Learning as you go, repurposing content, and building a business that fits your life with Emily Christensen of Country Roads Sourdough.

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This episode is sponsored by Raptive.

Welcome to episode 594 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Emily Christensen from Country Roads Sourdough.

Last week on the podcast, Bjork chatted with Dahn Boquist. To go back and listen to that episode, click here.

Emily Christensen joins Bjork this week to share how she grew Country Roads Sourdough from local sourdough classes into a thriving online business. It started small, with a simple logo and posts in local Facebook groups. From there, Emily steadily built her social media following, learned which content hooks connect with her audience, and found ways to turn one popular recipe into several posts. She also explains how her blog, cookbook, affiliate links, and social platforms each play a pivotal role in her business.

You'll also hear Emily get candid about what contributed to her growth: plenty of time and persistence, the work of balancing a business with raising a family, and the decision to hire help and set boundaries. If you're working to turn your audience into income and want a business that supports your life rather than taking it over, you'll come away from this episode with practical ideas to put to work right away!

• Start with what you have: Emily didn't wait for a polished brand to get going. A simple logo and posts in local Facebook groups were enough to get Country Road Sourdough off the ground!
• Get more from the content that works: Spotting strong hooks and turning popular recipes into multiple posts helped Emily grow her audience without reinventing the wheel every time.
• Build a business that fits your life: Growth didn't happen overnight; it took time and persistence. Hiring help and setting clear boundaries made it possible for Emily to keep growing while raising her family.

Resources:

• Country Roads Sourdough
• Same Day Sourdough Bread
• Check our Emily's cookbooks here!
• Raptive
• Shop My
• Amazon Affiliates Program
• GRO
• URLgenius
• Follow Emily on Instagram and Facebook
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Raptive. 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.

Creating content without the boundaries of SEO, recovering from a traffic drop, and rediscovering joy in food blogging with Dahn Boquist from Savor the Best.

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Welcome to episode 593 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Dahn Boquist from Savor the Best.

Dahn Boquist left her nursing career to blog full-time with her mom at Savor the Best, and the flexibility that came with that leap has been the highlight. But the journey hasn't always been a linear one. In this interview, Dahn walks Bjork through her site's growth, its decline, and its recovery, and what she learned and changed along the way to start growing again.

Dahn opens up about the March 2024 Helpful Content Update, the emotional toll of cutting two full-time team members, and why she decided to run her blog as if SEO was dead. She also talks about the importance of testing and reviewing data and how she's making sure she still enjoys running her business. This is a great listen for anyone rebuilding after a traffic hit and looking for ways to make their site more valuable to the readers who already love it.

• What happens when you let go of SEO — After being hit by the Helpful Content Update, Dahn stopped doing keyword research and writing SEO-optimized posts altogether. She explains how SEO had been quietly dictating what she could create, and how letting go of it brought her back to the reasons she started her food blog in the first place.
• How meal plans made her site more useful to readers — Dahn shares how she set up a menu planning tool on her site using WP Recipe Maker and what the process looked like. So far, 600 people have signed up, and that group spends 4x as much time on the site and views twice as many pages. Along with a stronger focus on email and Pinterest, the meal plans have helped push revenue from direct traffic up about 76% year over year (which is especially valuable as search becomes less predictable).
• Her approach to email marketing — Dahn talks about why she always ends up back on Kit, how to use Google Postmaster Tools to keep an eye on deliverability, and how she has been using the Kit MCP to streamline her email process.

Resources:

• Savor the Best
• Savor the Best Meal Plans
• WP Recipe Maker
• How Savor the Best is giving readers more reasons to come back
• Clariti
• Email Crush by Matt Molen
• Substack
• Flodesk
• Kit
• Postmaster Tools
• Kit MCP
• Raptive
• Mediavine
• Follow Dahn on Instagram and Facebook
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Clariti.

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.

Outsourcing your weaknesses, the power of email authentication, and using AI to optimize your business with Aaron Randhawa.

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Welcome to episode 592 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Aaron Randhawa.

This week, Aaron Randhawa joins Bjork to explain the different processes behind The Forked Spoon, where Aaron manages technical operations so Jessica can focus on what she loves most: recipes, photography, and creative work! They'll talk about how email infrastructure can play a huge role in protecting a creator's brand and improving deliverability, as well as the lengthy process of earning a verified logo in email.

