The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Epizody

• 
  What's Actually Holding Your Food Blog Back in Search with Liane Walker from Foodie Digital 28.07.2026 1h 6min

  Mitigating risk in search marketing, cleaning up link spam on your site, and getting your technical SEO foundation right with Liane Walker from Foodie Digital. ----- Welcome to episode 581 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Liane Walker from Foodie Digital. What's Actually Holding Your Food Blog Back in Search with Liane Walker from Foodie Digital Liane Walker has seen just about every SEO mistake a food creator can make. In this episode, she's sharing her expertise about the two things that matter most right now for food blogs — getting your technical SEO foundation right and creating content that's structured to reach the right reader. One of the biggest issues Liane has noticed time and time again with food bloggers is link spam — something that might seem harmless but can quietly become an SEO success killer. She breaks down exactly what Google considers as spam, when to mark a link as nofollow, and how this is all a part of mitigating risk in search marketing. Three episode takeaways: Technical SEO comes first (and link spam is a bigger deal than most food bloggers realize) — Liane sees link spam issues often in her SEO audits, and she's clear that it's a really common barrier to search success. She explains what link spam usually looks like for food bloggers, why Google's spam algorithm targets it, and the practical steps you can take to identify and clean it up on your site — including when to mark a link as nofollow. Once your technical foundation is solid, content strategy becomes the priority — Liane explains that the real work is in your content strategy: organizing content in a way that signals meaning to search engines and structuring posts to serve both readers and algorithms. Reader-first and robot-first don't have to be in conflict — One of the most practical takeaways from this episode is Liane's framework for balancing SEO best practices with genuinely useful, readable content. She walks through her tips for writing and formatting posts in a way that serves both audiences — and explains why, in a world of semantic search, these two goals are more aligned than ever. Resources: Foodie Digital Why Search Intent Matters for Food Bloggers with Liane Walker from Foodie Digital Siftr Google Search Central Link Spam Policies A Couple Cooks Pinch of Yum Lily Ray's Algorythmic Follow Liane on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast. 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.
• 
  Why Personality Is the New Competitive Advantage with Sam Vander Wielen 21.07.2026 50min

  Financial freedom and the power of authenticity in the age of AI with Sam Vander Wielen. ----- Welcome to episode 580 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sam Vander Wielen.  Why Personality Is the New Competitive Advantage with Sam Vander Wielen This episode digs into the gap between the idea of entrepreneurship and what it actually takes to build a business. Sam shares how she was first drawn to food blogging and online business because they felt like a path to freedom, only to realize she was in love with the outcome, not the daily work required to get there. That realization led her to a better-fitting path: combining her legal background with the creator economy to build a business that helps online creators with legal templates and advice. From there, the conversation opens up into something deeper: success, "enoughness," and what actually creates fulfillment. Sam gets candid about major personal hardships, including brain surgery, caring for her father through leukemia, and losing both of her parents, and how those experiences forced her to confront a hard truth: business success and financial growth can solve a lot of problems, but not the personal ones. She and Bjork talk about protecting your time, building with intention, and why leaning into story, personality, and authenticity matters more than ever in an AI-shaped world where purely informational content is easier to replace. Three episode takeaways: The outcome you're chasing isn't always the work you love: It's easy to fall for the idea of freedom and flexibility that entrepreneurship promises, without realizing that the daily grind of running a business is a completely different thing to love or hate. Sam's pivot to serving creators with legal expertise came from getting honest about that gap. Financial success can't solve personal problems: Going through brain surgery, caring for a parent through illness, and losing both parents pushed Sam to separate the two. Business growth can build security and options, but it won't fix grief, burnout, or a sense of "enoughness" — that work has to happen elsewhere. Story and authenticity are your defense against AI: As purely informational content becomes easier to automate and replace, personality, voice, and lived experience are what keep creators irreplaceable. Protecting your time and building with intention isn't just a lifestyle choice — it's a competitive strategy. Resources: Sam's website Sam's book, When I Start My Business, I'll Be Happy The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel Morgan Housel says he's met a half dozen billionaires — and his new book shows how you can be wealthier than all of them — Yahoo The 5 Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom Sam's newsletter, Sam's Sidebar Craft + Commerce — Kit The U.S. Copyright Office This Week in Startups ElevenLabs Sam's podcast, On Your Terms Follow Sam on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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.
• 
  How Search Is Changing and What Food Bloggers Need to Do About It with Casey Markee 14.07.2026 54min

