When Debra Clark experienced some serious personal setbacks, she took it all in stride. She channeled her energy and, on a whim, started a food blog for fun called Bowl Me Over.
Eventually, she realized she could make some money blogging, so she invested more time and energy.
When she realized she could make serious money blogging, she buckled down and turned her blog into a 6-figure/year business.
Two years ago she was able to retire her husband, who is now her official taste tester, and buy a new home.
Keep reading to find out:
- How she started her blog
- Where her income comes from
- How the HCU affected her
- Her thoughts on SEO
- Her approach to content creation
- How she grows her email list
- The resources and tools she uses
- Her biggest challenge
- Her greatest accomplishment
- Her main mistake
- Her advice for other entrepreneurs
Meet Debra Clark
Now this is a story!
I was married for 22 years and my (soon to be x-husband) emailed me one day to say he was done, a week after our anniversary.
Long story short, he literally got up and left. He cleaned out the bank account and gave me $100 and took off to chase his dreams.
I remember he said I’d be fine. I scraped and bucked up and made it by.
Then, two years later my friend Nicole insisted I join eHarmony, because I was turning into a hermit… or a crazy cat/dog lady, depending on who you talked to.
I was matched to a guy named Dan and the Cinderella story happened from there! We dated for 2 years, got married, and I moved from Sacramento to Fresno, CA.
Dan gave me the choice of doing whatever I wanted and I thought it would be fun to start a food blog, because you know… everyone was tired of seeing my food pictures on Facebook.
Little did I know it would turn into such a profitable business and such an amazing journey!
I started the blog in 2013. As it developed, I realized I could make money doing this.
Then, a few years later, I thought I could make serious money doing this, and so I changed my strategy to more of a business-based evolution.
This involved much more study, strategy, becoming a better writer, photographer, learning SEO—all the things!
I would describe my blog as the perfect place for a beginner cook to start.
I focus on easy recipes that anyone can make with everyday ingredients. I use shortcuts whenever possible, and taste-test everything that goes on the blog, which probably sounds silly but not everyone does it. It has to be easy and it has to be delicious!
Now I’m 62. Dan and I have been married 11 years. Two years ago, I was able to retire, replace Dan’s income, and retire my husband. Last year we bought a home in Oregon and moved from California.
How Much She’s Earning
This year I’m expected to earn $300,000 in total income from Bowl Me Over.
I switched in March from Mediavine to Raptive.
Here’s the total since I left Mediavine in February and moved to Raptive in April.
I left because my RPMs were not growing, nor was I given actionable items to improve them.
I wanted someone to listen to me. I was given a guaranteed increase when moving to Mediavine for the first 3 months.
I have not dipped below that increase since I left.
As for traffic, right now I’m just over 400k sessions per month.
I took a hit with the Helpful Content Update last year. I’m very proud to say I’ve gone back to basics and worked my tail off, clawing my way back up the ladder.
It hasn’t been easy, but I will say I am darn proud of stopping the sucking sound of a traffic decline.
I’m basing my information off Search Console.
My highest clicks in Search Console in a one-month period were July of 2023, when I was at 307k.
When I hit rock bottom in May of this year, it was 129k for a 30-day period.
To turn this around, I began doing my own research, working together with my accountability partner, Marye, and learning not just best practices for Google, but also the best fits for my blog.
Debra’s Main Marketing Strategy
My number one marketing strategy is working with the best accountability partner ever: Marye from Restless Chipotle.
I met Marye several years ago through a friend of a friend. Even though I didn’t know her at all, I approached her and said, yes I realize I’m not a “big” blogger like you but I think we should be accountability partners!
I think she thought I was crazy. She’s like, I don’t even know you! I said, this is true; however, we share a lot in common, which I proceeded to tell her. I don’t know if my stories sold her or my persistence did, but it worked!
Now we meet weekly for strategy sessions via Zoom and at least once a year in Phoenix for a retreat. I’ve found this one-on-one honest feedback invaluable.
I did have an accountability partner previously, but it was an on/off thing and there wasn’t any commitment of time.
I knew I didn’t want to have someone just to talk to. Marye and I really get down to work. It’s not a time to chit chat, but to focus on our blogs and what we need to succeed and support each other.
I work about 60 hours weekly on my blog.
Many hours are spent strategizing and thinking about business, and I think those hours are just as important, if not more important, than actually doing the work.
I study my site and really try to dig into what’s working and why, whether that’s emailing, SEO, updating blog posts, etc.
Her Thoughts on SEO
The main driver of traffic to my blog is Google, so I take SEO really seriously.
I check Search Console and G4 daily and watch the trends of my traffic. I update posts daily and I’m always looking to see how I can strengthen each blog post.
That being said, I don’t think you can recommend a traditional SEO strategy right now. I think you need to dig into your blog and figure out what’s going to work. It’s different for everyone.
Keyword Research
I usually come up with an idea for a recipe, then I check KeySearch and occasionally RankIQ to see if it’s something I can rank for.
I find it’s best if I do my research before getting the recipe down on paper and going through the process. I try really hard to stay in my lane of easy recipes with everyday ingredients.
Link Building
I haven’t done nearly as much with link building outside the blog and it’s been organic; however, I firmly believe that interlinking within the blog is vital.
When I publish a blog, I immediately link to three other blog posts and then continue to look for key opportunities to interlink whenever I update a post.
I do all my interlinking manually, as I find it to be more authentic.
Her Content Creation Process
An important part of content creation involves my readers.
I’m always asking them what they’re looking for, what they’re hungry for, and what sounds good. I really work hard to involve them in the process.
