Building three blogs in different niches, growing a team and building a community, and diversifying traffic sources with Julie Evink from Julie's Eats & Treats.

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Welcome to episode 462 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Julie Evink from Julie’s Eats & Treats.

Julie started her first blog, Julie’s Eats & Treats, back in 2010. Since that time she has taken her site full-time, started two other blogs, grown a team, and is self-publishing a cookbook!

In this interview, Julie shares more about growing her blog and how that experience changed her approach to her other two sites. She also chats about outsourcing tasks, how she hires team members, and what she thinks is working really well in her businesses currently.

Her cookbook is being released on May 21, so we also get to hear about the process of self-publishing a cookbook. It’s always fun to hear about the journey of someone who has been blogging for as long as Julie has (14+ years!) and we know you’ll enjoy this interview as much as we did.

• More about the origin story of Julie’s three blogs.
• What she learned from her first blog (Julie’s Eats & Treats) in 2010 and later applied to her second blog (Gimme Some Grilling) in 2018.
• How monetization differs between her niches.
• How she has built her team over the years (and why she likes having part-time employees).
• What her day-to-day workflow looks like.
• Her advice for making food blogging as a career less lonely.
• What she thinks is working well in her businesses these days (hint: passive income!).
• How she has diversified her traffic sources (and why that matters to her).
• The importance of growing an email list.
• The process of self-publishing a cookbook (including the workflow and initial investment).

Resources:

• Julie’s Eats & Treats
• Gimme Some Grilling
• Kids Activity Guide
• Asana
• Julie’s Eats & Treats Cookbook: Easy, Family-Friendly Recipes from a Midwestern Mom
• Shopify
• Tastes Better from Scratch
• Inherit Co
• Follow Julie on Facebook and Instagram.
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Memberful. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.

Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Developing a photography portfolio, growing a career in photography, and the importance of telling a story through your photographs with Alanna O'Neil.

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Welcome to episode 461 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Alanna O’Neil.

Alanna O’Neil has been a photographer for almost as long as she can remember. Despite starting her career in fashion, she took a risk and moved to Hawaii to start a career as a photographer, and hasn’t looked back.

In this interview, Alanna shares more about building a career as a freelance photographer, developing your skills as a photographer, building a portfolio, and the importance of storytelling through visuals.

She has an incredibly calming and inspiring energy, and this interview will give you a lot to think about as an entrepreneur, creative, and photographer. Don’t miss it!

• How Alanna first got into photography (spoiler: it involves a horse barn and a dark room in her childhood home)!
• How she makes time and space to make big life decisions (like moving to Hawaii and changing careers).
• How she started her career in food photography.
• How she built her photography portfolio and why working for free is underrated.
• More about the program she is developing for new photographers.
• Her actionable tips within business, mindset, and photography for someone trying to build a photography business.
• Her recommendations for improving your photography.
• Why you should think about telling a story with your food photos.
• How she minimizes comparing herself to other creators.

Resources:

• Alanna O’Neil
• Pinch of Yum
• Humans of New York
• Two Huge Chocolate Chip Cookies
• The Gap and the Gain
• Follow Alanna on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Memberful.

Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Getting removed from Mediavine, leaning into social media as a traffic driver, and rebuilding to 85,000 monthly sessions with Yasmin Henley from By the Forkful.

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Welcome to episode 460 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Yasmin Henley from By the Forkful.

Yasmin started By the Forkful (her second blog) in 2019 and quickly qualified for Mediavine. But, as often happens, life got in the way when she had her daughter and went back to work full-time. After taking a step back and being removed from Mediavine, Yasmin has worked hard to bring her site back to life.

In the last year she has built the traffic on her site back up to 85,000 monthly sessions and is once again part of an ad network! In this interview she shares more about her process for growing site traffic, the role of social media in driving traffic to her site, and how she balances her full-time job, family, and blog.

We loved this interview with Yasmin — she’s an open book and her honesty is so refreshing and helpful for anyone building a business!

• How she initially qualified for Mediavine after starting her blog in 2019.
• Why she neglected her site for 1–2 years (hint: sometimes life gets in the way) and was removed from Mediavine.
• How a viral TikTok video inspired her to reinvest in her blog.
• How she built the traffic back up on her site (to 85,000 sessions last month!).
• How she has grown her social media followings at the same time.
• How she balances her blog with her full-time job and family.
• Her current strategy on Facebook (which is a major traffic driver for her).
• Why updating older content is one of the most valuable things she does for her business.
• What advice she would give to her past self when she was removed from her ad network.

Resources:

• By the Forkful
• Mediavine
• Y Combinator
• Follow Yasmin on Instagram and TikTok
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive.

Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here.

If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.

Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.