How Josh Gale Grew His Audience to 1.2M+ in Under a Year by Leading with Storytelling

The power of storytelling and diversifying across platforms with Josh Gale.
-----
Welcome to episode 578 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Josh Gale.
How Josh Gale Grew His Audience to 1.2M+ in Under a Year by Leading with Storytelling
In this episode, Bjork interviews Josh Gale, a content creator who has rapidly grown his online presence in the food industry through his blog, The Chef Out West. Josh shares his journey from being a private chef and participating in food competitions to becoming a successful content creator within just a year. He discusses the initial challenges he faced, such as learning to film and edit, and how he overcame the fear of starting something new.
Josh emphasizes the importance of storytelling in content creation, explaining how his personal experiences and passion for food have helped him connect with his audience. He also highlights the role of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook in his growth, sharing insights on how different types of content perform across platforms.
Three episode takeaways:
Just start, even if it's not perfect: Josh waited until he felt ready, but the real growth came from simply hitting record. Imperfect early content is part of the process, not a reason to delay.
Storytelling is the differentiator: What's driven Josh's rapid growth isn't just great food, it's the way he frames it. Audiences connect with the why behind a dish as much as the dish itself.
Know which platform does what: Josh treats Instagram as his traffic engine and his blog as his revenue hub. Understanding each platform's role, rather than chasing all of them equally, has been key to building a sustainable business.
Resources:
The Chef Out West
Toronto Sun — Josh Gale Talks Cheesecake Flop on MasterChef Canada
Season 33: Episode 5 of Beat Bobby Flay: Another "Flay" in the Office
Episode 527 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: How Storytelling Helps Creators Stand Out Online with Brita Britnell
Check out Josh's potato waffle recipe on TikTok!
Episode 125 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Monetizing as an Entrepreneurial Chef with Shawn Wenner and Chris Hill
Episode 561 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: How Food Dolls Turned Facebook Into Their Top Traffic Source
Meta Business Suite
GRO (formerly Grocer's List
Episode 547 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast: Inside Crowded Kitchen's Strategy for Growing to 2.4 Million Followers on Facebook
Episode 2 of Food Empires by Grocers List: He Quit Cooking for The Rock to Go All In On Instagram
Tastemaker Conference
Mediavine
Raptive
Substack
Follow Josh on Instagram and Facebook!
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Clariti. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to [email protected].
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.