The power of consistency, community, and time management with Christina Leopold from Addicted to Dates. 

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Welcome to episode 519 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Christina Leopold from Addicted to Dates. 

This week’s episode dives deep into the journey of food blogger Christina Leopold, who built and scaled her brand, Addicted to Dates. Her story is packed with gold for anyone looking to grow their online gig. One of the biggest takeaways? Consistency is key, but working smarter with your content is essential for staying sane.

Christina also spills the tea on turning her passion into a full-time hustle. She had to get down to business with things like SEO and figuring out how to make money. Plus, she emphasizes the power of knowing your worth and when to bring in some extra hands. Finally, we chat about the importance of connecting with your community and fellow creators. It’s all about building those authentic relationships and learning from each other!

• Consistency and repurposing are your best friends: Christina’s journey highlights that showing up regularly (like her daily posts for years!) is huge. To maintain your sanity, you’ll have to get smart about your content – think repurposing and making the most out of what you create (like turning one recipe into a bunch of posts).
• Treat your blog like a business (because it is!): Making the leap to full-time meant learning about SEO, monetization, and how to manage her time like a boss. Hiring help, tracking analytics, and creating systems (like batching recipe posts) gave her more space to focus on the creative stuff she loves.
• How connections can fuel growth: From community support to brand partnerships, Christina emphasizes the power of real connections. Engaging with others has opened doors to brand collaborations, steady income, and long-term growth.

Resources:

• Addicted to Dates
• Lofi Girl YouTube channel
• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
• Interested in having your own Coaching Call with Bjork? Submit an application here!
• InfluenceKit — use this link to redeem your 30 Day Trial + 40% off First 4 Months of Pro Plan!
• Grocers List
• Email Christina!
• Follow Christina on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Surveying your audience, building effective lead magnets, and staying consistent with emails with Molly Thompson from What Molly Made.

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Welcome to episode 518 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Molly Thompson from What Molly Made.

Tired of the ever-changing Google algorithms, Molly Thompson decided to lean into email marketing a few years ago and has since developed a super effective four-part system for growing her email list.

In this episode, Bjork and Molly delve into Molly’s strategies for growing her email list from 15,000 to 100,000 subscribers within a year (and how that has led to an increase of 300,000 pageviews every month!). Molly shares her insights on repurposing content across platforms, surveying her audience for pain points, using her website as a central hub, and her strategies for driving traffic back to her site.

• The importance of consistency in email engagement — Molly sends out three emails per week, focusing on providing value to her audience. This consistent engagement has helped her build a loyal subscriber base and drive significant traffic back to her site.
• Why you need to understand your audience’s pain points — A key strategy Molly employs is surveying her audience to understand their challenges and needs. She explains how she uses ChatGPT to organize and analyze the data, and how these insights allow her to create content that addresses her audience’s pain points, making her opt-ins and emails more relevant and engaging.
• How to effectively use lead magnets — Molly shares her approach to creating opt-ins that convert. She discusses how to use platforms like Instagram to drive email opt-ins and the importance of structuring a welcome series to nurture new subscribers effectively.

Resources:

• Molly Thompson
• Kit
• WP Recipe Maker
• Grocers List
• ManyChat
• Tastemaker Conference
• Follow Molly on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Crafting a brand with meaning and scaling a business with Shen Chen from Just One Cookbook.

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Welcome to episode 517 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Shen Chen, who jointly runs the English-language Japanese food blog Just One Cookbook with his wife Nami. 

This week on the podcast, Bjork sits down with Shen Chen — one-half of the powerhouse duo behind Just One Cookbook. Shen shares the behind-the-scenes story of how a humble food blog grew into a multifaceted business, spanning YouTube, e-commerce, and digital memberships. He talks about the impact of shifting traffic trends, how COVID–19 changed the game, and why sometimes a business pivot isn’t just smart—it’s necessary.

Shen also opens up about his newest venture: a brand inspired by Japanese craftsmanship and cultural preservation. From navigating the complexities of physical products to using social media and SEO to fuel organic growth, this episode is packed with practical tips and thoughtful insights for anyone looking to build a meaningful, resilient business. You won’t want to miss this episode!

• From Food Blog to Full-Fledged Business: Shen shares how Just One Cookbook evolved beyond recipes, expanding into YouTube, e-commerce, and community-building. You’ll also hear him talk about how external factors like COVID–19 forced a shift in strategy, leading to new ventures and unexpected growth. 
• Crafting a Brand with Meaning: Discover how Shen’s passion for Japanese craftsmanship sparked a new business rooted in tradition. He unpacks the power of appreciating quality, preserving cultural heritage, and building a product line that tells a deeper story.
• What It Really Takes to Scale a Business: From social media strategy to SEO, from paid ads to packaging logistics — Shen gives us a peek behind the curtain at the not-so-glamorous, but essential, parts of running a physical goods business. Spoiler: it’s a lot, but totally worth it!

Resources:

• Just One Cookbook
• Tasty Food Photography by Lindsay Ostrom
• 1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly
• Member Mouse
• Interested in learning more about setting up a donor-advised fund? Shoot Bjork an email here!
• Shopify
• Episode 481 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Maximizing the Impact of Your Email List with Nathan Barry from Kit
• The Billion Dollar Creator Podcast, hosted by Nathan Barry and Rachel Rodgers
• Stainless Steel Prep Trays - JOC Goods
• JOC PLUS Membership
• JOC Goods — the Just One Cookbook store
• Follow Just One Cookbook and JOC Goodson Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Growing and nurturing your email list, understanding your subscribers' needs, and creating lead magnets with Matt Molen from Email Crush. 

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Welcome to episode 516 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Matt Molen, the CEO of Email Crush. 

In this episode, Matt shares email marketing principles and why it’s one of the most powerful tools bloggers often overlook. He breaks down how to grow your list, why your subscribers are more valuable than you think, and how email can become a key revenue stream if you do it right!

Matt also offers practical tips on creating convert lead magnets, writing emails people want to read, and building trust through simple, effective sequences. Whether you’re starting from scratch or ready to level up, this interview is packed with email strategies you can start using today!

• Email marketing that actually pays off: For food bloggers, email is more than a newsletter — it’s a key revenue stream. From sharing your story to promoting products or partnerships, it’s one of the most effective ways to grow your income and your brand.
• How to build (and nurture) your list with intention: Your current traffic is your best resource for growing your list. With the right lead magnets—think quick-start guides, mini recipe series, or kitchen cheat sheets—you can attract the right audience and keep them coming back for more.
• Consistency and value drive results: Whether it’s a weekly roundup or seasonal content, consistent, valuable emails lead to higher engagement. Understand what your readers need, simplify your messaging, and make every email worth opening.

Resources:

• Email Crush
• MarketBeat
• EmailCrush’s Email Profitability Calculator
• Matt’s course, Email on Autopilot
• Email Matt!
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Build relationships that last with brands, simplify brand outreach, and develop confidence in your offerings with Candice Ward from Eat More Cake

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Welcome to episode 515 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! For part three of our Diversifying Income Series, Bjork interviews Candice Ward from Eat More Cake.

In today’s crowded content landscape, with the rise of AI, increased competition, and more user-generated content, Candice shares how she built a stable business by diversifying her income and getting strategic with brand partnerships.

This episode breaks down Candice’s three-pillar approach to building relationships with brands: crafting a strong offer, getting more eyeballs on that offer, and—most importantly—learning how to sell your offer. She shares practical tips for using analytics to evolve your offerings, developing an email sequence that gets responses, and how to pitch brands with purpose. This episode will make you excited to rethink your brand partnership strategy — don’t miss it!

• Why you should be using the offer/market/sales framework for brand pitching — Candice explains the 3 main pillars of brand partnerships and how to optimize each phase of your outreach.
• Simple ways to use weekly workflows to make real connections with brands — Candice has incorporated brand outreach via email sequences, LinkedIn, and social media into her workflow and explains her process for communicating with brands and how to develop an email sequence so that you can easily begin the process yourself!
• How to build confidence in pitching — Very few content creators are confident pitching to brands right out of the gate. Candice explains her tips for becoming more confident (hint: repetition helps!) and how reframing pitching as building relationships with brands to help them solve a problem can help creators overcome their mental hurdles to communicating with brands.

Resources:

• Eat More Cake by Candice
• 310: The Confident Pitch – How to Naturally Build Relationships with Brands with Candice Ward
• Raptive
• Mediavine
• Pinch of Yum
• MALK Organic
• LinkedIn
• Superhuman
• Mixmax
• Confident Pitch Program
• Brand Magnet: How to Stand Out and Land Brand Deals as a Food Creator in 2025
• Follow Candice on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Making decisions about diversifying your business and launching and running a cooking camp for kids with Jess Smith from Inquiring Chef.

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Welcome to episode 514 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! For part two of our Diversifying Income Series, Bjork interviews Jess Smith from Inquiring Chef.

Jess Smith launched her blog, Inquiring Chefs, in 2010 and has slowly but steadily transformed it into a thriving multi-six-figure business. In recent years, she’s expanded her income streams by publishing her debut cookbook, Start with a Vegetable, and launching Inquiring Chef Academy, which offers popular in-person cooking summer camps for kids in Kansas City.

In this episode, Bjork and Jess dive into the origins of Inquiring Chef Academy, exploring why and how Jess decided to add an in-person experience to her brand. Jess’s summer camps are a massive hit (with the 2025 sessions selling out in just a few hours), and they’ve reignited her passion for food blogging. Even if in-person cooking classes aren’t your thing, this episode will provide fresh insights on diversifying your income and your creative outlets — you won’t want to miss it!

• How to make decisions about diversifying your business — Jess’s current income distribution looks like this: 71% from ad revenue, 13% from cooking camps, 10% from her cookbook, and 6% from brand partnerships. However, when she first considered launching her cooking camps, it wasn’t driven by money but by creativity. In this discussion, Bjork and Jess talk about the importance of finding balance in your business to prevent burnout and ensure long-term success, and how to make decisions that reflect those values.
• The logistics of running your own cooking classes — Jess dives into the tools she uses to manage her cooking camps, including the software for registration, how she developed the curriculum, how she promotes the camps, how she built a team to support the operations, and why she isn’t interested in scaling her camps (yet). This episode has all the details you need if you’re considering launching something similar!
• How to launch cooking classes — Jess announced her summer camps in January 2024 and has sold out two consecutive summers of camps. She reveals how she pushed past her hesitations and shares the behind-the-scenes process of getting her cooking camps off the ground (spoiler: it was the toughest business challenge she’s faced yet)!

Resources:

• Inquiring Chef
• Cook Smarts
• Snackdive
• Pembee
• Stripe
• The Faux Martha
• Canva
• Start with a Vegetable
• Inquiring Chef Academy
• Follow Jess on Instagram and Facebook
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Generating recurring revenue through membership sites, the power of community, and how to scale your business with multiple income streams.

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Welcome to episode 513 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Adam Sobel.

In this week’s episode, Adam Sobel of Cinnamon Snail shares his journey from owning a restaurant to launching successful online cooking classes after the pandemic. He reveals how building a loyal community was key to his growth, along with using content marketing, lead magnets, and split testing to attract and convert customers. Adam also dives into how paid ads and staying adaptable in the digital world have been essential to his success.

It doesn’t stop there! Adam will also talk about scaling his business with multiple income streams, including membership programs and free offers, while automating key processes to generate steady revenue. Tune in for actionable insights on growing your business in today’s digital age!

• From Restaurant to Online Success: After the pandemic hit, Adam made a big shift from owning a restaurant to teaching cooking classes online. He quickly realized that building a strong community and customer loyalty was key to his growth.

• Smart Digital Strategies: Content marketing, lead magnets, and split testing became game-changers for Adam. He also dives into how paid ads and constantly adapting to the digital world have been crucial for attracting and converting customers.

• Scaling with Multiple Income Streams: By offering membership programs and leveraging free offers, Adam’s been able to create a steady stream of revenue. Automation has also helped simplify his business, making it easier to generate income while focusing on what matters most.

Resources:

• Cinnamon Snail
• Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
• Kit
• SamCart
• ClickFunnels
• ThriveCart
• The Ad Lab Method course by Josh Coffy
• The Ecommerce Alley podcast
• Facebook’s Advantage+ shopping campaigns
• Gillian Perkins’s podcast: Work Less, Earn More
• Russell Brunson’s podcast, The Russell Brunson Show
• Mighty Networks
• Circle
• Follow Adam on Instagram and Facebook
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens and Cookie Finance. 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.

Balancing creativity and consistency, maximizing productivity, and navigating food trends with RIz Asad from Chocolates and Chai. 

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Welcome to episode 512 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Rizwan Asad from Chocolates and Chai. 

This week, we’re chatting with Riz from Chocolates and Chai, who shares some amazing insights on balancing creativity with monetization. It can feel like a compromise when you’re trying to make money from your blog, but Riz breaks down how ad revenue, affiliate marketing, and licensing can actually work together with your content without sacrificing quality!

Riz also drops some valuable tips on staying efficient and consistent in your content creation. You’ll also hear him talk about how jumping on popular topics, like viral TikTok recipes, can really up your visibility and engagement. Lastly, we dive into the importance of finding your niche — understanding who your audience is and carving out a space that’s uniquely yours is the key to long-term success while staying true to your creative passion. You won’t want to miss this episode!

• Balancing Creativity and Consistency: Finding the sweet spot between staying true to your creative vision and consistently putting out content is essential for long-term success. Building trust with your audience while keeping things fresh and true to your style is key here!

• Maximizing Productivity: If you’re juggling a full-time job or managing the pressures of blogging, Riz has been there and says that batching tasks and minimizing distractions can significantly boost your efficiency. Staying organized will help you keep the content flowing without burning out!

• Navigating Trends and Monetization: Keeping an eye on trends, like those on TikTok, can help boost your content’s visibility. And while monetizing a blog can feel tricky or like you’re compromising your creativity, finding a balance that allows you to make money while staying true to what you love doing is possible.

Resources:

• Riz’s food blog, Chocolates and Chai
• How to Read a Recipe Post from Chocolates and Chai
• EOS — Entrepreneurial Operating System
• Dubai Chocolate Bar from Chocolates and Chai
• Fluffy Chocolate Pancakes from Chocolates and Chai
• Google Year in Search 2023 Instagram Reel
• Google Year in Search 2023 YouTube Short
• Episode 505 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: Maximizing Affiliate Revenue with Deep Linking
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
• Send Riz an email!
• Follow Riz on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Cookie Finance. 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.

Finding success as a personal brand, balancing creative work with financial sustainability, and leaving YouTube for Substack with Carla Lalli Music.

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Welcome to episode 511 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Carla Lalli Music.

Carla Lalli Music has been a fixture of food media for the last 15 years, including six years as the Food Director of Bon Appetit. You might also know Carla from her incredibly popular YouTube series, Carla’s Cooking Show, her two cookbooks (with a third one in the works!), or her Substack newsletter, Food Processing.

In this interview, Carla dives into her recent viral Substack post about her decision to leave YouTube, including her transparent breakdown of the costs of creating content on YouTube (spoiler alert: she was losing money). Carla also explains more about why she doesn’t create recipes for SEO and how she uses connection with her audience as her north star when making business decisions.

