Food Blogging

Blog Income Report March 2019

April 13, 2019 by Thyme and JOY Leave a Comment

Blog Income Report March 2019 : Find out how I made $1120.24 through my blog with various strategies.

It’s officially Spring! In the blogging world, that means that the infamous Q1 is over. In the blog world, traffic for most bloggers especially in the food and healthy living space drops dramatically due to advertisers blowing their budget on end of year mayhem.

Luckily, being a health focused food blogger, the resolution crowd balances that out with an influx of traffic, especially with thing like Keto and Whole30 being as popular as it is.

As for me, I have still been on the downward slope of blogging meaning I have not put nearly as much time into it as I did in the last few months of the year. My life just hasn’t allowed for that and I really just had to put what was important first and do the best I can with the circumstances as you’ll find out below.

Even through all of that, I am shocked to see that my revenue hasn’t really dropped all that much which proves that growth over time is KEY.

Check out: Blog Income Report | February & March 2018 | $18.34
Check out: Blog Income Report | April 2018 | $203.17
Check out: Blog Income Report | May 2018 | $50.93
Check out: Blog Income Report | June 2018 | $213.50
Check out: Blog Income Report | July 2018 | $213.50
Check out: Blog Income Report | August 2018 | $174.52
Check out: Blog Income Report | September 2018 | $177.52
Check out: Blog Income Report | October 2018 | $563.78
Check out: Blog Income Report | November 2018 | $345.42
Check out: Blog Income Report | December 2018 | $919.76
Check out: Blog Income Report | January 2019 | $1334.94
Check out: Blog Income Report | February 2018 | $1156.02

Blog Income Report March 2019

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in March:

Growth Over Time is KEY: I’ve read a million times over that a post takes about 4-6 months to really start ranking. This may take even MORE time for people like me who has a lower domain authority. The point is, posts that I’ve made 6 months ago are FINALLY starting to receive daily traffic. For some, it isn’t much traffic at all but over time it does grow. I now know that once I put a post out there that I’ve put my all into, I may not see any benefits until half a year later. The good part of this is that I can share it again later when the season comes back around and it will have a bit more power under it at that point.
Pregnancy Has Been Hard For Me: On my Instagram, I finally shared some honest thoughts about the first few months of my pregnancy. It has been a rocky ride for me filled with fatigue, emotional stress and unknown as well as scary news we received that told us our baby may not be ok. After a lot of crying, depression, and testing, we’re in the clear for right now and I feel like I am on the other side of a nightmare. I feel SO much better now and I have learned so much about myself and the journey we’re about to go on as parents. One thing I’ve learned for sure is that taking a break and focusing on what is important will not cause everything I’ve worked on to crumble.
I dropped out of the Rat Race: With all of that said above, I felt this ease in pressure to drop out of the “rat race” of the internet game. So many of my friends are becoming so successful with blogging, social media and other aspects of business but I really just can’t! Not only do I not have the energy to keep up with it all, but this HUGE once in a lifetime (for me) event is approaching in 5 months that will take up SO much of my time. If I miss out on those precious years because I was trying to prove myself respectable by being “popular” and “killing it” I know I would look back and feel really sad about it. I think I’ve truly learned and accepted what it means to stay in my own lane when it comes to the internet world. It’s ok if I don’t grow fast enough as those around me and whatever opportunities come my way in this limited capacity are good enough. I am not giving up blogging or my internet over-sharing by any means, but I AM no longer in a season of hustling being the only thing that matters. There will be plenty of time for that later.
I’m enjoying Instagram Much Better: This is mostly because I am not on it as much! I’ve made a few decisions about how I want to treat that platform and what I came up with is this: I pretty much muted A LOT of stories. It’s nothing personal, I just find that once I watch one persons, it tumbles into watching 20 peoples stories and all of the sudden I spent 35 minutes of my life watching a mix of ads and things that aren’t always what I need to see. When I am thinking about someone, I go to their page and watch their stories and that’s that. I’ve also decided that most people that I am friends with on FB that share their IG to it I have muted on one or the other. This is purely because I am seeing the same thing in 2 places and there is no need. One major thing I’ve changed as I’ve mentioned in my last income post was that I was making it more of a personal place for me. Not every post has to have great meaning or be a recipe and what’s funny is I get more engagement on the personal posts than a recipe ever would. I like making it personal again and making sure it’s for me just as much as it is for you.

