Welcome to our detailed Food Blog Income Report for November 2017! In this comprehensive report, we pull back the curtain on the behind-the-scenes financial and operational aspects of running a successful food blog. Here, you’ll discover our total traffic figures, a precise breakdown of our earnings, the diverse sources of that revenue, and the essential costs involved in maintaining and growing our online presence. This report is an invaluable resource for aspiring and established food bloggers alike, offering transparent insights and practical takeaways for those looking to expand their reach and effectively monetize their culinary ventures.

Beyond the numbers for November, we’re thrilled to share a pivotal milestone: an astonishing 3708% growth in our food blog income over the past 12 months! This isn’t just a number; it’s a testament to strategic pivots, dedicated effort, and a deep understanding of our audience. Stick around to learn the key strategies that fueled this explosive growth, and how you can apply similar principles to your own blog.

For those eager to accelerate their blogging journey, consider exploring Cheryl’s Food Blogging Bootcamp. This intensive six-week course distills years of experience into a actionable framework, revealing Cheryl’s proven methodology for significantly boosting a food blog’s quality, revenue, and traffic. It encompasses everything you need to transform your blog into a thriving, profitable platform. Click here to learn more about how this program can revolutionize your food blogging career.

November 2017 presented a uniquely challenging, yet ultimately insightful, period for earning revenue as a paleo blogger. The holiday season is a fascinating beast in the food blogging world, and for those focused on specific dietary niches like paleo or Whole30, it brings its own set of distinct dynamics.

Featured recipes (clockwise from top left): Perfect Whole30 Turkey Breast and Gravy | Paleo Gluten-Free Crinkle Cookies | Whole30 Green Bean Casserole | Paleo Cranberry Bliss Bars (Vegan)

Reflect for a moment on what most people were doing just a couple of months ago, specifically heading into the holiday season. Were you:

a) Meticulously preparing a raw kale salad for dinner?
b) Steel-nerving yourself to begin a strict Thanksgiving-to-Christmas Whole30 cleanse?
c) Embarking on an invigorating juice cleanse to detoxify?
d) Indulging in all the delicious, comforting, often carb-heavy foods that define the festive season?

If you’re like the majority, including myself, you were undoubtedly leaning towards option ‘d’. Despite my consistent effort to adhere to an 80% paleo lifestyle year-round, November and December possess a unique power to sway even the most disciplined eaters. Our household, like many others, found ourselves merely going through the motions of paleo and Whole30 meal planning, often lacking the genuine enthusiasm for rigorous meal prep or innovating new healthy recipes. Instead, the allure of comforting treats, such as cheesecake-stuffed pumpkin bread (thankfully, at least it’s paleo!), became increasingly hard to resist.

Therefore, as I navigated my first truly immersive holiday season as a full-time paleo blogger, my strategy was crystal clear and highly proactive: publish an abundance of seasonal recipes that cater to festive cravings while still adhering to paleo principles. The goal was to proactively offset the anticipated dip in traffic that often accompanies niche healthy eating blogs during a period dominated by traditional comfort foods.

And indeed, this strategy proved effective! While we successfully mitigated a significant traffic loss, our overall pageview numbers remained slightly lower than our typical monthly average. This was a stark contrast to many of our comfort food blogger counterparts, who openly celebrated explosive traffic surges and record-high RPMs (revenue per thousand impressions) during this peak season. It’s a quiet truth within the blogging community that certain niches thrive more than others during specific times of the year, and Q4 often sees traditional comfort food blogs hitting their stride.

Consequently, November was a solid month, but by no means our personal best. Q4 typically presents a wealth of sponsored post opportunities, but these lucrative partnerships often don’t align with a paleo or Whole30 niche. A significant percentage of the offers I received were, quite frankly, for products like sodas and highly processed snacks. Maintaining brand integrity and staying true to our core values—no refined sugar, no gluten, etc.—is paramount. This meant respectfully declining many high-paying opportunities, a decision that can be financially challenging but is crucial for long-term trust with our audience.

