When Julianne Bayer began her weblog, Past Frosting, again in 2012, she couldn’t have imagined the rollercoaster journey it could develop into.
She began her website with plans to show it right into a enterprise, and he or she actually achieved that objective. Alongside the best way she wrote a bestselling cookbook, appeared on QVC, and had recipes go viral on social media.
Simply when issues have been going nice, she was hit with an algorithm replace and misplaced 60% of her site visitors in a single day. However moderately than throw within the towel, she rolled up her sleeves and began working to construct up her website once more.
At present she spends minimal time on her weblog and outsources no matter she will so she will be there for her household. And though she hasn’t totally recovered from the replace, she’s nonetheless incomes 6 figures a yr.
Hold studying to search out out:
- How she received her e book deal
- Why she created her web site
- What kinds of content material she posted initially
- The place her earnings comes from
- How a lot site visitors she’s getting
- Her ideas on website positioning
- What occurred after the algorithm replace
- How she will get site visitors from social media
- How she approaches key phrase analysis and hyperlink constructing
- Her content material creation course of
- How she grows her electronic mail listing
- Her go-to instruments
- Her greatest problem
- Her best accomplishment
- Her primary mistake
- Her recommendation for different entrepreneurs
Meet Julianne Bayer
My identify is Julianne, and I weblog at Past Frosting, which I began in 2012.
Initially, I began running a blog as a result of I used to be actually getting again into baking after taking some cake adorning courses. I’ve all the time liked to bake, and studying to brighten actually impressed me to discover extra.
I labored full-time within the attire business for the primary 7 years of running a blog. Throughout that point, I wrote a cookbook, No-Bake Treats, which hit the Amazon bestsellers’ listing, and it introduced me to QVC to go stay within the Kitchen with David, the place my e book offered out in a matter of minutes.
In 2019, I left my company job to pursue running a blog full-time. At the moment, I used to be additionally 3 months pregnant with my first youngster. He was born in early 2020, and I gave beginning to my second son in early 2023.
I really like being a mother and have just lately found a ardour for getting my children within the kitchen with me.
I stay within the Pacific Northwest with my husband and two boys. We like to snowboard, and my husband and I like to journey to totally different mountains to discover.
How the Guide Deal Got here About
I used to be approached by my writer, Web page Avenue, in 2015 about writing a cookbook. I used to be clearly very enthusiastic about it, however was uncertain how I’d handle writing a e book, working full-time, and nonetheless making an attempt to weblog.
Through the course of, I used to be nonetheless running a blog a bit bit on the facet, however I needed to take an enormous step again so as to work on the e book. They initially wished all 80 recipes in 4 months, however I pushed again on the timeline.
I developed, wrote, and shot the whole e book myself, 75 new recipes and 5 present ones from my web site. It was a fairly loopy course of.
Earlier than the e book was launched, I received information that it was going to be on QVC, which was SO thrilling. Nonetheless, I had additionally relocated from California to Oregon in mid-April and two weeks after I began I needed to fly to Pennsylvania to do a coaching to go on stay (they principally need to be sure you is usually a good match for stay TV). Across the time my e book got here out, I flew again to the set and was there for a fast 24-hour journey.
Throughout my interview for my job, I had not talked about something about my cookbook or my weblog, so it was a fairly loopy expertise to then need to share all of that information and ask for day without work to be on TV proper after beginning a brand new job.
It was superior, although. They have been very supportive and I hosted a tasting of recipes from the e book once I received again.
Why She Created Her Web site
On the time I began running a blog, it felt like there have been already so many profitable bloggers, but additionally bloggers have been beginning to earn cash and treating it like a enterprise, however it’s nothing like it’s at present. The advert networks we all know at present didn’t exist but.
Whereas I actually loved baking once more, I additionally knew that running a blog may very well be a enterprise. I had all the time hoped that in the future once I had children, I may very well be residence with them whereas they have been younger. I believed that running a blog would possibly present a chance to just do that, however I had no concept the street it could lead me down.
Within the early days of running a blog, the objective was to be totally different and distinctive in recipe creation, and I’d submit recipes like “Circus Animal Cookie Dough Truffles” or “Bourbon Bacon S’mores Cookies.”
Then when website positioning got here into the image, the entire content material technique shifted to posting extra primary, searchable recipes. There was a time once I thought to myself, “Why would I submit a chocolate chip cookie recipe when everybody else has one?” It’s loopy.
How A lot She’s Incomes
My main earnings stream is promoting on my web site, whereas a small portion is created from affiliate earnings and model partnerships.
The weblog brings in six figures per yr, with an excellent proportion of earnings in This autumn.
Yr-to-date, I’m up 60% in income over final yr and I’m experiencing 20% progress in site visitors every month over the past 9 months.
As for the breakdown, 84% is advert income, 14% from model partnerships and 1% from affiliate gross sales.
Site visitors sits between 600k to over one million pageviews per thirty days, relying on the time of yr.
As for the way a lot time I spend on my weblog, the previous couple of months I’ve labored lower than 10 hours per week since I had a new child and a toddler. However as my child has gotten older, I’ve been capable of get extra night hours in after the children go to mattress.
I principally batch-produce my content material through the instances when I’ve household come to go to and may also help with the children. I additionally do fairly a little bit of baking with my toddler, and that is often once I work on recipe improvement, though he’s just about carried out with me after the primary recipe.
Her Ideas on website positioning
Once I began specializing in website positioning, a lot of my high posts weren’t optimized however have been rating for some very excessive search quantity key phrases.
At first, I used to be listening to a number of podcasts from The Principle of Content material about maximize alternatives that customers are already coming to you for.
I began including H2s into my posts and making an attempt to reply the FAQs that appeared in Google. I’d publish a number of recipes for sugar cookies, for instance, focusing on totally different key phrases.
Site visitors was on an enormous progress trajectory.
Then, per week after leaving my company job in 2019, I received hit by a Google replace and my weblog misplaced about 60% of natural site visitors in a single day. I misplaced all of these high positions for issues like vanilla frosting, whipped cream, sugar cookies, and chocolate cake.
In January of 2020, I employed my website positioning workforce, Swift Horse Advertising, and at the moment I additionally lastly pulled the dates from my URLs. We targeted on total website well being and instantly went to work on optimizing a few of these high posts that fell.
Google site visitors was tough, however as a result of every little thing modified because of the pandemic, and other people have been nonetheless residence all yr, I ended up solely utilizing 22% of Google site visitors year-over-year.
I’ve by no means totally recovered from that replace, and nowadays natural search makes up solely 20% of my total site visitors.
Google has modified a lot since then, and the best way they ship search outcomes is getting tougher to get content material seen.
This yr, we’ve spent nearly all of our time republishing outdated content material, which has introduced life again into older posts.
website positioning is essential, but it surely isn’t every little thing, and typically I believe individuals put an excessive amount of weight on that. An increasing number of, I really feel like writing for the precise reader is essential.
There was by no means a time during which I wrote extra simply to have longer posts and filler content material. However I discover myself enhancing down increasingly more to essentially simply ship what the consumer wants.
My readers do respect the extent of element I present, particularly on the subject of extra sophisticated desserts. It’s a troublesome stability. This has labored in our favor within the current Useful Content material Replace. I noticed some enhancements, however most significantly, I didn’t lose any bigger rankings.
Social media is my primary site visitors supply, with Pinterest being primary and Fb being quantity two.
In July of 2021, I employed a Pinterest service to handle my account. I used to be doing the naked minimal to remain afloat. They create 50 new pins for me a month, schedule out all new content material, and we’re nonetheless utilizing Tailwind. Previous pins nonetheless have traction on Pinterest in addition to outdated video pins.
Facebookwise, the massive distinction for me additionally comes again to reels. I see an enormous uptick in clicks when I’m constant about posting.
Key phrase Analysis
My course of is a little bit of a mixture.
My website positioning workforce typically gives a number of concepts for key phrase alternatives. Creating content material solely based mostly on key phrases received outdated in a short time, made issues very mundane, and may put me in a artistic funk.
So I additionally make recipes that encourage me or are simply plain enjoyable to do. My “Strawberry Pop Tart Cookies” and “Circus Animal Stuffed Sugar Cookies” don’t usher in search site visitors, however they do nice on social media.
I additionally by no means move up a chance to make one thing that I need to make, even when it’s a high-volume key phrase that will be difficult to rank for.
