Episode 582: Creative Ways to Earn Money as A New Food Blogger with Katharine Rosenthal

EBT582 – Katharine Rosenthal

Intro 00:00

Food bloggers. Hi, how are you today? Thank you so much for tuning in to the Eat Blog Talk podcast. This is the place for food bloggers to get information and inspiration to accelerate your blog’s growth, and ultimately help you to achieve your freedom. Whether that’s financial, personal, or professional. I’m Megan Porta. I have been a food blogger for 13 years, so I understand how isolating food blogging can be. I’m on a mission to motivate, inspire, and most importantly, let each and every food blogger, including you, know that you are heard and supported.

Megan Porta  00:37

Oh, you are going to absolutely love this episode, especially if you are a newer food blogger and you’re looking for ways to make money while you wait to get into an ad network. Catherine Rosenthal, from be well table talks about all of the creative ways she is employing to bring in money. She talks through a handful of partnerships that she has currently that are really unique and probably something that you have not thought about. She talks about reaching out to local magazines and how fruitful this has been for her business. She also talks about just maybe getting a part time job for 5-10 hours a week to bring in consistent money. Katherine also offers really simple cooking classes in her city. I want you to listen to the episode to hear more details about all the partnerships she does because they’re so cool. Probably the coolest thing about them is the boldness and courage that has been required for her to find them and follow through with them. She has such a great story. I think this is going to be a really inspiring episode for so many people. It is episode number 582 sponsored by RankIQ. 

Sponsor  01:53

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Megan Porta  03:23

Katharine is a Dietitian and Food Blogger and she started her blog in early 2023. She focuses on healthy-ish recipes that are easy and approachable. As a Dietitian, Katharine fully believes that there is room for every food and she wants to spread that philosophy and idea to all of her readers. Katharine’s favorite saying is “nourish to flourish” and to her that means to eat nutrient-rich foods most of the time but also grab those fries and drink the milkshake when you are craving it!

Megan Porta  03:52

Katharine, hello. Welcome to the podcast. How are you today?

Katharine Rosenthal  03:55

Hey, Megan, I’m really good. How are you?

Megan Porta  03:57

I’m good as well. Super excited to talk about this topic, because I think a lot of people are in the same boat. New food bloggers just wanting to make money while they’re waiting to get into the ad network, and it can seem like a never ending wait, right? 

Katharine Rosenthal  04:13

Absolutely. 

Megan Porta  04:14

Yeah. Before we get into that, do you have a fun fact to share with us? 

Katharine Rosenthal  04:19

So I if I didn’t start a food blog, I think I would start a travel or travel hacking blog. We love to travel hack, which is basically traveling on points, credit card points, and so that’s kind of like one of my hobbies outside of cooking and nutrition, is traveling. So we love to travel the world with our boys. We have two young boys and a third one on the way, and we continue, or we plan to continue, traveling the world with them. 

Megan Porta  04:50

So, oh, I love knowing that about you. The world of travel hacking is so intriguing to me, I feel like you should maybe come back and talk about that. Because. Food bloggers equal freedom, right? Like we want freedom, and a lot of us love traveling, yes, so this is a really good way to do that. Oh, gosh, okay, yeah, we’re gonna have another conversation to be continued. 

Katharine Rosenthal  05:13

Yeah, one of my favorite hobbies is to travel.

Megan Porta  05:16

Oh, do you guys have a favorite spot that you go to? 

Katharine Rosenthal  05:18

So we really just like exploring new places. This last May, we went to Ireland with our two boys, which was really, really fun. And then the summer before that, we went to Alaska with them. So those have been, like, our really big trips with them. We kind of do like, one big international or further vacation each year, so.

Megan Porta  05:39

oh, so fun. I love knowing that about you. All right. Well, we’re going to Ireland. I mean, we don’t have plans to, but that is on our list. So when we do, I will ask you what,

Katharine Rosenthal  05:49

Yeah, I’ve got an itinerary. 

Megan Porta  05:51

Okay, okay, perfect. All right. Well, let’s get into our topic. So I think it would be great just for you to give us a little bit of a background about your blog, like when you started to listen a little bit on that?

Katharine Rosenthal  06:03

So I started, officially started my blog last March in 2023 so I have a background in nutrition. I’m a dietitian, and I’ve always had a passion about living a balanced life. And last year, I was stay at home mom with my two young boys. They’re about 16 months apart, so it was really hard, and I found a lot of joy from cooking in the kitchen and making some new recipes. So knew I wanted to go back to work. I just didn’t know exactly what capacity or what direction, and once I realized my joy of being in the kitchen again, I wanted to blend those two together, so started posting on Instagram like, you know, a lot of people start out that way. Then I quickly realized that I wanted to turn it into a business and a full time job. So I created Be Well Table the blog last March, and I really started taking it seriously this last fall, when my boys started daycare, I was able to put more time into it and energy. So I would say, like in September of last year, 2023 it was when I really started, you know, making it more of a business, learning about the SEO, learning about networking, social media. You know, all the things that it takes to run a food blog. 

Megan Porta  07:25

Awesome. I love it. And you’re a newish blogger. It’s a relatively new thing for you, yep. And I know this time can be really frustrating, because it’s like, I want to be making money from ads. Kind of get that passive income rolling in, but I’m not there yet. And doesn’t it just seem like it takes so long?

Katharine Rosenthal  07:47

It does, and it’s, I mean, it’s really hard to, you know, when you’re not seeing the results of, like, you know, your Google Analytics. Like, going nuts. Like, sometimes I can feel really challenging to be like, Am I ever gonna get there? And like, you know how to stay motivated to keep going.

Megan Porta  08:05

you have to pay for things like, you have to invest in certain things you mentioned, learning the value of networking and learning SEO and all the proper tools and plugins and all of that. And that requires investment. 

Katharine Rosenthal  08:17

Yes. 

Megan Porta  08:18

So you need money coming in, right? So how do you personally get the money when you’re not yet in an ad network?

Katharine Rosenthal  08:25

Yeah, so me and my spend are really big on budgeting, so we set a budget for Be Well Table my blog every month. So I have a strict budget, and that has been helpful. But ways that I’m bringing in money, I have three different, you know, revenue sources. I have online partnerships. I’m really big into local partnerships in my own community, and then I also do some contract dietitian work. 

Megan Porta  08:52

Okay, so, how did you get into the partnerships?

Katharine Rosenthal  08:57

Yeah, so I’ll start with the online partnerships. Okay, the online partnerships. The first one was I was connected from, like, online website that connects dietitians to brands, and so I started working with a probiotic company, and they have, like, a all natural energy supplement that I make recipes with. So that’s been my first, like, big partnership, and that has been really helpful for, you know, additional income and investing into my own business. And then I also have had some partnerships with smaller food brands. They don’t have quite as big of a budget. So for, you know, for a while, I don’t, I didn’t really know, like, my worth and working with brands. So I would do, you know, some reels here and there for like, $50 and then I kind of realized, oh, I need to increase my prices. Because, you know, my time is worth so much more than that. And so, so now I, you know, charge a little bit more. And a lot of those just. Kind of came like through Instagram, they reached out to me looking for some influencers or food bloggers to promote their new products. So that’s kind of how we got connected. But I would say my biggest one is through an online website that connects me with brands, which has been really helpful. 

Megan Porta  10:18

And what is that site? 

Katharine Rosenthal  10:20

It’s called RD Link, and so you have to be a dietitian for this one to be connected. So if there’s any other fellow dieticians out there that are also food bloggers, that’s a great resource to sign up for, and they just post, you know, all these brand partnerships on there that are looking for people have a social media presence to promote their product, or that’s really how I’ve done this partnership. I haven’t gotten into like, writing blog posts for them. It’s mostly just been collaboration videos.

