As another month concludes, I find myself in disbelief that it’s already time to share a new blog income report! Documenting this journey through monthly insights has become a tradition, and the fact that I’ve been consistently publishing these reports for nearly an entire year truly blows my mind. This commitment not only offers transparency into my blogging business but also serves as a personal reflection on growth, challenges, and aspirations. Looking back, this year has been a whirlwind of learning and adapting, and these reports capture a significant part of that evolution.
Speaking of challenges, this holiday season presented an unexpected hurdle in recipe creation. While my mind was brimming with exciting holiday recipe ideas, the practicalities of testing, photographing, and developing them fully eluded me this year. It’s a common struggle for content creators to balance ambitious projects with demanding schedules. However, this isn’t a setback but rather a strategic pause. Those brilliant concepts are now safely tucked away in my inspiration archives, ready to be brought to life for the 2017 holiday season. Every season brings new opportunities, and sometimes, a deferral means a more refined and spectacular outcome later.
Despite the recipe development hiccup, I am absolutely immersed in the festive spirit! Our Christmas tree proudly stands, awaiting its full decorative glory. My cherished Santa Claus hot chocolate mug has made its annual pilgrimage from the attic, already seeing frequent use and filling my mornings with warmth and holiday cheer. I’m eagerly anticipating all things gingerbread and peppermint, embracing the quintessential flavors of the season. Moreover, I’ve been diligently brainstorming and refining some truly spectacular holiday recipe ideas that I cannot wait to share on the blog this year. Get ready, because a significant portion of these involve a generous array of delicious cookies – a perfect treat for holiday gatherings and cozy evenings alike!
This past month has been incredibly dynamic, marked by numerous exciting developments that I’m eager to unveil in more detail very soon. For now, however, this particular income report will be kept concise. The reason? A remarkable surge in video client work, which I consider a fantastic blessing and a testament to the growth of my creative services! Currently, I’m dedicating seven days a week, including evenings, to ensure all projects are completed to the highest standard. While the schedule is intense, I am absolutely loving every moment of this work. Finding genuine enjoyment and fulfillment in what I do is, ultimately, what I value most and what drives my passion.
Alright, let’s dive into the core details of this month’s performance and financial breakdown!
Comprehensive Traffic Report: Unveiling Blog Performance
Traffic Overview and Analysis
While this month didn’t show a significant surge in traffic compared to October, I am genuinely pleased to see my pageviews consistently hovering above the impressive 100,000 mark. Maintaining this level of readership is a strong indicator of sustained engagement and valuable content, especially in a competitive niche like food blogging. Many fellow bloggers reported a noticeable slowdown in October, making my stable traffic numbers even more reassuring. It’s a testament to the diverse content strategy and consistent efforts in optimizing for user experience and search visibility.
Reaching and sustaining over 100,000 pageviews is a significant milestone for any blog, and it underscores the importance of a robust content calendar and effective promotion. This consistency is not accidental; it’s the result of strategic content creation that resonates with my audience, alongside continuous SEO efforts and social media engagement. When other sites experience dips, maintaining a steady flow often indicates a loyal readership and a diversified traffic acquisition strategy, which is something I always strive for. It reinforces the idea that building a strong foundation and a dedicated community pays off in the long run, buffering against seasonal fluctuations or broader industry trends.
Top Ten Traffic Sources: A Deep Dive into Audience Engagement
Analyzing the top ten traffic sources provides invaluable insights into where my audience is coming from and how they discover my content. This data is crucial for refining content strategy and allocating promotional efforts effectively. Understanding which platforms drive the most engagement allows for targeted optimization, whether it’s dedicating more time to Pinterest for visual content, fine-tuning SEO for organic search dominance, or fostering community on specific social media channels. Each source represents a unique pathway to my blog, and recognizing their individual strengths helps in building a comprehensive and resilient traffic strategy. A diversified traffic portfolio is key to long-term blog stability and growth, ensuring that the blog is not overly reliant on a single platform, which could be subject to algorithm changes or shifts in user behavior.
Blog Income Report*: A Transparent Look at Revenue Streams
Transparency is paramount in these reports. Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase. Rest assured, all products and services listed are ones that I personally use, genuinely recommend, and find highly beneficial for my blogging journey and daily operations. If you have any questions about how these tools or services integrate into my work, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email for a more detailed discussion.
