My Blog Turns 15! – Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Fifteen years in the past, once I was younger and filled with hope, I began a recipe weblog.

It was referred to as mykitchencafe.blogspot.com

For those who acknowledge the blogspot handle or both of these authentic logos under, it means you’ve been round a very long time…and…you most likely deserve an award.

A couple of years after I began My Kitchen Cafe, I swapped out the blogspot handle for an actual, stay dot com and it has been Mel’s Kitchen Cafe ever since (with no scarcity of emblem modifications till I lastly employed an expert, ha).

It could be not possible to explain all of the modifications which have occurred over the past 15 years. Each personally and within the web/running a blog panorama.

After I first began my weblog, life seemed a bit like this:

Whereas now, “life” has elevated within the variety of people…and in wrinkles. 😉

Some days, it’s laborious to wrap my mind round the truth that I’ve been sharing recipes on this area for 15 years. THAT’S A LONG TIME!

My children don’t actually bear in mind life earlier than “mother had a weblog.” Typically, neither do I!

Joke: when my children had been little, little, I’d spend our days doing child/mother issues and making a concerted effort to not be on the pc. Nonetheless, the minute my children went to mattress, I might rush to my laptop and do all of the running a blog “stuff” on my to-do checklist. Inevitably, as children do, mine would wander away from bed and into the workplace to search out me and ask for a drink or wish to inform me a random story to delay bedtime or simply sit on my lap for a minute (you recognize, as a result of I HADN’T JUST SPENT THE WHOLE ENTIRE DAY WITH THEM). 😉 Throughout this time, a instructor at church advised me that one among my children had introduced to his class: “my mother likes to play video games on her laptop each evening after we go to mattress.” I didn’t know whether or not to snigger or really feel mortified (each!). Seems, all that point, my children thought I used to be hiding within the workplace to play video games after they went to mattress! We had a fast household dialogue about how mother goes into her workplace at bedtime to work on her meals weblog…to not play solitaire till the wee hours of the morning. 😂 However truthfully, I believe they nonetheless advised their pals and lecturers and pals’ dad and mom for years that I used to be a late-night web gamer.

Picture Progress

My children’ shoe sizes and the variety of animals we have now acquired over time aren’t the one issues which have modified both. HAVE YOU TAKEN A DIVE INTO THE ARCHIVES TO SEE SOME OF MY OLD PHOTOS?

I imply, my goodness. Discuss earlier than and after development. 🤣

Issues Change however My Motives Haven’t

I may write a whole weblog put up about how, exterior of household life, issues within the running a blog world have modified so drastically over the past 15 years.

Through the years, the web world of meals running a blog has turn out to be much less easy and extra strategic.

Much less relatable and extra robotic.

Much less carefree and extra calculated.

It’s not all dangerous. It’s simply completely different.

I began my weblog as a technique to share recipes with my mother and sisters who didn’t stay close to me. I by no means had any intentions of turning into a “full-time” blogger.

In reality, I used to be utterly freaked out when a number of months after I began placing recipes up on my weblog I acquired a remark from a stranger saying that they had made a recipe and preferred it. I assumed for certain that particular person was an web stalker coming after my youngsters.

Seems, that first weblog reader was a wonderfully good, regular human being who nonetheless follows my weblog in any case these years (hello, Kim!). Hundreds of thousands of readers have adopted!

Years in the past, I did a blog post called “This is Why I Blog”, and I may truthfully repost that phrase for phrase as a result of I nonetheless adhere to the identical philosophies I all the time have about running a blog. For those who haven’t learn that put up, please do. It’d offer you some perception into why I’m the best way I’m and why I weblog the best way I weblog.

Whereas running a blog has modified infinitely over time, my motives haven’t. Similar to once I began placing recipes up on the web late in 2007, my causes I nonetheless accomplish that are the identical: to share my favourite, tried-and-true recipes with the world.

My weblog began out as a passion.

Now it’s equal components passion and full-time job!

