Podcasts Archive

How Christina Leopold of Addicted to Dates Turned Content into Community and Hit 550K Followers

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on May 20, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

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!

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How Molly Thompson Grew Her Email List from 15K to 100K

by Emily @ FBP on May 13, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

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.

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Preserving Tradition While Scaling a Modern Business with Shen Chen from Just One Cookbook

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on May 6, 2025 in Food Blogger Stories

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 Namiko Hirasawa Chen.

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!

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Diversifying Income Series: Monetizing Your Email List with Matt Molen

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Apr 29, 2025 in Monetizing an Online Food Business

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!

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Diversifying Income Series: Mastering Brand Partnerships with Candice Ward

by Emily @ FBP on Apr 22, 2025 in Monetizing an Online Food Business

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!

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Diversifying Income Series: Cooking Classes with Jess Smith from Inquiring Chef

by Emily @ FBP on Apr 15, 2025 in Monetizing an Online Food Business

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!

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Diversifying Income Series: Membership Sites with Adam Sobel

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Apr 8, 2025 in Monetizing an Online Food Business

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!

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How to Balance Creativity and Consistency in Blogging

by Ann @ Food Blogger Pro on Apr 1, 2025 in Building Traffic and Growing Your Audience

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!

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The Cost of Content and Why Carla Lalli Music left YouTube

by Emily @ FBP on Mar 25, 2025 in Monetizing an Online Food Business

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.

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Publishing a Fan Cookbook for A Court of Thorns and Roses with Chelsea Cole

by Emily @ FBP on Mar 18, 2025 in Food Writing

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.

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