The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Writing a compelling book proposal, demystifying the financial reality of cookbook publishing, and sharing what publishers are looking for in a cookbook author with Sally Ekus from The Ekus Group. ----- Welcome to episode 567 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Sally Ekus. How to Write a Cookbook Proposal and Land a Book Deal with Sally Ekus Have you ever wondered what it actually takes to get a cookbook deal — and whether your platform is big enough to make it happen? Sally Ekus, a literary agent specializing in the cookbook space, is here to pull back the curtain on the entire process. In this episode, Sally shares exactly what she looks for when evaluating potential cookbook authors, how to build a proposal that stands out, and what a realistic book deal might look like depending on the size of your audience. Whether you're dreaming of a cookbook or just starting to explore the idea, this episode will give you a clear and honest roadmap for what the path forward actually looks like. Three episode takeaways: What publishers are really looking for in a cookbook author — Sally breaks down the four pillars she evaluates in every potential author: platform, concept, voice, and personality. She explains why your social media following matters (and which platforms publishers care most about), why a consistent email newsletter can set you apart, and how to demonstrate that you can actually convert your audience into book buyers. How to write a compelling cookbook proposal — A great proposal goes far beyond a list of recipes. Sally walks through what to include, how to articulate your unique concept, and why aligning your book idea with the stories you already tell in your content is so important. She also shares how a standout proposal can help offset a smaller following — because showing how you reach your audience is just as important as how many people you reach. The financial reality of cookbook publishing — From the structure of a book advance to earning it out, royalties, and what a deal might realistically look like based on your platform size, Sally demystifies the money side of cookbook publishing. She also makes the case for why many creators write cookbooks even knowing most won't earn beyond the advance — brand extension, legacy, and sharing a meaningful message are all powerful reasons to pursue it. Resources: The Ekus Group Not So Secret Agent 391: Behind the Scenes of the Cookbook Publishing Process with Sally Ekus JVNLA Lat14 Karyn Tomlinson Theo of Golden Pinch of Yum Follow Sally on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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

Navigating the AI Search landscape and advocating for fair traffic for food bloggers with Adam Gallagher from Inspired Taste. ----- Welcome to episode 566 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Adam Gallagher from Inspired Taste. What Food Bloggers Need to Know About AI Search and the Fight for Fair Traffic Adam and Joanne Gallagher have been running Inspired Taste since 2009 — long enough to have lived through every major shift in how Google works, from early SEO best practices to AI Overviews. But what's happening right now feels different, and Adam isn't staying quiet about it. In this episode, Adam and Bjork dig into the current state of search from the perspective of a creator who has spent 15+ years playing by Google's rules — only to watch those rules change in ways that feel fundamentally unfair to creators. This is also a conversation about what comes next — equal parts anxiety and optimism — and what creators can actually do right now to advocate for a more fair and sustainable version of AI-powered search. Three episode takeaways: What AI Overviews are doing to your traffic — Adam breaks down what position zero actually means and how AI Overviews are affecting the gap between impressions and click-through rates. He and Bjork also unpack the strange irony at the heart of the current moment: Google spent years penalizing creators for scaled content, and is now surfacing AI-generated recipes — essentially the definition of scaled content — at the top of search results. Why Adam chose to block AI crawlers from Inspired Taste — Adam shares the reasoning behind his decision to block ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude from crawling his site, and why he believes creators have both the right and the responsibility to push back on how their content is being used. What you can do now to improve the future of search for food creators — Adam shares what he believes needs to change in how Google handles AI Mode and AI search results to make them more fair for creators, and why he thinks advocacy could actually move the needle. He also talks about the importance of communicating directly with your audience about what's happening to help them understand why supporting independent creators and seeking out real, tested recipes matters (watch the two Reels linked in the Resources section to see how Adam and Joanne are doing this at Inspired Taste). Resources: Inspired Taste AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet — And Thanksgiving Dinner Raptive Pinch of Yum Cloudflare NerdPress The Last Invention Robby Stein Rajan Patel First Instagram Reel about AI Recipes Second Instagram Reel about AI Recipes NBC News: Why AI holiday recipes can't handle the heat Follow Inspired Taste on Instagram and Adam on LinkedIn Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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.

Prioritizing joy-led content creation, leaning into email, and building a sustainable business as a food creator with Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things. ----- Welcome to episode 565 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Ashlea Carver from All the Healthy Things. How to Keep Creating Without Burning Out Ashlea Carver has been creating food content for ten years, and in that time she's built a well-rounded and financially diversified businesses. But longevity in this industry isn't just about strategy — it's about learning how to navigate the harder parts of being a creator online. In this episode, Ashlea and Bjork dig into the mindset shifts that have kept her going — how she handles comparison and how she's made a deliberate choice to lead with joy in her business decisions to avoid burnout. They also get into the practical side of her business — why her blog is still her most valuable platform and biggest revenue driver, why she's prioritizing email, and how she thinks about Instagram in an era where personality-forward content is so important. It's an honest conversation about building a business that lasts — one that doesn't burn you out, doesn't make you dependent on any single platform, and actually feels good to run. Three episode takeaways: Why slowing down is one of the most important things you can do for your business — Ashlea shares why she carves out intentional time a few times a year for an "owner's retreat" — a dedicated window to step back, assess what's working and what isn't, and make decisions from a place of clarity rather than reaction. She and Bjork talk about the difference between being driven by purpose versus being driven by numbers, and why leaning into joy is a legitimate business strategy. Why your blog and email list are still your most valuable assets — Ashlea shares why her blog remains her biggest revenue driver and why owning your platform matters now more than ever. She also explains how she's built an email strategy around three weekly broadcasts, what she's experimenting with on the paid subscriber side, and why email is the best buffer she has against algorithm changes. How Ashlea is thinking about AI, Instagram, and the future of her brand — From her decision to bring more personality into her content as a direct response to the rise of AI, to her thoughtful reluctance to lean too heavily into AI tools in her own workflow, Ashlea shares a refreshingly intentional approach to showing up online. She also breaks down what her monetization mix actually looks like — ad revenue, sponsored content, affiliate — and why she hired an agency to help manage brand partnerships. Resources: All the Healthy Things Fit Foodie Finds Grow Your Email List and Connect with Your Audience with Allea Grummert Duett 398: The Importance of Surveying Your Audience with Email with Allea Grummert 288: Email for Bloggers – Maximizing the Value of Your Email List with Allea Grummert 229: Email Marketing – Strategies for Bloggers with Allea Grummert Kit Grocers List Mediavine Raptive Turning Followers into Revenue with Ben Jabbawy from Grocers List How Molly Thompson Grew Her Email List from 15K to 100K Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time with Jason Glaspey CookIt Media Sally McKenney from Sally's Baking Addiction on Creating Success Follow Ashlea on Instagram Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! 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.