Despite these unique seasonal challenges, my passion for the work never wavered. Being a full-time blogger allowed me to immerse myself in an enjoyable, family-focused holiday season, mirroring the flexibility I cherished during my freelance days. This invaluable personal time is something I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world – not even for sky-high holiday traffic and those coveted record-breaking RPMs! Though, admittedly, I wouldn’t turn down those benefits if they happened to come my way.

Now, let’s dive into the core numbers and see the detailed breakdown of our blog’s performance!

Contents

Traffic Performance: Navigating the Holiday Season

As anticipated during the comfort food-heavy holiday season, our traffic experienced a minor, yet expected, dip across most metrics in November. It’s worth noting that October’s traffic figures generally appear slightly higher due to it being a 31-day month, compared to November’s 30 days. The following graphic provides a direct comparison, illustrating November’s full traffic against the period of October 2-31 to offer a more accurate month-over-month perspective.

Total Pageviews for November 2017: 324,061

While a slight decrease might seem disheartening at first glance, understanding the seasonal nature of our niche is crucial. Achieving over 324,000 pageviews during a period where a paleo blog faces natural headwinds is a strong indicator of our growing audience and consistent content quality. This traffic volume remains robust enough to support significant ad revenue, demonstrating the resilience of our audience engagement even when dietary trends shift towards indulgence.

Comprehensive Income Breakdown: Monetizing a Food Blog

It’s important to clarify that this income report strictly includes earnings directly generated by or related to my blog and online presence. Any freelance work, even if clients initially discovered me through my blog, is excluded unless it’s fully integrated. For instance, a substantial video project I completed this month, though secured likely due to my blog’s influence, is not factored in. Similarly, a food photography project initiated in November but invoiced in December will appear in next month’s report, ensuring accuracy and clear distinction between blogging income and other freelance endeavors.

Sponsored Posts: $650. November saw only one sponsored post go live on the blog. This particular collaboration was on the lower end of my desired budget range, reflecting my ongoing efforts to gradually increase my sponsored post rates to a level that truly reflects the value and reach of my platform. While Q4 typically overflows with sponsored opportunities, a significant majority of these align with mainstream holiday treats, soft drinks, and processed foods. My commitment to maintaining authenticity and adhering to my blog’s core values (no refined sugar, no gluten, etc.) means I frequently decline offers that don’t genuinely resonate with my audience or brand, even when the financial incentive is substantial. Prioritizing integrity over immediate profit is a long-term strategy for building trust.
Ad Revenue with AdThrive: $6443.51. Our ad revenue continues to be a cornerstone of our income, thanks to our partnership with AdThrive. This premium ad network consistently delivers high RPMs (Revenue Per Thousand Impressions), which for November stood at an impressive $19.88. This means for every 1,000 pageviews, we earned nearly $20. AdThrive’s optimization strategies, coupled with our growing traffic, ensure we maximize earnings from every visit, allowing us to generate substantial income even during slightly lower traffic periods.
Product Sales: $395.25. This category encompasses all direct sales of digital products hosted on our site. These include highly sought-after resources like my food photography presets, designed to help fellow content creators enhance their visuals, and my practical eBook, “Improve Your Food Photography Almost Instantly.” It’s important to note that my new cookbook, “The Paleo Instant Pot,” officially launched in December, so this November figure reflects sales prior to its highly anticipated release. Direct product sales represent an exciting avenue for diversifying income and providing specialized value to our audience.
Amazon Affiliate Sales: $259.89. This revenue is generated when readers click on an Amazon link from our site and subsequently make a purchase. The buyer incurs no additional cost, but we receive a small commission as a referral fee. While I’ve always aimed for this income stream to be higher, we’ve observed promising signs of growth recently. However, this particular figure for November 2017 indicates that Amazon affiliate sales, though consistent, had not yet reached their full potential or accelerated growth phase. Optimizing affiliate strategy remains an ongoing focus.