I’ve a killer banana bread recipe. Banana bread has a search quantity of 200k with a key phrase problem of 80%, it’s very very exhausting to rank for. The recipe has gone viral on Pinterest a number of instances and in a years’ time, it was #7 of my high 10 recipes with 70% of the site visitors coming from Pinterest.
Pinterest analytics aren’t accessible for the lifetime of the pin, however within the final 180 days, it’s had over one million impressions.
Hyperlink Constructing
I’ve by no means frolicked on hyperlink constructing, however I had the chance to work with main manufacturers and companies years in the past, which helped set up a few of my area authority. I don’t actively work on hyperlink constructing exterior of submitting particular person weblog posts for recipe roundups.
Up to now, I’ve collaborated with the Wilton Staff and traveled to their headquarters to be taught extra about their product launches and take a look at their behind-the-scenes operations.
On the time, I used to be additionally contributing to the Higher Houses and Gardens weblog. This landed me a chance to take part in a Candy 16 Baking Problem, and I used to be a finalist.
I traveled to the Higher Houses and Gardens headquarters, the place the ultimate 4 extremely gifted bakers (Jocelyn from Grandbaby Truffles, Amanda from I Am Baker, and Aimee Shugary Sweets) went head-to-head within the take a look at kitchens and the employees voted on our recipes to find out a winner. It was a fairly unbelievable alternative.
I’ve one other long-time shopper, the American Dairy Affiliation (who I nonetheless work with happening 7 years now), which started after they invited me to tour dairy farms and study dairy manufacturing in Ohio.
Walkers Shortbread is one other firm that I’ve labored with on and off over the previous a number of years, in addition to corporations native to Oregon: Oregon Berries and Bob’s Crimson Mill.
Just a few years in the past, I began working with Sprint Model Administration. They characterize me and deal with all of the conversations and negotiations with my present partnerships, which is a mixture of manufacturers that attain out to me and in addition manufacturers they pitch on my behalf.
This has led to offers with main retailers like Kroger and Safeway. Pitching manufacturers was by no means a power of mine, and previously most alternatives got here my method by way of social media or manufacturers and PR corporations reaching out to me, so to have Sprint deal with this for me has been an enormous weight off my shoulders,
Julianne’s Content material Creation Course of
I’ve 900 articles revealed on my website, and I’ve deleted over 100 articles and recipes that I’d think about skinny or outdated content material that doesn’t serve my website anymore.
Over the past couple of years, time for work has been extraordinarily restricted. As a full-time mother, I match work in the place I can.
This previous yr I shifted from publishing two new recipes per week to posting one new recipe per week and updating one outdated submit. Or typically I am going a number of weeks merely republishing and enhancing outdated content material.
I’ve additionally been reshooting and including course of photographs to older recipes. There’s a number of worth in older posts that simply want a little bit of a facelift, and I’ve seen that payoff this yr.
Her E mail Record
Again in 2019, one the issues I selected to give attention to was rising my electronic mail listing.
I work with Matt Molen on his E mail on Autopilot course. Matt helped to get me arrange on ConvertKit and his strategy to electronic mail may be very approachable and straightforward to execute.
I’ve been operating the identical lead magnet for various years on my website, but it surely’s one space we’re seeking to develop in 2024, and I’m on the point of launch some new ones in This autumn as properly.
I can even look to push my electronic mail signups on my social media websites, which I’ve not carried out beforehand.
Proper now, I’ve edited my listing all the way down to 35k subscribers and I’m working to maintain solely lively subscribers, so I delete customers incessantly to maintain the numbers decrease. E mail at the moment solely accounts for about 2% of my site visitors.
Her Favourite Instruments
My favourite device is synthetic mild.
For years I instructed myself I wanted extra flexibility when it got here to capturing footage. I lastly discovered a bit bit extra this final yr and it’s a recreation changer for me.
The winters are lengthy and darkish within the Pacific Northwest, so being able to nonetheless produce high quality images, at any time of day, has put much less stress on me to shoot solely on sunny days.
Plus, with my children, it’s grow to be more durable to search out the time to shoot. I can shoot course of photographs within the morning after which the heroes within the afternoon, however nonetheless have constant lighting.
I’m now capturing utilizing a flash, whereas earlier than I used to be depending on pure mild.
