Streetdirectory.com Singapore Stole Johor Kaki Video

This evening a friend shared a video posted on Streetdirectory.com Singapore Facebook page. It's the video of the flying wanton mee man in Johor Bahru.

The video garnered 488,000+ views, 6,796 Shares, 1,700+ Likes, and 213 Comments.

I watched the video and soon realised that it was my video - copied without my knowledge from Johor Kaki YouTube channel.

InstaPurge - Fake Fans, Farmed Fans or Real Fans?

Recently, Instagram conducted an InstaPurge of fake fans from user accounts. Some celebrity accounts saw significant drops in fan counts due to the fake fan purge. 

Several friends have asked me, "What are fake fans and what are real fans?" 

(Facebook) FB and Instagram fans can be classified into 3 types.

Fake fans - These "fans" don't exist at all as they are mostly virtual robot scripts. Instagram recently purged these from some accounts. Everyone agrees that these are fake fans as they are not humans at all.

Farmed fans - These are real human FB or Instagram accounts harvested through contests or giveaways. The tactic is to require people wishing to be eligible for a lucky draw prize to enrol as a "fan" by clicking Like on the page (often also required to comment on and share the contest or giveaway post). The farmed fan is definitely interested in the lucky draw prize but not necessarily the account's content. Instagram and FB are so far unable to purge farmed fans as they are real human accounts.

Real fans - These are genuine fans which are gained organically. They are people who voluntarily opt into a FB page or Instagram account because they read and like the content, and want to receive more of it in the future. There is no inducement involved.

One view is that farmed fans and organic fans are the same as they are both real humans. 

In a way this is true, in the same way as farmed salmon and wild caught salmon are the same as they are both really salmon. Or, a counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag is the same as a genuine Louis Vuitton bag as they are both bags.

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

Street Food Pro 360 Course 街食专家 360 - How to Use an Online Platform to Showcase and Document the Stories of Hawkers

I am asked to address the Street Food Pro 360 course 街食专家 360 by Makansutra on "How have you used an online platform to showcase and document the stories of hawkers?"

I am sharing what I learned through personal experience.

My aim is to show course participants the basic steps of starting an online platform from scratch and building an audience.



The three broad steps are:

1. Pick a niche
2. Create content
3. Promote.

But, in reality it wasn't so neat and nicely planned. In the case of Johor Kaki, it was mostly trail and error, just do it and, learn and adjust along the way.

Pick a niche

Back in Dec 2011, when I went online to look for what is good to eat in Johor, I couldn't find any systematic guide on Johor food. So, I decided to create such a guide myself which everyone can use.

Looking back, I actually stumbled upon a need and addressed that need by creating Johor Kaki blog. So, without planning it, Johor Kaki was serving directly an unserved niche and was quickly welcomed by readers in Johor, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Create content

Next, I started to write about the good food that I tasted in Johor, one hawker at a time. I asked my friends in Singapore and Johor for suggestions, and started with those. As readers stumbled upon my blog, they began to offer me suggestions.

Then I found and joined forums and Facebook Groups talking about Johor food. I got many tip offs from these groups (not to mention, making many friends too).

I also walked the streets of Johor and try to spot good hawkers myself.

I was thus creating content, post by post on my Johor Kaki blog, starting with my first post published on 20 Dec 2011.

Promote (Push Content out to Readers)

It is not enough to just create content as many millions of web pages are published every hour. The chance of a new website being seen is negligible.



So, it is necessary to promote your content on various channels so that more people can see it. Bloggers have to work with external channels, if they wish to grow their audiences.

Either they contact us (the blogger), or we reach out to them.

As readers found Johor Kaki content useful, it was noticed by other platforms and they contacted me to have my content featured on their websites and magazines. 

My website and magazine partners helped push Johor Kaki content to their readers. With their support, Johor Kaki's reach grew very quickly.

I was happy to let these platforms carry my content because more people will read about the hawkers I write about.

Search Engine Optimization (Pull Readers to Content)

Due to lack of resources, I was unable to invest in any Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services.

So, it's all DIY (do it yourself).

The only SEO I knew was to use keywords. Other than that, all I could do was to write as engaging content as possible.

Fortunately, readers appreciate the stories in Johor Kaki.



Johor Kaki readers are highly engaged. Three out of 4 visitors read 6 pages per visit and stayed 16 minutes per visit.

I am really grateful for the strong support of my readers.