I by no means would have thought 15 years in the past that my readership of about 5 folks would develop into thousands and thousands! What an amazing, superior alternative and blessing it has been for me.

Some Enjoyable Stats

For many who like geeky number-type stats, I assumed it will be enjoyable to share a number of particulars/details/numbers that assist give an enormous image have a look at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe!

On the Starting (from about 2007-2010):

• Income/Earnings: $0
• Weblog Visits: 50-1,000 monthly
• Extra Staff: 0
• My Time: 10-20 hours/week

The Center Years (2014-ish):

• Income/Earnings: part-time
• Weblog Visits: 750,000-1,000,000/month
• Extra Staff: 1 part-time digital assistant (5-10 hours/week)
• My Time: 30-40 hours/week

Present Years (2022):

• Income/Earnings: full-time
• Weblog Visits: 3,000,000-4,000,000/month
• Extra Staff: 1 part-time digital assistant (10-20 hours/week) plus a number of contracted workers to assist with movies/initiatives
• My Time: 20-45 hours/week

A Observe About Earnings and Income

Issues can get form of bizarre when folks speak about cash (and heaven is aware of, I don’t need issues to get bizarre between us!), however numerous folks have been curious over time if my weblog makes cash.

It does! But it surely didn’t all the time.

For the primary a number of years, I made roughly zero {dollars}.

Round 2010, I began placing show advertisements on my web site (first simply alone with Google Adsense after which with a protracted since outdated firm, Foodbuzz by Federated Media). I bear in mind actually falling over with pleasure once I acquired a verify one explicit month for $125. I couldn’t imagine I used to be getting paid that a lot to speak about recipes I liked!

I later modified advert networks to AdThrive after which switched to Mediavine in 2016 and have been with them ever since.

A VERY simplistic description of how advert networks, like Mediavine, function is that they work immediately with advert exchanges and corporations to service and show all of the advertisements you see on my web site (they usually work on the advert know-how and gaining new advert clients so I don’t need to!).

I’m paid primarily based on a income cut up – which means, I don’t pay Mediavine immediately for his or her work servicing advertisements, somewhat, Mediavine and I cut up the income that comes from the advertisements on my website.

I can select which advertisements I would like displayed. Though that system isn’t all the time excellent, which is why you could sometimes see a questionable advert, like an alcohol advert, regardless that I’ve alcohol advertisements disabled in my advert settings. Please be at liberty to all the time report these advertisements, by the best way! You are able to do that by clicking on the Mediavine emblem within the decrease proper hand aspect of the advert and choosing “report advert” (see screenshot under).

Through the years as I’ve labored laborious and site visitors has elevated and my advert construction has modified, my weblog has grown to offer a full-time earnings for me and my household.

My earnings comes from: the advertisements you see on the weblog, Amazon affiliate hyperlinks (and L’Chef affiliate hyperlinks when Bosch mixers are on sale), and Prepear menu planning subscriptions. I do know advertisements could be annoying – and due to that, I solely run about half of the advertisements obtainable to me by my advert community – however these advertisements serve a goal to assist pay the prices of working and internet hosting an internet site, pay my worker and contractors, and compensate me for my work on the weblog.

My Digital Assistant(s)

I’m blessed in that my sister, Emily, is my digital assistant! She began working with me in 2013 and she or he is a lifesaver. She schedules posts to Fb, solutions emails, works on Prepear menus, does tons of behind the scenes work updating recipes and classes on the weblog, and extra.

Her assist permits me to focus extra on recipe testing, taking all of the images, writing the posts, answering feedback, interacting on Instagram, sometimes taking a nap, and sustaining the genuine voice right here on the weblog.

And since I’m deep in the course of this acceptance speech (?? form of beginning to sound like one! haha), I might be remiss if I didn’t give an enormous shoutout to my devoted accomplice and greatest buddy. He’s the unpaid assistant round right here.

Brian has been my greatest champion because the starting. And because the resident style tester (all these footage on my weblog with one chew taken out?? Yeah, thank Brian for that effort), he gives the help, compassion, mind gasoline, and endlessly affected person listening ears that hold me and this weblog placing one foot in entrance of the opposite.

