How I became a full time food blogger- Monetizing as a food blogger
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Something I’ve been wanting to share is how I was able to become a full time food blogger. This journey was extremely hard and took hundreds of hours of work behind the scenes and plenty of buckets of tears.
If we haven’t met yet- hello darling! My name is Tiffany, I’m a 23 year old Jamaican American who started a vegan food blog to teach people how to make delicious vegan Caribbean recipes. I’m SO proud and excited to say that 2 years after I launched Ital Eats and Treats, it has replaced my job. Ya girl is pretty stoked to say I’m a full time food blogger!
This blog article is going to be very vulnerable and intimate but it’s time I share how I turned my passion into something that has made me thousands and given me opportunities I never could have imagined. I want other people to start successful blogs and learn how to make money online!
How much do I make as a full time food blogger?
I’ve held off from sharing income reports for a long time. I never don’t want to come off as bragging or obnoxious. And honestly- I’ve been scared to let strangers know about business matters!
However, as time has gone on, I have read hundreds of income reports from other bloggers. They have encouraged me so much to keep going and to know that making a living from blogging is legit and worth it!
Stay tuned to the end to learn how and where I earn an income as a full time food blogger!
Why did I start my food blog?- Become a full time blogger
I started Ital Eats and Treats when I was a super sad 21 year old with not a lot of money. Ya girl didn’t have much direction but a whole lot of ambition and determination.
I reached a low point in my life and my mom couldn’t bear to see me so sad anymore. So, she suggested I make a cookbook because she knows I love to cook. Through my tears, I just laughed and said why would I make a cookbook? No one knows me therefore no one would buy it!
Encouraging, my mom told me okay then Tiffy! You’ve got to put yourself out there so that people can know you and what you offer! I’ve loved cooking since a child and had been making traditional and gourmet style vegan Jamaican recipes for years.
At this point my mom could see this was the one thing that brought me so much joy and passion. Taking beautiful pictures of food and sharing them with the world saved my life.
This is the seed that sparked Ital Eats and Treats. Thank you so much for your wise words Mommy. Your encouragement has absolutely changed my life in ways I could have never imagined!
From then, I decided to start posting pictures on Instagram and What I eat in a Day videos on YouTube. I kept researching how to make an income as a person that shares food online.
Thus, I continued to learn about blogging and how to become a full time blogger. I saw how people easily make $20,000 per month from their websites and I was sold! I set up hosting with Blue Host and set up my website italeatsandtreats.com summer of 2022.
So much has happened since then. I’ve grown a healthy following on social media and have gotten hundreds of thousands of people my website! I’ve been able to quit my steady and reliable job, contribute more to my savings, and continue to travel the world!
My Freelancer/Previous Blogger experience
It is important to note that I’ve had “influencer” and blogging experience prior to starting Ital Eats and Treats and becoming a full time food blogger. I had a travel YouTube channel of about 11k subs where I would vlog trips to different countries.
I also freelanced and worked for a huge travel company, made content, and wrote SEO articles for them. They paid me a couple hundred to make a couple of video courses for them and a couple hundred per blog article.
This became an extra steady source of income for me for about a year. I would write travel articles on different countries I’ve traveled to from a budget backpacker experience.
During that experience, I learned how to write SEO (search engine optimized) blog articles. These articles can be easily found on google. I also learned how to edit videos and create content that people will be engaged with!
I did this freelancer opportunity alongside my full time job. Working on articles on the weekend and brought in an extra $500 – $2,000 USD per month which allowed me to contribute a lot towards my savings.
Working with this company for a year told me that I really enjoy writing and wanted to learn more about blogging. This freelancer experience taught me incredible information that I now use and apply to my food blog!
If you are trying to become a full time blogger, I would highly suggest to look for some freelance opportunities working for an already official blog writing articles. This is so you can familiarize yourself with the business of blogging and how to write successful optimized articles.
What’s the difference between a Blogger vs. Influencer?- Become a Full time blogger
This is a question I get often and I always love to point out the difference! A lot of people refer to me as an influencer but I kindly and humbly point out that I am a food blogger.
The main difference is that influencers typically only make their income from brand partnerships on social media and do not have a website. Or, if they have a website it’s typically centred around them or their life. Basically- influencers are primarily on social media sites like Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook and share/vlog their life.
Bloggers ALWAYS have a search engine optimized website and make most of their money through ads on their website and affiliates. (like from amazon associates!)
Blogging has been around LONG before influencing. There are many different niches of blogging like food, travel, crafting, and finance.
To be a successful blogger, you have to have good writing skills. You’ve got to know how to keep your audience engaged through words as opposed to fast moving videos and elaborate pictures.
You can make thousands of dollars from blogging without even showing your face as long as you can get enough people to your website!
Although I have a large social media presence on Instagram, Tik Tok, and Youtube, I am not an influencer. Rather, I am a food blogger that uses social media as a method to bring people back to my website and drive views on my ads to make more money! As a dedicated blogger, I also use Pinterest and regular SEO via google traffic to draw people to my website.
Working in the week, blogging on the weekend- Become a Full Time Blogger
Starting my food blog was absolutely the busiest time of my life by far. If you are wanting to become a full time blogger whether in the food, travel, or any other niche just be aware it will take a lot of time.
As soon as I logged off work, I would take a 30 minute break, have a snack, and immediately start working on the blog until bed time. This was my reality for an entire year until things started to kick start and I started to make money!
Be prepared to not make any money for the first 6 months – 1 year. This time period will determine who is strong enough (mentally and spiritually) to maintain a blog and be a business owner.
Do NOT quit your day job in the start. I know it might seem very tempting to. We live in the day and age where influencers flaunt their riches on private yachts and tell everyone to quit their job.
Truth is- no one talks about how hard it is and how much work is required to get to the point where you are stable enough in your side hustle to finally quite your job!
My goal was to earn how much I make from my full time job on my blog for 6 consistent months, a healthy savings to hold me over for at least 3 months of unemployment, and a good mental state before I allowed myself to take my blog full time.
How I transitioned from 9-5 to full time food blogger
Honestly, the transition from working a 9-5 to becoming a full time food blogger was a mixture of smooth and chaotic. I left my teaching job because I needed time for school and focusing on the blog.
At this point, I took few months off from working for someone. My blog was making enough money for me to feel comfortable and safe.
However, It was time to get back into the job market after a few months. I snagged a work from home job opportunity with a marketing agency working on social media. The job seemed perfect on paper. I could work in my pjs- I had lots of skills to apply and the money paid more than my previous job.
Only thing was my boss was pretty racist and hated me.
I lasted at that job for about a month with daily mental breakdowns and a lowered self esteem. After the horrors of that job- I decided I was going to start taking my food blog seriously and take it full time.
I declared myself a full time food blogger January of 2024 and it was the scariest thing of my life. I was constantly crying and suffering from imposter syndrome. Who was I, what was I doing and why on EARTH did I think I could do this?!
In the beginning, it was rough. I lowkey didn’t know what I was doing or how to manage my time and had months where I made as low as $1,200 because I didn’t have good business skills. This is why I made sure I had a healthy savings during this time period!
I kept pressing, kept learning, and my income thankfully grew. During this journey, having a good state of mind, a good support system of family and friends, and a steady game plan are key to being a successful full time blogger.
Income sources as a full time food blogger
Here is the part I know y’all are really interested in! How do you make money as a full time blogger? As mentioned before, most bloggers make majority of their income from ads on their website.
This is my favorite income stream because it is passive income. You can take a month off from blogging and still bring in enough to pay the bills because ads on your website are always running! Let’s break down the streams and talk a bit about them.
Website Ads-
The two companies that pay the most for ads on your website are called Raptive and Mediavine. This should be your goal to get into as their RPM and CPM (how much they pay per 1000 views) is extremely high. I have to be honest and say I’ve neglected the growth of my blog this year because I’ve been so focused on social media. I’m changing that and will be putting in lots of love and growth into my blog 2025 and beyond!
You need 50,000 sessions (different people) to qualify for MediaVine and 100,000 page views (times the page is refreshed) for Raptive. My current analytics are 50,000 page views per month and about 25,000 sessions. The goal for 2025 is to take my blog to the next level and get into Mediavine so I can start making more passive income from website ads!
Products/Services
Many bloggers have their own products like ebooks, courses, or tangible products. I have a two ebooks on juicing and herbal tea remedies and will be releasing a raw recipe ebook in the new year which I’m super excited for!
Brand partnerships
This is where I have earned a large portion of my money during the 2024 year. This is a very rewarding income stream as the large audience you have, the more money you can charge.
For example, with my instagram audience of about 160k, I can charge brands a couple thousand $ to promote their products. I am very exclusive with brands I choose to promote because I don’t want to come off as a salesperson and annoy my beloved followers!
Affiliates/commissions
This has to be one of my favorite income streams alongside website ads. I’ve earned most of my money through commissions this year! Affiliates are also passive like website ads and can pay out a lot depending on the company! One of the main affiliate programs bloggers are in is Amazon Associates but if you partner directly with the company, you can make as much as 20% commission from products promoted!
Youtube Ads
I just got my YouTube channel monetized this year (it is currently a little under 11,000 subs-yippie!) and YouTube ads have been a consistent stream of $ for me as a full time blogger.
Expenses as a full time food blogger
It’s important to note that not all of my income goes home with me. Bloggers (and other entrepreneurs) have a different tax process since we don’t pay taxes up front. Each month, I put aside about 30% of my income and hire an accountant to help me with tax season.
There are also other pretty big expenses I make as a full time food blogger. For one, my grocery bill is disgustingly high. There were times when I was spending $600 per month on food for recipe development and testing.
Good news though, I can write all these things off as a business expense! Below are some other expenses I have to purchase to keep my business running smoothly as a full time blogger.
Newsletter
Courses and Ebooks
Computer & Technology
Canva Membership
Travel Expenses
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