Total Gross Income for November 2017: $7749.65

Essential Expenses: Investing in Blog Growth and Stability

Running a professional food blog involves strategic investments in various tools and services that ensure smooth operation, high performance, and continued growth. Here’s a breakdown of our key expenses for November:

WPOpt Hosting: $43. My web host, WPOpt, is an absolute gem. They consistently deliver lightning-fast site speeds, which is crucial for both user experience and SEO. A significant bonus is their inclusion of an HTTPS certificate, which saved me considerable hassle and ensured secure browsing for my readers right from the start. WPOpt offers flexible hosting tiers tailored to different traffic volumes, making them suitable for bloggers at various stages. While my site’s traffic is steadily increasing, WPOpt continues to handle the volume exceptionally well at my current plan level, although an upgrade might be on the horizon. I wholeheartedly recommend their services for reliable and efficient hosting.
MailerLite Email Service: $65. My email list is an undeniably powerful asset for driving consistent traffic and fostering deep engagement with my audience. The focused effort on growing this list has resulted in a substantial subscriber base. MailerLite has been my go-to platform due to its incredible affordability and robust features, especially for managing a growing list. However, as my email marketing needs evolve and become more complex, I’m currently exploring options like Mailchimp or ConvertKit, which offer advanced segmentation and automation capabilities that could further enhance my strategy.
Adobe Creative Cloud: $50. As a content creator deeply involved in design, photography, and videography, access to the full suite of Adobe applications is indispensable. For my blog-related work, I heavily rely on Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing, Lightroom for photo cataloging and enhancement, Photoshop for detailed image manipulation, and Adobe Illustrator for graphic design elements. The comprehensive $50/month subscription for the entire Creative Cloud package offers exceptional value given the breadth of tools I utilize daily.
LinkMyPhotos Service: $5. This clever service provides an efficient bridge between my Instagram presence and my blog content. LinkMyPhotos allows me to create a customizable landing page where all my Instagram photos are linked directly to their corresponding blog posts or recipes. Many bloggers opt for LinkInProfile, but LinkMyPhotos offers identical functionality at half the price, making it a cost-effective solution for driving Instagram traffic directly to specific content on my site.
Food Blogger Virtual Assistant: $600. My virtual assistant is an integral part of my team, handling a diverse array of tasks that significantly streamline my operations. Her responsibilities include sourcing relevant social media links for sharing, providing invaluable support during photo and video shoots, and assisting with countless other administrative and content-related duties. Delegating these tasks allows me to focus my energy on high-level content creation and strategic planning. She’s currently accepting new clients, and I highly recommend her services for any blogger looking to scale their efforts efficiently.

Total Expenses for November 2017: $763

Net Income for November 2017: $6986.65

Overall, November was a financially sound month, concluding with a healthy net income. While the blog income itself remained robust, I also secured additional significant projects as a freelancer, further bolstering my overall earnings. However, I confess to a slight pang of disappointment seeing the blog’s net income dip modestly compared to the previous month. This decrease is primarily attributable to a conscious decision to take on fewer sponsored posts in November than in October. While this provided a welcome respite for my content calendar, alleviating some pressure, it was a minor challenge for my Type A personality, which thrives on anticipating and optimizing every opportunity. This fluctuation highlights the ongoing balance between maximizing revenue and maintaining a sustainable workflow.

A Remarkable Achievement: My Food Blog Revenue Skyrocketed by 3708% in One Year!

While I strive for consistent, month-over-month growth, the annual perspective reveals a truly astounding trajectory. How’s this for transformative growth?

Comparing November 2017 to November 2016, my blog’s pageviews soared by an incredible 600%. Beyond mere traffic volume, the quality of engagement also dramatically improved: returning visitors accounted for 36% of all traffic in November 2017, a substantial leap from a mere 18.1% in November 2016. Furthermore, our average session duration increased significantly, from a brief 00:53 seconds to a much more engaged 1:10. These metrics collectively paint a picture of a rapidly expanding and increasingly loyal audience.

And the revenue? The contrast is almost surreal. In November 2016, my total blogging income was a modest:

Google Adsense: $90.82
Pulsepoint: $46.94
BlogHer: $65.74
Amazon Affiliate: $3.10 (yes, a mere THREE DOLLARS AND TEN CENTS!)

Total Gross Revenue in November 2016: $206.60.

When comparing these gross revenue figures (even accounting for expenses in 2016), the growth is nothing short of phenomenal: my revenue expanded by an unprecedented 3708% in just one year.

Let that sink in: THREE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHT PERCENT IN A SINGLE YEAR.

Whoa. This level of transformation isn’t accidental. So, how precisely did this happen?

The Journey to Exponential Growth: Finding My Niche and Passion

I’ve dedicated considerable thought to dissecting this growth, and the process, in retrospect, is remarkably clear. My blogging journey spans nine years, yet it wasn’t until this past year that I truly began generating a full-time income. For the first eight or nine years, my blog was something of a hobby project; I simply didn’t commit to it with the sustained seriousness required for significant growth. A recurring cycle defined this period:

I would declare (often to my good friend Melissa, with whom I regularly commiserated about blogging struggles) that I was going to intensify my focus – publish more frequently, dedicate myself to improving my food photography, and so forth. And I would follow through! I’d observe tangible growth, notice my skills sharpening, and then proudly share my progress within my professional circles. This visibility, acting as a content creator, digitally marketing myself, showcasing my photography, and designing my site, would inevitably lead to securing new freelance clients.

However, the blog would then inevitably fall by the wayside as I became engrossed in managing the influx of new freelance work. This cycle of intense focus followed by neglect repeated itself relentlessly, for years. Until one day, it didn’t.

The pivotal shift occurred when I embarked on my first Whole30 program. It was, without exaggeration, absolutely life-changing. Not only did I shed 10 pounds, reaching a weight below my pre-baby standard, but my chronic TMJ (for which I was scheduled to get a retainer) completely vanished. My debilitating headaches dissipated, and my husband and I began sleeping like literal rocks. It was a dream come true, both for my health and my sleep! Naturally, this profound personal transformation ignited a new passion that inevitably spilled over into the blog as we delved deeper into what it truly meant to embrace a paleo lifestyle.

My dietary journey had been a long and winding one. From the age of 10, I’d intermittently adopted vegetarian and vegan diets, which were, at the time, some of the only visible “alternative” eating styles. For a while, these felt inherently right, and I experienced periods of feeling genuinely good. Yet, eventually, an intense craving for steak would surface. I’d try to white-knuckle through it, reminding myself I didn’t want to revert to the standard American diet. I clung to the feeling of wellness from abundant vegetables and the conviction that I was doing my best to eat “alternatively,” as I intuitively knew, my entire life, that the processed, Westernized diet was fundamentally wrong.

However, during my last stint as a vegan, I developed hypothyroidism. An attempt to incorporate a cup of vegan Bulletproof coffee (a very loose interpretation, simply stirring coconut oil into my drink) resulted in immediate vomiting. Subsequent tests revealed that my serum mineral and vitamin levels were alarmingly out of whack. It became unequivocally clear that this dietary approach, while perhaps ethically appealing, was not sustainable or beneficial for my long-term health.

The transition to Whole30 and subsequently paleo, however, made perfect sense. It encapsulated everything I loved about veganism – the emphasis on tons of vegetables and healthy fats – without the aspects that taxed my body or left me feeling weak. There were no “vegan cupcakes” laden with refined sugars, or meals solely comprised of seitan with a side of quinoa. A crucial revelation during this period was my extreme sensitivity to legumes, which finally explained why I consistently felt unwell as a vegan, despite striving to get enough protein without relying on processed vegetable and soy isolates.

Armed with this newfound understanding and passion, I began sharing Whole30 recipes on the blog. To my pleasant surprise, they started performing exceptionally well.