A note on the metrics below: All of this is income that was MADE in March. I don’t actually see any payment for this money for about 2-3 months depending on the company paying me.

Blog Income Report March 2019 | Metrics

Food/Recipe posts that were created in March: 7

Amazon Affiliate Income: $37.23

Mediavine Income: $658.01

Recipe Development Projects Paid Out: $375

Virtual Assistant Work: $50

Hours spent working on the blog: 3-5 per week

Blog Income Report March 2019 Total: $1120.24

Well, this report was more about personal updates than it was about actual blogging but that really actually mirrors what my month was like!

Like I said, I do have a blog coach AND Foodtography school in my current flow (albeit slow) so I will not be giving up on this endeavor that I’ve worked so hard for, I am just finding a way to balance it with my main hustle, pregnancy and time to enjoy the last 5 months with it just being me and Mike and I am totally ok with that!

Also, I was featured over on YourParkingSpace.Co with a bunch of other people explaining how they make money with their side hustle. Check it out HERE.

Valerie Skinner is a Whole30 approved personal chef & recipe developer that bridges the gap between healthy eating and busy lives by providing simple healthy meals and recipes for you and your family.

Lets Connect!

Check out my Podcast: Food Conversations

Email me: thymeandjoy@gmail.com

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Join my community on Facebook

See what I’m pinning on Pinterest

Blog Income Report February 2019

March 9, 2019 by Thyme and JOY 2 Comments

Blog Income Report February 2019 : Find out how I made $1156.07 through my blog with various strategies.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but this is is my 12th blog income report which means I have been recording these for a full year! Honestly right now in the moment it’s hard for me to look back at how far I’ve come but seeing these solid numbers really proves how much I really did improve over the last year especially when making the decision to take this seriously.

This month has been really hard for me as I will explain below. I’ve had to step back A LOT and I don’t see myself ramping things up for at least another few weeks but I feel ok about it. I am armed with all the tools I need, I have a lot of support and a great network and I know that whatever is meant to happen in this space for me will continue to show it’s path for me.

Check out: Blog Income Report | February & March 2018 | $18.34
Check out: Blog Income Report | April 2018 | $203.17
Check out: Blog Income Report | May 2018 | $50.93
Check out: Blog Income Report | June 2018 | $213.50
Check out: Blog Income Report | July 2018 | $213.50
Check out: Blog Income Report | August 2018 | $174.52
Check out: Blog Income Report | September 2018 | $177.52
Check out: Blog Income Report | October 2018 | $563.78
Check out: Blog Income Report | November 2018 | $345.42
Check out: Blog Income Report | December 2018 | $919.76
Check out: Blog Income Report | January 2018 | $1334.94

Blog Income Report February 2019

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in February:

Traffic Dropped for Everyone: This is obvious to anyone that blogs anything about health. The new years resolution boom has passed, most people are done with their Whole30’s and things start to take a dive. Advertisers especially know this because they spent their budget over the holidays and it doesn’t kick back up for a while. Slow season is upon us and it will only get worse during the summer when everyone is out and about as they should be! Although this makes me nervous, I am glad I have other streams of income coming in through my main gig as a personal chef.
I did the BARE MINIMUM for this blog in FEB: I feel like I have been saying this for the past 2 income reports, but it’s true. Between first trimester extreme fatigue and food aversions it’s been really hard to keep up. Not only that, but we had some potentially scary news come our way about the health of our baby and it pretty much sent us in an emotional spiral along with double the doctors appointments. While I am keeping this private for now, we will have definitive answers soon but in the meantime I really needed to let something sit on the stove and simmer while we take care of ourselves and the blog was it. Something is keeping me from diving in full force to this as of late and I have to listen until it feels right again. It sucks, but that’s life sometimes.
I signed up for Foodtography School: I followed foodtography school on IG for a while and saw that Sarah of Broma Bakery was doing a free webinar. The webinar was pretty convincing and after a chat with a fellow blogger friend that got so much out of the program, I decided to take the leap. I have barely scratched the surface of the modules because of what I mentioned above, but overall I realized something important that pushed me over the edge to make this decision. (see next point)
We can’t control anything on the internet: One of the things I really thought about this month was the life of a full time blogger. As exhilarating as it is, it is a very risky basket to put all of your eggs in. We don’t control google, we don’t own our social media following and we have NO idea what will change in the future. With that said, everything that we’re doing now to grow could all be taken away or drop in an instant and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. I got to thinking about how just relying on ad revenue would maybe not be enough and to make up for that we’d have to constantly work with brands and companies that is also scary as it could tarnish reputations. I guess what I am saying is that while being a full time blogger was something I strived for, maybe continuing to be a multi-faceted entrepreneur that works online in many different ways AND also works in her community is the way to go for me. Sure that will mean so many changes and different things as my skills improve, but I also feel it’s more safe to be all over the place in a way. Does that make sense?
I’m Changing up my Instagram: I lot of people think that a ton of my traffic comes from Instagram. When I run the numbers each month, it’s actually shocking how LITTLE traffic comes from Instagram. I realized that Instagram for me is a business space but it’s also a personal space where I build trust and community and it has been such a great outlet for me. Because of that, I have decided to start putting more of ME in it. The best responses I get are from personal stories and authenticity. Sure food is great, but there is so much more to me than that and I am going to start showcasing that more because IG isn’t just for my business, it’s for me too.

A note on the metrics below: All of this is income that was MADE in Feburary. I don’t actually see any payment for this money for about 2-3 months depending on the company paying me.

Blog Income Report February 2019 | Metrics

Food/Recipe posts that were created in February: 7

Amazon Affiliate Income: $36.17

Mediavine Income: $519.90

Recipe Development Projects Paid Out: $500

Virtual Assistant Work: $50

Food Photo Projects: $50

Hours spent working on the blog: 4-5 per week

Blog Income Report February 2019 Total: $1156.07

I think that the theme in my life lately is recognizing that there are so many things out of my control. Sometimes what we WANT to focus on is not what we can focus on and we need to put things on the back burner for certain seasons in our life.

I am committed to showing up as myself more in every way even though that means a brand new season for me where I hustle less and value my time more. This doesn’t mean I will quit blogging by any means but it does mean that the expectations I set for myself with this may be adjusting to fit my current life for now and that’s ok!

Lets Connect!

Check out my Podcast: Food Conversations

Email me: thymeandjoy@gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram

Join my community on Facebook

See what I’m pinning on Pinterest

Blog Income Report January 2019

February 7, 2019 by Thyme and JOY 4 Comments

Blog Income Report January 2019 : Find out how I made $1334.94 through my blog with various strategies.

Welcome to my 11th blog income report! This obviously been a record breaking month for me and I owe all of that to the traffic that comes with being a “health food blogger” in the month of January. I really thought November and December were going to be high and didn’t really believe the January hype, but it is REAL and now that I know this, I will be fully prepared for an even BETTER January in 2020 . . . hopefully.

What’s weird is that right now I am writing this from a strange mindset. As of right now my traffic is TANKING HARD. I am definitely not on track to make anywhere near this income for February and the best way to combat it is with more recipes and I literally have done NOTHING in January for February. Read below to see why.

The good thing is, all of the compounded work from OCT-JAN has made me a January income that is enough to pay my mortgage! My short term goal is to get this blog to consistently be paying the mortgage and even though I probably won’t hit this amount of money for a while, I know it is possible and that is so motivating!