The Numbers Sport + Weblog Guests

2020 was an enormous yr for web site visitors. Due to the pandemic shutdowns and enhance of at-home cooking, my visits monthly had been at a file excessive that yr – almost 10 million monthly! However issues have steadily slowed down and my site visitors is definitely lower than it was a number of years in the past.

The factor is, I not often verify my stats. I can’t actually let you know month-to-month what number of guests I’m getting or whether it is waxing or waning.

The numbers recreation could be debilitating (each in site visitors and with social media), and I’ve simply chosen to not play it in order that I keep higher targeted on my general intentions. I monitor and verify issues out every now and then, however I don’t dwell on it.

Nonetheless, I did do a enjoyable little verify for this put up to see the place my guests are checking in from!

United States: 81.38%, Canada: 8.35%, United Kingdom: 2.53%, Australia: 1.35%, South Africa: .56%, New Zealand: .36%, Philippines: .35%, India: .33%, Germany: .29%

The Proper Method to Weblog…Or Not

Many bloggers on this meals area are intensely savvy. They do key phrase analysis and create their recipe posts strictly round what Google desires (with the purpose to get excessive up in search outcomes). They community with corporations (and one another) and develop digital empires. They publish books and movies and create merchandise.

It’s wonderful to look at and see. I like it!

My technique, which ought to come as no shock, is extra of the homebody, naturalistic, girl-next-door strategy. That means: I don’t community all that a lot, I don’t do key phrase analysis, I don’t do sponsored posts.

I make a recipe. I squeal in delight. I drive my household to style it and assessment it. I make it once more. And sure, once more. After which I put up it for you, as a result of if I don’t, I would like be capable to sleep at evening.

That’s to not say I don’t work laborious at this gig. I do! Running a blog is a ton of labor (definitely extra than simply taking a reasonably image of meals and slapping it up on-line!).

I set priorities for sure initiatives (like e-mail development, and so on), and I’ve all the time put excessive emphasis on staying updated with Search engine marketing rules and know-how updates, however on the finish of the day, I’m nonetheless an old-fashioned blogger who simply desires an area to share my favourite recipes with the world.

Which suggests typically I flip a blind eye to “greatest practices” and do my very own factor. I don’t do that to be ignorant – it’s actually only a survival ability to protect my psychological well being and guarantee I proceed to maintain running a blog.

For me, this area, is about a lot greater than numbers and stats and cash and notoriety. It’s really about human connection and sharing good issues with you.

A Day within the Life

My schedule has shifted and adjusted over time. Now that every one of my children are at school full-time (and one has graduated highschool), I attempt to get all my running a blog work (significantly) laptop work finished throughout the day as a substitute of staying up tremendous late to sort out my to-do checklist.

I don’t set particular “work hours” however it naturally finally ends up that about two days per week are spent on the pc aspect of running a blog. Writing and publishing weblog posts, answering feedback and emails, coordinating initiatives with my sister-VA, and dealing on different techy-stuff.

As soon as I get my children off to highschool, I feed livestock, do scripture examine, write in my journal, train, and (typically) bathe, earlier than diving in to weblog work from about 10 a.m. to three:30 p.m. with laundry and different family/farm chores scattered in there.

Moreover, I find yourself spending one other day or two per week bustling across the kitchen to check and {photograph} recipes (I exploit pure gentle, so proper now throughout the winter, I’ve to get that finished earlier than 4 p.m.).

I normally make about 5-6 new recipes per week. Typically only for enjoyable. Typically to check them (once more) and/or take images. I do know, I have to get a life and/or various hobbies, however I can’t assist it! I like meals and making new recipes.

My children all the time have Fridays off faculty, so I attempt to match the running a blog work in Monday by Thursday; nevertheless, inevitably there’s a night or two that it spills over and I work in my workplace from 8 – 11-ish p.m.

I don’t shrink back from saying I do business from home or that I’ve a full-time job. However I do contemplate it a severe blessing that my job is that this weblog and that regardless that it requires hours and energy, I’m in a position to set my very own hours and schedule.

And doing so permits me the pliability to volunteer in my daughter’s class, do church and neighborhood service (proper now I’m serving to at a refugee group, and it’s life-alteringly rewarding), run errands once I have to, take a break from every part and assist one among my children or work on a home challenge, or simply aimlessly waste time on the web looking for watermelon carving knives.

To Sum it All Up

Whereas my focus is totally on actually good recipes, over time, I’ve additionally shared gift guides and Friday Thoughts (was Snapshot Saturdays!) and glimpses of real life.

On the finish of the day, I’m a really common, actual human who has numerous highs and numerous lows. And I don’t do a fantastic job of pretending like these issues don’t exist. Normalize actual life. That’s my motto. 🙂

I do not know how lengthy I’ll proceed to weblog. If requested, some days my reply could be “perpetually” and different days the reply is extra like “um, ask me tomorrow – I’ll have pulled the plug on the weblog by then.”

The reality is, even with my laid again model, it’s laborious work. One thing is all the time happening (or breaking!) behind the scenes and there’s a lot of administration that running a blog requires apart from the scrumptious footage of meals and model, new recipes.

I get drained and burned out.

However the motive I all the time, all the time find yourself sitting at my laptop at midnight NOT taking part in solitaire 😉 is due to you guys.

Severely.

It’s Due to You

If it weren’t for the true human connections I’ve made with you over time, for the feedback you permit and the tales and experiences you share, for the notes that inform me how a recipe has impacted your loved ones or modified somebody’s life for the higher, for the hilarious anecdotes and the heartbreaking life experiences…if it weren’t for that, I’d be lengthy gone.

I inform my household on a regular basis that it’s okay I by no means depart my home as a result of I’ve thousands and thousands of pals on-line.

And, okay, I do know that sounds utterly bizarre, and if my children mentioned that again to me, I’d positively get them skilled assist.

However.

It’s additionally true. Thanks for sticking round. For being my digital pals. For making this an area that I wish to come again to day after day.

Love your guts. 😘

What’s to Come

Nicely, to start with, rely on the perfect of the perfect new recipes to proceed popping up right here! I’ve some thrilling new recipes coming your method. My purpose is to get you 4-5 well-tested, implausible recipes every month in 2023.

Moreover, I’m planning:

• numerous updates to lots of the recipes which have been on right here for over a decade (not altering the recipe, per se, simply updating images and recipe notes, and so on).
• some further content material initiatives that may seemingly contain hiring one other assistant to assist with advertising and growth
• website updates and modifications to make the web site glossy, savvy, and much more Search engine marketing-friendly
• persevering with with Friday Ideas posts every now and then
• and some different issues swirling round in my mind

I get requested on a regular basis if I’m planning on doing a cookbook. I’ve a cookbook began on my laptop – some content material, numerous concepts, and so on. However each time I get near signing a publishing contract or going the self-publishing (or hybrid) route, I can’t finally commit. It feels nerve-racking and mistaken. I believe my greatest hangup is that my first precedence is to proceed to publish a variety of wonderful content material on my weblog, and I don’t suppose I can handle a cookbook and the weblog. Moreover, I’m unsure I actually have something to supply the cookbook world that hasn’t already been finished. So. We’ll see! By no means say by no means!

Something you might be dying to see on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe? Let me know under within the feedback! I like getting ideas from you!

The Finish, Lastly

And herein lies one other in depth novel-like put up about nothing all that essential, which can certainly garner some hate mail from those who “simply need the freaking recipe already so cease blabbering,” however hey, 15 years in, it’s laborious to vary these long-winded stripes.

OK, BYYEEEE. 😘 Right here’s to the following 15 years!

In case you have some other questions on running a blog or Mel’s Kitchen Cafe or simply wish to inform me about YOURSELF (sure! that’s an excellent plan!), depart me a remark under!

In case you didn’t clearly hear me earlier within the put up: I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU!