invite any one you want to read more about here.
Here are some tips to get a mention from food publications/ food writers (Thanks @Hyperbowler). This assumes that there are already some discussions (i.e. not starting from zero), e.g. SF, Boston, Houston, UK:
- Tweet/ email food publications/ writers that do a round up of openings/ closings/ gossips / info on the board that have not been covered by mainstream media.
Openings E.g. Tablehopper (the last paragraph about Won Kok):
Closing E.g. Boston Eater:
- Tweet/ email food writers about ‘juicy tips’, e.g. new or rare cuisine in the area, something or cultural significance, e.g. change in old restaurant’s focus to match modern taste.
We got a mention in this featured article:
- If you are into a particular cuisine and the cuisine is not well covered by people on your board, invite people knowledgeable about the cuisine here:
E.g. Bloggers, food writers. I wrote to one asking very nicely and honestly, and received a positive response.
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Tweet/ email real good posts to relevant food writers so they may respond or retweet.
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Tell all your local food writers that the party just got started on your board. Half of the above examples actually came from food writers reading our boards, saw something interesting, and mentioned us.
e.g. I got warm responses from Phaedra Cook (Houston) and Mia Stansby (Vancouver Sun) when I told them about our site/ regional board. Ms Stansby retweeted my tweet to her.
- Mentioning this site is not for-profit helps. We are not competing with anyone financially- i.e. we are a little bit more likable and worth cheering for.
If you regional has a good solid core, even if its not super active i.e. with some somewhat regular interesting, good quality discussions, and at least a few regulars conversing, its a really good idea to amplify the reach. Hence why tweeting to food writers who retweet or write about us is huge.
This is one area that I can’t do much because I don’t know the local food writing and restaurant scene as much as you do. My day job also limits my involvement, with so many regions, each essentially its own. While I try to help get people an audience if they tell me they want to be here, there’s a limitation on what I can do. So if you love being here and wants your board to grow, you can make it happen (and don’t wait for me)! I can help if you tell me who to tweet to, and about what.
If you are writing anyone, best to have a running thread on your regional board to track who wrote what to who, to avoid duplicate efforts.
Thanks!