With this level of engagement, Google recongised Johor Kaki as a trusted site on Johor food, and sends search traffic to the blog when people from around the world query about Johor food.

To sum up, start with a genuine intention to serve, and an unserved niche will appear.

Focus on creating engaging content to serve your niche well. Readers and partners who want to channel your content will follow.

Note: Street Food 360 course 街食专家 360 by Makansutra (Singapore) looks at the culture of street food, opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors, new kitchen skills, thinking/approach, recipes, promotions and marketing.

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

3-Step Social Media Plan for Restaurants and Hawkers - Easy, Effective, Proven, and Affordable Do-it-Yourself Content Marketing

Social media has changed how publicity and marketing work in business.

Social media gives small players like hawkers the power to reach up to 100 thousand potential customers with just USD200.

This is something unimaginable just 5 years ago.

Do-it-yourself social media is also easy to do and most hawkers can do it on their own. If not, a bit of guidance from someone who has done it before will do the trick.

Here is a simple 3-step social media action plan anyone can use right away.

Step 1

Set up a free business Facebook account and a free YouTube account. Just follow the simple instructions when you sign up online.

Step 2

Get your stall mentioned on the World Wide Web.

The most common way is to invite bloggers to visit your stall.

Don't know any bloggers? No problem. Check out this list of Singapore Blog Award 2014 finalists, some of Singapore's finest.

You don't even need to get a blogger to get your social media marketing plan rolling.

Take out your handphone and grab a quick video of your regular customers talking about your stall. Or, you can record yourself speaking about your stall.  

Upload the video directly from your phone to YouTube. I have done it many times and it  takes at most 20 minutes to upload a video (usually about 5 to 10 minutes).



This is a video I recently did with Lau Ah Tee bak kut teh stall using my handphone (2013 model). It was uploaded to YouTube within 5 minutes. 

You can do it easily too. Do it as often as you like.

There is no need to be too slick. Sincere and authentic is probably more credible than fake and over polished. 

Step 3

Post your YouTube video on your Facebook page.   

Boost your Facebook post so that more people can see your YouTube video. 

For USD100 (at current rates),  Facebook will serve your post to 20,000 to 50,000 targeted Facebook accounts of your choice.

This is the most cost effective way to get your message across to the right people - far less than traditional media like TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.

Facebook lets you target your audience, so you can choose your customers based on where they live, age group, hobbies, profession and so on. There is less waste of sending your message to bogus or ghost accounts.    

You can do it. Most people regret not starting earlier.   

Notes:  

Three years after starting my mission "to put every hawker on the world wide web", the job is still far from done. 

Blogging one hawker at a time, progress is steady but too slow.  Many hawkers are still not reached.  

So on top of blogging, now I would like to also show hawkers (and other small businesses) how to do their own social media marketing with simple, workable action plans. It is easy to use the simple plans I share.  Every hawker can be their own do-it-yourself social media marketeer.  

It is easy. Anyone can do it.  

If you still prefer face-to-face guidance, you can contact me at johorkaki@gmail.com.

More on social media marketing for hawkers.

Tony

7 Sep 2014

3 Step Social Media Marketing Plan for Restaurants and Small Businesses - Simple, Effective, Proven, Affordable Self Help for Hawkers

Jeremy, owner of Two Wings is a savvy user of social media

Social media is a game changer.

Social media gives small businesses instant reach of 100s of thousands at a mere fraction of the cost of traditional media like TV, newspapers, and magazines.

At current rates, it costs USD100 to reach 20,000 to 50,000 targeted customers of your choice (i.e. not random).

Now, even the smallest hawker stalls can use social media to reach out to potential customers.

Step 1 - Set up your Business Facebook Page.

Log in to Facebook and sign up for a free account (if you haven't already done so). Just follow the easy instructions online.

Step 2 - Invite a blogger to visit your food stall.

Who to invite? If you do not know any good blogger, you may start with the list of Singapore Blog Award 2014 finalists.

Check out their blogs and see which blogger's style and content suits your business. Some bloggers blog for cash, while others blog purely for passion and pleasure. Choose bloggers that suit your budget. Fortunately for hawkers in Singapore and Malaysia, there are many outstanding bloggers who blog for passion and pleasure only.

Step 3 - Post the blog post on your own Business Facebook Page and boost it.

If the blogger blogged about your stall and you feel the blog post is helpful and reflected positively on your stall, you may post the blog post on your own Facebook Page. 

Boost the Facebook post so that more people will be able to see it. 

USD100 Facebook boost will send the post to 20,000 to 50,000 Facebook users (of your choice i.e. you can choose their profiles like where they live, age group and what they like etc).

Repeat steps 2 and 3 as many times as you want :D

The 3 steps are really very easy to implement. Most people are able to pick up the skill on their own, or after just a little bit of simple guidance from someone who has done it before.

Do it! And see your business pick up.

Most hawkers or other small business owners regret not starting earlier.

All the best for your business :D


Jabez, owner of Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh is an effective user of social media

Additional notes:

Marketing, whether by social media or traditional means will cost some money. But social media has brought the cost of marketing to an all time low, and made it easy enough for any small business to do it cost effectively and do it well on their own.

Based on research, of all the social media platforms (such as Instagram, Twitter, etc), Facebook is still the most cost effective in terms of targeted reach i.e. both quantity and quality of people reached. That means the business can actually choose the specific locations and preferences of the people whom s/he wants to send his Facebook post to. Facebook is cost effective because it is priced lower than traditional media, and furthermore, it is not a random mass blast in the dark, which is old school and very wasteful. Choosing your target audience personally also avoids wasting money on inactive or bogus social media accounts.

The 3 steps are really very easy to implement on your own.

Go ahead and try it. You will be surprised how effective it is and how little it costs you.

It is also fun :D

However, if you are new to social media and still prefer face-to-face guidance, you may contact me at johorkaki@gmail.com.

Tony

2 Sep 2014

Singapore Blog Awards 2014 - What Makes an Award Winning Blog?

At the Awards ceremony after receiving the Best Food Blog award for the second year running, the interviewer from Singapore Press Holdings asked me, "What sets your blog apart?"

The question got me stumped for quite a while. (I didn't expect to win a second time.... )


Click on picture to view video. My interview is from 2:23 onwards.

You can see my stunned, pregnant pause above.

I racked my brains in emergency mode and managed to blurt out that perhaps having a larger social purpose might have helped.

Phew... managed to wiggle out of that tight spot...

But the question, "What makes an award winning blog" set me thinking.

Two years in a row, there ought to be something that I am doing right which would be helpful to share.

Of course, I don't know what went through the judges' minds, but here is my more considered response to the question "what sets your blog apart" after I had more time to think about it.

I am sharing it here, in case other bloggers may find some of the ideas relevant or helpful.

Before I begin, let's recap on the Singapore Blog Awards' judging criteria.

50% - Inspiring and entertaining content
20% - Presentation (Visual Appeal & Ease of Navigation)
30% - Public votes.

If I were to sum up in one sentence, what made my blog different, I would say, "Think beyond yourself".

As I mentioned in the interview, having a social purpose can help set your blog apart. But, it is for more important reasons than just being different.

By focusing on making a positive contribution to others, our content will naturally be more inspiring.

In Johor Kaki blog's case, my tagline is "Put every good hawker on the World Wide Web".

By focusing on bringing benefits to others, readers too can be inspired to do their part for your blog's mission. Engaged readers can follow your recommendations, share your posts and support you in other ways as well.

During the voting process, readers told me that they are rallying their friends, family and even extended family to vote for Johor Kaki because of the blog's mission to help hawkers.

I am touched and grateful that readers expended their own personal goodwill for Johor Kaki, without any enticements. Many overseas readers voted for Johor Kaki but only Singaporeans are eligible for the voters' lucky draw.

At a personal level and unrelated to the blog awards, a goal bigger than myself has more driving force and gives me more staying power.

In blogging, there are downs as well as ups. When the chips are down, a bigger purpose will power you through the hard times.

I get chased off unceremoniously by hawkers once in a while. If it were not for the larger picture, I would have stopped blogging, a long time ago.

Be real. 

It is ok to share with readers the difficulties you face in achieving your blog's mission. Even your failures and failings.

Your perseverance will inspire your readers.

It's ok necessary to reveal a little bit about yourself. The reader wants to connect with a real person. A person who stands for something. It is ok that not all readers will agree with everything you do or about you.

In this aspect, friendship is similar between real life and virtual life. Sincerity will attract genuine friends in real life. Being genuine in virtual life will attract sincere readers who will go to the trouble of rallying their friends and family to vote for you, even when there is no personal gain for them.

Have fun.

Look out for the funny, lighthearted aspects of your subject matter. Share funny anecdotes about yourself and your subject.