The conversation also explores the outcomes of Aaron's updates, how AI has improved business workflows, and the freedom that comes with outsourcing your weaknesses. From email performance to accounting opportunities, Aaron and Bjork share practical ways creators can use technology and expert support to build a more resilient business!

• You don't have to do it all: Aaron shares how he and Jessica divide the work at The Forked Spoon, with Jessica focused on being the creator while he handles the technical and operational side. Rather than searching for one person who can do everything, he recommends building a vetted list of trusted specialists and outsourcing your weaknesses to the people and tools that are stronger in those areas.
• Email trust starts with authentication: DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are the backbone of email authentication, but Aaron took it a step further to get The Forked Spoon's logo and a blue check mark in Gmail, which led to higher opens and clicks and fewer unsubscribes, especially among new subscribers!
• AI can be your guide through unfamiliar territory: You'll hear Aaron talk about how he used AI to learn about BIMI and VMC to optimize his trademark filing and to identify tax and business structure improvements, like moving from sole proprietor treatment to an S Corp.

Resources:

• The Forked Spoon
• MediaWyse
• NerdPress
• ChatGPT
• Raptive
• Kit
• dmarc digests
• Claude
• LegalZoom
• United States Patent and Trademark Office
• CultivateWP
• DigiCert
• Clariti
• Wispr Flow
• The Economist
• Follow The Forked Spoon on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. 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.

How to adapt to shifting discoverability, what thriving food creators are doing right, and why you should focus on email with Cyd Converse from Mediavine.

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Welcome to episode 591 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Cyd Converse from Mediavine and The Sweetest Occasion.

Cyd Converse started her food blog in 2008 and has been working at Mediavine for the last 6.5 years. She was recently promoted to the Director of Publisher Advocacy and Partnerships, and sits down with Bjork for this interview to talk through the recent shifts in search, how creators can adapt, and what successful creators have in common right now.

Bjork and Cyd talk about the current state of the industry, the rapid pace of changes, the decline in predictability, and how many creators are feeling burnt out. Cyd also shares her advice for content creators — leaning into email, updating old content, and leveraging video, to name a few. This is the perfect interview for anyone feeling like they're weathering the current search changes alone and looking for actionable steps to take to get back on the right track.

• Prioritize your email marketing strategy — Cyd explains why traffic from your email list is more desirable to advertisers, how you can use email to make the most of the content you already have, why you should experiment with cadence, segmentation, and the types of emails you send, and how to get started collecting email addresses if you don't already.
• The common traits of creators who are thriving right now — From her conversations with creators, Cyd has found a few things that most creators who are doing well despite AI Overviews have in common — a recognizable voice, expertise, and trust with readers. You want to become the go-to resource for recipes within your niche and keep your audience coming back for you.
• Why you should focus on updating old content — Cyd talks about the shift she has seen from churning out a high volume of new content to instead optimizing and repromoting the content that is already doing well for you (especially the posts with the highest RPMs).

Resources:

• Mediavine
• The Sweetest Occasion
• Tastemaker Conference
• TopHatRank
• Email Cyd
• Follow Cyd on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Clariti.

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.

Self-publishing a cookbook and driving 13,000 pre-sales, growing to over 3 million followers on social media, and prioritizing learning as a creator with Justin Ellen from Everything Just Baked.

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Welcome to episode 589 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Justin Ellen from Everything Just Baked.

Justin Ellen started decorating and selling cakes in high school, with the dream of one day opening his own bakery. At the encouragement of his sister, he hesitantly started posting photos of his cakes on Instagram, but didn't like being in front of the camera. He slowly but surely overcame his fear of being on camera, and now has 1.4 million followers on both Facebook and TikTok, and over 800,000 followers on Instagram.

In this interview, Justin shares how he transitioned from selling cakes to building a business as a content creator, what his first few brand deals looked like, why he decided to launch his website last year (and how he has already grown to 400,000 monthly pageviews!), and dives into the process of self-publishing his first cookbook (out this month!). This is a really fun and inspiring interview for food creators at any level — we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did!

• How to approach every social media post as a data point — Justin explains how he has shifted his mindset around social media so that everything he posts is something he can learn and iterate from. He also shares how he remixes his short-form videos to stretch out his content and see what performs best, and why he views re-posting content like television re-runs.
• The process of self-publishing a cookbook — Despite having the option to go the traditional publishing route, Justin chose to self-publish his cookbook to maintain creative control. He walks listeners through the process, including how he hired his team and made decisions about printing and promoting his cookbook, and how Facebook was the main driver for 13,000+ book pre-sales.
• Why you need to always be open to learning — Justin is candid about his learning process as a creator — how he observes successful creators, notes what they have in common, adds his creative twist, and iterates until he finds something that works for him.

Resources:

• Everything Just Baked
• Jessica Secrest
• The Diary of a CEO Interview with Seth Godin
• Mediavine
• Better Than Grandma's Cookbook
• Follow Justin on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Making sustainable choices, building genuine trust through branding, and the power of community.

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Welcome to episode 588 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Yoli Ouiya from Food + Wellness Equity Collective.

In this week's episode, Bjork is sitting down to chat with the "Queen of Green herself, Yoli Ouiya! Yoli breaks down what green living really means (hint: it's about how the products we use affect both our bodies and the planet) and shares practical tips for making smarter choices around food, home, and personal care. From there, the conversation shifts into the natural consumer-products space, where Yoli goes into validating a product idea, building trust through great branding, and the realities of bootstrapping versus chasing funding.

You'll also hear Yoli open up about the Food and Wellness Equity Collective, the community she co-founded to give creators, especially those who often feel overlooked or isolated in this industry, a real sense of connection and support. If you're looking to build a brand and a community with real staying power, this episode will be right up your alley!

• Green living starts with intention: Yoli breaks down what it really means to evaluate the impact of the products we use (both on our bodies and on the planet) and offers practical ways to make more thoughtful choices around food, home, and personal care.
• Trust and branding matter as much as the product itself: In the natural consumer-products space, Yoli shares how new founders can validate their ideas, build genuine trust through strong branding, and navigate the trade-offs between bootstrapping and outside funding.
• Community can be the missing piece: Through the Food and Wellness Equity Collective, Yoli is creating retreats, workshops, and scholarships that give creators, especially those who often feel isolated, a real connection, support, and opportunity.

Resources:

• Food + Wellness Equity Collective
• Food + Wellness Equity Collective Retreat
• Yoli's Green Living
• Airthings
• Think Dirty
• EWG
• Newman's Own
• Primal Kitchen
• A Couple Cooks — Sonja and Alex Overhiser's blog!
• UGMONK
• Nom Nom Paleo
• Follow Food + Wellness Equity on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. 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.

Rethinking how you work and implementing guardrails for AI with Andrew Wilder and Miranda Wicker of NerdPress.

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Welcome to episode 587 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Andrew Wilder and Miranda Wicker of NerdPress.

This week on the podcast, Bjork sits down with Andrew Wilder of NerdPress and Miranda Wicker for a conversation on AI, content creation, and what it means to stay human in an increasingly automated world. They dig into a question every creator is facing right now: Are you reacting to the AI shift, or are you using it to rethink how you work?

They'll walk through real examples of AI integrations, memory, skills, scheduled tasks, and MCP connections, including NerdPress's very own guided agent connector, built with guardrails and approval steps for safer site management. If you've been wondering how to use AI to work smarter without losing what makes your content yours, this episode is a great place to start!

• Rethink instead of reacting: Rethink instead of reacting: Andrew and Miranda discuss how creator businesses have weathered the changes to search over the last few years. Their key takeaway: it's time to rethink how you work, not just brace for what's next.
• Use AI as a tool, not a ghostwriter: AI shines at research and repetitive work, but if you allow it to write for you, be prepared for writing that's just average. Let AI support your process, but allow your own passion and expertise to shine through in your own writing!
• Implement guardrails to make AI safer to use: Memory, skills, scheduled tasks, and MCP connections — Andrew and Miranda share how they're putting these to work, including NerdPress's guided agent connector, which includes approval steps for safer site management. AI can help you do more, but with just enough oversight to keep it from going rogue.

Resources:

• NerdPress
• Imagine I handed you 10,000 brilliant employees tonight. What would you do with them tomorrow morning? — @PeterDiamandis on X
• Slack
• Claude
• ChatGPT
• Granola
• Littlebird
• Episode 584 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Claude as a Food Blogger with Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju
• OpenClaw
• Caffeine and Cabernet
• Clariti
• Raptive
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Yoast and Clariti. 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.