The Food Blogger Pro Podcast

Outsourcing your weaknesses, the power of email authentication, and using AI to optimize your business with Aaron Randhawa. 
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Welcome to episode 592 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Aaron Randhawa. 
How to Build Trust with Your Email Subscribers with Aaron Randhawa
This week, Aaron Randhawa joins Bjork to explain the different processes behind The Forked Spoon, where Aaron manages technical operations so Jessica can focus on what she loves most: recipes, photography, and creative work! They'll talk about how email infrastructure can play a huge role in protecting a creator's brand and improving deliverability, as well as the lengthy process of earning a verified logo in email.
The conversation also explores the outcomes of Aaron's updates, how AI has improved business workflows, and the freedom that comes with outsourcing your weaknesses. From email performance to accounting opportunities, Aaron and Bjork share practical ways creators can use technology and expert support to build a more resilient business!
Three episode takeaways:
You don't have to do it all: Aaron shares how he and Jessica divide the work at The Forked Spoon, with Jessica focused on being the creator while he handles the technical and operational side. Rather than searching for one person who can do everything, he recommends building a vetted list of trusted specialists and outsourcing your weaknesses to the people and tools that are stronger in those areas.
Email trust starts with authentication: DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are the backbone of email authentication, but Aaron took it a step further to get The Forked Spoon's logo and a blue check mark in Gmail, which led to higher opens and clicks and fewer unsubscribes, especially among new subscribers!
AI can be your guide through unfamiliar territory: You'll hear Aaron talk about how he used AI to learn about BIMI and VMC to optimize his trademark filing and to identify tax and business structure improvements, like moving from sole proprietor treatment to an S Corp.
Resources:
The Forked Spoon
MediaWyse
NerdPress
ChatGPT
Raptive
Kit
dmarc digests
Claude
LegalZoom
United States Patent and Trademark Office
CultivateWP
DigiCert
Clariti
Wispr Flow
The Economist
Follow The Forked Spoon on Instagram
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
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 podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

How to adapt to shifting discoverability, what thriving food creators are doing right, and why you should focus on email with Cyd Converse from Mediavine.
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Welcome to episode 591 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Cyd Converse from Mediavine and The Sweetest Occasion.
What Successful Food Creators Have in Common Right Now
Cyd Converse started her food blog in 2008 and has been working at Mediavine for the last 6.5 years. She was recently promoted to the Director of Publisher Advocacy and Partnerships, and sits down with Bjork for this interview to talk through the recent shifts in search, how creators can adapt, and what successful creators have in common right now.
Bjork and Cyd talk about the current state of the industry, the rapid pace of changes, the decline in predictability, and how many creators are feeling burnt out. Cyd also shares her advice for content creators — leaning into email, updating old content, and leveraging video, to name a few. This is the perfect interview for anyone feeling like they're weathering the current search changes alone and looking for actionable steps to take to get back on the right track.
Three episode takeaways:
Prioritize your email marketing strategy — Cyd explains why traffic from your email list is more desirable to advertisers, how you can use email to make the most of the content you already have, why you should experiment with cadence, segmentation, and the types of emails you send, and how to get started collecting email addresses if you don't already.
The common traits of creators who are thriving right now — From her conversations with creators, Cyd has found a few things that most creators who are doing well despite AI Overviews have in common — a recognizable voice, expertise, and trust with readers. You want to become the go-to resource for recipes within your niche and keep your audience coming back for you.
Why you should focus on updating old content — Cyd talks about the shift she has seen from churning out a high volume of new content to instead optimizing and repromoting the content that is already doing well for you (especially the posts with the highest RPMs).
Resources:
Mediavine
The Sweetest Occasion
Tastemaker Conference
TopHatRank
Email Cyd
Follow Cyd on Instagram
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 podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Treating your content archive as an asset, diversifying your platforms, and building content around your lived experience with Yvette Marquez. 
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Welcome to episode 590 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Yvette Marquez. 
Building a Sustainable Creator Business Around Family Recipes with Yvette Marquez
This week, we are welcoming back Yvette Marquez to the podcast to share how she's built a sustainable creator business around family recipes, storytelling, cookbooks, and brand partnerships. She walks through what her work looks like today, from updating older blog posts and developing her next cookbook to resharing classic recipes in new formats. She and Bjork dig into why your archive can be a long-term business asset, which means you don't have to keep coming up with brand-new ideas all the time — a game-changer!
Yvette will also share how Facebook, Substack, virtual assistants, business managers, and behind-the-scenes recipe development all contribute to her business. Her advice for new creators: choose authenticity over perfection, invest in the skills and people who support your strengths, and build a business on genuine stories and audience trust!
Three episode takeaways:
Treat your archive as a long-term business asset: Updating older posts and resharing classic recipes in new formats can keep your business growing without having to worry about coming up with a constant stream of brand-new ideas.
Diversify your platforms and income: With AI overviews and declining search traffic, relying on a single platform or revenue source is a gamble. Yvette shares how Facebook, Substack, and other channels each play a role in her business.
Build around your lived experience: Prioritize genuine stories and audience trust over perfection, and invest in the skills and people (like virtual assistants and business managers) that support what you do best.
Resources:
Muy Bueno
Muy Bueno — Yvette's cookbook!
Hippocrene Books
The Diary of a CEO — YouTube
MKBHD
GRO
Meta One
Cocina to Career — Yvette's Substack!
Google Isn't Sending You to Recipe Blogs Anymore… Here's What That Means — Substack
Spoiler Alert: My Cookbooks Don't Pay the Bills — Substack
Show Me the Money: How I Actually Make a Living Online — Substack
What My Analytics Told Me About Food Blogging in 2026 — Substack
From My Grandma's Stove to the Age of AI — Substack
Episode 420 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: ChatGPT, Substack, and the Changing Landscape of Food Writing with Dianne Jacob
Episode 566 of The Food Blogger Pro podcast: What Food Bloggers Need to Know About AI Search and the Fight for Fair Traffic with Adam Gallagher from Inspired Taste
Stacked Red Enchiladas — Muy Bueno
Follow Yvette on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
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 podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Self-publishing a cookbook and driving 13,000 pre-sales, growing to over 3 million followers on social media, and prioritizing learning as a creator with Justin Ellen from Everything Just Baked.
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Welcome to episode 589 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Justin Ellen from Everything Just Baked.
How Justin Ellen Went From Camera-Shy to 3 Million Social Media Followers
Justin Ellen started decorating and selling cakes in high school, with the dream of one day opening his own bakery. At the encouragement of his sister, he hesitantly started posting photos of his cakes on Instagram, but didn't like being in front of the camera. He slowly but surely overcame his fear of being on camera, and now has 1.4 million followers on both Facebook and TikTok, and over 800,000 followers on Instagram.
In this interview, Justin shares how he transitioned from selling cakes to building a business as a content creator, what his first few brand deals looked like, why he decided to launch his website last year (and how he has already grown to 400,000 monthly pageviews!), and dives into the process of self-publishing his first cookbook (out this month!). This is a really fun and inspiring interview for food creators at any level — we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did!
Three episode takeaways:
How to approach every social media post as a data point — Justin explains how he has shifted his mindset around social media so that everything he posts is something he can learn and iterate from. He also shares how he remixes his short-form videos to stretch out his content and see what performs best, and why he views re-posting content like television re-runs.
The process of self-publishing a cookbook — Despite having the option to go the traditional publishing route, Justin chose to self-publish his cookbook to maintain creative control. He walks listeners through the process, including how he hired his team and made decisions about printing and promoting his cookbook, and how Facebook was the main driver for 13,000+ book pre-sales.
Why you need to always be open to learning — Justin is candid about his learning process as a creator — how he observes successful creators, notes what they have in common, adds his creative twist, and iterates until he finds something that works for him.
Resources:
Everything Just Baked
Jessica Secrest
The Diary of a CEO Interview with Seth Godin
Mediavine
Better Than Grandma's Cookbook
Follow Justin on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive.
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 podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.