Check out: Blog Income Report | February & March 2018 | $18.34
Check out: Blog Income Report | April 2018 | $203.17
Check out: Blog Income Report | May 2018 | $50.93
Check out: Blog Income Report | June 2018 | $213.50
Check out: Blog Income Report | July 2018 | $213.50
Check out: Blog Income Report | August 2018 | $174.52
Check out: Blog Income Report | September 2018 | $177.52
Check out: Blog Income Report | October 2018 | $563.78
Check out: Blog Income Report | November 2018 | $345.42
Check out: Blog Income Report | December 2018 | $919.76

Blog Income Report January 2019

Here are some noteworthy things that happened in January:

Uhhh . . . I kind of really hate food right now: Yeah, so this thing happened where I found out I was pregnant on Christmas day and about 6 weeks in I started to HATE FOOD. It’s not so much that I’ve been hit with nausea, but I have had a low level aversion to pretty much everything. It honestly has me into a little depressed state. Food is literally everything to me. I have built my career and life around it and to be so uninspired by it has been really sad.
I barely made any new recipes in JAN: Because I have been saving all of my energy for taking care of my clients, I have had no energy or desire to put up new recipes let alone cook food at home. I made a commitment to post almost every single day in January so it really looked like I had my shit together, but honestly it was mostly older stuff I have been hanging on to for later promotion. I don’t really have that back up now so I kind of screwed myself. But I mean, its for a good cause . . . creating human life and such.
I got a traffic bump from Whole30 Facebook: The official Whole30 facebook page posted my Chicken Pot Pie recipe during the middle of January Whole30 and it got me 10k page views in just that day! I wish that kind of luck could happen every day but again, just knowing it’s possible keeps that fire under me.
I’m being coached: I hired one of the most successful people in this space to look over everything and give me a swift kick in the pants for what I need to do to reach my goals. It’s been strange only because I haven’t really posted recipes so there is nothing to critique besides basic structure etc. but look forward to more content, videos AND how I schedule out my recipes for a maternity leave during the holidays *gasp*
I’m shooting in Manual AND using Lightroom: I have to admit, I have been taking so many short cuts with photography. Mostly I have been shooting in auto and JPEG, then uploading to my phone and editing on the free version of light room. This did get me pretty far in improvement BUT having a coach was just what I needed to really value doing it right. Honestly, if I don’t have stunning pictures my traffic won’t gain momentum as fast. Also, having beautiful photos allows the opportunity for more sponsored work and to make a side business out of food photography. I have a LONG way to go but I actually started and have seen many peaks and valleys getting to know how to do this right. But, it’s addicting and I am determined.

A note on the metrics below: All of this is income that was MADE in January. I don’t actually see any payment for this money for about 2-3 months depending on how the schedule works.

Blog Income Report January 2019 | Metrics

Food/Recipe posts that were created in January: 3 (SERIOUSLY!?…)

Amazon Affiliate Income: $79.98

Mediavine Income: $704.97

Recipe Development Projects Paid Out: $500

Virtual Assistant Work: $50

Hours spent working on the blog: Ummm… like 5?

Blog Income Report January 2019 Total: $1334.95

I know I am going through a strange time with being in my first trimester and all of these food aversions. I was SO determined to make sure I met my goal of having this blog pay my mortgage consistently. Although that is STILL my goal. I must realize that I have a full time business that comes first and not as much TIME as a full time blogger to make this happen when I want it to. I also need to prioritize rest and enjoy this pregnancy as it will likely be my only one.

My next blog income report will be a FULL YEAR of blogging seriously. I honestly feel like I am just “getting it” now. It took that long and I still have so much to change and improve on.

I am so glad I continued to write these because they allow me a physical representation on how far I came when we are so hard wired on only seeing how far we have to go.

Even though it’s likely I will come back next with a much lower income number I am still so proud of myself and can’t thank everyone enough who has visited my corner of the internet to make it possible.

God I’m sappy . . . damn hormones . . .