The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

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  Creating Connection and Equity in the Creator Space with Yoli Ouiya 15.09.2026 48dk

  Making sustainable choices, building genuine trust through branding, and the power of community. ----- Welcome to episode 588 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Yoli Ouiya from Food + Wellness Equity Collective.  Creating Connection and Equity in the Creator Space with Yoli Ouiya 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! Three episode takeaways: 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 Thank you to our sponsors! 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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Building Smarter Systems as a Creator with Andrew Wilder and Miranda Wicker 08.09.2026 1sa 11dk

  Rethinking how you work and implementing guardrails for AI with Andrew Wilder and Miranda Wicker of NerdPress. ----- Welcome to episode 587 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Andrew Wilder and Miranda Wicker of NerdPress.  Building Smarter Systems as a Creator with Andrew Wilder and Miranda Wicker 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! Three episode takeaways: 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 Thank you to our sponsors! 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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Reinventing Yourself as a Creator with Timothy Pakron from Mississippi Vegan 01.09.2026 1sa 4dk

  Standing out with your story, treating your blog like an ecosystem, and reinventing yourself as a creator with Timothy Pakron from Mississippi Vegan. ----- Welcome to episode 586 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Timothy Pakron from Mississippi Vegan. Reinventing Yourself as a Creator Timothy came to food blogging by way of studio art and his passion for fresh produce, not the blog itself. He started sharing his photography and vegan recipes on Instagram first, built an audience there, and landed a cookbook deal before he ever put much focus into a blog. In this conversation, Bjork and Timothy talk through what it looks like to build a body of work around a strong personal point of view, and why story and connection have carried his career from Instagram to a second cookbook (Garden Variety), and a thriving blog. They also chat about the practical side of running a content business today: how Timothy uses AI tools as a strategy partner for auditing and refining old posts, how he's adjusting to a search and social media landscape that keep shifting under everyone's feet, and how he thinks about his blog less as a static archive and more as an ecosystem that needs constant tending. If you're trying to figure out how to stand out with your story or navigate a creative career that has real ups and downs, this episode is for you. Three episode takeaways: Treat your blog like an ecosystem — Timothy doesn't think of his site as a place where posts go once and stay finished. He walks through why constant refinement, from updated photos to reworked copy, keeps older content fresh and performing well, and how he uses AI to help spot which posts need attention and to sharpen his strategy around them. Your story is your differentiator — With a background in studio art, Timothy has always leaned into what makes his perspective his own. He talks about his passion for the creative process, being intentional with how he shares his story and connects with his audience, and why that connection matters more as content gets easier to produce at scale. Watch the industry without falling into comparison — Timothy shares how he stays aware of what other creators are doing without letting it eat into his time or his creative confidence. He talks about drawing inspiration from other people's success instead of measuring himself against it, and why he sees his creative expression as something no one else can replicate. Resources: Mississippi Vegan Garden Variety Cookbook Pinch of Yum Keysearch Mississippi Vegan Gumbo Jeremy Finds AI Raptive Mediavine Pinch of Yum Income Reports Ugmonk Follow Timothy on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Why Trust Matters More Than Detection in the Age of AI with Jeremy Carrasco 25.08.2026 1sa 5dk

  Transparency around your AI workflow and protecting your creative voice with Jeremy Carrasco from Jeremy Finds AI.  ----- Welcome to episode 585 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jeremy Carrasco, the creator behind Jeremy Finds AI and founder of Riddance.  Why Trust Matters More Than Detection in the Age of AI with Jeremy Carrasco Pop quiz! Can you actually spot AI-generated content if you saw it? Jeremy's background in live streaming, encoding, and video production gave him an early edge in identifying synthetic content, but as AI videos get more realistic, he explains why that edge is disappearing fast, and why the old advice to simply "train your eye" isn't enough anymore. In this episode, Jeremy makes the case that the real question isn't "can you spot AI?" but "do you trust the source?" He and Bjork get into the difference between acceptable and deceptive AI use, why disclosing your AI workflow might actually build more trust with your audience, and what "human-forward" creation looks like in an increasingly synthetic feed. Jeremy also shares candidly how he uses AI in his own work, and why he refuses to let it touch his creative edge. If you create content in any capacity, this conversation gives you a clear-eyed look at where trust is headed next and what it'll take to hold onto yours. Three episode takeaways: Spotting AI is basically a coin flip now: The days of "train your eye to catch AI" are over — content's gotten too realistic, and platform algorithms make it even trickier to know what's real. Trust in the source matters way more than trying to detect fakes. There's a real difference between using AI and hiding AI: Being upfront about your AI workflow can actually build more trust with your audience, not less. It's not about ditching the tools — it's about being honest when you use them. The smartest move right now is doubling down on being human: As AI gets faster and cheaper, the creators who protect their creative voice and stay unmistakably them are the ones who'll stand out in an increasingly synthetic feed. Resources: Jeremy Finds AI Riddance Lion's Den YouTube channel: RocketJump Zach King's YouTube channel YouTube star Hank Green apologizes for ChatGPT overuse after fans accuse him of including a prompt by mistake — Fortune Patreon Substack YouTube short from Jeremy Finds AI: This political influencer isn't real Why Nobody Can Stop AI Art Scams — Jeremy Finds AI on YouTube Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Claude as a Food Blogger with Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju 18.08.2026 1sa 5dk

  Using AI to run a smarter food blog, understanding the different Claude tools, and moving beyond using AI as a chatbot with Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju from Urban Farmie. ----- Welcome to episode 584 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju from Urban Farmie. A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Claude as a Food Blogger Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju recently made the leap from a successful career in management consulting to become a full-time content creator with Urban Farmie. Her background in business strategy didn't disappear when she made the switch, and it has become one the most valuable tools in her toolbox, especially when it comes to how she uses AI in her business. In this episode, Shruthi shares how she's moved well beyond using Claude as a chatbot and has started treating it as a genuine business partner — delegating tasks, building custom skills, and creating systems that let her spend more time on the work only she can do. If you've been curious about AI but aren't sure how to actually integrate it into your workflow in a meaningful way, this episode is a great place to start. Three episode takeaways: There are different stages to incorporating AI into your workflow — and most people stop too early — Using Claude to answer a question or draft a caption is just the beginning. Shruthi walks through what it looks like to move from using AI as a chatbot to using it as a true assistant: one that handles mundane, repeatable tasks on your behalf so you can focus on the work that brings you joy. Custom skills are one of the most powerful AI features for food bloggers — Shruthi has built a library of Claude skills tailored to her business — including one that creates a virtual board of advisors to help her think through decisions. She breaks down what a skill actually is, what makes a good first skill to build, how to workshop and iterate on a skill until it does exactly what you want, and how she uses skills to write and refine standard operating procedures for her team. Understanding your AI tools makes all the difference — Knowing when to use Claude Chat vs. CoWork vs. Design vs. Code can save you a lot of frustration. Shruthi explains the differences between the tools, walks through how connectors like QuickBooks work, and shares why auditing your AI workflows on a monthly basis is key to getting the most out of the tools available to you. Resources: Urban Farmie TED: The unsung heroes fighting malnutrition Mise en Claude TextExpander Inside Crowded Kitchen's Strategy for Growing to 2.4 Million Followers on Facebook How Mika Kinney Turned Her 480,000 Instagram Followers into Site Traffic and Revenue WisprFlow Airtable Shruthi's AI Challenge for Food Bloggers — use code "FBP" for $45 off Follow Shruthi on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Why Jeanelle Castro Thinks YouTube Is the Most Powerful Social Platform for Food Creators 11.08.2026 52dk

  Building a thriving food blog by putting YouTube first, growing to 2 million subscribers on YouTube, and using social media to drive blog traffic with Jeanelle Castro from Jeanelleats. ----- Welcome to episode 583 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jeanelle Castro from JeanellEats. Why Jeanelle Castro Thinks YouTube Is the Most Powerful Social Platform for Food Creators Jeanelle started Jeanelleats ten years ago while still working a 9-to–5 — but she knew she had always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and she always loved making videos. In 2016 she started posting on YouTube, got serious about tracking her metrics and posting consistently, and within a few months her channel started taking off. Today she has nearly 2 million subscribers on YouTube! In this episode, Jeanelle shares how she built a content system where YouTube is the engine that drives everything else — including her blog traffic, her Google rankings, and her brand deals. She explains how she uses YouTube Shorts to drive traffic to her site (her CTA is simple: "head to Jeanelleats for the recipe!"), and why she believes that the success of a social post and the performance of a blog post are more correlated than most creators realize. Three episode takeaways: Promoting YouTube videos of your recipes can improve your Google ranking — Jeanelle has noticed a real correlation between pushing a YouTube video of a recipe and that recipe's performance in Google search. Since YouTube is owned by Google, there's a connection between video engagement and search visibility that food bloggers with a YouTube presence can take advantage of. Combined with the branded search that grows when your social content performs well, this is another reason to prioritize video even if SEO has felt out of reach. What a YouTube first posting strategy looks like — Jeanelle publishes to YouTube first, then reposts to Instagram and TikTok. She explains her posting cadence, why YouTube is her #1 platform from both an audience and revenue perspective, and how she thinks about Instagram differently — it's less important for direct revenue, but it still matters for brand partnerships. Why Jeanelle is leaning into her blog and how it fits into her overall revenue — While brand deals remain her number one income source, her blog revenue has recently surpassed her YouTube AdSense revenue. The blog has become her priority precisely because it's the most stable and predictable of the three — and she's noticed a direct link between promoting YouTube videos of her recipes and improved Google rankings for those same posts (a win win)! Resources: Jeanelleats LinkDM Raptive Clariti GRO Manychat Follow Jeanelle on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok 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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Building Brand Authority Through PR with Lydia Bagarozza 04.08.2026 57dk