What happens when SEO stops working, rebuilding after a major traffic drop, and navigating AI and the future of blogging with Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen. ----- Welcome to episode 564 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen. Reinventing a Food Blog After an 80% Traffic Drop Carrie Forrest has been blogging since 2009 and has experienced the full range of highs and lows that come with building an online business. When Bjork first interviewed her in 2018, she was already growing Clean Eating Kitchen with simple, healthy recipes and a strong foundation in SEO and keyword research. Between 2022 and 2024, that strategy paid off in a big way — Carrie grew her site from a few hundred thousand monthly pageviews to nearly one million. But with the rollout of AI Overviews, many of the keyword-driven and how-to posts she relied on were hit hard, leading to an 80% traffic drop almost overnight. In this episode, Carrie shares how she's navigating this rebuild season — from leaning into her email list and YouTube to focusing on what AI can't replicate: human connection, empathy, and transformation. It's an honest conversation about the shifting landscape for online creators and what reinvention can look like after years of success. Three episode takeaways: Why it can be difficult to diversify when one strategy is working extremely well — We talk all the time about the importance of diversifying your revenue and traffic streams, but that can be hard to do in reality! Carrie talks about why she struggled to listen to that advice and how hard it is to focus energy on diversifying when your current strategy is doing so well. How Carrie is approaching a rebuild season after an 80% drop in traffic — Bjork and Carrie discuss the ebbs and flows of running an online business, how Carrie recovers from big traffic dips, and how a beginner mindset is helping her feel more creative than ever before. Why focusing on human connection, creativity, and audience relationships matters more than ever — Carrie shares her current outlook for her blog and explains why she is leaning into her humanity and connection with her audience instead of information and transaction. Resources: Clean Eating Kitchen 152: 6 Blogging Mistakes Made By a Veteran Food Blogger with Carrie Forrest 278: Lessons from a Veteran Food Blogger – How to Overcome a 60% Dip in Traffic with Carrie Forrest Media Wyse TopHatRank The Money Café with Alan Kohler NerdPress February Blogging Newsletter — debunking the myth that search is dying, AI Frankenstein recipes, Pinterest, and more! The Gap and The Gain Follow Carrie on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Yoast 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.

How to use AI to manage information overload, simple ways to start using AI tools in your business, and what OpenClaw is and how it works with Jason Glaspey. ----- Welcome to episode 563 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Jason Glaspey. Using AI to Eliminate Busywork and Unlock Creative Time AI is everywhere right now — and for creators, it can feel equal parts exciting and overwhelming. Between shifting algorithms, constant platform changes, and an increasingly noisy internet, many creators feel like they're stuck in "defense mode" just trying to keep up. In this episode, Jason Glaspey shares his journey from internet entrepreneur to AI builder and explains how creators can start using AI tools in practical ways to simplify their workflows. Bjork and Jason talk about the current state of the internet, why creators often feel stuck reacting instead of exploring new opportunities, and how AI can help shift that mindset. Jason also introduces OpenClaw, an AI-powered tool designed to proactively help with tasks and projects. They discuss how it works, how they're using it in their own workflows, and how tools like OpenClaw can automate repetitive tasks — like grammar checks, link audits, and SEO reviews — so creators can focus on what really matters: making compelling, human-centered content. If you've been curious about how to use AI in your business without losing the human element, this episode will give you a helpful starting point. Three episode takeaways: How AI can help you manage information overload and stay in discover mode — The internet has never been more engaging — or more overwhelming. With constant updates, endless content streams, and shifting algorithms, creators often feel like they're reacting instead of exploring new ideas. Jason explains why the internet today can feel addictive but less satisfying, and how tools like AI can help filter out the noise so you get out of defense mode can focus on meaningful creative work. Simple ways to start using AI tools in your business — A huge portion of running an online business involves repetitive, administrative tasks — things like proofreading posts, checking links, auditing content for SEO best practices, and cleaning up older posts. Jason shares how AI tools can take over this "grunt work," freeing up your time and energy. What OpenClaw is and how it works — Unlike many AI tools that simply respond to prompts, OpenClaw is designed to be proactive. Jason and Bjork discuss how they're using it to manage projects, monitor tasks, and automate parts of their workflow. Resources: JasonGlaspey.com Fleet of Geniuses Non-Traditional Success – Optimizing for Happiness with Jason Glaspey OpenClaw Telegram Slack Discord Github Claude Notion CopyClub.ai Email Jason Follow Jason on Twitter Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsors! This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens. 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.