Making sustainable choices, building genuine trust through branding, and the power of community.
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Welcome to episode 588 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Yoli Ouiya from Food + Wellness Equity Collective. 
Creating Connection and Equity in the Creator Space with Yoli Ouiya
In this week's episode, Bjork is sitting down to chat with the "Queen of Green herself, Yoli Ouiya! Yoli breaks down what green living really means (hint: it's about how the products we use affect both our bodies and the planet) and shares practical tips for making smarter choices around food, home, and personal care. From there, the conversation shifts into the natural consumer-products space, where Yoli goes into validating a product idea, building trust through great branding, and the realities of bootstrapping versus chasing funding.
You'll also hear Yoli open up about the Food and Wellness Equity Collective, the community she co-founded to give creators, especially those who often feel overlooked or isolated in this industry, a real sense of connection and support. If you're looking to build a brand and a community with real staying power, this episode will be right up your alley!
Three episode takeaways:
Green living starts with intention: Yoli breaks down what it really means to evaluate the impact of the products we use (both on our bodies and on the planet) and offers practical ways to make more thoughtful choices around food, home, and personal care.
Trust and branding matter as much as the product itself: In the natural consumer-products space, Yoli shares how new founders can validate their ideas, build genuine trust through strong branding, and navigate the trade-offs between bootstrapping and outside funding.
Community can be the missing piece: Through the Food and Wellness Equity Collective, Yoli is creating retreats, workshops, and scholarships that give creators, especially those who often feel isolated, a real connection, support, and opportunity.
Resources:
Food + Wellness Equity Collective
Food + Wellness Equity Collective Retreat
Yoli's Green Living
Airthings
Think Dirty
EWG
Newman's Own
Primal Kitchen
A Couple Cooks — Sonja and Alex Overhiser's blog!
UGMONK
Nom Nom Paleo
Follow Food + Wellness Equity on Instagram
Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group
Thank you to our sponsors!
This episode is sponsored by Clariti and Raptive. Learn more about our sponsors at foodbloggerpro.com/sponsors.
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 podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.
Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.