Juhi Tiwari loves to use her blog to introduce people to new things

Primarily creating food-related content for people in Pune, Juhi Tiwari uses her blog to showcase her love for food to people online.

Juhi Tiwari is an engineering student who created her blog as a means to follow her passion and do something she loves. She loves to recommend places and products, loving it when someone follows her advice and makes a purchase. In conversation with Social Samosa, she traces her journey so far.

Looking back, where did it all begin? 

I have always been a hardcore foodie and a social media junkie. Looking at the many food blogs that exist, subconsciously I wanted to do something similar. I love to capture everything when I go out for a meal. While posting about it, I used to tag the places and describe the food. Eventually, on April 12, 2018, I finally decided to create my own page following a friend's advice.

What's in the name? 

The name of my food blog is Tastings_we_do and it represents how I love to eat with friends and family. It's necessary to have a user-friendly name for a blog so that people remember it well.

What is your USP in this cluttered space? How does your content give you an edge?

All my content is related to food, whether it's street food or the best luxury cafes and restaurants in and around Pune. I am also a product reviewer so brand collaborations and product shoots are a USP too. I love food photography, setting up the layout, placing the products and bringing out the details.

Please take us through your content creation process. How do you stay relevant and relatable?

When I get invited to restaurants, I click pictures that would help describe the ambience. I click pictures of every food item on the table. During edits, I only adjust the lighting and exposure. In the end, I include my watermark on all the pictures to avoid the possibility of someone them to pass it off as their own content.

How do you make moolah with your efforts?

Food photography has always been my passion. Currently, I don't earn much from my blog. I do get paid opportunities but money was never the aim of starting this blog. For me, my passion goes beyond monetary gains. The aspect that makes me the happiest about being a blogger is that I get to try out various cuisines.

How do you maintain editorial objectivity with the influx of brand briefs?

Among the brand collaboration requests I receive, I only choose to work around the products I feel are worth promoting. I don't like to promote alcoholic products. My objective is to always promote the best for my followers so that even they are tempted to buy the product. I often get messages thanking me for introducing people to certain products that turned out to be really good and I absolutely love that feeling!

Also Read: Blogging begins with visualising a concept: Tanya Dhar

One instance/experience that made it all worthwhile

All my work pays off when people show affection towards my content. My first milestone of 1K followers that I achieved within the first 15 days of blogging gave me a feeling that I should start working with more dedication, for now, people would have expectations from me. My first ever review for a cafe was for The Kream Story, which made it all worthwhile.

Weirdest brand brief/request ever

Not a brand brief but I do have a story to share. There was a girl who had once emailed me, introducing herself as a media intern looking to collaborate with food bloggers and content writers. She told me that a Delhi based newspaper supplement was planning to publish their weekly paper in Pune as well as Mumbai and she was a part of the project. I was told to write an article on Barbeque. Despite having my exams, I found the time to write it for I was excited about getting a byline in a newspaper. After emailing it, I even pinged her on WhatsApp to tell her about the article and ask as to when the article will be published. She saw the message and didn't reply. Later, I was blocked. It was very disheartening and I still don't know what happened to my article, whether it was published or not.

If not blogging, you would be?

Currently, I am a very happy food blogger and content creator. At the same time, I am also an unhappy engineering student. The blogger tag and the happiness it brings help cover all my sorrows of pursuing the degree.

A day in your life...

On weekdays when I don't have any review scheduled, I get up early and check my phone, almost always with one eye closed. Then, I travel about for about an hour and a half in a bus to reach my college. On most days, I just sit there, blank. Then I get home and rush to the gym. Being a food blogger means that I can never follow a strict diet. Gyimg helps. At around 8:30 or 9 I usually post photos on the blog. After that, it's dinner, TV, social media, homework, editing and sleep. However, when I have my reviews scheduled, it's a fun day. Weekends are great too for I get to chat with friends for hours.

Message/tips for upcoming bloggers

Nowadays there's a trend and a thirst of a huge amount of followers and likes. People actually get depressed when they don't get the expected amount of reach amongst the community. I agree we all should have that thirst of getting more attention but in a positive way. But people start buying followers, views and likes, Why?

Work on your content, make it more fun and the most important — Be consistent always. 

Your Favorite Influencer

My favourite influencer has to be BeerBiceps. The way he teaches how to live a satisfying life is worth watching again and again.

The Future you foresee for your Personal Brand

Not actually a brand, but I've started a new venture. Its a page purely for people from Pune, their stories, their lives, struggles, happiness. Took this idea from a Mumbai based page - theofficialhumansofbombay. They have amazing content and I am trying to do somewhat the same. I hope it works!