Food Blog Income Report – 3rd Quarter 2024

If you’re new here, start with my previous income reports to see how I built this site from the ground up in 2017!

Let’s look at the stats for July, August, and September of 2024!

Please note that this “profit” does not consider the taxes I will pay. For example, my 3rd quarter estimated taxes were almost $25,000 in September! 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 taxes come along and take about 20-30%.

Expenses Breakdown

• Tailwind: I’m still using Tailwind for Pinterest as I have been for years. And I’m still getting lots of traffic from Pinterest! As you can see in August my social traffic (which is 98% Pinterest) was about the same as my organic. But in September, social edged out organic and is now my leading traffic source. For reference, my ad revenue in September was $29,172 from Pinterest and $11,919 from Google. Pinterest is not dead, the RPMs from Pinterest are super high right now, and if you’re ready for more traffic in Q4, download my e-book now!
• New Theme: I finally broke up with Feast and switched to Create! So far I’m loving the fresh new look!
• iMark Interactive: Grayson Bell from iMark Interactive set up my new site for me and got everything switched over. The cost for that was $799. He also redesigned my category pages for $399. In my opinion, it was worth every penny. He and his team were very responsive and accommodated all of my picky requests 🙂
• Photographer: I’m working towards publishing 3 recipes a week so I’ve hired a photographer who is shooting 4 recipes a month for me so that I have more time to work on other things. Although photographing and editing are some of my favorite parts of blogging, I recognize that I’ll get some time back by outsourcing at least a portion of it!

What I’ve Been Up To

• Consultations. I’ve started offering 1:1 blogging consultations! It’s been so fun to connect with other bloggers. If you want an hour to chat with me, book your session today by emailing me or reaching out on Instagram! You’ll have an hour to ask any blogging-related questions and I’ll also review your Pinterest page as well. Also included in the consultation is my Pinterest e-book – for free! Consults are $297/hour and I do have some limited availability for recurring monthly appointments if you want more of a regular touch base.
• Branding. I’m working my way through Katie’s Foodie Brand Lab course and it’s amazing! She has YEARS of branding experience for some of the biggest brands in the world – literally. She knows her stuff and she does a really great job explaining branding in a way that’s easy to understand. It’s totally changed my approach to my blog and has me thinking in a completely different way now. I still have to finish working my way through the course but so far I am L-O-V-I-N-G it! The course is currently closed but I can get you in right now with this link – which also gives you $50 off the course!! If you’re looking for a more personalized branding experience where Katie and her team do the heavy lifting for you, she also offers a couple tiers of Brand Boosts.
• Keywords. After completing part of the branding course I mentioned above, I’m moving away from chasing keywords and thinking more about what my readers like and what recipes make sense for Midwest Foodie. It’s been really freeing to think outside of the box when creating recipes and not having to build my editorial calendar around keywords. My creative juices have been flowing like crazy and I’m testing all kinds of new recipes. I feel reinvigorated and really excited about what the future holds for Midwest Foodie!