Beth Kosterboer and Meaghan Mountford are two OG bloggers who each had their very own profitable meals blogs earlier than they determined to affix forces.
Beth has been an entrepreneur since she was 10, and after operating profitable brick-and-mortar confectionary outlets, she determined to take her enterprise on-line.
Meaghan grew to become an expert cookie decorator however ultimately discovered her approach into meals running a blog.
Once they determined to work collectively, they mixed their experience to create a sequence of profitable meals web sites. They’ve pivoted and altered course through the years as wanted, and at this time their portfolio of websites brings in 6 figures a 12 months.
Maintain studying to search out out:
- How they every bought began
- What cookbooks they’ve written
- What websites they initially created
- How they initially bought visitors
- Why they determined to work collectively
- What websites they created collectively
- Their content material technique
- How they diversified their revenue
- Their distinctive advertising methods
- Their ideas on Website positioning
- Their strategy to key phrase analysis and hyperlink constructing
- Their favourite sources and instruments
- The principle problem they’ve confronted
- Their best accomplishments
- Their foremost errors
- Their recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet Beth and Meaghan
Beth: I’ve at all times had an entrepreneurial spirit, and as a toddler, I liked to bake and make do-it-yourself candies.
I started promoting my candy creations after I was ten years previous, had workers serving to with my sweet enterprise at age 15, after which graduated school with a enterprise diploma earlier than opening the primary of two confectionery shops at age 23.
For over 20 years, I used to be blissfully pleased being a chocolatier, baker, and enterprise proprietor.
Then, attributable to well being points, I needed to make a change and, happily, was in a position to construct a brand new profession on-line.
Meaghan: I began out wanting to put in writing for kids and by accident landed in meals running a blog.
I’ve an MFA in Literature and a Grasp of Liberal Arts diploma centered on kids’s literature. To make ends meet, earlier than, throughout, and after grad faculty I labored as a cookie decorator for a store outdoors of Washington, DC.
Wanting to reach publishing, I crafted a proposal for a cookie adorning cookbook, landed my literary agent, and offered the cookbook.
I began my meals weblog, The Decorated Cookie, as a platform for my cookbook. And so it started…
I continued to develop my meals weblog, branching out into completely different edible artwork, creating sparkly marshmallows and veggie & fruit bugs, rainbow cupcakes, and extra. I even added crafts and on a regular basis recipes.
My agent offered my second cookbook, Sugarlicious, throughout this time.
Alongside the way in which, meals running a blog has given me large alternatives to study, journey, and meet a whole bunch of friends, together with Beth, who would find yourself being my enterprise accomplice on this loopy world.
Why They Created Their Portfolio of Websites
Beth: In 2010, I turned my inventive vitality into writing a Halloween cookbook stuffed with recipes I had created for our annual Halloween events.
To advertise the e-book, I created my first weblog, Hungry Halloween. I rapidly realized I wanted to weblog about greater than Halloween, so I began Hungry Happenings and merged Hungry Halloween into that new website.
The primary years of running a blog have been so thrilling and enjoyable. I spent my days creating distinctive and festively adorned desserts and appetizers for holidays and particular events after which shared my tutorials on-line.
Individuals appeared to like what I used to be creating. My visitors grew to a median of 250k month-to-month pageviews by 2013 and to a median of 400k month-to-month pageviews by 2015.
I labored arduous to create distinctive recipes you wouldn’t discover on every other weblog.
I created issues like Conversation Heart Cheesecakes (my first viral submit), the unique Pizza Skulls (my first viral video submit), and Chocolate Snowman Pretzel Crafts (a viral submit that crashed my website after receiving 200K pageviews in a single afternoon.)
On the finish of 2016, I moved my weblog from Blogger to WordPress, and I made many errors throughout this course of.
I modified my permalink construction thrice and ended up with too many redirect loops. Yikes!
Most of my older posts didn’t have correct alt textual content, recipe playing cards (schema markup), or meta descriptions.
