As a blogger myself, it’s always exciting to learn about another blogger that has followed their passion and turned their blog into their full-time gig. As a Blog Coach, it really lights up my world to watch one of my previous clients rise to the top, which is what this post is all about.
June, the founder of the blogs Practically Homemade and Cookies Made Simple, took the strategies that she learned in her blog coaching sessions to heart.
Not only was she committed as a client to learning and implementing those strategies, but she also put in the hard work required to build a blogging business.
It’s paid off for her, too, with over 10 million monthly views on Pinterest, Practically Homemade is now one of the top food blogs in the US!
In 2021, June was able to resign from her teaching job and become a full-time food blogger, allowing her to live her dream.
As busy as she is these days, she was kind enough to agree to an interview, so I hope you’ll find her story as inspiring as I do 🙂
1. Why did you want to start a blog?
“I started my blog as a creative outlet.
My kids were getting ready to graduate from high school and I knew I would have a bit of extra time.
I also had people already asking me for recipes, so it seemed like a natural step.
For years I had followed and read a few food blogs so I decided to go for it.”
2. What was the biggest challenge you faced as a blogger and how did you overcome it?
“My biggest challenge was comparing myself to others but you just can’t do it.
No matter where you are at or what you are doing it is always going to be different than everyone else.
It is always good to get advice from others and learn from others but do your very best to not do the comparison game because this is your own race.”
3. What is something you learned during our blog coaching sessions that helped you in your blogging journey?
“My blog coaching sessions were helpful in helping me get systems in place.
They were also super helpful in getting my Pinterest set up well. The traffic that I have got from a good Pinterest setup helped to get me monetized and I believe still helps to get me traffic to my site today.”
4. You have a husband, children, and you used to be a teacher, too. How did you juggle working, family, and blogging consistently?
“Juggling everything is hard!
Consistency is so important when it comes to blog growth and so I found myself using nights and weekends to get everything done on the blog. It is definitely a commitment but I also love it, so in ways it doesn’t really feel like work.
I also had a really supportive husband who has never complained when I was using my extra time to work on my blog.”
5. What would you say has had the biggest impact on your success as a blogger and why?
“That I have stayed true to what I wanted to share with my readers and not waivered.
I remember the very first blogging conference I went to. I had a lot of people give me a hard time because quite a few of the recipes on my site use items like cake mixes. I came home from that conference and didn’t touch my computer for a month.
In fact, I almost quit altogether but then I realized that I have to stay true to myself. Not everyone is going to have hours a day to make things from scratch {like me} and that is my audience.
Once I accepted that and went for it is when I really started to believe in myself and what I was doing.”
6. What has the turning point for your blog that took it from average to amazing?
“The turning point for my blog was when I really started running it like a business and not a hobby.
I hired a Pinterest manager before I was even making any money because I knew I couldn’t do it all.
I posted super consistently {every Tuesday and Thursday} and started to share recipes that I knew people were looking for instead of what I thought they wanted or what I wanted to share.”
7. How long did it take for you to monetize your blog, then become a full-time food blogger?
“I started my blog in November 2017, monetized my blog in March of 2019 and didn’t become a full time food blogger until June of 2021.
I secretly hoped that someday it would happen but never actually believed that I could replace my teachers salary.
It took some time and A LOT of hard work but in April of 2021 I gave my resignation {finished out the school year} and now I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
8. How has becoming a full-time blogger impacted the quality of your life?
“Becoming a full-time food blogger is a dream come true.
Teaching students how to cook everyday wasn’t a bad job but waking up everyday to work on my food blogging business is amazing.
My schedule is more flexible {although I probably work more than 40 hours a week} which has been really nice and allowed me to be there for my family at different times when they needed me.”
9.What advice can you give to new bloggers that want to become professional bloggers themselves?
“My best advice is to just keep going!
If you love what you are blogging about and have a passion for it then keep your head down and keep working.
Remember that everyone is on their own journey and what takes some people months to accomplish might take a year for others and that is totally fine.
Work hard, be consistent and believe in yourself.”
10. Congrats on the new website! Do you have any other new projects in the works?
“Thank you! My second website, Cookies Made Simple, is my newest project.
I always have ideas for new things I would like to do and dreams for where to take the blog/blogs but for right now I am trying to balance both blogs and get my cookie blog monetized.”
- Authenticity – Stay true to yourself and let your voice shine through in your writing. You are not trying to please everyone, write specifically for your target audience – those that are meant for your content will become your raving fans.
- Consistency – Keep going even when it’s hard or when you’re not getting the traffic – it will come! Stick to your niche, try to write a new post at least once per week, more if you can.
- Believe In Yourself – You can do this! Most professional bloggers started off just like you – a woman with a passion, an idea, and a dream.
If you’d like some help, I’d love to chat with you about blog coaching to see if it’s a good fit for getting you on the road to your own blogging success story. Book a free discovery session here.
If you’re looking for a delicious dinner that won’t take a lot hard work but your family will love, be sure to check out her blog, Practically Homemade. Then, make a batch of cookies to delight everyone, by heading over to her latest blog, Cookies Made Simple.
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed reading about this success story. Thanks for sharing!