  Navigating the new rules of search in SEO, building credibility and authority as a food blogger, and prioritizing clarity in your writing with Casey Markee from Media Wyse. ----- Welcome to episode 579 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Casey Markee from Media Wyse. How Search Is Changing and What Food Bloggers Need to Do About It If you've been feeling like search and traffic have gotten harder to figure out lately — you're not imagining it. The rules are genuinely changing, and they're changing fast. In this episode, Casey breaks down the biggest shift happening in search right now — the move away from the traditional "10 blue links" model toward a semantic, AI-powered model where Google constructs answers from multiple sources and tries to keep users on Google rather than sending them elsewhere. For food bloggers, this means that publishing a well-optimized recipe is no longer enough, and Casey explains exactly what it takes to thrive in the search landscape that's replacing it. Bjork and Casey cover the technical fundamentals that still matter (core web vitals, internal linking, structured data), the growing importance of building a content ecosystem and genuine topical authority, and — perhaps most importantly — how to make yourself and your brand visible beyond your website. Casey also walks through what knowledge panels are, how PR mentions and media appearances feed into Google's knowledge graph, and how a new feature called the "preferred source" button could be a real competitive advantage for food bloggers who move quickly. Three episode takeaways: Search is shifting from lexical to semantic — and that changes everything — Google is no longer just matching keywords. It's building answers from multiple sources and increasingly keeping users on its own platform. Casey explains what this "semantic model" of search means in practice for food bloggers and why traffic patterns are changing. Authority and ecosystem matter more than ever — The technical best practices haven't disappeared, but Casey makes the case that food bloggers now also need to build credibility off their site: through local media features, PR mentions, cookbooks, and other signals that feed into Google's knowledge graph and help establish a knowledge panel for you or your brand. Clarity and formatting are your new competitive edge — As LLMs and AI-powered search tools become a bigger part of how people find content, the way you structure your posts matters more than ever. Casey shares practical advice on formatting blog posts so they're easy for both humans and AI to navigate. Resources: Media Wyse Surviving (and Thriving) in an AI-First Search World with Casey Markee Advanced SEO Q&A with Casey Markee E-E-A-T, Static Homepages, AI, and More Food Blog SEO Advice with Casey Markee Understanding the Google Algorithm – Tracking Google Updates and Analyzing Traffic Drops with Casey Markee Optimizing Your Food Blog's SEO with Casey Markee How to Boost Your Blog's SEO with Casey Markee from Media Wyse Urban Farm and Kitchen Leite's Culinaria Feast Hubbub Shareaholic Help your readers find your site through preferred sources in Google Search Microsoft Clarity Pinch of Yum Content Square (previously Hotjar) Email Casey Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast. 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 Josh Gale Grew His Audience to 1.2M+ in Under a Year by Leading with Storytelling 07.07.2026 52min

  The power of storytelling and diversifying across platforms with Josh Gale. ----- Welcome to episode 578 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Josh Gale.  How Josh Gale Grew His Audience to 1.2M+ in Under a Year by Leading with Storytelling In this episode, Bjork interviews Josh Gale, a content creator who has rapidly grown his online presence in the food industry through his blog, The Chef Out West. Josh shares his journey from being a private chef and participating in food competitions to becoming a successful content creator within just a year. He discusses the initial challenges he faced, such as learning to film and edit, and how he overcame the fear of starting something new. Josh emphasizes the importance of storytelling in content creation, explaining how his personal experiences and passion for food have helped him connect with his audience. He also highlights the role of social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook in his growth, sharing insights on how different types of content perform across platforms. Three episode takeaways: Just start, even if it's not perfect: Josh waited until he felt ready, but the real growth came from simply hitting record. Imperfect early content is part of the process, not a reason to delay. Storytelling is the differentiator: What's driven Josh's rapid growth isn't just great food, it's the way he frames it. Audiences connect with the why behind a dish as much as the dish itself. Know which platform does what: Josh treats Instagram as his traffic engine and his blog as his revenue hub. Understanding each platform's role, rather than chasing all of them equally, has been key to building a sustainable business. Resources: The Chef Out West Toronto Sun — Josh Gale Talks Cheesecake Flop on MasterChef Canada Season 33: Episode 5 of Beat Bobby Flay: Another "Flay" in the Office Episode 527 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: How Storytelling Helps Creators Stand Out Online with Brita Britnell Check out Josh's potato waffle recipe on TikTok! Episode 125 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Monetizing as an Entrepreneurial Chef with Shawn Wenner and Chris Hill Episode 561 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: How Food Dolls Turned Facebook Into Their Top Traffic Source Meta Business Suite GRO (formerly Grocer's List Episode 547 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast: Inside Crowded Kitchen's Strategy for Growing to 2.4 Million Followers on Facebook Episode 2 of Food Empires by Grocers List: He Quit Cooking for The Rock to Go All In On Instagram Tastemaker Conference Mediavine Raptive Substack Follow Josh on Instagram and Facebook! Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by 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.
• 
  How to Stop Relying on Traffic and Start Building a Business with Emily Baksa 30.06.2026 59min

  Building a content ecosystem, turning readers into buyers, and solving problems for your audience with Emily Baksa. ----- Welcome to episode 577 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Emily Baksa from Craveworthy Copy. How to Stop Relying on Traffic and Start Building a Business Most food bloggers think about monetization in terms of ads, sponsored content, and affiliate marketing. But what if your content could do something more — actively nurturing readers into buyers and building a business that doesn't depend entirely on traffic? In this episode Emily and Bjork dig into the full picture of how to build a content ecosystem that converts — from the copy on your homepage to your email opt-ins to the products and experiences you sell. They talk about why your email list is the single most powerful connection-building tool you have and why you should focus on solving problems and offering solutions for your audience. Bjork also shares how Pinch of Yum made the leap into selling meal plans and got comfortable with selling — and why starting simpler than you think you need to is almost always the right move. Three episode takeaways: The three types of content every food blogger needs (and how they work together) — Emily breaks down the content framework she uses with food creator clients: visibility content (getting found), connection content (fostering relationships), and trust-building content (positioning you as the go-to resource). She and Bjork talk about how these three types of content form a marketing funnel and how shifting your focus from generating more traffic to building a more loyal audience changes everything about how you show up as a creator. How to get started selling products — Whether it's a meal plan, course, membership, or digital download, Emily makes the case that most food bloggers are closer to selling a product than they think. She walks through how to use lead magnets as beta tests to validate a concept before you invest in building it out and why solving one problem really well will always outperform trying to solve ten problems at once. How to get comfortable with selling and overcome the identity crisis that comes with it — For many food bloggers, the leap from free content creator to product seller comes with a real psychological hurdle. Bjork and Emily discuss how a focused niche makes both your marketing and your products stronger and how to position and market yourself in a way that feels authentic rather than salesy. Resources: Craveworthy Copy Plays Well With Butter 1000 True Fans Gro.co Tastemaker Manychat Pinch of Yum Follow Emily on Instagram and LinkedIn Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast. 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 Rebecca Blackwell Turned Food Blogging into a Six-Figure Digital Business from an RV 23.06.2026 56min

  Diversifying income streams, building community, and personal storytelling with Rebecca Blackwell. ----- Welcome to episode 576 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Rebecca Blackwell. Last week on the podcast, Bjork chatted with Jenna Arend. To go back and listen to that episode, click here. How Rebecca Blackwell Turned Food Blogging into a Six-Figure Digital Business from an RV Rebecca started out as a food blogger, but somewhere along the way, she traded a stable paycheck for a life on the road, running her digital business full-time from an RV! In this episode, she opens up about what that transition actually looked like: the risks she took by leaving a steady job, how the RV lifestyle reshaped her thinking about work and creative freedom, and why she made the strategic decision to manage multiple websites rather than rely on a single income stream. The conversation also gets into the community side of Rebecca's business. Specifically, how she's used Substack to build genuine connections with a growing audience of food writers. She shares practical advice on growing a newsletter, engaging readers, and landing sponsorships that feel like a natural fit. You'll also hear her talk about how she's navigating the challenges of AI and shifting search algorithms, why leaning into personal storytelling has been her biggest differentiator, and what she's learned from building community through mastermind groups and in-person retreats. Three episode takeaways: Diversify your income streams: Branching out to different avenues instead of relying on a single blog or platform gives you more creative freedom and financial stability, especially important in an era of unpredictable algorithm changes! Personal storytelling is your biggest differentiator: As AI and search engines continue to evolve, what sets your content apart isn't information. it's your unique voice, perspective, and lived experience. Rebecca's journey from food blogger to RV-dwelling digital creator is a perfect example of a story no algorithm can replicate. Community is a growth strategy: Whether it's building a newsletter on Substack, joining a mastermind group, or hosting retreats, investing in genuine relationships with your audience and peers pays dividends that go far beyond traffic and page views. Resources: A Little and a Lot Of Batter and Dough Rebecca's Substack: Let's Get Lost Tiny Shiny Home Designing Your Life Substack Mastermind for Food Writers The Food Writers Business Lab Kit Follow Rebecca on Instagram here and here Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens. 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.
• 
  Inside Pinch of Yum's Strategy for Email Growth and Content Distribution with Jenna Arend 16.06.2026 55min

  Welcome to episode 575 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jenna Arend. Inside Pinch of Yum's Strategy for Email Growth and Content Distribution with Jenna Arend This week, Bjork sits down with Jenna Arend, General Manager of Pinch of Yum, as part of our ongoing GRO mini-series. In this episode, she shares how Pinch of Yum is navigating the biggest shifts in the digital landscape right now, from the decline of third-party cookies to the rise of AI, and why those changes have pushed the team to double down on email and Facebook as their most reliable channels. Jenna also gets into the strategy behind keeping a long-running food blog relevant and thriving — from improving older content to creating targeted resources like meal plans and freezer meals. She shares how GRO has helped streamline the process of converting social media followers into loyal email subscribers, and why building that direct line of communication with your audience matters more than ever. If you've been thinking about how to future-proof your content strategy, this one is worth a listen! Three episode takeaways: Adapt your strategy as the digital landscape shifts: With changes like the decline of third-party cookies and the rise of AI, relying solely on search traffic is risky. Pinch of Yum has leaned into email and Facebook as more stable, direct channels — and it's paying off. Don't overlook your existing content: Improving older posts can be just as valuable as creating new ones, especially for a long-running blog looking to maintain relevance and traffic in an ever-changing algorithm environment. Make it easy for followers to become subscribers: A clear call to action paired with genuinely helpful resources — like meal plans or freezer meal guides — gives your audience a real reason to join your email list, and tools like GRO can make that conversion process even smoother. Resources: Pinch of Yum GRO Episode 547 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Inside Crowded Kitchen's Strategy for Growing to 2.4 Million Followers on Facebook Pinch of Yum - Freezer Meals Get Pinch of Yum's Trader Joe's Meal Plan for free here! See the Trader Joe's DM automation in action here! Episode 563 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time with Jason Glaspey OpenClaw Live Q&A with Jenna: Marketing Your Content Follow Pinch of Yum on Instagram and Facebook Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by GRO. 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 Mika Kinney Turned Her 480,000 Instagram Followers into Site Traffic and Revenue 09.06.2026 53min

  Increasing revenue without increasing your workload and mastering Instagram strategy with Mika Kinney from Joy to the Food. ----- Welcome to episode 574 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week, Bjork is back with part two of our GRO mini-series — this time chatting with Mika Kinney from Joy to the Food. How Mika Kinney Turned Her 480,000 Instagram Followers into Site Traffic and Revenue Two years ago, Mika Kinney had 1,000 Instagram followers. Today she has 480,000 — and both she and her husband work full-time on Joy to the Food. That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident, and in this episode Mika breaks down exactly how she did it. Mika started her site in 2021, left her job in September 2023, and went all in on Instagram in January 2024. What followed was a masterclass in understanding what social media can do for a food business — not just as a vanity metric, but as a genuine traffic and revenue source. In this episode, Bjork and Mika dig into the super intentional content strategy behind her growth, how she uses GRO to capture the value of her Instagram audience and drive traffic back to her site, how she (easily!) increased her affiliate income, and why she and her husband recently launched a membership program — all without dramatically increasing their workload. Three episode takeaways: What's actually driving Mika's Instagram growth — Mika breaks down the difference between videos that get reach and videos that get followers and the role of calls to action in Reels. She also shares why showing your face and bringing your personality to your content is one of the most important things you can do and how she structures her content schedule in a way that keeps her consistent without burning out. How Mika uses GRO to turn Instagram attention into real business results —Mika walks through how DM automation and story replies work to reduce friction for her audience, why carousels are her go-to format for reaching a large portion of her existing followers, and how conversational hooks have changed the way she thinks about content. Most importantly, she shares how direct traffic to her site has increased continuously because of GRO — including during a stretch of six to eight months without a single viral video. How Mika is diversifying her revenue without adding to her workload — From sharing two to three affiliate deep links per day (generating an extra $2,000–$3,000 per month) to launching a weekly exclusive recipe membership program with GRO, Mika has built multiple revenue streams on top of her existing content workflow rather than in addition to it. She and Bjork talk through how each revenue stream works, how the membership is structured, and why diversifying away from a single traffic or income source has become essential for food bloggers navigating the current landscape. Resources: Joy to the Food From 1K to 250K: The Instagram Growth Strategy That Transformed Joy to the Food GRO LTK Butcher Box Creator Coach Shop My Maximizing Affiliate Revenue with Deep Linking Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook Feast Mika Creative Follow Mika on Instagram Register for the Q&A: Google Updates, AI Search, and What Actually Matters for Your Blog in 2026 Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by GRO. 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.
• 
  What's Actually Working for Food Creators Right Now with Ben Jabbawy from GRO 02.06.2026 57min

  Increasing your traffic, growing your email list, and diversifying your revenue with Ben Jabbawy from GRO. ----- Welcome to episode 573 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, to kick-off a new mini-series, Bjork is interviewing Ben Jabbawy from GRO (formerly known as Grocers List). What's Actually Working for Food Creators Right Now If you've been looking for a smarter way to turn your social media followers into website visitors, email subscribers, and paying members — this episode is for you. Ben Jabbawy and his team at GRO have sent over 100 million DMs across Instagram and Facebook on behalf of their food creator customers. That kind of scale gives Ben a uniquely data-driven lens into what's actually working for food creators right now — and in this episode, he shares it with us! Bjork and Ben chat about recent changes in the social media landscape, dig into the strategies of successful food creators, and discuss why Facebook is suddenly driving a major surge in traffic for food bloggers. They also get into the email side of things and how GRO's new membership program lets food bloggers offer an ad-free experience or exclusive recipes directly on their site — no coding required. Three episode takeaways: What's actually working on Instagram and Facebook right now — Ben and Bjork dive into why carousel posts are performing so well for creators right now, including how to capture an audience with carousel posts and how to reuse your evergreen content for carousel posts. They also chat about Facebook strategy and explain where to include recipe links in your posts to get the biggest reach and the most click-throughs. How to grow your email list using the content you're already creating — Ben walks through two high-converting email list growth strategies that food bloggers can implement right now: a simple "email to save recipe" prompt and a comment-for-DM lead magnet approach that delivers real value to your audience while building your list. He and Bjork talk about why building your email list through social media is one of the most important things you can do to protect your business from algorithm changes, and how GRO's improved functionality makes this easier than ever. How to launch a membership program directly on your food blog — GRO's new membership feature lets food bloggers offer an ad-free experience or exclusive recipes to paying members — integrated directly into their site. Ben shares the key ingredients for building a meaningful revenue stream out of memberships, including the price points he recommends, what actually drives sign-ups, and how to think about what recipes to put behind a paywall. Resources: GRO.co Pinch of Yum Pinch of Yum Trader Joe's Meal Plans Inside Crowded Kitchen's Strategy for Growing to 2.4 Million Followers on Facebook How Food Dolls Turned Facebook Into Their Top Traffic Source Sally's Baking Joy to the Food Stay Snatched Mediavine Raptive Kit — affiliate link! How Pinch of Yum Uses Instagram to Grow Their Email List Substack Food Empires Follow GRO on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by GRO. 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 Sustain Long-Term Creativity Without Burning Out with Josh Zimmerman 26.05.2026 57min

  Avoiding creator burnout and reconnecting with your "why" with Josh Zimmerman of Creator Coach.  ----- Welcome to episode 572 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Josh Zimmerman.  How to Sustain Long-Term Creativity Without Burning Out with Josh Zimmerman What happens when your personal brand is you and the work starts to feel like too much? Josh Zimmerman knows this territory well. After a career in journalism, he made the pivot to life coaching specifically for creators, drawn to the unique pressures that come with building a business around your identity and your output. In this episode, Josh and Bjork dig into the mental side of creative work; specifically, why burnout hits creators differently, how to reconnect with the "why" behind what you do, and what it actually looks like to build a sustainable creative business for the long haul. They also talk about the role of fractional C-suite executives and how bringing in the right support can help you manage the business side of things without losing your creative spark. If you've ever felt the weight of your work pressing in on your sense of self, this episode is a great reminder that you're not alone. and that there's a way forward. Three episode takeaways: Your identity and your work are not the same thing: When your personal brand is built around who you are, it's easy for criticism or creative slumps to feel deeply personal. Recognizing that separation — and actively protecting it — is key to long-term sustainability as a creator.  How to reconnect with your "why": When motivation starts to fade, the answer isn't always to push harder. Getting clear on your core motivations and the reasons you started creating in the first place can be one of the most practical things you do for your business. You don't have to run every part of your business alone: Bringing in outside support can free you up to focus on the creative work you actually love, without letting the operational side of your business drain your energy and spark. Resources: Creator Coach YouTube Nation jzmanagement Episode 563 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time with Jason Glaspey Follow Creator Coach on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens. 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.
• 
  Leaving Your Day Job and Scaling a Food Blog with Pinterest with Sharlene Murrell 19.05.2026 55min

  Leveraging Pinterest for growth and the "ready, fire, aim" mindset with Sharlene Murrell of Good Enough Moming.  ----- Welcome to episode 571 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sharlene Murrell.  Leaving Your Day Job and Scaling a Food Blog with Pinterest with Sharlene Murrell In this episode, Bjork Ostrom sits down with Sharlene to explore her journey of building a thriving food blog by mastering Pinterest. Sharlene shares how adopting a "ready, fire, aim" mindset and overcoming early struggles with keyword research helped her rapidly scale her traffic and income after leaving her day job. The conversation also dives into actionable Pinterest strategies, including targeting broad keywords, creating multiple pins per post, and leveraging tools like Canva. They round out the conversation with practical advice on capitalizing on seasonal trends, maintaining consistency, and overcoming imposter syndrome. No matter where you are in your food blogging journey, this episode is packed with inspiration and tactics for creators ready to take action! Three episode takeaways:  The "ready, fire, aim" mindset: Sharlene's success highlights the importance of the "ready, fire, aim" approach. Launching quickly and iterating based on feedback can accelerate your growth and help you identify what resonates with your audience.  Leveraging Pinterest for growth: By mastering keyword research and targeting broad keywords, Sharlene effectively used Pinterest to drive significant traffic to her blog. Consistency and understanding the platform's seasonal nature are crucial for success. How to repurpose content creatively: Sharlene emphasizes the value of repurposing content across different platforms and formats. This strategy not only saves time but also maximizes exposure and engagement with diverse audiences! Resources: Good Enough Moming Farmhouse on Boone Raptive Mediavine The Simple Pin Podcast PinClicks PinnerAnalytics EasyPinScheduler PinnerPress Canva Chuy's Follow Sharlene on Instagram and Pinterest Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast. 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 Jenn Lueke Grew to 1.7 Million Followers with Budget Meal Planning Content 12.05.2026 50min

  Strategies for growing on Instagram and Substack, the importance of staying consistent, and leaning into data with Jenn Lueke from Jenn Eats Goood. ----- Welcome to episode 570 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jenn Lueke. How Jenn Lueke Grew to 1.7 Million Followers with Budget Meal Planning Content Jenn Lueke started Jenn Eats Goood in 2018 as a college student — no strategy, no monetization plan, just a hobby Instagram account she loved running. For five years, growth was slow, but she remained consistent. Then in 2023, something clicked. She leaned into meal planning and budget grocery content, and everything changed. Within a year, she went from stalling in the thousands to crossing one million followers. In this episode, Jenn and Bjork chat about all of it — what finally worked, how she prioritizes data in her content strategy, which platforms she's focusing on right now, and why she now considers her Substack newsletter her number one priority. Three episode takeaways: The importance of leaning into what is working — It took five years of trial and error, learning, experimenting, and testing before Jenn's following on social media started to grow. Her meal planning content really resonated with her audience, so she capitalized on the momentum of the series to grow her community (rather than reinventing the wheel)! How Jenn built her team — Growth brings new challenges, and Jenn is candid about how hard it was to build a team in the beginning and what the division of labor looks like now that she's figured it out. Why Jenn made Substack her number one priority — After just a couple of years, Substack is now the biggest revenue driver in Jenn's business. She and Bjork talk about how she balances free and paid content, what drives growth on Substack, and why it is the most important part of her business right now. Resources: Jenn Eats Goood Liz Moody Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell Q&A: Using Substack as a Food Creator — for Food Blogger Pro members Don't Think About Dinner Follow Jenn on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Substack, and YouTube Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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.
• 
  How to Write Emails Your Readers Actually Want to Open with Liz Wilcox 05.05.2026 54min

  Building a thriving email list, setting boundaries for your business, and leaning into your voice with Liz Wilcox. ----- Welcome to episode 569 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Liz Wilcox. How to Write Emails Your Readers Actually Want to Open Early on in Liz's career as a content creator, she noticed a pattern: the most successful creators all had one thing in common — a thriving email list. So she started hers from day one, and she never looked back. In the following years, Liz sold her travel blog, went all in on teaching email marketing, built a membership with 4,000 members, and — plot twist — competed on Survivor while her business kept running, generating $1,000 a day in revenue while she was literally on an island with no phone. In this episode, Liz and Bjork talk about what it actually takes to build an email list that drives real business results, how she transitioned from one-on-one client work to a scalable membership model, and why she believes the biggest thing holding most creators back from email success isn't strategy — it's that they've stopped sounding like themselves. She also shares the mindset shifts, boundary-setting practices, and growth tactics that have made her business not just profitable, but genuinely sustainable. Three episode takeaways: Why email is the most important investment you can make in your business — Liz shares the tactics that have worked for building her list and her membership to 4,000 members, including live events, collaborations, freebie swaps, and affiliate marketing. She also talks about why getting in front of people and showing your face matters more than ever and why giving people a real reason to trust you is the foundation everything else is built on. How Liz built a business with real boundaries — From knowing what "enough" looks like financially to the practice of saying no, Liz talks about the discipline and intentionality that have shaped her business. The biggest email mistakes food creators make (and how to fix them) — Liz has seen a lot of creator newsletters, and she knows exactly where things go wrong. She shares the most common mistakes she sees and why leaning into your humanity, writing like yourself, and showing that you're genuinely invested in your readers can make all the difference. Resources: LizWilcox.com Kirk DeWindt Morgan Housel Kit Craft + Commerce Liz's Email Marketing Membership Follow Liz on Instagram and Facebook Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast and zZest. 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.
• 
  Food Blogging News Roundtable: AI Buttons, Instagram Links, and Google Rewriting Your Titles 28.04.2026 31min

  Breaking down the pros and cons of AI Buttons, discussing clickable links in Instagram, and digging into Google's test replacing search titles with AI-generated titles with Bjork Ostrom and Emily Walker from Food Blogger Pro. ----- Welcome to episode 568 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork is sitting down to chat with Emily Walker from the Food Blogger Pro team! Food Blogging News Roundtable: AI Buttons, Instagram Links, and Google Rewriting Your Titles In this roundtable episode, Bjork and Emily break down the biggest stories impacting food creators so you can stay informed and make smart decisions for your business. From a new HubSpot marketing report that has some encouraging news for creators who lead with their personality, to a quiet Google experiment that could have big implications for every recipe title you've ever carefully crafted — there's a lot to cover! Bjork and Emily also dig into the AI button debate (should you install one on your site?), what Instagram's new caption link test means for food bloggers, and how Pinch of Yum approaches testing site changes before rolling them out broadly. Four episode takeaways: Good news for food creators who show up as real humans — 63% of marketers say that more unique, human-centered content is now required to stand out. Bjork and Emily break down what this means for food bloggers specifically, why short-form video has the highest ROI of any content format right now, and why thinking of yourself as a marketer — with a novel, standout, distinct brand — is more important than ever. Everything you need to know about AI buttons — Should you install an AI button on your site? Bjork and Emily explain what AI buttons are, how they work, and the pros and cons of adding one from both a user experience and SEO perspective. Instagram is testing clickable links in post captions — For the first time in Instagram's history, the platform is testing the ability to embed clickable links directly inside post captions. Right now the feature is limited to Meta Verified subscribers, but if it rolls out broadly it would be a meaningful shift for food creators. Bjork and Emily discuss what this could mean for your content strategy and what we know (and don't know) so far. Google is experimenting with replacing your titles with AI-generated ones — As part of a small experiment, Google is testing replacing original post titles with AI-generated titles in traditional search results, with the stated goal of rewriting "tone and intent to better match queries and boost engagement." Bjork and Emily break down why this is concerning for food bloggers — from negating careful keyword research and ruining brand voice to creating a mismatch with user intent — and how this differs from Google's long-standing practice of rewriting meta descriptions. Resources: The State of Marketing AI buttons: Smart UX play, risky GEO tactic, or both? Feast Hubbub Shareaholic Instagram tests clickable links in post captions for Meta Verified users Google confirms AI headline rewrites test in Search results SEO Testing What Food Bloggers Need to Know About AI Search and the Fight for Fair Traffic with Adam Gallagher from Inspired Taste Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens and zZest. 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 Write a Cookbook Proposal and Land a Book Deal with Sally Ekus 21.04.2026 50min

  Writing a compelling book proposal, demystifying the financial reality of cookbook publishing, and sharing what publishers are looking for in a cookbook author with Sally Ekus from The Ekus Group. ----- Welcome to episode 567 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sally Ekus. How to Write a Cookbook Proposal and Land a Book Deal with Sally Ekus Have you ever wondered what it actually takes to get a cookbook deal — and whether your platform is big enough to make it happen? Sally Ekus, a literary agent specializing in the cookbook space, is here to pull back the curtain on the entire process. In this episode, Sally shares exactly what she looks for when evaluating potential cookbook authors, how to build a proposal that stands out, and what a realistic book deal might look like depending on the size of your audience. Whether you're dreaming of a cookbook or just starting to explore the idea, this episode will give you a clear and honest roadmap for what the path forward actually looks like. Three episode takeaways: What publishers are really looking for in a cookbook author — Sally breaks down the four pillars she evaluates in every potential author: platform, concept, voice, and personality. She explains why your social media following matters (and which platforms publishers care most about), why a consistent email newsletter can set you apart, and how to demonstrate that you can actually convert your audience into book buyers. How to write a compelling cookbook proposal — A great proposal goes far beyond a list of recipes. Sally walks through what to include, how to articulate your unique concept, and why aligning your book idea with the stories you already tell in your content is so important. She also shares how a standout proposal can help offset a smaller following — because showing how you reach your audience is just as important as how many people you reach. The financial reality of cookbook publishing — From the structure of a book advance to earning it out, royalties, and what a deal might realistically look like based on your platform size, Sally demystifies the money side of cookbook publishing. She also makes the case for why many creators write cookbooks even knowing most won't earn beyond the advance — brand extension, legacy, and sharing a meaningful message are all powerful reasons to pursue it. Resources: The Ekus Group Not So Secret Agent 391: Behind the Scenes of the Cookbook Publishing Process with Sally Ekus JVNLA Lat14 Karyn Tomlinson Theo of Golden Pinch of Yum Follow Sally on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast. 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
• 
  What Food Bloggers Need to Know About AI Search and the Fight for Fair Traffic with Adam Gallagher from Inspired Taste 14.04.2026 53min

