Food Blog Income Report – 3rd Quarter 2023
I share my income reports to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run Midwest Foodie as a full-time job that brings in a multi-six-figure income and supports my family of three! It also allows me to share with you what I’m working on and the new things I’m trying.
If you’re new here, be sure to check out my previous income reports to see how I’ve built this site from the ground up!
Let’s take a look at the stats for July, August, and September of 2023! These traffic totals do not include web story traffic.
TRAFFIC
JULY 2023
| Pageviews | 791,291 |
| Sessions | 689,655 |
| Users | 506,649 |
AUGUST 2023
| Pageviews | 801,474 |
| Sessions | 698,447 |
| Users | 501,069 |
SEPTEMBER 2023
| Pageviews | 882,706 |
| Sessions | 741,160 |
| Users | 555,894 |
TRAFFIC SOURCES
I’m trying to use GA4 more but I haven’t really found an effective way to create the cute little graphs that I could before so please bear with me.
JULY 2023
AUGUST 2023
SEPTEMBER 2023
3RD QUARTER INCOME TOTAL: $92,379
JULY 2023
| Mediavine | $24,353 |
| Amazon Associates | $305 |
| Pinterest E-Book | $388 |
| Affiliate Income | $428 |
| Total Income | $25,474 |
AUGUST 2023
| Mediavine | $28,757 |
| Recipe Usage | $1,100 |
| Amazon Associates | $269 |
| Pinterest E-Book | $388 |
| Affiliate Income | $526 |
| Total Income | $31,040 |
SEPTEMBER 2023
| Mediavine | $34,885 |
| Amazon Associates | $309 |
| Pinterest E-Book | $97 |
| Affiliate Income | $574 |
| Total Income | $35,865 |
MONTHLY RPM/RPS
| JUL | AUG | SEP | |
| RPM | $35.03 | $41.03 | $46.08 |
| Page RPM | $30.78 | $35.88 | $39.52 |
TOTAL EXPENSES $6,514
MONTHLY RECURRING EXPENSES $2,954
Microsoft One Drive: $6
Akismet: $25
Nerdpress: $368
Peach Perfect Financials: $717
Lightroom: $32
SendOwl: $27
ConvertKit: $241
Gsuite: $36
Agathon: $240
Canva: $30
Tailwind: $35
KeySearch: $42
Gusto: $135
Content Writer: $420
Groceries: $600
OTHER EXPENSES $3,560
Food Photography: $2,009
VAs for SEO Updates: $787
The Money Mix Insiders: $395
Yoast Premium: $89
Keywords Everywhere: $15
Tasty Pins: $29
Tasty Recipes: $79
Virtual Tastemaker Conference: $49
WP Tasty Recipes: $79
WP Tasty Pins: $29
PROFIT $85,865
TAXES
Please note that this “profit” does not take into account the taxes I will have to pay on it. It’s easy to look at these numbers and think the profits from blogging are great (which they are!) but it’s also important to remember that there are a lot of monthly expenses that go into blogging, and then taxes come along, and take about 20-30% of anything you have leftover!
EXPENSES BREAKDOWN
- Food Photography: I outsourced some of my photography towards the end of this quarter! I really leaned into enjoying summer so I wasn’t getting as much content out – like I think I published 6 posts in 3 months – which of course is fine, but it’s nice to have some help so I can still get some new recipes out this fall/winter while fully enjoying the warmer months with my family.
- Hiring VAs to Update Content: I’ve hired VAs from both 40A and Nicole Barker VAs to update old posts on my site. It’s something that I probably should have done a long time ago but I’m finally getting around to it. Updating old posts is a great way to move the needle and increase traffic and it’s something that’s been on my to-do list all year but it’s one of my least favorite things to do so I’ve been putting it off. I’ve used both of their services in the past and been happy with them.
- The Money Mix Insiders: I canceled my subscription with The Money Mix, realizing that summer was a poor choice of time for me to start something new. I am planning to start back up with them in the coming months now that school is in full swing and we are going to have 6 months of rainy weather here in Oregon.
- Virtual Tastemaker Conference: I checked out the virtual Tastemaker conference this week and am still working through the replay. It’s been motivating to hear from experts in a variety of areas and it’s definitely got my wheels turning on what’s next for Midwest Foodie.
WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO
- Switched from AdThrive/Raptive to Mediavine: I switched at the end of June so this was my first full quarter with Mediavine. So far I’m loving it. I just got an email from a contact at MV and my RPMs are about 33% higher than they were with AT and they just keep going up. I am really happy that I made the switch and hopeful that 4th quarter will bring even higher RPMs. I’ve been really impressed with how seamless the changeover was and pleased that my MV RPM matched AdThrive’s right away and now has surpassed it. I think having a higher revenue share is part of why I’m making more with them (85% with MV as opposed to 75% with AdThrive) but I think the RPM boost is a bigger part of that equation. September was my highest earning month yet at $34,885 from Mediavine.
- After taking a lot of time off over the summer, I’m excited to get back into the routine of working Monday through Friday and putting out content more consistently over the next several months. I’m so thankful that this career allowed me to take so much time off and still make a reliable income.
- I had a fun meeting with Emily Perron last week and I’m really looking forward to creating a vision for Midwest Foodie, developing a plan with her, and working towards some goals. I will be really honest that I’ve been feeling a little bit “where do we go from here” lately. I’ve been feeling like another blogger would be able to come in and take over for me and make $500k by the end of next year. I feel like I have achieved success beyond my wildest dreams – and I don’t say that in a bragging way – I literally mean I have no idea what to do next because I never even thought I’d get here. I feel like I’m not leveraging or scaling what I’ve created to the best of my ability. It feels a bit like imposter syndrome, but also like something that commonly happens when you’re self-employed. When I had a boss and worked in healthcare there was a clear path to the top. Always a higher-paying job to interview for. Another tier to strive for. But when you work for yourself that doesn’t exist. I have no one telling me what to do next and it’s quite honestly terrifying! I’m so proud of how far I’ve come but also feel really curious about what comes next. Lucky for you, I’m going to take you along for the ride so hopefully I have something fun to share on my next income report after I’ve had a couple consulting meetings with Emily!
MY PINTEREST E-BOOK
If you’re looking for the tried and true strategy that has gotten me where I am today, be sure to check out my Pinterest e-book!
- This e-book will help you develop a quick, easy, and simple Pinterest strategy to drive consistent traffic to your site in JUST 20 MINUTES A WEEK!
- This e-book is ideal for those who prefer to work at their own pace. This is not a Pinterest course. It’s not going to take you days or weeks to work through.
- It’s loaded with screenshots and images to help clarify the concepts that you’re learning and is geared toward those who already have a basic understanding of Pinterest, Tailwind, and Canva.
As always, thank you for reading! None of this would be possible without you 🙂 And don’t forget to check out my previous income reports for more behind-the-scenes info!
I love reading your income reports. I am not currently a blogger, but the in’s and out’s of blogging fascinate me! Thank you for being so open and honest with your reports. I wish you continued success!
Hello Kylie,
Inspiring as always.
Have you ever considered buying Pinterest traffic/ads given that it brings a good amount of traffic (and rpm) for you?
Tim
Hey Tim! With my limited experience with Pinterest ads, it seems that they work best for folks who are wanting to sell products. Have you had good luck with them?
I have not done any ads yet.
I am thinking of doing them as a way to grow/build some audience first (Pinterest followers) fast. However, I am afraid that it may affect organic reach negatively (lower reach/lower organic pin ranking)
What are your thoughts on this? Did it affect your organic reach when you ran ads?
Honestly I feel like Pinterest rewards those who use their platform – especially those who pay them! 🙂 So I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt.
As always thank you so much for sharing a peak behind the curtains. Will you be sharing more of your experiences with Money Mix Insiders and Emily? Blogging can be a very isolating endeavour and it can be so challenging to step back, see the bigger picture and figure out “what’s next”. I’d be so interested to learn more about the experience that you have with them and how it benefits you and the business.
Congratulations on the success and the growth. And cheers to an even bigger future plan!
Hey Debs! Yes – I have my first meeting with Emily later this month and will have two more meetings after that. I will definitely write about my work with her in my 4th quarter income report. Whenever I join the Money Mix again I will definitely share my experience with them too. Thanks so much for your kinds words 🙂
Well this is just about the coolest thing I’ve read in a while. How smart of you to share such info. Makes me want to support you more. AND I use your recipes. 😃
Thanks so much for your kind words, Jo! I really appreciate it!