Hey there friends!
Bjork here, checking in for the monthly traffic and income report on Pinch of Yum.
We started doing these reports over three years ago when we were making less than $30/month from this blog. At that time, food blogging for us (mostly Lindsay) was purely a hobby, but we wanted to know if it was possible to actually monetize a food blog. These income reports were created to document that progress.
Usually, in our monthly income reports, Lindsay and I write a bunch of stuff about the things we learned or did or studied in the previous month. But after drafting and re-drafting and talking this post over several times, we decided that this month we’re going to change it up.
We’re not going to write about anything this month.
At least, not in the way that we normally do.
For this month’s report, we’re going to host a Q&A in the comments!
Here’s how it’ll work:
You can ask a question in the comment section below. The questions can be about anything – blogging, business, work/life balance, our dog Sage, Pinch of Yum, Food Blogger Pro, the dark chocolate coconut bites that Lindsay won’t stop making, etc, etc…
In 48 hours, we’ll close the comments. Make sure you get your questions in as soon as possible!
Lindsay and I will take the next few days to answer each of the questions thoroughly in an effort to provide you, our readers, with information that is, we hope, both valuable and super relevant.
It’s as simple as that. I’m excited to hear what questions you have!
Update 5/19 at 8:53 am: please limit to one “big” question – this will enable us to give better responses to each commenter!
Before we dive into Q&A, here are the numbers…
A quick note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. All of the products listed below are products and services we’ve used before.
Income
- Bluehost – $5,635.00 –> this income comes from a page where we show people how to start a food blog in three easy steps.
- Yellow Hammer Media – $5,241.19
- sovrn – $5,342.22
- Sponsored Posts/Speaking – $4,000
- Tasty Food Photography – $3,198.70
- Federated Media – $1,863.28
- Swoop (via BlogHer) – $1,276.63
- Gourmet Ads – $1,282.37
- Food Innovation Group – $1,261.06
- Amazon Associates – $726.76
- Genesis Theme – $691.45
- Elegant Themes – $273.50
- Go Sugar Free Course – $249.25
- How to Monetize Your Food Blog eBook – $245.00
- Everyday Healthy eCookbook – $226.10
- The Creamy Cauliflower Sauce eCookbook – $234.00
- AWeber – $28.80
Total Income: $31,775.31
Expenses
- How to Monetize your eBook (Assets) – $2,000.00
- Support Staff – $1,284.16
- Food Expenses – $835.77
- eBook Affiliates – $688.15
- Amazon S3 and Cloudfront – $507.48
- Media Temple (Hosting) – $350.00
- Photography Props – $293.94
- PayPal Transaction Percentage – $255.64
- MailChimp – $156.00
- Overwhelmingly $79.00
- LeadPages – $67.00
- Courses and Classes – $54.00
- Adobe Creative Cloud – $53.55
- PayPal Website Payments Pro – $30.00
- Shoeboxed – $29.95
- ViralTag – $28.00
- QuickBooks – $26.95
- Software and Apps – $24.73
- VaultPress – $20.00
- E-Junkie – $18.00
- TailWind – $14.99
- Backupify – $12.00
Total Expenses: $6,829.31
Net Profit: $24,946.00
If you’re interested in learning more about some of the ways that you can monetize a food blog, we encourage you to download this free ebook, “16 Ways to Monetize Your Food Blog,” from our sister site, Food Blogger Pro!
Traffic Totals
Below are some screenshots from Google Analytics. You can click on these images to view a larger size.
Traffic Overview
Top Ten Traffic Sources
Mobile Vs. Desktop Vs. Tablet
Top Traffic Channels
That’s a Wrap!
That’s it. Our shortest income report ever!
Now for the fun part: Any questions?
I am not a blogger or a wannabe, but thank you so much for your input here to the people who do want to blog. As a reader of many food and lifestyle type blogs, suggestions for each one of you precious givers to us all are:
Enjoy yourself with your energies, wherever you spend/receive them.