On high of that, none of my posts have been optimized for key phrases. I had completely no information of Website positioning. I had spent six years filling my weblog with distinctive recipes as a substitute of Website positioning-optimized recipes.
Fortunately, I used to be nonetheless getting a variety of traffic from Pinterest, referrals, and social media, however issues have been altering on the earth of running a blog.
Over the subsequent 12 months, I had two SEO audits. Each specialists informed me that my weblog would want a whole overhaul as a result of my recipes have been too distinctive, and nobody was trying to find them.
I liked the recipes I had created for Hungry Happenings and didn’t wish to spend a 12 months or two re-writing posts within the hopes that I may discover key phrases for posts for issues like Teddy Bear Taco Tarts or French Fry Footballs.
So, I made a decision to attempt one thing new. I had been listening to podcasts about creating area of interest websites and was excited to offer it a attempt.
Running a blog is a really lonely job, so I believed it will be enjoyable to work with one other gifted blogger to create these websites. I urged the thought to Meaghan, and she or he was on board.
Meaghan: Whereas I’ve an analogous story as Beth beginning and rising with all of the bumps alongside the way in which, I did so on a smaller scale.
My first daughter was born proper earlier than I began running a blog, and the second was born as I used to be writing my second cookbook. As their main caregiver, meals running a blog at all times needed to be a part-time enterprise.
So my incapacity to dedicate full time mixed with my concentrate on distinctive desserts and meals crafts made the shift to Website positioning optimization difficult. Not many individuals google “Dr. Seuss marshmallows.”
And sadly, inventive concepts are inclined to lose possession. I created the first-ever “melting snowman cookie” in 2008. Now Goal sells melting snowman cookie adorning children. (No, I don’t get a minimize.)
So my weblog has by no means reached its full potential, and I watched friends skyrocketing in visitors whereas I used to be extra stagnant.
That stated, there have been years when social media (which didn’t exist after I first began running a blog) have been very type to me.
Again within the mid-2010s till not too long ago, my movies on Fb have been getting a whole bunch of 1000’s of views, some within the multi-millions. I often attain thousands and thousands month-to-month on Pinterest.
As a result of my time is so restricted, I didn’t make investments time in Instagram, TikTok, and different platforms, to my detriment, however necessity.
However running a blog has additionally given me regular revenue that I earn from house, with versatile hours, whereas elevating two kids.
Pediatrician appointment? Snow day? Sick day? No downside. I’m there. And my children know to ask “Have you ever photographed this but or can I eat it?”
Decembers are my favourite month.
Their Area of interest Web sites
We determined to work collectively to create a sequence of area of interest meals blogs that includes simple recipes.
Our objective was to create a portfolio of small niche sites, every with about 100 easy-to-make recipes. Every website would concentrate on one kind of recipe.
In August 2018, we created How to Make Easy Fudge.
We shared simple 2-5 ingredient fudge recipes. The location took off rapidly because of our 600k+ social media followers. We bought the positioning monetized with Mediavine by October.
We added 60 recipes within the first 12 months and rapidly realized a small website may generate a pleasant quantity of additional revenue.
In December we are able to make upwards of $10K from advert income and affiliate gross sales, however the remainder of the 12 months is way slower.
In July 2019, we moved our consideration to creating recipes for a brand new area of interest website, How to Make Cereal Treats.
This Rice Krispie Deal with recipe web site grew a bit extra slowly. It took us six months to get that website onto Mediavine. That was partly attributable to our busy schedules.
Throughout that point, we have been additionally creating chocolate-making and cookie-decorating programs for The Sugar Academy, and Beth was serving to her mother create a web-based portray class web site referred to as Louise Jackson Portray Lessons.
Then, 2020 occurred, and we shifted our focus to our households. That 12 months was a blur for us each. We critically bought again to work in 2021.
By December of 2021, we had over 100 recipes on the How To Make Cereal Treats, had printed a How To Make Cereal Treats cookbook, and our visitors had grown to 160k month-to-month pageviews.