I ask my readers often what kind of recipes they like best, what makes for the easiest weeknight dinner, etc.
When I first started asking, I got crickets for a response. Now, after spending more time engaging with readers, I have great lines of communication open with my email subscribers.
Additionally, I’m always on the lookout for recipes I can make a little easier and even tastier than the traditional recipe may be.
My readers are busy and aren’t interested in spending all day in the kitchen.
Immediately after publishing a recipe, I do several things.
I post on Facebook, X, and Pinterest. I interlink to three other recipes on my blog and send them out in my daily newsletter.
Her Email List
In my opinion, my email list is small, especially for a blog my size (5,400 currently).
I started it later, when my blog took off, mostly because I was convinced no one really cared what I had to say except, of course, my mom, who reads everything I write.
To my surprise, once I started my list and then refined it by emailing daily and sharing bits of myself in almost every email, it’s surprising how much folks wait for those emails and write back to chat. I love my readers!
I could do a better job growing my list; it’s a challenge on the daily for sure.
I have a couple of really good opt-ins that do well. Growing my list has been my focus for 2024 and I’m sure will continue to be for years to come.
I email daily and share anywhere from 9 to 12 links daily. I use ConvertKit to manage the list.
I really don’t worry about repeating recipes because I’ve found readers appreciate being reminded about what’s yummy and being given easy recipe ideas.
Her Favorite Resources
I love a great podcast!
There are so many that are informational, inspiring, and really make you think, like Chill and Prosper, Law of Attraction, and Think It Get It, to name a few.
Not to sound like a broken record, but my first recommendation is always to get an accountability partner.
Not someone to chit chat with, but someone who supports you but isn’t afraid to call you on your stuff when you’re not pulling your weight.
Not all my ideas are great and sometimes I need a kick in the pants. Sometimes I need a pat on the back, and Marye, my accountability partner, is there for me.
I make a vision board every year. I go out and buy magazines simply to cut them up!
There’s something about sitting with a pair of scissors and going through magazines that really helps me center my thoughts and wants for the upcoming year.
I know a lot of folks who make their vision board online and I think you’re missing the thought process of the hands-on process. My two cents!
Myself and one of my BFFs run a book club. We’ve done this for 7 years now. We’ve read and discussed over 40 books.
It’s helped me to process, dream and manifest my future.
Some of these books include:
- You Are a Badass – Jen Sincero
- You Are a Badass at Making Money – Jen Sincero
- Badass Habits – Jen Sincero
- You Are a Badass Everyday – Jen Sincero
- A Happy Pocket Full of Money – David Gikandi
- The Four Agreements – Don Ruiz
- The Surrender Experiment – Michael Singer
- Atomic Habits – James Clear
- How to Win Friends & Influence People – James Carnegie
- Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
- She Thinks Big – Andrea Liebross
- Infinite Receiving – Suzy Ashworth
- Get Rich, Lucy Bitch – Denise Duffield-Thomas
- The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You – Lydia Fenet
Her Main Challenge
The biggest challenge is knowing when to pivot. There are so many challenges as an entrepreneur and then that doubles when you throw in that you’re a blogger!
What is causing X (decline in traffic, increase in traffic, Facebook virality, etc.)? You fill in the blank!
Is it something you did… something you didn’t do…. Something you could have done better or more often? Sometimes I just throw up my hands, and other times I smile and say…. Yeah, I got this!
I worked with an artwork manager for about a year. She did a great job of working with the photographers to ensure the photography met my blog standards, all the correct photos, angles, clarity, etc.
After a year I realized the photographers didn’t need a great deal of direction anymore. They were well-trained.
Additionally, my income had been decreasing from the hit to the blog from falling out of Facebook favor.
It was hard, but I realized I had to let her go and I did it before it took a bite out of my bottom line.
Her Greatest Accomplishment
My biggest accomplishment was taking my blog from nothing to something. I bootlegged this journey. I learned how to do it myself. I haven’t gone into debt or robbed Peter to pay Paul to make this work.
I’ve used the resources available to me and learned when to say no.
I believe it’s important to understand your Search Console and G4. Dig into it and figure it out.
It really helped me to have Sherry with Painless Blog Analytics set up some reports in G4 and it made all the difference in the world.
What She Wishes She Knew When She Started
I wish I had known that you can truly make money blogging. I think I started it originally as a hobby or just something to do.
The money-making opportunity is real. I also wish I realized I needed to learn all the things. I wasted a lot of time and, more importantly, money.
Buying things before I learned to do it myself. i.e. SEO, Pinterest, etc.
Her Main Mistake
The biggest mistake I’ve made is thinking I needed a product and that you can’t make money at blogging. Wow, that ain’t the truth!
I followed a coach and her training for about 5 years. During that time, she came out with a course for a product. Of course, I didn’t need to buy it, that was my decision.
However the influence was really strongly pushed. I started working to pitch bloggers for sponsored posts. I had limited success, and spent hours and hours daily working to grow it.
If instead I had taken that same time and focus working on my own blog, I would have gotten there a lot faster.
On the flip side, I did work as a writer for a couple of large bloggers. This taught me how to write quickly (because time is money) and that being done is more important than being perfect.
Her Advice for Other Entrepreneurs
Put in the work. I’ve had more people than I can count come up to me and say, so tell me how you do this whole “blogging thing,” or “Wow, if you can do it, I can too.”
They don’t realize it takes hours of commitment, work, thought, strategizing, and then maybe if you do it right, you can make something happen. It’s not easy or quick.
It doesn’t happen overnight either. It takes consistent work to make it happen.
