Food Blogger Salary Explained: 18 Ways To Earn Money from a Food Blog
Food blogger salary has become public knowledge with the rise of bloggers like Pinch of Yum and The Sassy Spoon posting their inspiring income reports (read mine here!). However, HOW do food bloggers actually make money? Where does their salary come from? What revenue streams are possible with food blogging?? Which ones are right for you? Let’s find out!
Why Multiple Revenue Streams Are So Important
There are SO MANY ways for food bloggers (and other bloggers, too!) to make money these days! With changes to third-party cookies coming in 2024, the blogging landscape will no doubt change.
For so long, everyone thought in order to have a successful blog, you just needed to qualify for an ad network (Mediavine, Raptive), grow your blog traffic, and then rely on the massive ad revenue.
While growing your blog traffic IS important, given Google’s ever-changing algorithms, third-party cookies going away, and the rise of AI, we bloggers need to be on our toes!
The most successful bloggers CHANGE and PIVOT with the times. They don’t put all of their eggs into one basket. They diversify their income streams.
Even if you are a new blog, it’s always a good idea to have a rough “business plan” on where you want your revenue to come from. Don’t just rely solely on ads. Even if you don’t have the brain space to ACT on any of your revenue ideas just yet, always have a plan in mind!
The good news is, there are SO MANY WAYS to make money and diversify your blogging income! Use your strengths and talents to choose the opportunities that are right for you.
Let’s take a look at 17 ways food bloggers can earn a salary!
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Food Blogger Salary: 18 ways you can earn money
1. Advertising Revenue
This is the be-all-end-all for most bloggers…I GET IT! It’s passive income! And if you started with Google Adsense or another smaller ad network, Mediavine payments can be incredible in comparison!
While I am still confident ad revenue can be a good source of income moving forward, it just might not make us as much money as it once did.
With third-party cookies going away, advertisers will not be willing to pay the RPMs that they once did, and this will affect bloggers across the board. Not to mention Google’s constantly changing algorithm makes it difficult to rely on consistent blog traffic year over year.
While ad income will still be “a thing,” the best way to protect yourself and to keep earning a good salary is to diversify!
2. Sponsored Posts
Sponsored blog posts and social media posts can be VERY lucrative! If you have a decent blog + social media following there are SO many opportunities for creators to earn (good) money.
I did a few sponsored posts/brand deals when I was growing my blog and it was a great way to earn extra money before I had ad income. You can reach out to brands directly or go through an agency such as Impact.com. There are TONS of agencies that work with content creators!
3. Affiliate Marketing
This can be another big money maker for a food blogger’s salary. However, it typically requires you to have an “audience.” Whether that be your blog, social media, or an email list.
You can start with both Amazon affiliate links and by promoting products you know and love yourself. Even though you will just make a small commission from Amazon, as your traffic goes up, so will your affiliate income.
Other products you know/use/love might have bigger affiliate payouts. Research affiliate programs such as Daily Harvest, Butcher Box, iHerb, and others to see if they might fit into your niche or overall brand.
4. Food Photography or Videography
If you are a food photographer and love it, there is definitely money to be made here! Bloggers who are photographically challenged (like me!), are always looking for a solid food photographer.
Food photographers can work on recreating blogger-written recipes and photographing them OR create their own recipes and sell their photographs online in places like the Pretty Focused Buyers Club, Food Blogger Market, or on your own site.
For a solid photographer, bloggers pay between $250-$375 per exclusive recipe that you create or about $150-$250 for recreations (the blogger creates the recipe). This is a good option if photography is your thing!
5. Recipe Development
Is CREATING recipes what you LOVE?? Is that why you got into food blogging?? Well, loads of people need help in this department!
Bloggers are paying between $100-$200 JUST for recipe testing and creation…that doesn’t include photographs! Doing a few of these can be a little boost to your monthly income…bonus, you get food for your family, too!
6. Social Media Platforms
If social media is your jam, you can definitely earn as you grow your following on social media platforms. Having a YouTube Channel, Instagram or TikTok can all be profitable ways to diversify your income and your traffic.
7. Cookbooks/Digital Cookbooks
This is typically reserved for more experienced bloggers who have a large following and brand recognition. HOWEVER, it never hurts to create a digital product or cookbook to sell! As you start building your email list, it’s smart to have something to offer (sell) them!
8. Ghostwriting
Is writing your thing? YAY, because so many bloggers HATE IT and will pay big bucks for you to write SEO-optimized blog posts! Bloggers will pay anywhere from $50-150 per post. That’s not bad extra income when you first start out. AND, you are learning to perfect your craft at the same time!
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9. Membership Programs
Recently bloggers have also started membership programs to give their readers access to exclusive or ad-free content. Bloggers have also opened membership “vaults” with printables or templates (social media post templates, e-books, graphics, etc.).
Two examples are Ivory Mix (membership vault of stock photos and templates), and Hey, Grill Hey which has a $15/month membership that gives readers access to tutorials, online classes, merch, and more!
10. Graphic Design
Love graphic design?? So many bloggers struggle with design! Jessica Montenlli from Cooking My Dreams created her very own side business by helping bloggers with design and branding.
From designing Pinterest Pins, web stories, e-books, and logos…if you have graphic design skills, sky’s the limit!
11. Podcasting
Podcasting is on the rise! Who doesn’t love to pop on a good blogging podcast in the car or while doing laundry??! Blogging and business podcasts earn money through sponsorships and on-air ads.
12. Virtual Assistant Services
Many food bloggers earn extra income by offering VA services to other bloggers. This can be anything from writing and posting social media posts, keyword research, putting together graphics for blog posts, answering emails, and anything other tasks bloggers need done.
These virtual assistants advertise themselves in Facebook groups like VA for Hire. If you’re awesome and word gets around, you can turn VA services into a full-time income!
13. Live Events/Speaking
Bigger bloggers who love the spotlight can get paid well doing live speaking events for events like Tastemaker.
14. Cooking Classes
Some food bloggers LOVE to cook and teach! Online cooking classes are perfect for these bloggers. Members pay a certain fee to gain access to online cooking classes, both recorded and live.
15. Coaching/Mentoring
Bloggers all have their certain “specialty” whether it’s recipe development, writing, keyword research, email, or photography…many of them capitalize on these skills by teaching others 1:1 or in mastermind groups. Why not share your knowledge and make money at the same time?
16. Online Courses
This goes along with coaching and mentoring. But instead of mentoring bloggers/creators 1:1 or in a “live” group setting, many bloggers choose to make video courses or publish e-books. Keywords with Aleka, developed by Aleka from Aleka’s Get Together, is my #1 go-to course for keyword research! She was a master keyword researcher and shared this knowledge by creating a fabulous online course.
17. Merchandise
While this isn’t super common, selling merchandise is becoming more popular. Aprons, mugs, calendars, etc. are fairly easy to produce given the rise of companies like Ever Bee that allow creators to design and sell their own merch on Etsy in an easy, streamlined way!
18. Email
Bloggers with huge email lists often get sponsors and place ads on their emails. Although not full-time income, it definitely adds to their bottom line!
Which income streams are right for you?
Like I said in the beginning, your goal for monetizing your own blog should be more than just display ads. Think about what your strengths are and also think about what you ENJOY doing. Then, take a look at the 17 options above…where do your talents lie? Sometimes you have to go a bit outside your comfort zone, too! Don’t be afraid! You got this!
Just knowing all the amazing possibilities to earn a food blogger salary is HUGE in your blogging journey…especially if you want this side hustle to turn into a full-time job! I won’t lie, it takes tons of hard work, but this can truly become your dream job!
