I can’t believe it’s taken me three whole months to sit down and write this next step in my blogging journey. Life got in the way (as it does!), and somehow July and August just slipped through my fingers. If you’ve got school-age kids, you’ll know exactly what I mean—those summer months are always a wild mix of late nights, snacks on demand, day trips, and trying to get anything done in between.
Still, even if I didn’t publish my monthly updates on time, I was working behind the scenes. Step 3 covers July, August and September, and it’s been a busy stretch of juggling work, keeping the kids entertained, walking the dog, and squeezing in blog time whenever I could.
Earlier this year, I stopped waiting for the “right moment” and started. I created a plan I call my “12 Steps” Blogging Journey—a month-by-month roadmap to grow Just Simple Recipes in a manageable, sustainable way. Each step includes content goals, traffic targets, and behind-the-scenes work to help keep the blog moving forward.
If you missed the earlier parts of the journey, here are Step 1 and Step 2.
Step 3 Goals: Aiming High(ish)
For this 3-month period, I set goals that felt challenging but doable. Here’s what I hoped to achieve by the end of September:
- Impressions: ~90,000
- Clicks from Search Engines: 3,000
- Sessions: 8,000–9,000
- Post Count: 150 total published recipes
Step 3 Results – What the Numbers Say
So, how did it go?
Well… let’s just say it wasn’t perfect, but it was progress—and I’m proud of that. Those numbers are for 3 months period, not for 1 month.
- Impressions:
- Google: 92,000
- Bing: 58,000
- Clicks from Search:
- Google: 730
- Bing: 2,600
- Total Sessions: 10,600
- Published Posts: 121
I missed my content goal—my plan was to publish around 15–20 posts per month, which would’ve brought me to 150–160 posts in total. Instead, I managed to write and publish 24 new recipes over the three months.
But I’m not beating myself up about it. I’ve got around 20 drafts sitting in my camera roll waiting for their moment, and I also moved a some older posts back into draft mode for reworking—some need full rewrites and better photos. I’d rather hold off and do it properly than rush to meet a number.
📈 Traffic Growth
The numbers were encouraging. In July, I was averaging around 50–60 sessions/day. That jumped to 100/day by August, with a little dip at the beginning of September—back to around 70/day. But now, it got recovered back to 120 sessions/day, and it feels like things are starting to snowball (slowly!).
I know that to a seasoned blogger, these numbers might not seem impressive. But for me, every single session means someone found my recipe, read it, maybe even cooked it—and that’s what matters most. This blog is growing, steadily and organically, and I’m happy with the direction it’s going.
The Costs of Blogging
As always, blogging continues to cost a little money here and there—but I try to keep my budget sensible and intentional.
And no, I still don’t count the cost of food—because everything I cook gets eaten! Nothing fancy here, just good, honest meals that feed my family and fuel my blog.
Here's what I spent:
- Lightroom (photo editing): €6/month
- Props:
- TK Maxx: €40 (2 sets of kitchen towels, 1 large serving dish, 1 wooden board)
- Tesco: €20 for a lovely set of discounted plates (1 large pasta bowl + 4 small side plates in cheerful colours)
DIY Win: My Own Backdrop
I finally made my own custom photo backdrop!
My neighbour had a wooden board out for rubbish, and I asked if I could rescue it. I coated it with Polycella filler, painted it a soft “white shadow” colour, and voila—my very own rustic food photography surface. Total cost? €6. (Versus €50–60 if I’d bought one online.)
And yes, I’ve already used it in some shoots. It looks great!
What I Earned
Let’s talk about money coming in.
During these three months, my AdSense income slowly increased, and when it reached around €35, I decided to switch it off.
Why? Because…
🎉 I GOT INTO MEDIAVINE JOURNEY!
One day, I noticed a little invite pop up in my Grow dashboard, saying I could now apply to Mediavine Journey. I submitted all the details, crossed my fingers—and to my complete shock, I was approved!
Right now, the income isn’t huge, but I can already see that my RPM and CPM is steadily increasing, and they are already more than it was in AdSense. I plan to give it another 2–3 months before I analyse things properly, but so far I’m really happy.
Important Info for Other Bloggers
And here’s something big I want to share:
You do NOT need 10,000 sessions/month to join Mediavine Journey.
I got accepted with under 10k monthly sessions, and even Eric Hochberger Mediavine CEO has confirmed, in his recent Reddit Q+A event, that you can apply with as few as 1,000 sessions if your site is solid and content-rich. So if you’re working hard and building something meaningful—don’t wait. You might be closer than you think. It might take some time for the site to be checked and approved, so do it now!
Final Thoughts
I started Just Simple Recipes because I love food—and I wanted a space to share it. A space that was mine, where I could create, experiment, learn, and connect.
Yes, it’s hard work. And yes, sometimes I fall behind. But every post, every photo, every little number in my dashboard is a sign that this blog is growing—and that I’m growing with it.
So, if you're reading this—thank you. Whether you're another blogger, a fellow busy parent, or just someone looking for tonight’s dinner idea, I’m so happy you found your way here.
Here’s to Step 4— Just keep cooking!