That month, we remodeled $6k in revenue (advert income, affiliate gross sales, and e-book gross sales). We have been very proud of the progress on that website and selected to maneuver on to our subsequent undertaking.
In January 2022, we began creating recipes for a brand new website, How to Make Easy Cookies. By October, we had about 100 recipes printed on that website and bought monetized on Mediavine.
We had plans so as to add at the least 100 extra cookie recipes to that weblog, however then Google rocked our world.
A few of our websites bought hit by the HCU replace, however our Rice Krispie Deal with website continued to develop! We made the strategic determination to dedicate most of our time to including new content material to that website and have been so glad that we did.
In This autumn of 2023, our How To Make Cereal Treats website bought over 470Kk pageviews, had a median RPM of $38, and remodeled $18k.
How A lot They’re Making
Our portfolio of websites earns us a 6-figure revenue.
We earn cash from advertisements, affiliate gross sales, recipe growth jobs, sponsored posts, model ambassadorships, e-book gross sales, royalties, and course gross sales.
Beth: From day one, I monetized my blog. Within the early days, I monetized Hungry Halloween after which Hungry Happenings utilizing Adsense.
Through the years, I used different advert networks, together with Hyper X, Lijit/Sovern, Weblog Her, The Running a blog Community, and 33 Throughout.
I realized learn how to waterfall my advertisements to extend my RPMs. Again then, we have been fortunate to get a $2 RPM and a variety of our advert placements wouldn’t get stuffed by AdSense, so I’d fill within the gaps utilizing one other advert community.
At one time, I had three advert networks operating. If AdSense didn’t fill the area, then one other advert community may bid for that advert area.
Fortunately, AdThrive and Mediavine got here onto the scene (I have been with each advert networks). Lately, the month-to-month RPMs on our web sites can get as excessive as $42.
I realized about affiliate marketing early on and added Amazon links to nearly all my weblog posts.
Advert income and affiliate income make up lower than 50% of my revenue.
My greatest income streams through the years have come from recipe growth for manufacturers like Basic Mills (at Tablespoon.com), Bob Evans, and Dixie Crystals Sugar, a model ambassadorship with Wilton, and sponsored posts.
Meaghan and I additionally promote chocolate-making and cookie-decorating programs by means of The Sugar Academy and earn royalties for cookbook gross sales.
I’ve self-published three cookbooks with recipes from Hungry Happenings and Meaghan and I’ve printed two cookbooks from our How To Make websites.
Every of those books took about one week of labor to place collectively and usher in a gentle stream of passive income.
As well as, I handle a web site for my mother, Louise Jackson, MDA (grasp ornamental artist).
Collectively, my mother and I earn revenue from gross sales of online painting courses and e-packets, in addition to coloring books, journals, sketchbooks, and notebooks that includes her art work.
Meaghan: I’ve basically had a piecemeal revenue for the 15 years I’ve been running a blog.
I, too, have at all times had advertisements, beginning with AdSense and shifting on to platforms that not exist, however the revenue was a pittance.
Throughout a small running a blog retreat to Jamaica within the fall of 2015 (did I point out running a blog has perks? Like a free journey to Jamaica?), I met Eric Hochberger and Amber Bracegirdle.
They have been beginning an advert community referred to as “Mediavine,” and had only some publishers. Immediately impressed, I signed with them the day I bought again from Jamaica. Now they’ve 1000’s of publishers. However it has given me regular advert revenue.
That stated, it’s unwise to depend on one source of income on this enterprise. Through the years, I earned regular revenue creating meals crafts with sponsored merchandise, together with Basic Mills and Kix Cereal, Welch’s, Nielsen-Massey, Wilton, and lots of extra.
Every of those posts would earn between $500 and $1500 relying on how concerned the recipe was. I additionally created month-to-month posts for Tablespoon.com.