Everybody enjoys a good laugh and comic relief, including bloggers. Being able to laugh at yourself and at the situation entertains the reader.

Having fun and being passionate about your blog is also infectious. I try to make my blog positive and uplifting. Whenever I am not enjoying my blogging, I will pause and check if I am heading in the wrong direction.

Hope some of the ideas are useful for you. I welcome you to comment and share your ideas :D

Live your passion and let other things (like traffic, fans and awards) follow.

Tony

31 Aug 2014

How to Get More Google Hits than Lady Gaga

Screen grab on 17 Jun 2014

The purpose of this post is to share what I might be doing right, so that other bloggers may also achieve higher Google views.

When I first saw the number of views on my Google+ page, I didn't pay it any attention as I assumed that everyone gets the same "inflated" views.

It's just another useless vanity figure, I thought.

But, when more and more bloggers start to draw attention to their numbers, I realised that the numbers vary widely from blogger to blogger.

And, there are some useful indications behind the numbers.

First, what are Google views?

According to Google's official help page, "This number tells you how many times your content has been seen by other people, including your Photos, Posts, and the page itself".

(Note: To view your Google views on your G+ page, you have to turn it on as bloggers have the option to turn it off from public view.)

So, back to the question "How did Johor Kaki get more Google views than Lady Gaga?"

The truth is, I really don't know for sure.

After all, Google's algorithm is secret.

All I do know is what I did. And, I can only speculate how the following might have helped Johor Kaki's Google views.

Use Keywords

yawnz

Come on Tony, everyone knows that :P



Use keyword in titles and the first paragraph - all bloggers should know that.

Actually, using keywords was the only "SEO" thing I did.

Everything else was just me trying my best to create the most helpful and easy to use food guide for food lovers.

So, it must be the other things that I also did right that made the difference.

Google Maps 

Finding one's way around Johor, or for that matter any new place, can be a daunting experience. So, I added a Google Map (and GPS co-ordinates) to all my food reviews.



So, when someone looks for the location of a hawker stall or restaurant in Johor using Googe Map, Google serves up relevant Johor Kaki content. 

This adds Google views for Johor Kaki blog.

Use Photos

I am passionate about photography besides being a foodie.

I like to tell stories with drool worthy photographs, so Johor Kaki food reviews often have over 10 photos.



I tagged my photos with keywords, so when someone uses Google's Image Search service to look for photos of Johor food, Google serves up relevant Johor Kaki content. 

This adds Google views for Johor Kaki blog.

Use Youtube

Most of us know that Youtube is actually the second largest search engine in the world (second only to Google web search itself).

I post some videos because I found them fun to make and to watch.



So, when someone looks for something in Johor using Youtube, Google serves up relevant Johor Kaki content. 

This adds Google views for Johor Kaki.

All these Google views add up with Johor Kaki getting more views than Lady Gaga.



Lady Gaga has a tremendous number of G+ followers, and rightly so as she is a top global Super Star. Johor Kaki, in comparison, is a tiny blogger with a minuscule G+ following.

How is it then that Lady Gaga has fewer views on Google than Johor Kaki?

Lady Gaga is big on Youtube, Images and direct views from her 8 million plus G+ followers.

I can only speculate that as a top global celebrity, many people searching for Lady Gaga on Google are diverted to numerous other media outlets providing news about her, besides her own official platforms.

Lady Gaga's negligible presence on Google Maps might also be a factor.

In conclusion.

I am new to blogging and am still trying to figure out what really went right.

Please also share with us your valuable insights on Google views :D

I will update this post regularly to share my findings with everyone, so that everyone too can also have higher Google views.

So, what is the main take away from this sharing?

It is simply this.

* Create helpful content on all of Google's services thus creating multiple paths to your blog.

Have fun blogging, and let everything else follow.

Tony

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

First edition: 17 Jun 2014

How to be a Top Blogger · Best Blogging Secrets and Tips

✍ 18 Feb 2014. How to be a Top Blogger? 

OK, now I got your attention :D

Actually, I am no top blogger but just an ordinary blogger trying to be better everyday so that I can achieve my mission of "putting every good street hawker on the world wide web".

I started Johor Kaki blog on 20 Dec 2011. (This is the first Johor Kaki post.) 