Megan Porta  10:53

Okay. And I know there are some other similar type sites for non like, dietitians. I don’t know what they are off the top of my head, but yeah, if you search for those there, I know there’s a handful of them that people can look through.

Katharine Rosenthal  11:08

And I’ve, I’ve tried some of those, and I’ve gotten like, one or two here and there. But those, I mean, getting started, those are great. They just have, typically have a much smaller budget. And so I found that at the beginning, it was worth my time, when I was just trying to find, you know, whatever partnership I could but now, as I grow and have less time, they aren’t able to, you know, fully afford like, what I’m currently charging for videos.

Megan Porta  11:37

It could be a good first step though, for somebody just to get used to like navigating that world and getting their kind of foot in the door a little bit. 

Katharine Rosenthal  11:45

Yeah. And I don’t regret having those partnerships, because I do feel like alert, learned a lot with you know, what brands are looking for, reading contracts, you know, just like, you know, it’s all new. So you just kind of learn as you go. And those were great first step, so I definitely don’t regret it. 

Megan Porta  12:03

Yeah, absolutely. And then for your Instagram account, you said that people brands were reaching out to you. Do you have a huge Instagram account since you started there? 

Katharine Rosenthal  12:12

No, I really don’t. I have less than 3000 followers, and when brands were reaching out to me, I probably had like 1000 followers. So I really didn’t have, like, a huge, and I still don’t have a huge social media presence, but that’s, you know, smaller brands are always looking for people in the food world, food blogging world, to promote their products. So I would just have random, yeah, brands reach out to me through my DMs and saying, like, hey, we have this opportunity, and I would look into it and aligned with my niche, and so I would take it.

Megan Porta  12:51

And then, how much outreach did you do? Did you have you done a lot of reaching out to brands as well?

Katharine Rosenthal  12:57

I really haven’t done too much besides, like, local partnerships. I mean, I have tried, you know, reaching out to five brands a week that are, like, bigger brands or more nationwide, and a lot of the times, I don’t hear back from them. And so for a while that was part of my strategy, and I want to start incorporating that more again now that I have more experience. But for a while it was just kind of like, somehow it fell on my desk, like, so that’s great. Yeah, yeah.

Megan Porta  13:29

So do you have any recommendations for people if they want to do this, but they don’t know where to start? I love how you said that the first brand you worked with, I can’t remember what kind of brand it was, but you said it was, like, a really natural fit for your niche and for you. So is that where people start, like, just finding those things that really align with us?

Katharine Rosenthal  13:48

Yeah, I would say that’s the step that you want to take. I mean, you know, it’s as a new food blogger you’re I struggled with, like, figuring out my niche, and I feel like I am just now starting to, like, really hone in on it. And so it does definitely take time to, like, figure that out and what aligns with your blog. It’s just kind of all part of the process, you know, but I do think that’s important to align it with, you know, what your followers or your readers are coming to your page for so it stays consistent across the board. It doesn’t seem like unnatural for you to talk about it or incorporate it in your recipes,

Megan Porta  14:26

because people can sense that, right? Like, if you’re talking about something that you are not feeling, people know, they’re like, Oh, she didn’t really like that. 

Katharine Rosenthal  14:34

And like, that’s the whole thing, like, one part of food blogging, or just, you know, being on social media. I didn’t like, you know, I didn’t know about like, the whole marketing side of things until I was in it with, like, in promoting, you know, brands and products and so that’s just something that you kind of learn. And it does get more natural as you go, but it definitely helps when it’s something that aligns with your values. And, like, your niche. 

Megan Porta  15:01

You were just talking about this topic in one of my group calls maybe last week or so, and we were talking about how, like, this is a great option for people if they want to make money, but it also requires time, like, it does require a time investment. What would you say about that?