I not create sponsored posts except actively requested, attributable to time restrictions, nevertheless it was an important supply of revenue.
I additionally spent a number of years because the Edible Crafts editor at CraftGossip.com, for which I earned about $800 a month, for only a few hours of labor every week.
As Beth talked about, now we have passive revenue from our self-published cookbooks and programs at The Sugar Academy. And I do earn a little bit from the Amazon Affiliate program.
I additionally earn nominal royalties from my second cookbook.
Apparently, I earned a $40,000 advance for my first cookbook, Cookie Sensations, and solely $25,000 for my second, Sugarlicious.
By the point I wrote my second, publishers have been catching on to the concept that for little or no cash, they might rent meals bloggers to pump out cookbooks, so advances dropped dramatically.
I knew meals bloggers who have been taking over contracts for only some hundred {dollars}, which I couldn’t fathom for myself, given the huge funding of time in writing a cookbook. So I moved on from attempting to historically publish any extra cookbooks.
On a facet word, I do have an image e-book manuscript presently on submission (which suggests my agent is in search of a writer), so my preliminary dream could find yourself coming true in spite of everything!
Having a portfolio of websites and lots of income streams helps to steadiness revenue when one thing dramatic adjustments, like a pandemic or loopy algorithm updates. We’re each so grateful that we determined to create these niche websites.
Their Distinctive Advertising Methods
We primarily promote our recipes, programs, and e-book gross sales by way of social media and e-mail newsletters.
Beth: Essentially the most distinctive advertising technique for my enterprise has been doing cooking segments on a neighborhood morning present and instructing cooking courses at our native cookware retailer.
Meaghan: I, too, have achieved fairly a number of morning reveals, which is at all times annoying, however finally enjoyable.
I’ve been running a blog lengthy sufficient to say “I keep in mind when,” earlier than social media, advertising technique was merely being seen by different bloggers and added to the listing of blogs they like of their sidebar!
It was a really completely different world.
Their Ideas on Website positioning
Website positioning has change into vitally vital to our enterprise.
Through the years, now we have used Semrush, KeySearch, Google Search Console, Google Developments, and Google Search to do keyword research.
Beth:
I miss the nice previous days of running a blog after I may create one thing distinctive and enjoyable, and the submit would go nuts and usher in a ton of visitors. I hate having to be a slave to Website positioning. It stifles my creativity.
Meaghan: I absolutely agree. I might find it irresistible if 1,000,000 individuals would Google “How do I make rainbow sweet pops” or “How do I flip celery right into a caterpillar,” as a result of I’d win at these.
The individuality of inventive meals was sufficient, as a result of a Fb video would usher in 100s of 1000’s, if not thousands and thousands, of views.
As soon as Fb realized they might ask us to pay cash to point out our movies to our personal followers, that gravy prepare ended.
And within the meals weblog world, it means you adapt to outlive. That is the place our area of interest websites entered the sport.
Key phrase Analysis
When creating our area of interest websites, we looked for the highest 100 key phrases inside that class, after which we created a submit for every recipe beginning with the best search quantity.
We bought fortunate that this technique labored for us.
How To Make Cereal Treats has a whole bunch of 1st place key phrase rankings, and once we submit one thing new, it solely takes a short while to rank.
Hyperlink Constructing
Once we created the fudge website, we requested for hyperlink exchanges with a number of bloggers to get us began, however we have not achieved that since.
We additionally share our recipes with different bloggers to be featured of their roundups. There are a number of Fb teams for that.
We fortunately purchase backlinks organically as a result of our recipes are fairly shareable.
Beth: Hyperlink constructing was a much bigger focus for me with Hungry Happenings. Early on, I shared my recipe posts to websites like Foodgawker, Craftgawker, Craft Gossip, and on a lot of linky events (widespread again within the early days of running a blog).
Luckily, my inventive posts have been very visually interesting and plenty of bloggers and on-line magazines together with Meals Community, Huffington Publish, BuzzFeed, Girl’s Day, Oprah Journal, and lots of others linked to my website.
The location has over 200k backlinks.
Meaghan: Whereas recognizing the significance of backlinks, I don’t have a technique for constructing them. All of my backlinks have occurred organically over time.
I obtain at the least a dozen emails a day requesting visitor posts or hyperlink swapping, and I ignore all of them.
To me, it’s an “ick” issue. In the event that they don’t occur legitimately, they don’t occur.
I do take part in a few Fb teams the place bloggers request recipes for roundups, and I’ll reply, constructing backlinks that approach.
However I’ve no real interest in paying for backlinks or responding to emails claiming they’ve the key to “trick” Google.
Their Content material Creation Course of
Beth: Within the early days of running a blog on Hungry Happenings, I created 4 to 7 recipes every week, posting them on my website or on a model’s web site.
Hungry Happenings presently has over 1000 posts and at one time had over 1200 (I’ve deleted a variety of previous content material).
Now that I am older, I’ve slowed down. I am pleased if I create 1-2 new recipes every week. I’ve additionally been spending much more time updating previous posts.
Meaghan: I used to create at the least one to 2 recipes per week. I’ve over 1200 recipes on The Embellished Cookie.
As I’m shifting my priorities again to kids’s literature, I depend on my website now for passive revenue, creating nothing new.
I do, nevertheless, proceed to share present posts to social media (regardless of the infuriating lack of attain), particularly Pinterest, my most rewarding social media goal, every week.
Collectively: When creating our area of interest websites, we’d create 10 posts earlier than going stay with the positioning. We wished the homepage to look full earlier than launching the web site.
Every of those websites is kind of small. As of now, our fudge website has 94 recipes and roundups, the Rice Krispie Web site has 181 recipes and roundups, and the cookie website has 110 recipe posts.
Their E-mail Lists
We now have particular person e-mail lists for every of our web sites and have sign-up pages on every of the websites.
We presently use Flodesk to ship out our newsletters.
How A lot Time They Spend on Their Websites
Beth: I spend an excessive amount of time! I’m a workaholic, for positive. I work anyplace between 40-80 hours per week.
Luckily, I take a lot of break day to journey the world, so it balances out. Since I started running a blog, my husband and I’ve traveled to 13 nations and lots of states within the USA.
I simply returned from a month-long, work-free, seashore trip in Florida.
Meaghan: For the primary ten years or so, I might range my hours between about 25 to 60. That’s a variety as a result of each week with children is completely different.
Holidays, summers, physician appointments… Flexibility is the very best a part of meals running a blog.
Now, I dedicate even much less time. So what revenue I do earn, whereas lowering from my inactivity, continues to be regular sufficient that I admire it.
Their Favourite Assets
Beth: I’ve realized a lot from Meals Blogger Professional, Prime Hat Rank Website positioning For Bloggers, Revenue Faculty, and the Area of interest Pursuits Podcasts. I pay attention whereas I’m within the kitchen working.
I even have realized so much by attending running a blog conferences. Attending has additionally opened up so many alternatives to work with manufacturers.
Meaghan: Attending conferences has been one in all my favourite elements of running a blog. Touring all around the nation to speak meals and assembly a whole bunch of bloggers? Fantastic.
Fb teams for meals bloggers are one other nice useful resource.
You will have entry to so lots of your friends keen to share recommendation and reply questions. Mediavine has a writer Fb group that’s fairly lively, and I study so much from the Meals Bloggers Central group.
Their Go-To Instruments
Beth: #1 WordPress – The place would we be with out WordPress??? Having the ability to use this free instrument has allowed me to earn more cash than I ever imagined. I’m really grateful.
#2 Libre Workplace (free and open supply software program just like Microsoft Workplace) – I’m old-fashioned and ridiculously frugal, so I observe every thing in spreadsheets.
#3 Semrush – It’s nice for those who can afford it for keyword research and website audits. I’ve bought the instrument for a number of months and have achieved tons of analysis (downloaded to spreadsheets), then stopped my subscription till I would like it once more.
I simply began utilizing KeySearch as a result of that they had an amazing sale worth. I prefer it thus far.
Meaghan: I second Beth on WordPress and Semrush for keyword analysis instruments.
Adobe Inventive Cloud is important to me. I edit pictures and movies with Photoshop and Premiere Professional.
As I shift my profession to writing and illustrating image books, Procreate on the iPad mixed with Photoshop is a lifesaver.
Additionally, my internet host. I exploit a small firm as my internet host (Grits Design) and the proprietor does a variety of the technical facet for me. Beth is a pure on the technical infrastructure of running a blog.
I’m positively not, so it’s value it to pay somebody who’s.
Their Greatest Problem
Beth: The fixed adjustments to the running a blog and social media world have been the most important problem through the years. As quickly as I determine one thing out, it will get modified.
Additionally, not having management over the destiny of my companies could be very daunting. The previous two years of Google algorithm updates have brought on extra stress than something I’ve encountered in my 13 years of running a blog.
Not figuring out what to repair on a weblog to please the Google gods is a nightmare!
Meaghan: I wholeheartedly agree with Beth. Additionally, for me, feeling like I’m at all times one step behind or only a bit too gradual to leap on the most recent bandwagon.
However we’re each nonetheless right here effectively over a decade, when so many meals blogs don’t survive.
Their Most Necessary Accomplishments
Beth: My greatest accomplishment is making a superb dwelling whereas bringing pleasure to clients and readers by doing one thing I really like.
Watching a smile type on the face of a kid who’s consuming one in all my treats or getting splendidly type feedback from pleased readers makes all of the arduous work value it.
Meaghan: One would suppose that meals running a blog is isolating and never a path to avoid wasting the world. However every so often, I’ve a scholar contact me with questions on cookie adorning and I’m in a position to assist them and train them.
Or somebody contacts me who has my e-book to inform me I helped them discover their ardour. Interacting with individuals who have realized from what I create is rewarding.
What They Want They Knew When They Began
Beth: If I may return to 2010 and discuss to myself, I might recommend that I begin running a blog on WordPress (not on Blogger), study extra about white steadiness (to make my pictures look higher), by no means (ever, ever, ever) change a permalink, and study Website positioning.
Meaghan: I echo Beth’s recommendation! I did begin on WordPress, fortunately, however I might inform myself to study Website positioning from day one. And become involved in social media as quickly as a brand new platform arises.
Their Greatest Mistake
Beth:
My greatest mistake was envying the success of others and never having fun with my very own success sufficient.
I’ve gotten to stay a fairly wonderful life because of the success of my companies, and I have to remind myself of that always.
Meaghan: As soon as once more, I agree with Beth.
By specializing in the methods I didn’t develop, I didn’t acknowledge the methods I did, all whereas juggling parenting, which has at all times been my first precedence.
Their Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
Beth: My greatest recommendation for a brand new entrepreneur is to create a enterprise that you’re obsessed with. The each day grind of incomes cash to assist your self and/or a household will be very annoying.
Should you don’t do one thing you’re keen on, your days will probably be stuffed with extra stress than pleasure.
Meaghan: You must benefit from the course of total and have to like your personal objectives, as a result of there will probably be challenges alongside the way in which–and a superb little bit of tedium comes with any business-building. So the enjoyable half at all times must be larger.
Their Future Plans
Beth: As a lot as I really like meals running a blog, I’m prepared for a brand new journey.
In 2024, my husband and I plan to mix our love for journey with running a blog and to create a journey weblog. We’re excited to see the place this journey takes us.
Meaghan: I’ve not too long ago returned to my past love, writing and illustrating for kids (you possibly can go to my portfolio at Meaghan Mountford.
I’ll at all times hold the blogs going, as I’m loyal to the years of arduous work, and we are going to want the revenue, however I’m spending extra time on this subsequent (literal) chapter.
