Ten years ago, my husband and I moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina for a job he’d been offered. I’d always worked in publishing (for national trade magazines) and found work writing and editing for local lifestyle magazines in the area, but it was difficult to gain a sense of community in a brand-new city and I found myself craving new creative outlets and connections.

Finding an Untapped Local Focus

One of the perks of working at local magazines was that I received press releases about all the latest happenings, including new restaurants opening in the area. Since my husband and I are big foodies, I’d forward these emails to him, and he would then share the news with co-workers. I realized there was no central platform to keep up with food and beverage news across the city we lived in: Durham, NC, which at the time, was growing in popularity and getting put on the map as “The Tastiest Town in the South,” labeled by Southern Living Magazine in 2013.

I decided to create a blog and website where I could curate and share the exciting local food news that was coming across my desk. This was the beginning of my blog, Bites of Bull City, which has been providing the inside scoop on Durham’s ever-expanding food scene for eight years now!

Because no other media outlet had such a niche focus on local restaurants, I became the go-to source, writing blogs about upcoming eateries, interviewing owners, providing readers with sneak peeks, and establishing a consistent and reliable reputation.

Growing, Monetizing and Fostering Connections

The blog gained a strong following and readership, but it didn’t happen overnight—it was an organic and long process. Tagging local businesses and using social media (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook) to point people to my website were key.

After a couple years, I gained a large enough follower base and viewership to solicit for paid sponsored posts on my blog. Since my focus is hyper local, I couldn’t approach big national brands, proving a little tricky. Still, local restaurants can’t afford expensive print advertisements, buying leads, or hiring big PR firms, so I was able to offer an affordable alternative: I would write a featured blog about their business and disseminate it directly to an engaged and interested audience. I have even been hired to write press releases for newly established businesses.

As my blog’s presence grew, so did the attention of local media outlets. Within a few years, I was approached by my city’s convention and visitor’s bureau to regularly contribute (and get paid) to write roundups of newly opened establishments for their website/blog. This was a win-win as my byline included a link to my website, driving traffic back to it, not to mention build credibility.

At the same time, local interest magazines solicited me as a columnist to write food-focused articles for their publications. That opportunity grew into writing for them on other topics as well, such as arts and education, since I’d established a reliable relationship with the editors.

Writing About Place Pays

When I first started my blog, sharing news with a few friends and neighbors, I had no idea it would turn into an outlet that would not only help me connect to my new community in a more meaningful way, but I also didn’t realize it would lead to several opportunities to get paid as a writer.

Every city has something that shines, whether it’s music, art, food, sports, or theater—find it and you could be the one pointing that spotlight and making money doing so.

BIO: Amber Watson is a freelance writer, published poet, and creator of the award-winning local food news blog Bites of Bull City, based in Durham, NC. She lives there with her husband, teenager, and rescue animals.