I took part in the MITBC contest (2012) and OMY contest (2012) in order to learn from the more experienced and better bloggers. Johor Kaki blog didn't make it to the list of finalists that year :P



The following year, I took part in both contests again and won the Best Food Blog awards in both MITBCA (2013) and OMY (2013). I believe that this is the only time so far, where a blog was awarded best in both Singapore and Malaysia in the same year.

In this post, I share about my blogging journey and the useful blogging tips that I learnt along the way. I am hoping that this may make the blogging journey of new bloggers a little easier. I benefited a lot from the advice of experienced bloggers like Ilya Houben and David Hogan Jr, so I hope my experience can help others too.

These ideas worked for me but may not be for everyone. With that, here we go.



Have your own voice. Have a clear purpose why we have our blog. It has to come from inside us. Ask yourself, why do you blog?

Think big. By that I mean, have a purpose bigger than yourself, beyond yourself.

Only big goals can fire up one's passion.

For Johor Kaki, it is to "put every good hawker on the world wide web." I was moved to action because our heritage hawkers (in Johor and Singapore) are retiring fast and their life's work and craft have not been documented adequately. I want to fill that gap, urgently. 

Find your niche by following your heart. If you choose a topic only because it is popular or "viral", the blog may not last because there is not enough passion to power it through the inevitable distractions, disruptions and disappointments.

Address a Need. Make our blog address a genuine need. For example, Johor Kaki provides a convenient reference for people who are looking for food in Johor. I met many people who told me that they refer to Johor Kaki to pick their place for food, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper in Johor. This resulted in Johor Kaki receiving over 10,000 views a day.



Here's a more specific example. Most of us here in Malaysia and Singapore are durian lovers but choosing a good durian is not easy. Most of us have been cheated by unscrupulous durian sellers before. So, I wrote a post about "How to Never be Sold a Fake Mao Shan Wang 猫山王 Durian Again". This quickly became one of the most read posts in Johor Kaki blog, now with over 20,000 views. This post receives a spike of views whenever durians are in season.

In short, give readers real value that they want to come back for.

Post often. I do my utmost to post everyday. Readers told me that they wait for my posts everyday. If this is not possible for you, write as often possible on a fixed schedule. If you miss a post, get back on schedule as quickly as possible. Readers appreciate predictability in our publishing schedule.

Write about everything that is relevant to your niche. Search Engine Optimisation is partly a numbers game. Fill the web with good quality content, so that your blog will turn up in the page 1 search results of any Google search in your niche. For example, Johor Kaki blog will show up in almost every search containing the word "Johor".

Personally, I prefer to spend time crafting another useful post than trying to game the ranking systems like Google Page Rank and Alexa Rank. Search engines like Google and Yahoo! aim to deliver the most relevant and useful results for their users' searches. Focus on crafting good posts that help search engines do their job. Readers follow good posts and from there good ranking will follow. To me, that's the best SEO.


Total sensory blogging. Sniffing the aroma of a Spanish potato omelette.
Photo credit with thanks to Nicole Poi, PinkyPiggu

Write for everyone. Everyone experiences the world in a different way through our five senses i.e. what we see, hear, taste, smell and touch. Some people mainly perceive the world by what they see, others by what they hear, or feel and so on. So, when I write about a food tasting, I describe how the food looks, tastes, smells, feels in the mouth and what I hear when chewing the food or what I hear around me at the stall. In this way, I connect with more people and the reader has a total sensory experience.

Use a story telling style. People like stories - our brains are wired to be receptive to stories. Johor Kaki blog has a story telling style, because I am basically a story teller. Each post tells the story of my tasting session, the story of the food, and the story of the hawker or restaurant.

Use pictures. Many people perceive the world and make up their minds by what they see. So, I use pictures in my posts to tell the story, like a photo essay.

My posts have two basic elements. A story told with words and a parallel narrative told with pictures.

In this post about heritage food stalls in Johor Bahru which I submitted for Singapore's OMY competition in 2013, I used the three elements I mentioned above i.e. write for all five senses, tell a story with words and pictures.  

Take better pictures. I keep working on my photography skills. All the pictures in the first year of Johor Kaki were taken with a point and shoot camera. When my point and shoot camera broke down, I replaced it with a basic DSLR and realised that it is easier to take a good picture with a DSLR as it gives me better control over the settings.

A DSLR is a worthwhile investment.

I join photography club activities and attend workshops on photography to improve my knowledge and learn from experienced photographers. I learnt to compose my pictures better.