The Growth Playbook: Strategies That Deliver Results

A clear strategy emerged from this newfound focus and audience resonance. I observed the success of the Whole30 recipes and anticipated a surge in interest for Whole30 challenges in January. Reflecting on my own overwhelm with the restrictions, finding suitable recipes, and understanding what to expect during my first Whole30, I realized there was a significant need I could address. This led me to develop a concise eBook, offering practical guidance, and making it available as a free incentive for new email subscribers. This proved to be a powerful strategy:

1. Strategic Content Creation: I noticed a significant increase in email subscribers, directly correlated with the popularity of my Whole30 recipes. This insight fueled a deliberate shift: I began to create more and more Whole30-compliant content, focusing on providing maximum value to this engaged segment of my audience. This wasn’t just about volume, but about creating high-quality, genuinely helpful recipes.

2. Niche-Focused Social Media: My social media strategy also underwent a transformation. I began exclusively featuring paleo and gluten-free content, not just my own, but also sharing high-quality content from other respected bloggers within the same niche. This established my blog as a go-to resource, fostering a sense of community and authority within the paleo sphere.

3. Deepening Personal Investment: I continued to undertake Whole30 rounds, partly because the health benefits were truly amazing, and partly because I recognized its profound positive impact on both my career and my personal well-being. It reinforced the notion that I didn’t necessarily need that nightly glass of pinot after my son Leo went to bed.

4. High-Value Lead Magnets: A cornerstone of my growth strategy was consistently offering high-quality, valuable content in exchange for an email signup. The eBook was just the beginning; I continually refined and created resources that truly served my audience’s needs, demonstrating expertise and generosity.

5. Data-Driven Content Strategy: I meticulously analyzed my blog’s performance, identifying which recipes performed exceptionally well versus those that merely did “okay.” By pinpointing the common characteristics of successful recipes—be it specific ingredients, ease of preparation, or seasonal relevance—I was able to create more content that directly aligned with my audience’s proven preferences. This iterative process of creation, analysis, and refinement was crucial.

In essence, my transformation stemmed from a clear and consistent focus on my content. I diligently identified what truly resonated with my audience and, critically, created more of the content they genuinely desired and sought out.

This dedicated approach is precisely how my pageviews surged by 600% in a single year.

This unwavering focus, combined with the strategic move to a robust ad network like AdThrive, is how my revenue exploded by 3708% in just 12 months.

And this commitment to serving my audience with high-quality resources is how my email list expanded by an incredible 1080% in 365 days.

My ultimate passion has always been to empower individuals, particularly women, to cultivate thriving blogs and establish a flexible, fulfilling, and sustainable income. Combining this with the dynamic world of food blogging elevates it to an even higher plane – it’s the perfect synergy of my two deepest passions. If only we could somehow integrate paleo margaritas into this equation, I might just spontaneously combust from pure delight!

The overarching message is clear: I am genuinely committed to helping you replicate the kind of transformative growth I’ve experienced with my blog. We are, of course, still on our own growth journey and continuously striving for new milestones. However, the strategies and actions I’ve outlined in this post, alongside additional concepts I’ll continue to share on the blog, form a replicable framework for success.

Discovering my authentic audience and honing in on what I was truly skilled at were instrumental in making this endeavor work, and I am confident I can guide you through a similar process. We are actively in the process of formalizing our specialized food blog brand development service and crafting an in-depth food blog coaching program. Now is an opportune moment to get in touch while we’re still fine-tuning these offerings! As these programs become fully packaged and polished in the coming months, our pricing will naturally reflect their comprehensive value. Consider being an early adopter and join us now; I would absolutely love to assist you in achieving your blogging aspirations. If you’re interested in transforming your food blog, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know!

To our fellow food bloggers: did this detailed food blog income report provide valuable insights for your journey? What specific aspects would you be most interested in seeing covered in our upcoming income reports? Your feedback helps us tailor our content to your needs!