Welcome to my food blog income report for August 2019! In case you missed it, I posted my first income report for 2018 in January and promised to continue to share income reports this year so here we are. You can find the rest of my income reports here.
A little background on me (in case you’re new here – hi!)
Hi, I’m Jamie and I create recipes, photograph and manage all things around here on A Sassy Spoon. Welcome! My background is in digital marketing. Before that, I worked in health care, managing a team while climbing the corporate ladder. I went to art school for a bit after high school but then I eventually graduated with a ‘safe’ business degree many years later. Read more here.
Pinch of Yum’s Income Reports is a prime reason I am here today. They inspired me to give food blogging a fair shot after I quit my safe, secure, full-time job back in 2016 without a backup plan. So I wanted to pay it forward by sharing my own income reports too. I’d be lying if I wasn’t also posting this income report for my own accountability and to prove to other naysayers out there that food blogging can be a fulfilling, lucrative career. I’ve had to prove myself time and time again because I’m so often told that food blogging is not a “real” job. But guess what, I’ve made a full-time salary from my blogging biz and this is the proof.
Regardless of any promotion or raise I’ve ever received throughout my job trajectory, I was never truly as happy, accomplished, nor proud as I am at this very moment. I personally believe I’ve found my purpose. My hustling spirit and sheer determination are what have brought me to this, my dream career. I have you all to thank for that. Honestly, I wouldn’t be here without your constant support and loyalty to A Sassy Spoon. I appreciate you all so much! <3
Ok, let’s talk numbers!
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Traffic Totals
This month, my traffic soared. August ended with 227K monthly page views after only sharing 2 new posts. One of my most popular blog posts (this chocolate chip banana bread) went viral on Twitter which explains that 3rd referral source. This NEVER happens. Twitter is a hard platform to grow so the fact that this happened is incredible. The story goes that someone shared a photo of the banana bread they made and it was my recipe which they found on Pinterest! So cool. I was excited!
My top traffic drivers continue to be Google (organic search) and Pinterest. All my numbers went up this month!
My RPM (revenue per 1,000 page views) with AdThrive this month averaged about $25 for the month.
August Income Report
Ad Income with AdThrive: $5,750.08
Sponsored Content: $2,800.00
Coaching Program: $7,242.92
Affiliate Marketing: $50.36
Total Income: $15,843.36
Expenses
Food Expenses: $250.00
Recipe Videos: $900.00
VA Services: $350.00
Mazuma (Accounting): $285.30
Wpopt (host): $42.99
SEMrush: $33.00
InfluenceKit (reporting tool): $49.50
Adobe Creative Suite: $9.99
Google Storage: $9.99
MailerLite (email svc provider): $30.00
Zoom Video Conferencing: $14.99
Kajabi (Coaching Platform) $150.00
Nerdpress $194.00
Total Expenses: $2,319.68
Net Profit: $13,523.68
Note: From this net profit, I still have to pay taxes and my personal / household expenses (including my student loans which are a pain in my a$$. I have a HUGE milestone goal to pay them off by the end of 2020. Pray for me!)
No one ever talks about taxes or household expenses in these reports or any blog post about working for yourself. Yes, it’s a trade-off for living life on your own terms (which is amazing) BUT… it’s definitely something to keep in mind whenever you’re reading any of these types of business posts. It’s important for me to show you a realistic view of what owning an online business is like so feel free to ask any and all questions.
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Highlights
Overall, August was an amazing month for my business. The most challenging and rewarding month of my career! It was also the most money I’ve ever made in one month. I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes.
I launched my food blog group coaching program, Food Blogger Business Blueprint, and was able to fill in all the open spots! This was the biggest accomplishment in my career to date. For so long, I’ve wanted to coach other food bloggers into turning their food blogs into a thriving business. And I did it! I hired a business coach to help me turn this passion into a reality and the entire launch process exceeded all my expectations. My coaching program and the food bloggers I’ve been coaching have been amazing! I’m so proud of each and every one of them.
Click here to sign up for my food blogging mastermind, Food Blogger Business Blueprint! The Food Blogger Business Blueprint is my 90-day, high-touch, group coaching program that helps you grow your food blog and turn it into an efficient, thriving business without wasting any more time. Sign up here!
The Biggest Takeaway
If there’s one thing I can highlight about this month’s success is that doubt can really put a damper on your dreams and passions. I know, that’s common knowledge but at times we don’t even realize our potential until we actually put ourselves out there.
Time and again, the fear of failure keeps us from living out our dreams.
Once you finally go for it, wholeheartedly, with every fiber of your being, you realize that what you were worried about was nothing. Because we all have it in us to succeed and make our dreams come true.
Cliché, right? But it’s true.
I’m living proof that when you finally step out of your comfort zone whether it’s to start a food blog, start an online business or even launch a group coaching program as I did, it can (will) be scary but there’s no reward without risk.
If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.
If you aren’t stepping outside of your comfort zone, you’re not growing.
Don’t let fear get in the way of your goals. Put yourself out there and make your dreams come true!
You may also like:
- How To Avoid Burnout as an Entrepreneur
- Food Blog Income Report: How I Made $85,000 in 2018
- A Week in the Life of a Food Blogger
- How To Drive Traffic To Your Food Blog
Click here to sign up for my food blogging mastermind, Food Blogger Business Blueprint! The Food Blogger Business Blueprint is my 90-day, high-touch, group coaching program that helps you grow your food blog and turn it into an efficient, thriving business without wasting any more time. Sign up here!
Thank you so much for sharing this information – I really appreciate getting an insight into the business aspects of blogging. I was wondering how many years it took you to build this amazing traffic.
Thank you for sharing your income report. These reports can inspire me to work harder in my food blog. If I may ask, how do you managed to increase your organic traffic from google? Where you building back links or you just published as many food posts as you can?
Thank you
Saif
Hi Saif! So happy you found this report helpful! The best way to grow organic traffic is to focus on SEO for each blog post. I never focus on backlinks at all but whenever a publication like Buzzfeed includes me in one of their articles, it definitely does help with authority. I don’t, however, have control of that. I just focus on my blog. You’ll get there too! Don’t give up! :)