Food Blog Traffic and Income Report June 2018

Hey, hello and hi! Welcome to the Income report June 2018! As I mentioned in the last report, these posts may come at you a little more frequently until I'm all caught up. Bear with me, we'll be back to recipe posts tomorrow!

One of the first questions you might have that I'd like to answer is why? 

Why do an income report on a food blog?

For a few reasons actually:

1. You're more likely to reach a goal when you share your progress.
2. When I was starting out, I found other food blog income reports invaluable sources of inspiration, motivation, and information.
3. I set a goal to achieve 500k page views a month by December. Although this looks like it may not happen, I'm still motivated to do these reports every month because I'm determined to keep making Salted Mint a better place month after month and these reports help me stay on track to do just that.
4. You can go back to the first post from January and see how I'm progressing and read a little more about why I chose a traffic goal instead of an income goal.

As I look around the interwebs look for more food blog income reports to reference in these posts, it looks as though many of the blogs I once looked to have stopped producing income reports. This can mean that as blogging changes, many of us aren't sure where to go, or how to create an income. Or, maybe there are now so many to create an income that it really is all up to you.

Both those statements are true. With creating courses, e-books, and other paid products as well as ad networks and affiliate income it can seem that the possibilities are endless. And that's the beauty of blogging. The possibilities are endless. And there is a way for everyone to create an income from a food blog, and I'm sharing mine.

The numbers for June 2018

Income

Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. All of the products listed below are products and services I’ve used before. If you have any questions about any of the income you can leave a comment and I’ll do my best to reply.

• Mediavine $277.14
• Amazon Affiliates $4.26
• Sponsored Post (Instagram only) $84.50
• Sponsored Blog Posts $780

Total Income $1145.90

Traffic Totals

Traffic Overview

Top 10 Referral Sources

Takeaways

Pinterest

My main focus over the summer has been to figure out ways to increase traffic, despite the summer slump. Yes, summer slump is a real thing, as any other (food) blogger on the planet will be able to confirm. But, I decided that because my numbers were so low, I didn't necessarily have to suffer the same "slump" as the bigger bloggers who have already seen massive growth.

One of my primary concerns for traffic was Pinterest. I was convinced that I wasn't maximizing it's potential. Where were all these elusive "true fans" that all these Pinterest courses claim will flock to my website, if only I pin properly? But, I wasn't going to jump on the first Pinterest course I found. I've been burned before on e-courses and I was determined to find the right one.

The day I started to look for a course was the day that Kate Ahl, from Simple Pin Media, sent out an email about the Pinning Perfect Course and how to price was about to jump. It's the course that Kate herself recommended and has taken in order to start Simple Pin Media. I jumped.

And I have not looked back. The course was thorough, informative, easy to digest and best of all, I came away with a sound strategy that I am implementing and seeing real results from. More on that next month. I cannot recommend Pinning Perfect highly enough. You may find free courses out there, but I wouldn't take a chance. This course is truly the only one you will ever need to take.

Sponsored Posts

Nobody likes negotiating business contracts. I'm gonna go out on a limb and also say that most some people find it really tough to negotiate for what they're worth. I have notoriously been one of these people. But, when I was contacted for a sponsored post during to the month of June, I decided that I was going to pitch the post at how much I wanted to be paid. Not how much my numbers (traffic, social, etc.) indicated I should be paid. *These numbers were very different.

The sponsor leaped at my rate and couldn't wait to work with me. Better yet, they loved my work and didn't even ask to see a media kit or what my numbers were like. I should note, this is the second time that has happened and I've been able to charge a rate that by all metric indicators I should not be charging.

The takeaway from this is to know that you have something valuable to offer and to not be afraid to ask for it. Your numbers don't indicate your worth, the quality of your work does.

Just Keep Going

I know that the age old saying "just keep going" can seem a bit trite when you're not sure if there's anyone reading your blog or if your words are landing on deaf ears. But seriously, just keep going. Magic happens all the time and you never know when you'll have a record month income or traffic wise and that can really be the push that you need to write one more post and shoot one more recipe.

Thank you a million for reading to the end of this post and for leaving comments, sharing recipes with your loved ones and cooking from this blog for your families. It means that world to me. Thanks for being here.