How to Make Money as a Food Blogger

Learn whether or not food blogging is actually a lucrative career path, how food bloggers make their money, and how you can start implementing money-making methods right away!

Is Food Blogging Lucrative? 

Yes! While some food blogs don’t earn any income, when done correctly, food blogging can be an extremely lucrative career.

In fact, some of the biggest food blogs generate millions every month! Many food bloggers such as Pinch of Yum, Tiffy Cooks, Stephanie’s Sweet Treats, and the Midwest Foodie publicly report their earnings for the month, earning anywhere from $4,000 to $150,00. 

And those are just a few examples! Some of the biggest blogs earn well over seven figures. 

How Do Food Bloggers Earn an Income? 

While the blogs themselves bring in a large portion of many bloggers’ incomes, it’s not wise to put all your eggs in one basket - especially with ever-changing Google updates. 

That said, avenues of income related to running a food blog include:

Ads on the Blog

If you’ve ever searched for a recipe, chances are you’ve seen the pop-ups and ads embedded in the middle of the page’s text and sidebar. These are ads run by third parties through sites like Google AdSense, Mediavine, and AdThrive. 

Typically, certain metrics are required for a bog to be eligible for ads. For instance, Mediavine requires 50,000 sessions a month. However, once the requirements are met, all a creator has to do is apply, and the sites insert ads onto their blog pages, through which the blog owner earns a commission. The bigger the blog, the more it makes as each page garners more traffic! 

Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are links to different websites where readers can buy products recommended by food bloggers. With each purchase made, the food blogger earns a small commission for recommending the product. 

This can easily be done with programs like Amazon Affiliates, Commission Junction, and ShopStyle, just to name a few. Most products (physical and virtual) offer affiliate programs! 

Sponsored Posts

Many brands will partner with blogs to feature a product. Most often, this is done by having a food blogger use a product in their recipe and include a short mention of it and the company in the post. 

If bloggers have a good social presence, many brands will also pay to have them mention their product in a post, use it in a reel, or include it in a newsletter. I’ll get more into this a little later. 

Ebooks

After food blogs have been established for a while and have racked up a long list of recipes, they often compile them into various ebooks sold on their site. They can include published or unpublished recipes and are often fairly cheap. However, once they’re created, they can serve as a form of essentially passive income. 

Brand Deals

This is similar to sponsored posts - but a little different. Some lucky bloggers receive brand deals with companies in which they agree to rep only that company for the particular product involved - think protein powder, pasta, etc. 

As a result, food bloggers are often paid a monthly income to represent the brand and include them in all their recipes and posts. In addition, the brand often sends large quantities of products, meaning free food for the blogger! 

Just keep in mind that most brands prefer to work with only the biggest bloggers and are often very particular about how their products are portrayed, which could limit some of your creativity. 

Live Events

Food bloggers with a big audience can easily travel the country or even the globe hosting meet and greets, book signings, cooking classes - you name it! Many sponsors also like to partner with these events, providing products for attendees to try. 

Products

Once established and profitable, many food bloggers begin releasing their own products. This can include items like cookbooks, cooking utensils, ingredients, clothing, and more. 

Social Media 

Social media is often a big rival for the biggest income source for food bloggers as affiliate links, sponsors, brand partners, and products can all be used to bring in income. 

Newsletters 

As the online world grows and changes, many food bloggers are now monetizing their emails with platforms like Substack and ConvertKit. However, in addition to requiring payment for access food bloggers can also partner with brands to create sponsored newsletters, include affiliate links, and use their newsletters to push their products to readers. 

In Conclusion 

All in all, it’s pretty clear that food blogging can be extremely profitable and fun! This list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to driving profit through a blog. The limits are truly endless and ever-growing as food blogging continues to be one of the top players in the world of blogging. 

If you want to jumpstart your path to success, take a look at how my team and I can help you grow and boost profits! And if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.