• How to find success as a personal brand — Carla has created a business rooted in her personal brand and exceptional and reliable recipes rather than focusing on SEO. She prioritizes authentic connection with her audience, entertainment value, and community over crafting content purely for algorithmic success, a strategy that she is hopeful will help her recipes and content stand out in the age of AI.
• The challenges of balancing creative work with financial sustainability — Despite the joy she (initially) found when making YouTube videos for her channel and a team she loved collaborating with, the financial reality of her video production costs ($3500 per video) and the declining and limited revenue from Google ads led Carla to reevaluate her place on the platform. In addition, the tight production schedule required to produce four high-quality recipe videos a month left Carla with little bandwidth to create content for Substack or her upcoming cookbook.
• How to recognize when something is no longer serving you or your business — After producing 177 full-length episodes for Carla’s Cooking Show, Carla’s decision to step away from YouTube was ultimately a choice based on finances, psychological toll, limited bandwidth, and diminishing returns. Carla and Bjork discuss the sustainability of content creation on platforms like YouTube and how creators have to analyze what is moving the needle in their business and, ultimately, what kind of creator they want to be.

Resources:

• Carla Lalli Music
• Food Processing
• Bon Appetit
• Omega
• The True Costs of Being on YouTube
• That Sounds So Good: 100 Real-Life Recipes for Every Day of the Week: A Cookbook
• Follow Carla on Instagram and YouTube
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

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.

Reinventing your brand, transitioning from self-publishing to traditional publishing, and developing a cookbook for a fan base with Chelsea Cole from A Duck's Oven.

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Welcome to episode 510 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, we are welcoming back Chelsea Cole from A Duck’s Oven.

This is Chelsea’s third (!!!) appearance on the podcast and we’re thrilled to have her back. In her previous two interviews, she has shared her wisdom on self-publishing and creating content within her sous-vide niche. But today she is back on the podcast with a bit of a 180 — to discuss her first traditionally published cookbook in a totally different niche — a fan cookbook for the A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.

In this interview, Bjork and Chelsea discuss cookbook publishing and how it can be a part of your overall business strategy. Chelsea also shares how she chose the subject matter for her new cookbook and what it was like to write and develop a cookbook for a (very devoted) fan base, all while giving birth to and raising her first child!

Chelsea also explains more about the royalty structure for cookbooks, how cookbooks can be a source of passive income for food creators, and how she is thinking about her current reinvention as a food creator.

• How to negotiate your cookbook contract — Chelsea is no stranger to publishing cookbooks, but this was her first go-around in the traditional publishing space. She worked with a great agent and has lots of insights into how to negotiate your payments as an author (including negotiating the photography, the advance, the royalty structure, etc.).
• How to approach testing new ideas with your audience — Before the launch of A Feast of Thorns and Roses, Chelsea shared recipes in a specific, small niche (sous vide). In this interview, she shares how she approached this new venture with her audience, how it has reignited her love for recipe development, and how to use your audience when exploring new types of content.
• The pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional publishing — Chelsea has literally written a course on self-publishing and knows the process backward and forward. She shares the advantages and disadvantages of each (speed, control, marketing, etc.) and provides insider knowledge to both sides of the publishing world for those looking to make a similar decision.

Resources:

• A Duck’s Oven
• A Feast of Thorns and Roses: The Unofficial Cookbook of a Court of Thorns and Roses
• 187: How to Self-Publish Your Own Cookbook with Chelsea Cole
• 364: Self-Publishing a Cookbook as an Online Food Creator with Chelsea Cole
• Everyday Sous Vide: It’s All French to Me
• Sous Vide Meal Prep
• The Cookbook Lab
• The Unofficial Sims Cookbook: From Baked Alaska to Silly Gummy Bear Pancakes, 85+ Recipes to Satisfy the Hunger Need
• A Court of Thorns and Roses
• The Ekus Group
• 391: Behind the Scenes of the Cookbook Publishing Process with Sally Ekus
• Insight Editions
• Simon & Schuster
• The Personal MBA
• Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
• The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
• Snackdive
• Follow Chelsea on Instagram and Facebook
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

This episode is sponsored by KeySearch 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.