- Mediavine: $917.67
Mediavine continues to be a cornerstone of my passive income strategy. As a premium ad management network, they optimize ad placements and fill rates, allowing me to focus on content creation while generating revenue from display advertising. Their support and consistent performance are invaluable for a growing blog. - Sponsored Post: $600
Sponsored content represents a significant opportunity for direct collaboration with brands that align with my blog’s values and audience interests. This particular sponsored post involved creating engaging content around a specific product or service, providing value to my readers while earning a fee for my time and creative effort. These partnerships are a key component of my blogging business model. - Food Blogger Pro: $17.40
This affiliate income stems directly from a dedicated post I authored, enthusiastically encouraging aspiring and established bloggers alike to join the Food Blogger Pro community. The platform offers comprehensive resources for growing a food blog, and I genuinely believe in its value, which makes promoting it through affiliate links a natural fit. - Food Photography School: $0
While this affiliate stream didn’t generate income this month, it’s linked to a helpful resource post where I share essential tips and tricks for elevating food photography. Even without immediate earnings, providing valuable recommendations to my audience remains a priority, building trust and authority. - Greater Than Gatsby: $87.73
This income is generated through affiliate links embedded in several posts where I demonstrate how I achieve professional-looking photo edits using Greater Than Gatsby Actions & Presets. These tools are indispensable for my workflow, and sharing my positive experience with readers translates into affiliate earnings. - Amazon: $72.01
My Amazon affiliate earnings come from various strategically placed links throughout my blog posts. These links direct readers to products I use and recommend, such as kitchen gadgets, photography equipment, or ingredients. This diverse application of affiliate marketing allows for passive income generation across a wide range of content. - Click It Up A Notch Ebook: $0
Similar to Food Photography School, this zero-income line item for the month is tied to a post I wrote explaining the fundamentals of learning DSLR manual mode. It’s a resource I stand by, and while it didn’t convert this month, it continues to serve as a valuable recommendation for aspiring photographers.
*It’s important to clarify that this income report specifically details earnings directly attributable to the blog. It does not include the significant income generated through my independent food photography and videography business, which operates as a separate entity though closely related to my blog’s niche.
Total Blog Income: $1694.81
Essential Blog Expenses: Investing in Growth and Quality
Every successful blog requires strategic investments to maintain quality, ensure security, and facilitate growth. These are the core expenses incurred this month:
- WP Engine Hosting: $141.22
Reliable hosting is non-negotiable for a high-traffic blog. WP Engine provides robust, managed WordPress hosting that ensures speed, security, and excellent support, which are critical for user experience and SEO. - Food: $200
This figure is an estimated expense for recipe ingredients this month. With the increased volume of client video projects alongside blog content, accurately segregating ingredient costs between the two has become challenging. All food purchases are made through my business account, leading to some overlap. I am actively working on refining my accounting system to clearly distinguish these expenses starting in the new year for improved financial clarity. - Props: $0
Thankfully, no new prop purchases were needed this month, as my existing collection was sufficient for both blog and client projects. Managing prop inventory efficiently helps in controlling costs. - Adobe Lightroom/ Photoshop + Premiere: $10.91 + $19.99
The Adobe Creative Cloud subscription is essential for all aspects of my visual content creation. Lightroom and Photoshop are used daily for photo editing, ensuring high-quality images for the blog and clients. Premiere Pro is indispensable for professional video editing, a rapidly growing segment of my business. These tools are critical investments in maintaining a professional standard. - Mailchimp Premium: $20
Mailchimp is my chosen platform for email marketing, a vital component for nurturing my audience and driving repeat traffic. The premium plan allows for advanced segmentation, automation, and a larger subscriber base, enabling more effective communication with my community. - The Blog Village: $25
Being part of The Blog Village community provides invaluable peer support, expert advice, and ongoing education. It’s a fantastic resource for staying updated on blogging best practices, troubleshooting challenges, and networking with other like-minded creators. This membership is an investment in continuous learning and professional development.
Total Blog Expenses: $417.12
The Power of a Side Hustle: Beyond Traditional Blog Income
I want to take a moment to discuss my income this month in a broader context, particularly regarding how it reflects my overall earnings. At this stage of my blogging journey, the “blog income report” itself can be somewhat deceptive regarding my true income generation derived from my blog’s influence and my related skill set. It’s crucial to explain this distinction for a complete picture. As many of you know, approximately eight months ago, I embarked on the journey of creating recipe videos for my blog. You can delve deeper into the origins and growth of my video side hustle in last month’s report.
A significant reason why I’ve chosen not to include my freelance photography and videography earnings directly in these reports is a practical one: my assumption is that the average person seeking to build an income from their blog isn’t necessarily planning to undertake extensive freelance work to the degree that they are working seven days a week, including early mornings and late nights. My current workload and schedule, while incredibly rewarding, are absolutely not sustainable for an extended period, and I am fully aware of this. It’s a temporary, intensive phase fueled by passion and a specific growth strategy. It certainly helps that I don’t have children, my husband also maintains a demanding work schedule, I’ve stepped back from roller derby, and, quite honestly, my life outside of food media is presently minimal. Again, this isn’t a long-term strategy, but for now, I am thoroughly enjoying every demanding minute of it, and I have a clear game plan for the future to achieve a more balanced approach (so, no worries on that front!).
While freelance videography might not be your specific calling, there could be another skill or passion you possess that you could transform into a very serious and lucrative side hustle. Or, perhaps you haven’t yet discovered what that “thing” is, but you have faith that you will find it. My own journey with video is a perfect example: just eight months ago, the mere thought of creating a recipe video filled me with intense anxiety. It truly scared the crap out of me. Yet, I had this undeniable, burning feeling deep in my gut that pursuing video would be a beneficial move for both me personally and for the growth of my blog. So, despite the fear, I dove in headfirst. I meticulously blocked off an entire day to focus solely on shooting my very first video (this particular video). It was stressful, and at the time, I wasn’t entirely thrilled with the final product. BUT, I persisted. I started. I learned. And crucially, I kept learning, refining my skills with each new project. This iterative process of learning by doing is fundamental to mastering any new craft.
Now, not only am I consistently creating high-quality videos for my own blog, but I am also producing content for several other blogs and prominent brands whom I deeply admire and respect within the industry. This evolution from anxiety to expertise has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my professional journey. I am genuinely excited to share more comprehensive details about this freelance video business and its structure in early 2017, so please stay tuned for those upcoming insights. Furthermore, I plan to offer a more transparent and in-depth look into my combined income, encompassing both my blog revenue and the earnings from my freelance photography and video work. This holistic view will provide a clearer understanding of my overall financial landscape, and all this exciting information is slated for release in 2017!
October’s Strategic Focus: Cultivating Brand Relationships for Future Growth
October was a pivotal month, dedicated primarily to a strategic initiative: actively reaching out to brands. This effort began after my attendance at the Natural Food Expo in Baltimore a few months prior (you can even check out my vlogs from the expo HERE!), where I had the incredible opportunity to connect with numerous companies. I returned home armed with approximately 75 business cards, each representing a brand I genuinely admired, believed in, and felt would be an exceptional fit for my blog and, more importantly, for my engaged audience. This groundwork was critical for the next phase of outreach.
To prepare for these crucial conversations, last month I invested time in developing a sophisticated new media kit. This wasn’t a solo endeavor; I had invaluable assistance and guidance from the incredibly supportive community at The Blog Village! A well-crafted media kit is indispensable for showcasing a blog’s value proposition, audience demographics, and past successes to potential brand partners. Once my media kit was polished and professional, I embarked on the extensive task of emailing all of those brands, initiating contact and presenting collaboration opportunities.
The initial response, as is often the case in brand outreach, was largely met with silence or “crickets,” as we say in the industry. A few brands did respond, primarily inquiring about specific pricing for various collaboration types. Some kindly offered to send free product but indicated limited budgets for paid partnerships at that time. Many conveyed that they would soon be working on their budgets for 2017 and would “keep me in mind” for future opportunities. I approached this entire process with a very specific and realistic mindset: my primary goal at this stage was not immediate monetary gain, but rather to establish genuine connections and build foundational relationships. I never expected that a single, simple email would instantly lead to an influx of cash from every brand. Brands, like individuals, need time to get to know me, understand the essence of my blog, and appreciate the value and engagement of my readership, just as much as I need to understand their brand values and marketing objectives. It’s a two-way street built on mutual understanding and trust.
However, despite the initial quiet, out of the approximately 75 brands I contacted, a handful enthusiastically jumped on board (which felt like a huge win!). Crucially, every single one of these brands agreed to pay my requested rate for a sponsored post. Even more exciting, a majority of them were also interested in incorporating a video component alongside the blog post. In fact, I strongly suspect that my growing portfolio of recipe videos was a significant draw for one or two of these collaborations, which makes me incredibly happy and validated in my decision to delve into video content creation. This success in securing upcoming sponsored posts means that December is already shaping up to be my best month ever in terms of blog income – by a long shot! This truly underscores the power of proactive brand outreach and the evolving value of integrated content formats.
I am keen to know if you, my readers, would be interested in learning more about my specific methodology for initiating contact and fostering meaningful conversations with brands. While I certainly don’t consider myself an absolute expert in brand partnerships, I have undoubtedly learned a thing or two through this process, mostly through trial and error, including invaluable lessons on what *not* to do! Your feedback will guide whether I delve into this topic in a future post.
That concludes this month’s comprehensive report, my dear friends! I sincerely hope you are all anticipating a truly lovely December, filled with warmth and joy, and are diving headfirst into the magical spirit of the holidays! Until next time, keep creating and thriving! 🙂