Katharine Rosenthal  15:19

so I’m definitely learning that as time goes on, like I’m starting, you know, I’m preparing for a maternity leave, so my time, a lot of my time is going there, and my time is going to some other partnerships. So it’s like, I’m starting to lose all a lot of the like time that I had. So I think you know, knowing your worth and like charging for it, and if it’s okay for some brands to say, No, you know, one of my plans is increasing my prices with my current contract with the probiotic company, like I am running lower on time, and so to make it worth my time, I need to start charging more. So I think knowing your worth and the value of your time is really important. And again, I think that just comes with your experience and the whole process of starting a blog. And I feel like I’m getting to that point where I’m like, Okay, I do need to charge a little bit more to make it worth my time. And you know, there’s also the fear of them saying no, and then, you know, like, Oh, this is a significant source of income for me. So I it’s kind of like a balance of, like, how much should I increase my my rate to still have this partnership, but make it worth my time? So, you know, I think it’s a balance that all of us need to figure out, as it’s just part of the process of being a new food blogger. So

Megan Porta  16:42

yeah. And it’s something you just have to kind of feel out as you go, like, like you said earlier. Just get started with that first one, even if it is like, $50 to create, you know, like one thing or whatever. And then you learn, like, oh, wait, that was not worth my time. So then you just adjust as you go, yeah.

Katharine Rosenthal  16:59

And I think, yeah, that’s just like, I keep saying. That’s the whole process of being a new food blogger is adjusting and learning as you go. And one thing that works for me or another food blogger may not work for another.

Megan Porta  17:12

Yeah, exactly. Okay, so you mentioned you had a couple other ways that you’re making money. What are some of those other ways? 

Katharine Rosenthal  17:19

The biggest partner, or like, the biggest thing for me has been local partnerships, actually. So I think it’s really easy as a food blogger to look for those online partnerships. I’ve found so much value in partnering with local businesses. So to begin, one of my first partnerships was with a local magazine, and it was just, it’s kind of a funny story. I was just walking through a farmer’s market, saw a local magazine, and I picked it up. Didn’t really, you know, you pick up those newsletters or magazines, you don’t really look at it. And I was about to throw it away when I got home. And then there was something in me that said, Maybe you should just see if they have recipes in there. So I flipped through and I saw that they had a featured recipe, but it wasn’t part of their normal magazine issue. So I had some confidence in me at that moment. I was like, You know what? Should just reach out to the publisher and, you know, pitch the idea of writing a recipe for them. And I think she responded pretty quickly, and was like, Hey, can we schedule a call to talk about, you know, you writing recipes for us? We love this idea. And so next thing I knew, I was on the phone with her, and she asked me to write recipes for each monthly issue, so it just kind of popped up. I had like, a moment of boldness, and I was like, I need to take advantage of this.

Megan Porta  18:54

Oh, that’s so cool. I love your moment of boldness. I feel that all the time where I’m like, I feel good right now, really confident. I need to take advantage, because I don’t feel that way all the time. So run with it, right?

Katharine Rosenthal  19:06

Yes. And so yeah, now I write monthly recipes for them, and they do a lot of, like, local events, so I’m invited to that. I’m like, a part of their team now. And yeah, it’s really fun to have that connection, and I even started branching out. And they have a few other magazines around the state, and I write nutrition articles for them on a monthly basis, like, it’s, it’s kind of random. I just pitched the idea to them, and I write some nutrition articles, but it’s a great way. Like I the nutrition articles and the recipes that I publish in their magazines also end up on my blog. So it’s a great way to expose my blog and get my name out there, but also do work for my blog and get paid for it, too.

Megan Porta  19:56

Yeah, it’s such an unconventional way to you make money as a food blogger. That’s so cool. And then is it, would you say it’s worth the time, considering what you get for compensation?

Katharine Rosenthal 20:09

I wouldn’t say so much for, like, the actual compensation part, but the connections and networking are just so valuable. And then also, I’m getting paid for something that will benefit my blog too, as a post or I post the QR codes and each article and recipes, so people scan that and it takes them to my blog. So it’s directing traffic to my blog too.

Sponsor  20:36

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Megan Porta  22:04

I’ve been thinking about this lately, how we can’t just look at what we’re getting as far as money goes. Sometimes we have to look at the bigger picture and consider like, the networking and the long term benefits of doing something like this, instead of just like, oh, it’s not worth my time in this moment. And I absolutely feels like that’s what you’re doing here. 

Katharine Rosenthal  22:26

Yeah, yep. I mean, yeah, I it’s just the greatest connection that I have created. And the publisher is so supportive of everything I do. I mean, she shares all my stuff and is always promoting me on her magazine site and so, and always looking for ways to connect me with other people. Like, there’s been a time where she connected me with someone that does nursing home activities, and so there was a potential partnership there too. It didn’t end up working out. But she’s just always looking for ways to connect people too. So that’s really helpful. 

Megan Porta  23:02

Those are invaluable opportunities. Yep. And then as far as recommendations for others, would you what would you say to them, like, just keep your eyes open. Would you recommend anything specific?

Katharine Rosenthal  23:14

Yeah. I mean, I really, I’ll talk about a few of the other local partnerships I’ve had, but I feel like starting with a magazine. They’re always looking for ways to fill their magazines, whether it’s something, you know, a one off recipe for them, or it ends up turning into a year long contract with them, like my case, I think just, you know, starting local see how you can benefit another local company, and they always want to support local businesses, too. I think starting with a magazine is great because they just are looking for ways to help their readers and entertain their readers. And everyone loves recipes. So yeah, I feel like that’s a great way to do it.

Megan Porta  23:59

And do you feel like even if you know someone is not a dietitian, because I feel like that is an advantage for you, yeah, that they would still have the opportunity to do these sorts of things?

Katharine Rosenthal  24:08

Absolutely, the recipe that I saw in the original magazine, she was not a dietitian, she was a food blogger, and not sure what her background is, but I think anyone that creates recipes that are yummy and tasty and look good, I think anyone could do it. You just gotta take the chance to reach out to the publisher.

Megan Porta  24:30

I love this one. I think, yeah, this is something we rarely talk about. Just magazines like locally, look around and see what’s available. Yeah. Okay, what else, Katharine?

Katharine Rosenthal  24:41

Recently, I started a kids cooking class, which has been really fun. I reached out to a facility that has like an indoor play area for kids, which are really popular right now, and they also have an event space where they host parties. So I was actually there for a party, a friend’s birthday party, and like, oh, this space would be great for a kid’s cooking class. So reached out to them, and for a while, kind of it fizzled out, and I didn’t think the partnership was going to work out. And then they hired Event Manager, and probably in May or June, we set up an appointment where I came down to the facility again, and we just chatted about all of our ideas, and now we have a weekly kids cooking class.

Megan Porta  25:30

Oh my gosh, that’s so fun. So how many kids come, tell us the details?

Katharine Rosenthal  25:36

So right now, since it’s still a little bit newer, we’re our max is 15 kids. We and the parents come and stay and kind of help facilitate the cooking class too. So it’s right now we’re doing ages three to five, and hoping to expand to older kids, like six to eight. But the three to five range is like perfect for me, because my kids are two and three and a half. So it’s kind of like what I’m just used too, yeah, yeah. So we do weekly kids cooking classes. Last week we did like a fruit pizza, Berry themed class, and they take care of all the decorations, because they have all that for the birthday parties that they host. And then I come with the food and leading the class. And so we split the income from it, and we charge per kid. So we get about, I get about half of the revenue from it, and then the event center gets the other half.

Megan Porta  26:34

Okay, and this could be, I mean, it could go beyond kids. It could be really cooking classes for anyone, pretty much anywhere.

Katharine Rosenthal  26:42

Right, right? And, you know, we’ve, we’ve talked about that too, doing branching out, and doing some adult cooking classes here and there too. And so we’ll see what comes of it. It’s still fairly new, but it’s been fun so far. And again, they’re just another small business in the area that we are supporting each other and figuring out a partnership that works for both of us,

Megan Porta  27:05

And you can direct people to your blog, I imagine, as well. 

Katharine Rosenthal  27:09

Absolutely. Yeah. So any partnership that I do locally, I always, you know, the main focus for me is to drive people to my blog, because I always am constantly putting QR codes on any handouts I give out or recipes so that people can easily scan it and then have traffic to my blog.

Megan Porta  27:30

Yes, I love it. That’s such a great option. Anything else about the cooking classes? Or do you want to move on to your next point? Yeah,

Katharine Rosenthal  27:37

I would just say if you have, like, any passion for teaching and doing cooking classes, it’s definitely a great way to bring in income. I’m able to charge about I don’t know if you care if I give the exact amount that I charge, but yeah, I always found that helpful when people shared their numbers. So I charged $25 per kid for the cooking class to cover supplies, and then also my time too. So out of that, I guess, out of that, I make about $12 per kid because we split it, and then the other half goes to the facility for decorations, and then they also include playtime in their indoor gym area. And so if I have, you know, 15 kids there, that’s about $200 per class, which, if we’re doing it weekly, that’s like, a significant income source for me right now. So I would just say, like, it’s a great income source when you’re starting out. And it’s a great way to also drive people to your blog and get your name out there for you know, you never know what connections will come up with the parents that are there or the attendees that are there. They might have another event that they want to do, a cooking class, or some type of connection that could benefit your blog.

Megan Porta  28:53

Yeah, I think that’s the biggest point of all, is that you just never know what bigger opportunities are going to come your way for by doing things like this. Yeah? It’s not just like, Oh, I’m going to get 15 people going to my blog, or I’m going to get $200 it’s so much more than that. Yep, it’s all the things that come with it. Yeah, exactly. And do you enjoy the cooking classes? It seems like you do.

Katharine Rosenthal  29:16

I mean, I’ve always a huge part of my nutrition philosophy is getting kids in the kitchen. That’s really important for me and my family too, so it just comes naturally to me. You know, that’s why I started pitching kids cooking classes, because of the importance that it has in my life and exposing kids to different foods at a young age. And you know, I think that that helps them long term with their nutrition and eating habits. So, 

Megan Porta  29:45

And it’s just good skills too, right, to get your kids, like, knowing how to properly use the oven and how to bake things and how to mix ingredients and all of that. I think that’s so valuable.

Katharine Rosenthal  29:55

And I will say, with these cooking classes, they don’t have, like, any of the ovens and stuff, which can be a little bit of a challenge. But if other people are looking, if other bloggers are looking for, you know, potential cooking classes, there’s still so many ways that you can do, like no bake or no cook options too. It does take a little it limits it a little bit, but it’s also part of the fun challenge to come up with a recipe that is kid friendly and also is, you know, no cook.

Katharine Rosenthal  29:55

Yeah, you have to get creative, right?

Katharine Rosenthal  30:29

Yeah,Yep. 

Megan Porta  30:29

Okay. What other ideas do you have for making money?

Katharine Rosenthal  30:33

So the other local partnership that I have is with a few chiropractors in the area, which this one’s very unique, but they reached out to me on Instagram and asked if I was local to the area, and I ended up doing a couple recipe tastings in their office for them. So I kind of imagine it, you know, if you’re walking through grocery store and they’re doing, you know, handing out some food, it’s kind of like that. So as patients were coming through their door, I was handing out samples of one of my recipes and handing out recipe cards with, again, the QR code to give them get traffic to my blog, but also provide them the recipe.

Megan Porta  31:18

Oh, that’s such a good idea. I love that they reached out to. And I imagine you’re, are you doing like healthy versions, you know, like healthy recipes for them?

Katharine Rosenthal  31:26

yep. I just did a healthy pasta salad for them. And along with that, I am also doing like a monthly recipe for them as well that they can provide and print out to their for their patients, and then also post on their social media. So again, it’s one recipe that I or they’re all recipes that will eventually end up on my blog. So it’s beneficial that, you know, I’m getting paid for something that’s already gonna go on my blog, and I’m already doing the work for as well.

Megan Porta  31:55

So this is something people could do proactively, so they could reach out to chiropractic offices, or do you have other ideas about, like, I don’t know, maybe nutritionist offices or something like that. Yeah, you

Katharine Rosenthal  32:08

could do, yeah, any nutritionist office. Like, you could even do doctor’s offices, any small business that you think would be that would benefit from, like, recipes with with food bloggers. So I think, you know, if it’s a doctor’s office or a chiropractor’s office that is owned by the doctor, and it’s not, you know, a big health system, I feel like they see the benefit of it more because they’re trying to provide all these perks to their patients to, you know, keep them coming back and saying, you know, kind of a wow factor about their office, too. So,

Megan Porta  32:47

Yeah, I love that idea. Okay, anything else that you have, Katharine?

Katharine Rosenthal  32:51

That’s about it for local partnerships. But again, I, when I first started, I only thought about the online partnerships. It wasn’t until you know that magazine that got me really into the door of local partnerships. But I really encourage newer food bloggers to look into local businesses that could benefit from some type of partnership. I just feel like it’s given me, yeah, a lot of connections, confidence and being a food blogger and a small business owner, so I definitely encourage that for anyone starting out who wants to start partnerships and grow their blog in unique ways.

Megan Porta  33:32

Yeah, under I think understanding the value of what you do can come from that too, right, like you mentioned, confidence, and then that can bleed over into your blog. When you’re dealing with maybe brands for sponsored work, you’re like, wait, I know I’m valuable, so I think it all can play together. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that’s so cool. Any other tips for food bloggers looking to make money while they’re waiting for ads? Yeah?

Katharine Rosenthal  33:59

So I know a lot of people work full time, so it kind of goes along with that. I do part time contract work for as a dietitian, so I do about five hours a week for that. So you know, if you have like, a certain background or area of expertise, like, don’t be afraid to do some part time work or contract work to supplement your income as you’re trying to grow your blog as well. It’s nice and a consistent income for me and my family, but it still allows, you know, a lot of freedom for me to work on my blog as well. And, you know, reach get creative with other income sources like these partnerships. It’s, you know, having being kind of forced to look for unique ways for income too, has has been nice. 

Megan Porta  34:49

Yeah, absolutely. And five hours a week isn’t that much, but like you said, it’s consistent income that you can count on. Yep, yeah, I love this because I don’t know, I think people. Look at it in their heads that I can’t do any work besides blog work. But it doesn’t have to be like that. During your transition from going to an ad network, you can work and support you and your family or whatever while you’re waiting for the ads. 

Katharine Rosenthal  35:16

Yes, yeah, you just have to, I feel like you just have to get creative and kind of think outside the box of, okay, how can I bring in some additional money while we wait? And, you know, it does. Sometimes it does feel chaotic, being pulled in many directions, but being organized and showing up every day and just, you know, try getting it done when you have to, is kind of what I’ve been doing, you know, and it’s been working for me and been learning as I go to with what works and what I have to let go of, or what I can add to my plate.

Megan Porta  35:54

I love how everything you’ve talked about has required a little bit of courage and bravery too, right? Do you feel like you’ve had to be extra brave through all of this?

Katharine Rosenthal  36:05

Absolutely, I’ve always been a person that, yeah, hasn’t? I haven’t always been bold, and that’s my word of the year, actually, is to be bold, and I really take that to heart too. So whenever an opportunity comes up, or an idea, like, I really usually, in that moment when the idea comes up, I just go for it. Like, sometimes I don’t even think about it. I’m just like, Okay, I’m gonna do it and see what happens. And of course, there are times where I don’t get a response, or I get a no. But there’s all these examples where being bold has paid off and has been so cool and to see in the past year how much I’ve been able to grow personally and in my business, just from, you know, having that word bold be my word of the year.

Megan Porta  37:02

That’s so cool. Seize the moment of boldness, right? And just take advantage, because we don’t feel bold all the time. Yeah? Oh, I love that. That’s so inspiring. Catherine, this is, yeah, it’s such an inspiring story, not just for me, but I think for so many people who are going to hear this episode. So thank you. Is there anything else you want to touch on before we start saying goodbye? 

Katharine Rosenthal  37:23

The only thing is, you know, if, if you’re a newer blogger, don’t give up, it’s really hard to keep going. And I think if you just have the mindset of, you know, I’m just going to try it, and if it fails, what’s the worst that can happen that I tried? Yeah, yeah. So just remind yourself of that. And when you have the moments of confidence, take advantage of that.

Megan Porta  37:48

I love it. And then one last thing, I know you mentioned earlier that you have a third kid on the way, right? Yeah, so you’re gonna have to take some time off coming up here. 

Katharine Rosenthal  37:59

Yes. 

Megan Porta  38:00

Do you want to tell us real quick how you’re planning for that, as you’re also doing all of these other things? 

Katharine Rosenthal  38:05

Yeah, so it’s gotten more challenging in the last couple months, but as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I started coming up with a plan for my maternity leave. So I am hoping to take a three to five months maternity leave. We’ll see what ends up happening and what I can get done. But I just hired a blog writer, actually, to write my blog post for me, and then I will do all of the recipe development, filming and photos. For a while, I thought I was able to do it all, but then I just found out that I didn’t have any time to write the blog post. And that’s probably my least favorite part of you know, the blogging process is to write the post. And so actually, through one of your resources, I found a writer for me, and so I just have started working with her to help me write. And really, all the money that I’m, you know, making off of the partnerships that I’ve recently had is going straight into helping me stay consistent during my maternity leave. 

Megan Porta  39:06

Oh, I love it. It sounds like you’re such a planner, and you guys just have, like, yeah, like your budgeting and, yeah, I love that. So it seems like we have a few more episodes to record Katharine. Please come back. Let’s talk more.

Katharine Rosenthal  39:21

I would love that. 

Megan Porta  39:22

Oh, this was so inspiring. Thank you so much for just sharing all of this today. We really appreciate you. Do you have either a favorite quote or words of inspiration to share? 

Katharine Rosenthal  39:32

Yeah, so it kind of goes back to, you know, just relating to being a new blogger and being bold, but it is if you feel like giving up because you’re not seeing results. Just remember the last thing to grow on a fruit tree is a fruit.

Megan Porta  39:46

Ooh, oh, I love that. That’s so great.

Katharine Rosenthal  39:50

I don’t know who, who said it. I saw it on Instagram a couple months ago, and I just feel like it pertained and spoke to me so strongly. And. And it’s just a good reminder that, you know, blogging is a long game, and so you don’t always see the results right away, but someday you will see the fruits. 

Megan Porta  40:08

Yes. So keep with it. We’ll put together a show notes page for you. Catherine, if you want to go look at those head to eatblogtalk.com/bewelltable. Tell everyone where they can find you. Yep. So

Katharine Rosenthal  40:21

It’s pretty simple across the board. I’m mostly on Instagram, and it’s bewelltable. And then my website is bewelltable.com. 

Megan Porta  40:29

Everyone go check Katharine’s site out. It’s so beautiful. I was just looking at it a little bit ago. Nice work on everything you’ve done in your business. And I can’t wait to see where this goes for you. Katharine, yeah, thank you for being here again, and thank you for listening food bloggers. I will see you next time. 

Outro  40:48

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Eat Blog Talk. If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be so grateful if you posted it to your social media feed and stories, I will see you next time you.