Everyone has a favorite celebrity – whether it’s a famous doctor, a movie star, or in my case – a blogger, everyone looks up to someone. On a recent trip to Baltimore, I was lucky enough to grab lunch with one of my favorite food bloggers, Rachel Rappaport from Coconut & Lime. We ate at the Stone Mill Bakery, where the food was great & the conversation better – Rachel shared some great tips that I’m definitely going to apply to my own blogging career.

From her Blog: “Coconut & Lime started as a place for Rachel to share her recipes with friends. Since 2004 it has grown to one of the top twenty food blogs in the country and is the only one that  features only original recipes.”

Lesson 1: Do what you love
This mantra is something we constantly hear, but rarely follow. Regardless of whether you are still in college, beginning your career, or part-way through it, we all need to hear this advice & be reminded that we really can live by it.
Rachel was unhappy with her teaching job, so she quit and started working on her blog full time. It was a gutsy move, but she definitely made the right decision.

Lession 2: You can support yourself financially through blogging
Ok, we aren’t all Dooce, and we won’t all be able to quit our day jobs to blog for a living, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try, right? Whether you join an ad network, get a publishing gig or syndicate your posts, there are tons of ways to earn the money your posts deserve.
Rachel has gained tons of recipe writing and development gigs through her blog, and now writes (and cooks!) full time. What a dream come true…

Lesson 3: Be kind to your readers
This idea is something I personally try to follow. Let’s face it, without readers, your blog would be pretty lame. I know I love getting comments from people who are interested in what I have to say, but sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to respond to each and every one.
Even though Rachel is super busy, she tries very hard to respond to her readers’ questions. Somehow she manages to respond to readers’ questions and comments via email, twitter and directly on her blog – and her readers appreciate her for it!

Are you a Coconut & Lime fan? If so, you should definitely check her out on springpad & maybe even try out her weekly meal planner!