  Navigating the AI Search landscape and advocating for fair traffic for food bloggers with Adam Gallagher from Inspired Taste. ----- Welcome to episode 566 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Adam Gallagher from Inspired Taste. What Food Bloggers Need to Know About AI Search and the Fight for Fair Traffic Adam and Joanne Gallagher have been running Inspired Taste since 2009 — long enough to have lived through every major shift in how Google works, from early SEO best practices to AI Overviews. But what's happening right now feels different, and Adam isn't staying quiet about it. In this episode, Adam and Bjork dig into the current state of search from the perspective of a creator who has spent 15+ years playing by Google's rules — only to watch those rules change in ways that feel fundamentally unfair to creators. This is also a conversation about what comes next — equal parts anxiety and optimism — and what creators can actually do right now to advocate for a more fair and sustainable version of AI-powered search. Three episode takeaways: What AI Overviews are doing to your traffic — Adam breaks down what position zero actually means and how AI Overviews are affecting the gap between impressions and click-through rates. He and Bjork also unpack the strange irony at the heart of the current moment: Google spent years penalizing creators for scaled content, and is now surfacing AI-generated recipes — essentially the definition of scaled content — at the top of search results. Why Adam chose to block AI crawlers from Inspired Taste — Adam shares the reasoning behind his decision to block ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude from crawling his site, and why he believes creators have both the right and the responsibility to push back on how their content is being used. What you can do now to improve the future of search for food creators — Adam shares what he believes needs to change in how Google handles AI Mode and AI search results to make them more fair for creators, and why he thinks advocacy could actually move the needle. He also talks about the importance of communicating directly with your audience about what's happening to help them understand why supporting independent creators and seeking out real, tested recipes matters (watch the two Reels linked in the Resources section to see how Adam and Joanne are doing this at Inspired Taste). Resources: Inspired Taste AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet — And Thanksgiving Dinner Raptive Pinch of Yum Cloudflare NerdPress The Last Invention Robby Stein Rajan Patel First Instagram Reel about AI Recipes Second Instagram Reel about AI Recipes NBC News: Why AI holiday recipes can't handle the heat Follow Inspired Taste on Instagram and Adam on LinkedIn Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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.
• 
  How to Keep Creating Without Burning Out with Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things 07.04.2026 53min

  Prioritizing joy-led content creation, leaning into email, and building a sustainable business as a food creator with Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things. ----- Welcome to episode 565 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things. How to Keep Creating Without Burning Out Ashlea Carver has been creating food content for ten years, and in that time she's built a well-rounded and financially diversified businesses. But longevity in this industry isn't just about strategy — it's about learning how to navigate the harder parts of being a creator online. In this episode, Ashlea and Bjork dig into the mindset shifts that have kept her going — how she handles comparison and how she's made a deliberate choice to lead with joy in her business decisions to avoid burnout. They also get into the practical side of her business — why her blog is still her most valuable platform and biggest revenue driver, why she's prioritizing email, and how she thinks about Instagram in an era where personality-forward content is so important. It's an honest conversation about building a business that lasts — one that doesn't burn you out, doesn't make you dependent on any single platform, and actually feels good to run. Three episode takeaways: Why slowing down is one of the most important things you can do for your business — Ashlea shares why she carves out intentional time a few times a year for an "owner's retreat" — a dedicated window to step back, assess what's working and what isn't, and make decisions from a place of clarity rather than reaction. She and Bjork talk about the difference between being driven by purpose versus being driven by numbers, and why leaning into joy is a legitimate business strategy. Why your blog and email list are still your most valuable assets — Ashlea shares why her blog remains her biggest revenue driver and why owning your platform matters now more than ever. She also explains how she's built an email strategy around three weekly broadcasts, what she's experimenting with on the paid subscriber side, and why email is the best buffer she has against algorithm changes. How Ashlea is thinking about AI, Instagram, and the future of her brand — From her decision to bring more personality into her content as a direct response to the rise of AI, to her thoughtful reluctance to lean too heavily into AI tools in her own workflow, Ashlea shares a refreshingly intentional approach to showing up online. She also breaks down what her monetization mix actually looks like — ad revenue, sponsored content, affiliate — and why she hired an agency to help manage brand partnerships. Resources: All the Healthy Things Fit Foodie Finds Grow Your Email List and Connect with Your Audience with Allea Grummert Duett 398: The Importance of Surveying Your Audience with Email with Allea Grummert 288: Email for Bloggers – Maximizing the Value of Your Email List with Allea Grummert 229: Email Marketing – Strategies for Bloggers with Allea Grummert Kit Grocers List Mediavine Raptive Turning Followers into Revenue with Ben Jabbawy from Grocers List How Molly Thompson Grew Her Email List from 15K to 100K Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time with Jason Glaspey CookIt Media Sally McKenney from Sally's Baking Addiction on Creating Success Follow Ashlea on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast. 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.
• 
  Reinventing a Food Blog After an 80% Traffic Drop with Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen 31.03.2026 1h 1min

  What happens when SEO stops working, rebuilding after a major traffic drop, and navigating AI and the future of blogging with Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen. ----- Welcome to episode 564 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen. Reinventing a Food Blog After an 80% Traffic Drop Carrie Forrest has been blogging since 2009 and has experienced the full range of highs and lows that come with building an online business. When Bjork first interviewed her in 2018, she was already growing Clean Eating Kitchen with simple, healthy recipes and a strong foundation in SEO and keyword research. Between 2022 and 2024, that strategy paid off in a big way — Carrie grew her site from a few hundred thousand monthly pageviews to nearly one million. But with the rollout of AI Overviews, many of the keyword-driven and how-to posts she relied on were hit hard, leading to an 80% traffic drop almost overnight. In this episode, Carrie shares how she's navigating this rebuild season — from leaning into her email list and YouTube to focusing on what AI can't replicate: human connection, empathy, and transformation. It's an honest conversation about the shifting landscape for online creators and what reinvention can look like after years of success. Three episode takeaways: Why it can be difficult to diversify when one strategy is working extremely well — We talk all the time about the importance of diversifying your revenue and traffic streams, but that can be hard to do in reality! Carrie talks about why she struggled to listen to that advice and how hard it is to focus energy on diversifying when your current strategy is doing so well. How Carrie is approaching a rebuild season after an 80% drop in traffic — Bjork and Carrie discuss the ebbs and flows of running an online business, how Carrie recovers from big traffic dips, and how a beginner mindset is helping her feel more creative than ever before. Why focusing on human connection, creativity, and audience relationships matters more than ever — Carrie shares her current outlook for her blog and explains why she is leaning into her humanity and connection with her audience instead of information and transaction. Resources: Clean Eating Kitchen 152: 6 Blogging Mistakes Made By a Veteran Food Blogger with Carrie Forrest 278: Lessons from a Veteran Food Blogger – How to Overcome a 60% Dip in Traffic with Carrie Forrest Media Wyse TopHatRank The Money Café with Alan Kohler NerdPress February Blogging Newsletter — debunking the myth that search is dying, AI Frankenstein recipes, Pinterest, and more! The Gap and The Gain Follow Carrie on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast and 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.
• 
  Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time with Jason Glaspey 24.03.2026 1h 7min

  How to use AI to manage information overload, simple ways to start using AI tools in your business, and what OpenClaw is and how it works with Jason Glaspey. ----- Welcome to episode 563 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jason Glaspey. Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time AI is everywhere right now — and for creators, it can feel equal parts exciting and overwhelming. Between shifting algorithms, constant platform changes, and an increasingly noisy internet, many creators feel like they're stuck in "defense mode" just trying to keep up. In this episode, Jason Glaspey shares his journey from internet entrepreneur to AI builder and explains how creators can start using AI tools in practical ways to simplify their workflows. Bjork and Jason talk about the current state of the internet, why creators often feel stuck reacting instead of exploring new opportunities, and how AI can help shift that mindset. Jason also introduces OpenClaw, an AI-powered tool designed to proactively help with tasks and projects. They discuss how it works, how they're using it in their own workflows, and how tools like OpenClaw can automate repetitive tasks — like grammar checks, link audits, and SEO reviews — so creators can focus on what really matters: making compelling, human-centered content. If you've been curious about how to use AI in your business without losing the human element, this episode will give you a helpful starting point. Three episode takeaways: How AI can help you manage information overload and stay in discover mode — The internet has never been more engaging — or more overwhelming. With constant updates, endless content streams, and shifting algorithms, creators often feel like they're reacting instead of exploring new ideas. Jason explains why the internet today can feel addictive but less satisfying, and how tools like AI can help filter out the noise so you get out of defense mode can focus on meaningful creative work. Simple ways to start using AI tools in your business — A huge portion of running an online business involves repetitive, administrative tasks — things like proofreading posts, checking links, auditing content for SEO best practices, and cleaning up older posts. Jason shares how AI tools can take over this "grunt work," freeing up your time and energy. What OpenClaw is and how it works — Unlike many AI tools that simply respond to prompts, OpenClaw is designed to be proactive. Jason and Bjork discuss how they're using it to manage projects, monitor tasks, and automate parts of their workflow. Resources: JasonGlaspey.com Fleet of Geniuses Non-Traditional Success – Optimizing for Happiness with Jason Glaspey OpenClaw Telegram Slack Discord Github Claude Notion CopyClub.ai Email Jason Follow Jason on Twitter Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens. 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.
• 
  The Road to 1 Million Pageviews with Rachel Kirk from Laughing Spatula 17.03.2026 53min

  Growing a 20-year food blog in today's search landscape and building engagement through authenticity with Rachel Kirk from Laughing Spatula. ----- Welcome to episode 562 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Rachel Kirk from Laughing Spatula. The Road to 1 Million Pageviews with Rachel Kirk from Laughing Spatula Rachel's mom, Kathi, started Laughing Spatula 20 years ago, and it has now grown into a full-time business for both women. In this interview, Bjork and Rachel talk through the changing search landscape, the challenges of the last few years as food creators, and what is keeping them going. Rachel is working towards a goal of 1 million monthly pageviews (they're currently around 300,000 - 500,000 pageviews a month) and Bjork provides his advice on what changes he would recommend to move the needle. If you're looking to increase your pageviews or revenue this year (hello, who isn't?) and want to join Rachel in her challenge, don't miss this episode! Three episode takeaways: Solve problems for your audience — Leaning into your humanity and authenticity is more important than ever, and one easy way to do that is to document your life, solve your own problems, and share that with your audience. Rachel shares her goal to share more behind-the-scenes content and problem-solving series on social media to boost engagement and highlight her humanity. The importance of updating old content — Laughing Spatula has almost 1,000 recipes, and Rachel has been focusing on updating old recipes, improving internal linking, and compiling how-to posts to refresh existing content. How to respond to algorithm updates — The increase of AI and constant algorithm updates can without a doubt be demoralizing. Bjork and Rachel discuss how to stay positive and what changes you can make to your business to create more stability and predictability. Resources: Laughing Spatula Giggling Fork Mediavine Clariti NerdPress Raptive Grocers List Kit Applesauce and ADHD Follow Rachel and Kathi on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast and Grocers List. 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.