This is a picture I took on Johor Kaki's first day. It's even got date stamping :P  I think I've come some ways from that, thank goodness :D

Use effective post titles.  Make your post title meet three criteria. Let me explain using this post as an example:

1. Keywords. Include search engine friendly keywords in the title to increase the post's chances of appearing in search results. In this post, keywords are "top blogger" and "best blog".
2. Curiosity. Pique the reader's curiosity to encourage them to read the post. The curiosity words in the title here are "Secrets and Tips".
3. Promise value. Tell the reader what value the post intends to provide. Of course, the post must deliver on the promise (or else, the blog will lose trust and credibility). In this post, the promise is "How to be a Top Blogger". I hope this post delivers on it's promise in good measure. 

Be personal. In the first year of Johor Kaki blog, I blogged anonymously. I just used the initials "JK". Over time as I met readers and fellow bloggers, my picture got "tagged" by others on Facebook. Initially, I was uncomfortable as I wanted to stay anonymous and let the focus to be on the hawkers.

Soon, I realised that readers want to connect with a real person, not just a banner or blog name. So, I now just go with the flow but without losing focus on my blog objective. When readers connect with me personally, they too become attached to my mission to promote our hawkers. This helps me achieve my blogging objective.

Most people know me as Tony now, though many still call me "Johor Kaki".

Engage readers. I make efforts to engage my readers in conversation through social media such as my Johor Kaki Facebook page, Johor Sedap and Johor Yummy groups. I seek their suggestions on where to eat, what to eat. Many of the best food finds are the suggestions of readers. 

When I blogged about a place recommended by a reader, I acknowledge and thank the reader in the post. 

Engaging my readers also allows me to know my audience - who they are, what do they like, what do they need, how I can serve those needs and so on.

Blogging and social media is a community building activity.

Encourage your readers to stay. Once a reader lands on your blog, give him/her good reasons to stay and read more posts. Link internally to relevant posts in your own blog. (You can see some examples of internally linked posts, in this post itself.) In addition, install a Related Content widget such as LinkWithin or nRelate. 

Guest blog. I accept invitations to guest post on relevant websites. I do my utmost to write the best guest post as this honours the host website and its readers. Readers who like your post, will follow the link back to your blog and are likely to become your fans as well.

Engage and contribute to related social media communities. For example, there are several Facebook groups on Johor food, such as 柔佛新山美食. I post good food finds in these groups and comment on the posts by other members. 

As the groups have different rules, I make sure that I abide by these rules respectfully as a member. For example, some groups do not allow members to post their own blog links.

Reach out to fellow bloggers. I often go group blogging and to meetups with fellow bloggers from Singapore and Malaysia. It's fun! Many become my best friends.

We learn from other, help each other with blogging issues, and support each other in the blogging journey. In my humble opinion, there are no real social media experts yet - blogging and social media is a new and fast evolving frontier. Everyone is learning and has to keep learning.

So, share and grow together.


Photo credit with thanks to Maureen Ow, Miss Tam Chiak.

This is a picture of us after our group blogging at Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh shop in Singapore.



Meet fellow foodies. I am first a foodie, then a blogger. I meet up with foodie group members and share a good meal together and trade foodie stories. For example, in Singapore we can join the monthly Makansutra makan sessions which is the oldest and most happening foodie forum in Singapore.

As a food and travel blogger, this is important also because if I'm too obsessed about blogging and neglect to enjoy eating and travelling, it will show in my content. The posts will lack depth, substance and enthusiasm which readers can detect. 


The Malaysian travel bloggers gang

Diversify our blog. While the core of my blog is clearly on Johor food, I am willing to let the boundaries be fuzzy to include travel stories and even instant noodle ratings. This allows me to engage in my other interests besides Johor food.

Diversification also lets my blog grow and reach out to new audiences but I am careful not to go overboard. Three areas of focus is probably fine and 10 is far too many :D

Have fun. We began this journey because of love and passion. Keep it fun and enjoyable, the journey is long - there will be blind alleys and pit falls but love will keep us going.

There were times when a hawker, not understanding what I am doing (after all, social media is so new) chased me away. Of course, it affected me a little, but reflecting on the original reason why we started Johor Kaki blog always got me back on track and raving to go for the next blogging adventure :D

This is all for the time being.

Do come back regularly to this post as I am updating this regularly along the way as I learn more about how to blog better.

This post is a work in progress, because Johor Kaki blog will always be a work in progress.

Return to Johor Kaki home page.

First published: 18 Feb 2014

Latest revision: Nil