  Building and positioning your brand through earned media and PR with Lydia Bagarozza from Visibility on Purpose. ----- Welcome to episode 582 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Lydia Bagarozza.  Building Brand Authority Through PR with Lydia Bagarozza Have you ever wondered how food creators and brands land coverage in respected publications, and whether that kind of press is even worth chasing? In this episode, Bjork sits down with PR expert Lydia Bagarozza to demystify proactive PR, showing that it's less about crisis control and more about shaping brand perception and earning credibility through the media. Lydia breaks down how to pitch timely, newsworthy stories to the right editors and producers, and why clear positioning and specific expertise can turn a pitch into a yes. The conversation also makes the case for PR as a long-term investment. Lydia explains how appearing in respected publications and local news builds social proof, backlinks, and brand signals that feed into SEO, AI visibility, and trust, and she shares go-to tools like Qwoted, Connectively, and Help a Reporter Out for finding real media opportunities. If you've been curious about earning press for your brand, this episode is a great place to start! Three episode takeaways: PR is about long-term brand building, not just crisis management: Proactive PR helps shape how your brand is perceived, builds awareness, and earns credibility through the media well before you ever need it for damage control. Positioning and specificity make pitches easier to say yes to: Editors and producers are more likely to cover you when your pitch is timely, newsworthy, and grounded in clear, specific expertise rather than a generic pitch about your brand. Earned media pays off beyond just visibility: Appearing in respected publications and local news builds social proof and backlinks that can strengthen SEO, AI visibility, and overall trust — and there are accessible tools like Qwoted, Connectively, and Help a Reporter Out to help you find real opportunities, whether you go the DIY or agency route. Resources: Visibility on Purpose GRAZA The Minnesota Star Tribune Food & Wine Bon Appetit The New York Times The Atlantic Good Morning America Claude Martha Stewart VegNews The Pioneer Woman ChatGPT Entrepeneur Inc. Forbes Qwoted (affiliate link!) WisprFlow Featured Connectively Help A Reporter Out Follow Visibility on Purpose on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  What's Actually Holding Your Food Blog Back in Search with Liane Walker from Foodie Digital 28.07.2026 1sa 6dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Why Personality Is the New Competitive Advantage with Sam Vander Wielen 21.07.2026 50dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How Search Is Changing and What Food Bloggers Need to Do About It with Casey Markee 14.07.2026 54dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How Josh Gale Grew His Audience to 1.2M+ in Under a Year by Leading with Storytelling 07.07.2026 52dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How to Stop Relying on Traffic and Start Building a Business with Emily Baksa 30.06.2026 59dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How Rebecca Blackwell Turned Food Blogging into a Six-Figure Digital Business from an RV 23.06.2026 56dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Inside Pinch of Yum's Strategy for Email Growth and Content Distribution with Jenna Arend 16.06.2026 55dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How Mika Kinney Turned Her 480,000 Instagram Followers into Site Traffic and Revenue 09.06.2026 53dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  What's Actually Working for Food Creators Right Now with Ben Jabbawy from GRO 02.06.2026 57dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How to Sustain Long-Term Creativity Without Burning Out with Josh Zimmerman 26.05.2026 57dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  Leaving Your Day Job and Scaling a Food Blog with Pinterest with Sharlene Murrell 19.05.2026 55dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How Jenn Lueke Grew to 1.7 Million Followers with Budget Meal Planning Content 12.05.2026 50dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
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  How to Write Emails Your Readers Actually Want to Open with Liz Wilcox 05.05.2026 54dk

  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 [email protected]. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.