As for key phrase analysis instruments, I exploit each Semrush and KeySearch to assist have a look at key phrase concepts and to see how issues are performing.
I additionally use SmarterQueue. I used to be a bit late to the sport right here, however I discover it to be a tremendous device for scheduling and in addition discovering content material to share on Fb from different bloggers.
It was at one level an incredible device for scheduling Fb content material, however I’ve since reverted again to Meta Enterprise Suites as a result of Fb appears to desire that you just use their scheduling instruments. I do nevertheless nonetheless use it for Instagram and I find it irresistible.
My Fb web page fluctuates: when issues are good, they’re good, however once they’re lifeless, it’s tough.
I get an excellent quantity of site visitors from different bloggers who share my content material and I’ve had a number of reels go viral on Fb a number of instances, together with my Vanilla Frosting, Sugar Cookie Icing, and Fruity Pebble Whipped Cream.
Julianne’s Largest Problem
I’d say Google is my greatest problem. Can they only make up their thoughts already? Kidding, type of.
It’s in all probability a scarcity of time. I spent 7 years solely having the ability to put in half the hassle.
In transitioning to full-time running a blog, I solely had 6 months of time the place I used to be actually full-time, and through that interval I used to be additionally pregnant. I’m continually feeling behind or sluggish to get began on new alternatives that come up just because I don’t have the bandwidth.
I suppose this can be a widespread downside irrespective of how a lot time you must dedicate to a enterprise as a result of the to-do listing by no means will get shorter.
Certainly, I’d not have the expansion that I’ve had with out the workforce I’ve serving to me. Through the years I’ve invested in and have employed a number of individuals who’ve helped me maintain my enterprise.
All the pieces from my website positioning workforce, who writes and updates content material, to impartial photographers, and digital assistants, and I most just lately employed a social media supervisor which I’m actually enthusiastic about.
I don’t do that alone and there’s no method I might.
Her Best Accomplishment
I’d say publishing my cookbook and going to QVC have been the 2 greatest highlights that come to thoughts.
I used to be working full-time once I wrote my cookbook and I principally needed to put my weblog apart for nearly a yr to dedicate the time to the e book, however I’m actually pleased with what I did.
The opposite one is once I lastly hit over one million pageviews. That quantity has all the time eluded me and once I lastly hit it, I simply wished to have a good time it.
What She Needs She Knew When She Began
Initially, I’d not have written about what was occurring on The Actual Housewives or The Bachelor that week as a result of 12 years later, it means nothing!
Be open and adaptable to alter. The one fixed factor on this line of labor is change, and you must be open to adapting.
I nonetheless need to remind myself of this on a regular basis.
Her Largest Mistake
I’d say this nonetheless holds true at present, however I do consider you want to discover methods to diversify.
It’s one thing I take into consideration on daily basis, and to be trustworthy, I’m horrible at it. I’m a creature of behavior and have a tendency to stay with what I do know and do greatest. This has triggered me to overlook out on alternatives or to adapt faster.
I used to be late to the sport to leap on Reels, for example. Once I began making them, I immediately noticed superb progress on Instagram, which had been stagnant.
In 2021, I netted solely 8,408 followers and site visitors from Instagram was 5% of my referral site visitors for the yr. I posted a number of reels in This autumn of 2021 after which actually targeted on it in 2022.
Within the first 6 months of 2022, I netted 29k followers and, by the tip of the yr, 40k followers. Instagram nonetheless made up for five% of my referral site visitors, however I grew site visitors from Instagram by 55%.
I can solely think about if I had gotten in earlier, how this might have made a distinction. I additionally had a small efficiency bonus from Fb, which once more I might have possibly capitalized on earlier if I had jumped on it earlier.
Her Recommendation for Different Entrepreneurs
I’d say that you just simply can’t count on to have the ability to do every little thing. Discover the issues that convey you probably the most pleasure and search assist to execute on the issues that don’t.
Additionally individuals used to inform me that after I left my job and will dedicate myself to my weblog that I’d see a number of progress. It’s completely true, however don’t count on to see that success in a single day, particularly while you get hit with an algorithm replace the next week!
So in the event you’re studying this questioning in the event you ought to depart your full-time job, I’d say that there are a number of components concerned, together with ensuring financially that you are able to do it, no matter meaning for you.