Food blogs are more attractive if they appeal to various interests. Except for the people who only want paleo, vegan, vegetarian, whatever, you will likely get a wider audience by presenting options for a recipe or having separate categories on your recipe index.
When writing about your personal stuff, keep it light on whatever your religious beliefs are if you don’t want to limit your readership. Educating about your traditions is easier to read and informative in a more general way.
No matter what, do a very easy print or printer friendly version of your recipes with your credit on it!
Thank you so much for caring enough to give yourselves out to this world. We can be healthier and happier by connecting with others, learning how to feel better in all ways.
Love it Wendy. Perfect way to close out the comments on this post. 🙂
When I get to these posts every month I scroll down to the bottom to see where you made a donation this month. Honestly I come here for all the regular posts, but that little blurb about how you give back is my favorite thing to read all month. Missed it this month…
Hey Misty! Thanks for the sweet comment – so glad that you love CSC as much as we do! 🙂 Check back next month for our next special project!
Just saying THANKS guys and we appreciate you. 😉
You’re too kind! 🙂 XO
Oh man thank you for opening this up to questions! The comment section alone is a great resource…I’ve been reading all of them for like 20 minutes when I should be packing (we are moving in 2 days haha).
Okay, I have a lot of questions (I so appreciate ANY of this being answered!):
1. I know photography is HUGE in food blogging (and any blogging these days). I’ve improved immensely little by little and I’m at the point where I’m pretty proud of my food photography even though I know I could improve the tools I’m using and I have some questions that may seem obvious, but I would love it if you humored me…
a. I am using picmonkey to edit photos right now and it’s working pretty well. Every amazing food blogger swears by Photoshop though. Why is it so much better? And do you think it will make or break my chances of being a pro blogger?
b. I use a Nikon D5300 which is an upgrade for me, but I have heard a full frame is better..why is that? Again, will this make or break my photos? Or is it more about the lens?
2. I like using fun colors and kind of have a girly vibe going on my blog. Do you think this limits my audience and/or makes me look less professional? Or should I stick with that as my brand, knowing that I’m catering to a specific audience?
3. Lindsay: was Bjork always behind your food blog? Like all the hours you put in? Was your family always behind you or was it tough to stick to your guns and push forward? I know it started as more of a hobby, but when you got serious and consistent I don’t think you were making money at the time (correct me if I’m wrong) so was it hard to justify spending all of that time AND spending money on your blog? I have such a hard time with this!!
Thank you THANK YOU for reading this and for taking time to help all of us! <3
(Here's an example of a post I'm pretty proud of using picmonkey and my Nikon D5300 and you can see my slightly girly/fun vibe:
Hey Amanda!
**Every amazing food blogger swears by Photoshop though. Why is it so much better? **
I think the biggest thing with Photoshop is that it’s really powerful for white balance. I haven’t found any tool that replicates the white balance adjuster in Photoshop. I am now using Lightroom, so no, I don’t think not using Photoshop will make or break you. 🙂
**I use a Nikon D5300 which is an upgrade for me, but I have heard a full frame is better..why is that? Again, will this make or break my photos? Or is it more about the lens?**
Full frame is considered better, but I always liked shooting on a camera with a crop sensor. I think more of it depends on your lens and your skills as a photographer. Honestly, the equipment is huge, but a good photography can take a great photo with just about any camera! 🙂 Learn the one you have and upgrade if/when you’re ready – it won’t make or break you.
**I kind of have a girly vibe going on my blog. Do you think this limits my audience and/or makes me look less professional?**
I do think it limits the audience, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I would suggest sitting down for a few hours and looking at some branding worksheets and making some decisions about who you want to reach and what content you want to deliver to them. That will help you make some of these branding choices. You might want to check out the book Tribes by Seth Godin – it kind of speaks to the idea of a small community that is really cohesive around one particular thing (maybe in your case, it’s girly recipes).
