If you've ever thought about starting a blog, or have a blog but are stumped as to how to keep it growing…this episode is for you. This week we chat with Alex Cook, creator of the It's Not Complicated recipe blog. After leaving her career in in real estate and aviation, Alex started a blog combining her two passions - cooking and writing. She assumed it would be a hobby on the side, but within four months of starting her blog it was growing so quickly that it needed her full-time attention. Two years in, Alex continues to run her blog business full-time, having grown her page views beyond what is required to partner with an ad network. 

Cadence and Content

• Avoiding the temptation to expand your niche
• Stuck with a cadence of 3 posts a week on set days
• The power of consistency and quality over quantity
• Start with what you can, improve over time

Monetizing a Blog

• Leveraging viral posts
• Hitting required page views to partner with ad networks
• Strategically planning content around prime keywords
• Measuring competitive rank of keywords
• Focusing on what audience is searching for

Key Steps When Starting Out

• Getting a good host
• Researching the right website platform
• Recipe cards and other perks to rank in Google

Growing Your Audience

• Grew her Facebook business page to over 26k
• Engage with fellow bloggers
• Ways to build relationships with readers
• Strategies to inspire audience to share
• Tactics to grow organic traffic from Google

Moving Forward - Goals and Vision

• About to hire a Social Media Manager
• Double blog page views by the end of 2020
• Diversify income streams including new e-book and product line
• Expand to a commercial kitchen, increase video content

Muscle Creative Wrap-Up

If you could listen to only one music artist for the rest of your life who would it be? Queen

Where can people find you online?

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook