Niche Pursuits Podcast: Find Your Next "Niche" Business Idea!

"I Make $10k to $30k Per Month From My Sweet Food Blog"

Jan 24, 2024

Learn from Jessica Holmes, a successful food blogger, about her unique perspectives on growing an audience and brand. She prioritizes direct traffic over SEO, focuses on quality customer service to grow her audience, and emphasizes reader demand and feedback for content creation. She discusses the challenges of maintaining a successful food blog and the importance of adapting to SEO changes. Also, discover the value of customer service in website creation and the strategies for managing social media platforms in the food blogging world.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Building Connections and Organic Traffic Study

01:39 • 3min

From Hobby to Business: Jessica Holmes' Journey of Starting a Food Blog

04:34 • 20min

Adapting to SEO Changes

24:26 • 12min

Updating Old Content vs Creating New Content

36:00 • 7min

The Value of Customer Service in Website Creation

43:29 • 5min

Managing Social Media Platforms and Finding Success in the Food Blogging World

48:46 • 11min

Want some timely tips on how to grow an audience and brand from the ground up?

Jessica Holmes is on the podcast to share the surprisingly unique perspectives she's gained from growing a successful food blog.

Just as a sample:

She wants direct traffic more than SEO traffic
She uses the principles of quality customer service to help grow her audience
She rarely looks at keyword tools to source topics
And she doesn't shy away from showing the good, the bad, and the ugly when testing the recipes she shares on her blog

It all started back in 2014 while juggling a full-time job as a copywriter. Jessica wanted a creative outlet, so she started up her blog sweetestmenu.com.

Initially, she knew nothing about SEO or turning her site into a business so it was a true hobby blog.

She'd promote her content mainly on social media until a pivotal moment in 2016 when she transitioned to an SEO strategy after an audit with Casey Markee.

But this is not your traditional 'SEO' story.

Her content strategy heavily prioritizes the actual reader over any search engine algorithm, and it seems to be working.

For instance, Jessica emphasizes the importance of creating content based on reader demand and feedback rather than the usual keyword research approach.

She looks to the reader, then her own interests, then the season, and then if necessary - a keyword research tool.

She also speaks openly and honestly about the challenges of maintaining a successful food blog, including the need to update old posts and the importance of engaging with the audience and providing excellent customer service.

And the cherry on top is that she does all of this while working 'part-time' on the site!

It really is a wonderful discussion and Jessica has a lot of great advice we could all start testing on our own blogs.

Enjoy!

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