**Lindsay: was Bjork always behind your food blog? Like all the hours you put in? Was your family always behind you or was it tough to stick to your guns and push forward?**
I would say, yes, Bjork was always pretty supportive, but part of that was that he had his own stuff he wanted to do, so if I was working on the blog, it wasn’t like he was waiting around for me – we are both similar in that we like to DO stuff, so he would be out doing something in the yard or working on a little website project or something. It’s a little harder with my family because they didn’t see it the same way Bjork did, but I think it’s important in those early years to try not to care what others think (easier said than done) because maybe in the beginning, people think it’s weird and dorky, and not worth the time, but then when you can grow it into something, all of a sudden everyone thinks it’s cool. 🙂 Do it for YOU! And try to approach it as a hobby – almost everyone can justify time spent on a hobby! We all need fun things like that.
Question for Lindsay: As a fellow food blogger, I’m curious to know any secrets you have on staying in shape. Some days, I just want to eat everything I make!
Hey Nicole! Love this question.
The way I approach my blog food is to just post what I’m actually eating, so I’m not ever making cupcakes and posting them if that’s not really what I want to be eating. That is NOT the right way or the only way to do it – I know lots of people who see the blog food as their job and choose recipes accordingly. But for me, it’s very much a personal blog, so I don’t like the feeling of making things and sharing them if I’m not actually eating them myself.For that reason, I try to just make healthier things for the blog. I am doing less desserts these days, which is sort of a sacrifice since desserts perform really well on the blog, but if I don’t actually eat them, then I don’t want to be posting them. (I do love desserts, though, and I can’t wait to share my next one)!
I also give a lot of food away, especially when it’s cookies or bars or whatever. Get them outta the house! (after I eat a few)
I also find that I NEED NEED NEED exercise. I used to run a lot more than I do now, but these days, I make myself get out and move around (walk, run, rollerblade, whatever) for at least 20 minutes. I know, right?! Just 20 minutes. But it feels less overwhelming that committing to an hour long workout, and it helps me clear my head, so usually I just tell myself if I can get out for 20-30 minutes, that’s good enough.
Last thought on this – I used to count calories. I did this for years. I don’t really know why – I didn’t need to lose weight or anything, I just liked knowing what I was eating and what were good choices and not good choices… I was just interested in it. But when we went the Philippines, I sort of lost that habit and I never really got it back. So I think having that foundation, knowing which foods equate to which calories and stuff, has been really helpful to me in the long term because now I am able to regulate that just by knowledge and general feel – if I’m hungry, I eat, if I’m not, I don’t, and I know what’s a splurge and what’s a good choice.
I said that was my last thing, but this is really my last thing. 🙂 I try to get 5 fruits/vegs a day. Which seems easy – it’s not. I do lots of green smoothies (at least 2 right there) and try to add some fruits or veggies to every meal I make.
And in turn, those are the things that end up on the blog! 🙂 haha.
Longest answer ever. Sorry.. hope that helps!
Thanks Lindsay, very helpful! Keep up the awesome work you guys are doing.
1 – Do your “real life” friends and family read your blog? Do you feel awkward publishing your income for all to see?
2 – Once you decided you wanted to monetize your blog and started working on it with that in mind, did you think you would eventually be making 20-30k a month? Was that something you were trying to achieve?
Hey Laura!
**Do your “real life” friends and family read your blog? Do you feel awkward publishing your income for all to see?**
Some of them do, but not all (which is sort of nice – I’m always thankful for my friends who are pretty disconnected from the blog) and yes, sometimes it’s a little weird. I don’t even know really what else to say about that. It’s just something we’ve decided to keep moving forward with for now, but I don’t know that it will be a forever thing. We’ll see.
**did you think you would eventually be making 20-30k a month? Was that something you were trying to achieve?**
Never ever ever ever. I thought we’d have hit the jackpot if we made $100/month – just enough to pay for a nice date or something. Bjork has always been a bigger “dreamer” than me so he knew all along that it was something that was scalable and possible, but for me, I never in a million years would have guessed it was possible, and never set out to develop the blog as a business.
Hey guys! Thanks for all these great recipes and income report inspiration. I am a craft blogger but I find your income reports very helpful even for a different kind of blog. My question is…
Have you every considered doing link parties on your blog? Where other bloggers could share their content/recipes. I love linking up to these and if you ever do one I’ll be linking in for sure!!
Keep up the great work.
Taya
Hey Taya!
**Have you every considered doing link parties on your blog?**
Not really – I don’t know, I’ve never been super excited about roundups or link parties or even just seasonal stuff (holidays, etc). I’m weird like that, I guess. I just like to post what I like to post. 🙂 That’s the benefit of it being a personal blog!
We’ll let you know if we ever decide to do one, though!
Hi Lindsay and Bjork! Thanks for being so open and willing to answer questions!
I would like to know, if you have a brand that you absolutely want to work with, how do you know who to contact? How do you find out their PR person is?
Thank you!
Hey Laurie!
**I would like to know, if you have a brand that you absolutely want to work with, how do you know who to contact? How do you find out their PR person is?**
One thing that’s been helpful for me is looking at what other bloggers the brand already works with and then getting in touch with those people (assuming I might know one of them) to ask for an introduction.
If that’s not an option, I would just start emailing or calling a PR or marketing or social media person at that company and asking who you should get in touch with, and you can often find that by just googling “___ PR” and seeing what you can find. LinkedIn could be helpful for that as well. Sometimes I get the most immediate responses from brands when I reach out to them on social media (i.e. send a Facebook message or something) because they have people monitoring those channels all day long, and you can just ask them to get you in touch with the appropriate person.
Finally, keep in mind that sometimes the brands are actually represented by a PR agency and they may be getting you in touch with a third party company. Not all bad, but just something to be aware of! 🙂
Hi Lindsay and Bjork!
Here’s a question for Lindsay: How much time do you spend on writing (only in writing) one blog post?
Greetings from Germany! 🙂
Hey Jennifer!
**Here’s a question for Lindsay: How much time do you spend on writing (only in writing) one blog post?**
Great question. It’s changed over the years, but right now I’m spending about 1 hour writing the post. Sometimes it’s more if it’s a sponsored post or a more intensive, informational post, but for a recipe post, I can usually crank that out in about an hour.
I’ve scheduled me day so that I write in the morning, the morning that the post will publish. That way I am limited to an hour or two – I have to get it done more quickly because I’m going to try to press publish by 8am or whatever. That has been really helpful for me. If I didn’t do that, I would probably end up spending hours upon hours tweaking stuff, which is just not top priority for us with Pinch of Yum. 🙂 So I write, and I try to be genuine and efficient, and then I publish.
Hi guys! Thanks so much for taking time to answer all these questions. The timing is perfect, I just told my husband I was going to email you about this one. I didn’t take time to read all of the above so if you’ve already answered it, please just refer me to that one.
My question:
I know you have listed “food expenses”. How do you determine what you can count in that? I have only been counting what I spend for sponsored posts but it must be more.
Thanks a ton!
Hey Danita!
**I know you have listed “food expenses”. How do you determine what you can count in that?**
If it’s an ingredient that’s going to be used in a blog recipe, I expense it. So when I go to the grocery store, I usually have two separate orders – one that’s all my blog ingredients, and one that’s random stuff that we just eat 🙂 like cereal, yogurt, frozen fruit, dish soup, paper towels, etc. (stuff that is definitely not for the blog).
Hi Guys!
I love your blog. My blog is a food blog as well that serves a very specific niche. I’ve been inspired by your great photography for a while now and plan on buying Tasty Food Photography.
My question is about the electronic content you’ve developed. In what format is that designed? Do you use E-Junkie for delivery? I have E-Junkie (and have for a while) but find some of my users have trouble retrieving content (I’m not sure if that’s E-Junkie or maybe a bit of computer illiteracy going on there 😉
Thanks guys and keep up the good work!
Hey Nikki!
**In what format is that designed? Do you use E-Junkie for delivery?**
For our ebooks, yes – it is PDF format and we distribute that via eJunkie. I think you’re right about the computer literacy stuff – I do get emails and comments every week from people who are having issues with the download, but we have a templated email process that we use to walk people through the download. Once you have a system, it’s easy peasy! 🙂
In expenses you are not taking into account your salaries. How much do you pay yourselves? A rough per hour estimate?
Hey Anabel!
Check out this comment: https://pinchofyum.com/may-income-report#comment-589864
Hello Lindsay and Bjork!
I absolutely love love LOVE Pinch of Yum :). My question is how long after you started your blog did you start to make any significant money off of it? I know in these early stages (I’ve had my blog for under a year) I should be focusing on the quality of content and photography, and to just have fun with it! Which I feel like I’m doing but I am curious about your experience and how long it took to make a decent amount that can actually sustain you.
Thanks for doing this Q&A :)!!
Hey Annie!
**My question is how long after you started your blog did you start to make any significant money off of it?**
I answered this one early on in the comments – here’s my response! https://pinchofyum.com/may-income-report#comment-589638
Hey guys,
Love the site. These posts are especially encouraging and informative.
I have two questions:
1. If you could go back the point in time when you first decided to try to make money from this blog, what is the one thing you would do differently (or do sooner than you did) in the first month?
2. You guys have a lot of different revenue streams, which is awesome. Some of them are obviously much smaller than others, and others, such as speaking engagements, are labor-intensive and active rather than passive. Do you feel that pursuing these revenue streams interferes with your ability to grow the larger, more passive streams? Are there any that you would consider dropping?
Thanks,
Ed
**If you could go back the point in time when you first decided to try to make money from this blog, what is the one thing you would do differently (or do sooner than you did) in the first month?**
Check out this comment: https://pinchofyum.com/may-income-report#comment-589872
**Do you feel that pursuing these revenue streams interferes with your ability to grow the larger, more passive streams? Are there any that you would consider dropping?**
Great question Ed. Bottom line – yes. But it’s a balance, ya know?
Part of the beauty of conferences and non-passive events/work is that we get to hang out with people, and we’ve found that people, in general, are really fun to hang out with. 🙂 Not only that, but we always feel challenged and inspired when we do these types of events. It helps to remind us that it’s real people that are reading the blog, buying products, or asking questions on a blog post.
We’re not necessarily looking to do MORE of the time-for-money type work, but at the same time we know there are all sorts of types of income – there’s relational income, emotional income, spiritual income, etc, etc… Some activities that are less efficient in terms of monetary income are more beneficial for the other types of income.
Hope I’m not too late 🙂
My question is: is there time left between all the blog cooking to make other dishes? I’m assuming all the recipes you post here have to be tested, adapted, retested and finalised. All those attempts have to be eaten 🙂 So if you spend days working on a recipe, is there time outside of that to cook a dinner that you’ve been making for years, or something from a year ago that you want to eat again, or just really like?
I look forward to reading all the Q&A’s 🙂 Thank you!
What a great question, Aeremaee!
**is there time left between all the blog cooking to make other dishes? **
No. Truthfully, no, there is not. We eat whatever I make for the blog (several times, because I make it usually at least twice), and then all that’s really left is a few meals here and there where we usually just go out. I have a few recipes from the blog that I make “regularly” but that means like 3x a year rather than once/week. We eat almost exclusively the blog food that’s been posted that week or the week before. With only two of us, it takes us a while to go through all that food!
My regular recipes (at least the ones that are top of mind right now) are Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup, Potato Kale Soup, Sausage Potato Bake (like a brunchy-egg thing), and Magic Green Sauce… which goes on everything. 🙂 I have more, for sure, but honestly, nothing comes to mind as my “regular” – we are eating new stuff ALL THE TIME. It’s a little sad because I’d love to revisit those old favorites, but I can’t complain. 🙂
Yayyyy for people helping people! Thank you guys so much for all these income reports and resources. It’s awesome.
So my question is at the different end of the spectrum than most of these: recipe development. How do you continually create fresh content that’s original and stands out? And I’m (unfortunately) not an expert chef or baker, so how do I perfect a chocolate chip cookie, for example, without blindly throwing random ingredients in whacked out proportions in a bowl and hoping for the best? I’ve read about social media strategy and photography and recipe styling and all the technical stuff, but I guess I’m just not confident enough in my cooking skills yet. But I have so many ideas, and blogging is something I’ve been considering for over a year. So I guess it’s now or never! It’s scary just to jump in though without much content ready, so I’m trying to build up a collection so when (if) I start in (and come up with a name, ugh!) I’ll at least have some posts ready.
Also, what are some good podcasts you recommend for beginners? Thanks!
Hey Emilie!
**How do you continually create fresh content that’s original and stands out?**
Ha – sometimes I feel like I have no fresh or original content in my head whatsoever. But it comes and goes, and when I’m on a hot recipe streak, I just take it and run with it! 🙂
So… the biggest things are restaurants (I have been known to take pictures of entire menus and try to recreate the dishes at home), friends and family, and my own personal preferences. Okay, also, whatever is in my fridge.
The irony is that sometimes when I try too hard, it just doesn’t feel right, but often my best recipes are the ones that I make when I come home from a long day out of the house and I’m just so hungry and I just take everything I have in the cupboards and make it into a meal! 🙂
I think bottom line: look at stuff, go out, know what keeps you inspired and do more of those things. Also accept that sometimes you’ll be full of ideas and sometimes not so much, but that’s okay. Just take a break when you need it, try a new restaurant, ask your friends what they’ve been making for dinner lately, and see what sticks.
Hey ! Sorry I’m late…
I just wanted to know if you use youtube to monetize your videos ??
Thanks !!
Yep! But the amount we earn on YouTube AdSense is tiny. Like, really tiny. 🙂
Hey you guys! Just wanted to say great job on the website and that you two gave me the inspiration to start my own blog about 7 months ago. I’ve always had a passion for treasure hunting and I guess I got that from watching Indian Jones as a kid 🙂 I’ve been adding weekly content since I started it and have put quite a bit of work into making a page that shows people exactly how to make their own blog as well http://www.needbucksnow.com/start-a-blog/ I realize that the 1st year is always the toughest for getting traffic but I have been using social media and continue to get shares and repins on Pinterest almost everyday. I was wondering how long it took for you all to start making a decent income from hosting offers? I plan on keeping this site for a while and will continue to keep adding content, but was just wondering and hoping for some advice? Thanks a lot for taking the time to check out the page for me and best of luck 🙂
Awesome! I always dreamed of getting a metal detector when I was a kid. That’s kind of like treasures hunting, right? 🙂
We have a unique setup with that in that we have a continuous loop back to that page with these income reports, so most people won’t have the same type of success with a “starting a blog page.” The traffic we send to that page is really “warm,” in that they probably have a good understanding of what a blog is and their head is in blogging space.
That being said, I think we had the first sale within a month of putting the page up.
Hi Lindsay and Bjork, thanks for this Q&A session!
My question is: I’m a food blogger from Europe, do you think it is possible to make a good income from sponsored posts even if you live outside the US? (I mean are US brands open to such cooperation? Since my blog is in English it is not really geared towards the local audience unless they read it English.) What was your experience when you were living abroad? Any advice is welcome! Thanks so much!
**do you think it is possible to make a good income from sponsored posts even if you live outside the US?**
I don’t think it matters where *you* are located, just where *your readers* are located. If you can show brands that XX% percentage of your readership is based in the country where they sell their product then I’d assume they wouldn’t really care where you’re located.
Seriously, I need to learn how to watch out for pugs. What do you recommend as the best defense?
BETH! Such a good question.
Seriously, you just have to be really careful. REALLY CAREFUL. because you never really know where they might be hiding. They are small little buggers and they can fit into lots of tight places, so just always be ready for that smoosh face wherever you go.
How do you protect yourself from pugs?
You can’t. They’re too quite and stealthy.
Lol, Beth, isn’t there a plugin for that? The pug plugin?
Hello. I am really inspired by what you do and your monthly income reports motivate me to keep going each month.
Here are two questions if you have time:
1) if you had to start all over again from scratch, knowing what you now know – what would be the first things you would do to monetize your site?
2) How is important is your email list in relation to the income you earn from POY?
Thanks a million. Well done.
**if you had to start all over again from scratch, knowing what you now know – what would be the first things you would do to monetize your site?**
Great question. The easiest and quickest way to create an income is to offer some type of service. So, if it was five years ago and we wanted to create an income right away I’d find some way to trade my time for money, at least until we built out some of the more passive income streams like ads or eBooks.
If it wasn’t service related? We don’t really have any products or services over the $29 price point, so I’d focus on building out some higher price point products or services. That’s something we still should do. 🙂
**How is important is your email list in relation to the income you earn from POY?**
Not really important yet really important. We’re not earning a direct income from the email list at this point, but it delivers a full post email 2-3 times a week with a 30-40% open rate. My point? Lindsay is connecting with people on a constant basis. We really think that group of readers is important because we’re connected with them. It’s a bit nebulous, but trust is more valuable than income, and consistent and constant connection with someone helps establish trust.
Lindsay and Bjork,
Since I’m not much into numbers, I just realized that you have multiplied your blogging income by a THOUSAND in the last few years! Take a minute and let that sink in. Well done. You rock. Go eat a dark chocolate coconut ball and celebrate your success!
Spa Pirate, I will now celebrate with a piece of that yummy fudge that you left in my fridge 😀 😀
I feel like I’m going in the right direction with my blog. My Husband even said to me the other night he thinks I’m just one step away from “making it big” (I’m not sure if I agree but if he says so, I’ll take it, lol) What really scares me is what if that does happen? How do you handle that? I see all of the expenses and things you list out and am in shock at how I would keep up with all of it. Right now I do everything, besides my design. At what point did you get help with it all? I’m about the third the size of you as listed in this report, and three years old in August, woot woot! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hey Dana!
**What really scares me is what if I do “make it big”? How do you handle that?**
Baby steps! One day, one plugin, one new business trick, at a time. You can totally do it – I wouldn’t even spend time worrying about it, because if you start seeing things pick up, you’ll just take the next logical step – whether that be hiring someone, reaching out for support from blog friends, or navigating the waters on your own.
I don’t think bloggers who have “made it big” necessarily had any secret knowledge prior to getting there – they just learned things as they needed to learn them. For example, I know nothing about marketing, but this year, I’ve needed to think about that a little more, so now I’m learning about marketing. You just take it as it comes! 🙂 You can do it!
I second everything Christine said above- EVERYTHING! Since she already asked the ebook question. I’ll ask about Overwhelmingly. I noticed it listed as expenses and it looked interesting. I’d love to know more about it and if it’s something that could work for a smaller blog.
Also, to add to the ebook question above- I realize you guys make a great profit off of your ebooks, but what are your thoughts for a blog that gets about 320,000 page views/month? My idea for an ebook was healthy lunch ideas and tips for packing healthy lunches. Do you think this is an idea that would actually have some selling power?
Thanks so much!!
**I’ll ask about Overwhelmingly. I noticed it listed as expenses and it looked interesting. I’d love to know more about it and if it’s something that could work for a smaller blog.**
Overwhelmingly is a Facebook Ads management company run by my friend Tony. He’s awesome. He does the Facebook retargeting ads for Tasty Food Photography and Food Blogger Pro. The basic idea with this is anyone that visits the TFP sales page or FBP and doesn’t purchase will see an ad in their FB news feed next time the login to FB. We’ve found the ads to be profitable for both companies, so we continue to use them.
**My idea for an ebook was healthy lunch ideas and tips for packing healthy lunches. Do you think this is an idea that would actually have some selling power?**
It’s tough to say for sure, but you could do a presale to test and see before actually putting it together. It’s kind of like a homemade Kickstarter campaign. 🙂 If you only sell a few then you know that your audience probably isn’t interested and you can refund those that did the preorder. If you sell a bunch then you’ve just confirmed your idea is a good one!