Traffic and Income Report (Q4 2023)

Aaaand that's a wrap! I don't know where 2023 went, but it was a good year! This post is recapping my traffic and income for quarter 4 and 2023 overall.

A Few Notes

• The income and expenses are cash values, not accrual. This means the numbers shown are what actually entered/exited my accounts each month.
  • For example, Mediavine pays publishers on a Net65 basis, so my reported income in December 2023 is reflecting what I made from Mediavine in September 2023.
• I have a few contractors helping me with blog writing, Pinterest, photo editing, and video editing.
• I spent most of Q4 prepping for my new 6-month food blog coaching program that started in January! Chris and I also took a 2-week trip to Europe in October.

October 2023

This quarter started off with 75,894 sessions in October and a net profit!

November 2023

November got up to 100,606 sessions! Income-wise, I came very close to breaking even! I started purchasing gifts and shipping for my group coaching gift boxes, and some annual plans renewed this month. We had a little net loss!

December 2023

December hit 122,177 sessions which was a new record for me! Expenses were even higher this month with more gift boxes and annual plan renewals, but we came out with a net profit.

Quarter 4, 2023

My quarter 4 2023 sessions increased by 18.5% compared to 2022. I was hoping to see a greater increase this year, but considering most of my energy went into coaching vs the blog, I'm happy with this!

Net Income

• Q4 Income: $21077.97
• Q4 Expenses: $16753.69
• Q4 Net Income: $4324.28

2023 Summary

It's hard to tell how much my traffic increased year-over-year due to the UA to GA4 transition (I didn't start collecting data in GA4 until the end of April 2022). Google was my largest traffic driver all year, even with the disruptions from their updates.

Overall it was a great year! My traffic increased and I almost doubled my revenue! I came so close to hitting my goal of 6-figures and made more than any of my corporate salaries.

Net Income

• 2023 Income: $95164.78
• 2023 Expenses: $58772.64
• 2023 Net Income: $36392.14

Lessons Learned

• Diversification is important for both income and traffic.
• Community > competition! Give more than you receive.
• Follow your heart! It will (usually) lead you in the right direction 😊

Looking to 2024

Last year was pretty wild! In January my goals were to increase blog traffic and client work to reach a 6-figure revenue. After a few months, I decided to pivot and dive into blog coaching! And I'm so glad I did.

I've found that my true passion doesn't lie in making recipes, but in the technical and business aspects of blogging. Even more so in teaching it to other bloggers and seeing them succeed!

2023 ended up being a year of maintaining my blog and projects with loyal clients while launching coaching for food bloggers! This started with 1-on-1 coaching calls in February, a 3-month program around May, and then filling a 6-month group coaching+mastermind program in Q4.

Our group program's weekly calls kicked off on January 11th and I'm writing this in mid-February. I can't believe how many amazing things have happened just in the past few months. I've connected with so many bloggers & experts in our industry and I'm extremely grateful for their generosity and support!

This community is truly the best. My main goal for 2024 is to give back and help as many bloggers as I can! I want to do my part in making blogging less lonely and easier to understand & implement as a business.

If you're looking to start a website, check out my food blog resources page. I also share free tips on Instagram - come say hi! 👋