Hiya!
Bjork here checking in for our 58th (!) traffic and income report for Pinch of Yum.
We’ve been doing these reports each month as a way to help us stay accountable to improving and as a continual case study in building an online business. It’s been extremely beneficial for us to pause each month, add up the totals, and see specific details about where the business is spending (and earning) money. I’d encourage you to do something similar, even if you don’t publish anything publicly, as the process itself has been really helpful in getting a big picture overview of the business.
One of the most beneficial things that have come from these reports is connecting with and learning from others. And by others I mean you.
Everything we’ve learned and implemented here on Pinch of Yum has in some way, shape, or form been taught to us by someone else.
As Isaac Newton said: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Those giants are you.
Usually with these reports I share specific things that have been working for us.
But this month I’d love to hear what’s been working for you.
The process will be pretty simple. All you need to do is scroll down to the bottom of this page and leave a comment.
You could share anything. It could be a change you made to get more sleep, a positive mindset shift you’ve recently had, a specific social media tip or trick you’ve implement that has worked really well, a change you made in your business to make it run more efficiently, or a book you’ve read that has made an impact on you.
You don’t have to have a blog or a business in order to participate.
Oh, and all you silent ones should join in as well. You know who you are!
I’ll still share the numbers as usual, but after that, you’ll need to jump into the comments to see the good stuff.
Here are the numbers for May:
Income
Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. All of the products listed below are products and services we’ve used before. If you have any questions about any of the income or expenses you can leave a comment and we’ll do our best to reply.
- AdThrive – $26,991.43
- Tasty Food Photography Workshops – $10,890
- Amazon Associates – $3,275.48
- Tasty Food Photography – $2,989.90
- Swoop – $2,932.54
- Bluehost – $2,875 –> this income comes from a page where we show people how to start a food blog in three easy steps.
- Gourmet Ads – $2,148.74
- Federated Media – $1,254.35
- sovrn – $835.54
- Yellow Hammer Media – $669.21
- How to Monetize Your Food Blog eBook – $465.00
- Genesis Theme – $370.23
- Elegant Themes – $278.00
- ActiveCampaign – $66.15
- AWeber – $20.40
Expenses
- Justworks – $14,329.60
- Studio Rent and Expenses – $3,729.71
- Media Temple (Hosting) – $1,400
- Travel – $1,225.71
- Food Expenses – $1,077.47
- Amazon S3 and Cloudfront – $1,155.05
- eBook Affiliates – $741.80
- PayPal Transaction Percentage – $465.31
- ActiveCampaign – $415.00
- Miscellaneous – $127.30
- Adobe Creative Cloud – $107.43
- LeadPages – $67.00
- Zapier – $50.00
- Insurance – $49.45
- PayPal Website Payments Pro – $30.00
- Shoeboxed – $29.95
- Hotjar – $29.00
- E-Junkie – $28.00
- QuickBooks – $26.95
- GitHub – $25.00
- CloudFlare – $20.00
- VaultPress – $20.00
- SumoMe – $20.00
- HelloBar – $15.00
- Pingdom – $14.95
- Backupify – $12.00
- Buffer – $10.00
- CrashPlan – $9.99
- Link In Profile – $9.99
- BoardBooster – $5.00 (Update: BoardBooster has shut down)
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 Google Analytics screenshots from the month of May 2016.
Traffic Overview
Top Ten Traffic Sources
Mobile vs. Desktop vs. Tablet
That’s a wrap from me this week for me. Now we’d love to hear from you.
What are the things that have been working well for you lately?
Leave a comment below to share.
Hey Lindsay,
Just wondering by curiosity if you’ll possibly get back into the food blogging monthly income reports. I created a blogging income reports forum on DNN and discussing “side hustle millionaires,” and bloggers like yourself and Michelle Schroeder-Gardner who took the leap of faith and started from humble beginnings as a side hustle and tired into into a full time passionate business. I hope you do start posting your blogging income reports again if you ever consider doing so. It would be nice to discuss yours on DNN and recommend my readers to read your blogs and give you business. 🙂
That type of income is truly inspiring after launching your food blog in 2011. You give so many much to look forward to! 🙂
I love your blog! I am curious about your most costly expense, justworks. I thought this was a small family business. What makes you need that company and their products? I am just trying to figure out at what point I might need something like this service. Thanks!
Hi Sonia! We use Justworks for our HR and payroll for all our employees. 🙂 We’d say it’s necessary once you start adding to your team!
Long time silent lurker here! I’ve changed 3 things that are helping tremendously:
1) I finally stopped relying on natural light for my photos. With a toddler undergo it’s awesome and so much less trying to shoot after she’s asleep.
2) I’ve changed the way I’m thinking about marketing and networking. I’m being smarter about how I market and focusing on forming real connections with other bloggers.
3) I’m allowing myself a little more flexibility. I was sticking to a strict 3 posts per week every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but I have been cutting myself some slack. As long as I get my 3/week out I’m happy.
Impressive income and traffic report!
I recently started doing my blog stats report and found it was a fun way to engage with bloggers. I always appreciate when blogs provide these type of numbers because it really helps provide some insight for newer bloggers. Thanks for sharing!
This is great! Thanks for sharing 🙂
http://www.nikkisplate.com
I hope my post went through
I am taking your food blogger course and it is helping me first to learn WordPress , somethings I akready knew because I already learned how to post my recipes. However, there was a lot I still did not understand. I recently on taken my food handlers exam and passed with a 95. I am also teaming up with umi kitchen not sure if you heard about them. All iI really want to do is learn how to become the best food blogger ever. Once I have full understandibg of WordPress and how to use it to it full potential I am good. I am not sure if you can teach me how to food blogg I feel it is something I will have to really learn from on my own but we will see. I am so unsure if it can tell a story about how I made my dish and to to keep you entertained
My blog is relatively new and I’m working hard on publishing content consistently, finding my voice, and improving my photography skills. I stay motivated with the 1% infinity rule…it’s an outstanding, positive motivator.
Hi Lindsay & Bjork from Australia!
This was such a great idea to have everyone give tips! Has been great reading everyone’s comments. I am just starting to really understand and get excited by the blogging community. I think to start with I was just looking at my blog as a way to share recipes with my close friends and then I realised if they love these recipes so much, maybe other people will too. So I now spend at least 10 minutes each day looking at and commenting on other blogs and being more active on Instagram. It has been really exciting having my recipes shared. Pinch of Yum was my inspiration to get into blogging and Tasty Food Photography was my first ‘guide’…… so a big Thanks!
I rebranded my blog. I started with creating a Mood Board with new logo I created in Pic Monkey, got my colors, fonts, photos that represent my brand. Did a photo-shoot. I have updated most of my old images and created long info graphics for Pinterest. I created a theme with my Pinterest Infographics using the similar fonts and colors in Canva. I stick to 750X2100 for all my Pinterest images. My traffic has gone from 5,000 to roughly 100,000 in 6 months. Got new props, tabletops, accessories that all go with my brand. Listening to lots of podcasts to keep me inspired! Pat Flynn is one of them. Ps. Love your income reports! I remember way back when you guys started! I am blown away by how much you have grown! You’re a huge inspiration for me! You guys are the best! Keep it up
I love you two so much for doing this. It is very inspiring and eye opening. It would be lovely if you did a total of income vs. expenses so I don’t have to try and add it all up in my mind. ;*) I am growing and will keep you posted as I find more success with my blog. I have had online courses for years and it is the foundation of my business. I am looking forward to adding more blog elements for my fans. xo
Hi Zen, we felt that the focus was becoming more about the totals than the concepts of how to develop an income online. The decision to remove totals has felt much more aligned with the message we want to communicate with these reports, so we don’t have plans to add totals back into the reports. Thanks for your input!
Less can be more. Due to personal happenings and sudden financial changes, I recently decided to only post once per week. This has been a weird change, since I was posting 2-3 times prior to this change and it breaks my little OCD heart, however, I am happy I did it. The reason I started my blog was for enjoyment and building towards my future of wanting to work from home to best support the family my husband and I hope to have. I decided that if I was burnt out and so focused on meeting my previous goals, I wouldn’t have much of a personal life, and certainly not a happy and loving one.
With this long-term goal in mind, my new goal of one post a week, in order to focus on my family, was the best way to support my long-term goal.
So, in reality, sometimes progress requires a step back to look at your largest goal and adjust accordingly; even when it may seem like a step or two back. I have every intention of increasing my posting in the future, however, right now, I am right where I should be <3 Thanks for allowing us to share, Bjork!
“Sometimes progress requires a step back to look at your largest goal and adjust accordingly.” NAILED IT. love to you guys!
Listening to the podcast with Jay on The One Thing and working on it has helped me focus my time and work efforts more. I’m working on creating more of a structured plan to reach my results and put my efforts/ brainpower to the best use right now.
I recently published my first cookbook #PumlasFood -#Family Style which is self funded. At first, one of the methods of distribution is posting the book through snail mail. I recently changed the method to Registered Mail when a book to one of my social media fans didn’t arrive. There was no way of tracing the book from the post office’s side since the book was not posted with registered mail. From now on I register every book and make sure I forward a client a copy of a tracking number as well just to cover any costs my business could incur in the future from books not arriving at clients. This change seemed to work perfectly well.
Thanks for valuing my input.
Regards
from Cape Town
Also appreciate seeing the innerworkings of a running a blog. Question..whats the difference beteen backupify and crashplan? Do I need both? Am just getting back into blogging and realise importance of backing up data and accessibility. What one would you recommend I start with. Thank you. And super well done on your results x
Getting up earlier and starting each day by writing 3 unedited pages in my journal – per the book “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron. Its changing my life by giving me the gift of clarity because sometimes living in my head becomes a dangerous neighborhood!
WOW that is awesome! Good for you Marilyn!
You guys are killing it as usual! I work a full-time job as an associate design director at a reputable agency and blogging has become hard as we are also now expecting to grow our family. But what’s been working for me is more and more innovative and surprise based recipes. Not the traditional kind but something that makes you go ‘aha!’ So I’m trying to do that more and more. That said it’s super hard but super rewarding. Thanks for your transparency in your income reports. ❤️
Joining Food Blogger Pro has been huge. I quit shortly after the first time I joined thinking it wasn’t for me and then rejoined. I have met so many helpful people on the forums, and made contacts that helped open other doors in terms of FB groups and Pinterest group boards. I am actually finally getting traction and traffic. Planning to write a blog post about it soon! Also, buying a DSLR camera, which I’ve already written a blog post about. I have a really high rate of acceptance on food submission sites now that I wasn’t getting with my previous camera even though I’m doing all the same things. Such a huge difference. That’s two things but I couldn’t pick one!
Hey guys, I am still quite a new blogger so the things that have been working for me are more on the simple side, but I hope it still comes of value. First off I would just like to say thank you for creating such a valuable post, and all of the other great emails full of awesome information.
First off, something that has been working well for me is making a daily schedule, I used to just work and grind and hustle etc. Which was ok but I would find myself just working harder than I needed to be and it wasn’t very constructive. Now that I have a planned out day, it allows me to keep a consistent work flow and helps me to produce better quality content. Which is the second one i’ll mention, quality over quantity. I was always in such a rush to make a post, lately I have just learnt to be more patient, take more time on my photos, researching the recipes, editing, writing, SEO, spell checking etc. People respond much better and I see that my posts end up having a lot more value.
Thanks again guys, keep up that fantastic work (:
Both of these are EXTREMELY valuable insights. Time management is everything. Thanks for sharing Nicolas!
Here is a suggestion for a great book I read. It is called “What Alice Forgot,” and is written by Liane Moriarty. It is about a woman who suffers from amnesia and loses memory of a few years of her life. It caused me to think about intention and about how little things can steamroll into big issues, particularly in a marriage. I saw a pattern in my life that I didn’t like and thought about where things would be in 10 years if this continued. I made some changes because of the book, and I feel that my marriage is stronger now. It is a novel, and can be seen as a chick flick. However, it has a powerful message.
I’ve heard good things about that book from others, too. I’m gonna have to check it out. Thanks Sarah!
I absolutely love these Traffic & Income Reports that you put together Bjork! I’ve been quietly following them for years (yes, you pegged me just right — I’m one of the silent ones! 😉 ), and they’ve given me so many tips and tricks and big motivational boosts to grow my blogging business to where it is today. Thank you SO much!! 🙂 One little switch I made at the start of July was to write out my daily schedule hour-by-hour by hand, rather than in an electronic calendar on my computer. That simple act of being able to physically check things off, instead of clicking a checkmark, has made me much more productive and efficient. I never would’ve thought that could make such a huge difference!
Hi Sarah
Your suggestion resonates with me. Just this morning I realised how I need simplicity my life to accomplish things throughout my day
One thing I have recently done is taken some time off! I know that sounds odd, but I was hitting a total wall trying to burn the candle at both ends and get everything done (plus work my day job). I felt like if I wasn’t working, I was “failing” somehow and the pressure showed in my photos and writing. Now forcing myself to take time off has made me more creative and re-invigorated!
As I am a newbie in the blogosphere and do posts about different themes than food too, I always feel inspired to do more food posts on my blog when I see the delicious meals on POY. 😀
And I’m not sure if I should restart writing in German and English again, but for now my mother tongue still works best for me. 😀
Best wishes from Austria,
Lizzy from LIZZY NOW
http://www.lizzynow.com
I created the logos for my two-coming-soon FOOD BLOGS and stablish a date to finally get them running up and live. It has been an incredible experience getting to know myself better and challenge my little fears! The community here and on FBP have been an incredible support to my progress! Love it!