How This PA Built a $10K/Month Recipe Blog on the Side
Allie Petersen started sharing plant-based recipes as a creative outlet. A year later, she had 100,000 followers and a thriving blog earning up to five-figures per month. Here’s how she did it.
Allie Petersen was standing in her kitchen, scrolling through Instagram, when she saw it — a Reel she had casually posted had exploded overnight. Thousands of comments, hundreds of thousands of views, and growing. Her plant-based recipe videos had been gaining traction, but this? This was different.
At the time, Allie was working full-time as a physician assistant, balancing long shifts in urgent care. Cooking had always been a passion, but she had never imagined it would turn into something more. Yet, within a year of posting her first Instagram Reel, she had 100,000 followers, multiple viral videos, and a growing audience hungry for more.
But social media fame doesn’t always translate into long-term success. As her audience grew, so did an opportunity she hadn’t anticipated: the chance to turn her passion into a sustainable side business. What started as a creative outlet soon became a significant revenue stream, driven by strategic growth on both social media and her website.
Today, her blog brings in over 125,000 visitors a month and generates $5,000–$10,000 per month through a mix of ad revenue and brand partnerships.
Her journey is a case study in turning a personal passion into a profitable business — one that offers valuable insights for anyone looking to build an audience, monetize their expertise, and create their own income streams.
From Hobby to Hustle: How a Simple Idea Took Off
“Although I loved my job as a PA-C working with patients, I always had a desire to use my passion for cooking in a creative way,” Allie said. But turning that passion into a business wasn’t something she had planned — at least, not at first.
It all started with Instagram. In 2022, Allie began casually sharing her plant-based recipes through short-form videos, simply as a fun way to document her cooking. “I actually initially just started with posting Instagram Reels, and it really took off — I got 100,000 followers in just one year!” she said.
The momentum was unexpected, but it gave her a glimpse into what was possible. While Instagram growth was exciting, she realized that purely optimizing for Instagram wasn’t a long-term strategy. That’s when she decided to launch her website, Naturallie Plant-Based — a move that would allow her to build a sustainable, monetizable platform beyond the fleeting nature of chasing viral posts.
“I wanted something I actually owned,” she explained. “Social media was great, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t my platform. A website, though — that was mine.”
Starting a blog from scratch, however, would prove to be a whole new learning curve. Many content creators struggle to bridge the gap between social media virality and consistent, long-term income, and Allie quickly realized she needed a plan to make her blog work for her.
The Challenge: Learning to Get Traffic
Allie quickly realized that running a successful blog was very different from growing an Instagram audience. “When I first started food blogging, I would just cook whatever I felt like — or whatever I thought would perform well on Instagram,” she said. But while some of those recipes went viral, they didn’t drive long-term traffic to her website.
It wasn’t until she joined a mastermind group in 2023 that she understood why. “I learned that I was doing blog SEO all wrong,” she said. Up until that point, she had been creating recipes based on intuition, but she wasn’t targeting the search terms people were actively looking for. “One of the most important parts of SEO for me has been using quality programs for keyword research, like SEMrush. I am definitely still learning as Google is always changing.”
Key SEO Lessons from Allie:
- Use keyword research tools. Allie prefers SEMrush to find high-traffic recipe ideas.
- Study top-ranking competitors. Analyzing what makes them successful helps identify content gaps.
- Optimize and update old posts. Small improvements can help move posts from page two of Google to page one.
This shift in strategy led to a more structured approach to content creation. Instead of choosing recipes at random, she began prioritizing keywords with at least 3,000 monthly searches, even if competition was high. “I spend one to two hours researching my competition before I even start developing a recipe,” she said. “I look at why top-ranking posts are performing well and what I can do to make my version stand out.”
She also refined her process for optimizing content. She developed a set structure for every post — ingredients, steps, storage tips, and FAQs — to improve user experience and boost search rankings. She also made incremental updates to older posts to push them higher in search results. “A big focus now is moving my posts from page two of Google to page one,” she said.
The results were dramatic. In January 2023, her website had just 90 monthly visitors from Google. A year later, she had more than 52,000 — and the number keeps growing.
Related: 50 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog (And Get Free Traffic)
How Social Media Helped Her Scale Faster
While organic search became her primary driver of website traffic, Instagram remained a crucial tool for visibility and brand growth. “My overall main source of traffic is organic search, but this can fluctuate seasonally,” Allie said. However, viral Reels often caused temporary spikes, sometimes making up 30 to 40 percent of her total traffic.
Her biggest takeaway from social media success? Short-form video was king. “Reels, Reels, Reels! If I want to reach the biggest audience, I post Reels,” she said. But not just any video would work — she had to grab attention immediately. “Reels need to be engaging within the first one to two seconds, or else people move on,” she said.
She experimented with different hooks and found that a “walk-through style” narration worked best.
“I talk through the process of making a recipe, but I don’t reveal what it is until the end,” she said. This kept people watching, eager to find out what she was making.
Her best-performing content was surprising. “My best Reels have generally been ones about tofu, which is kind of shocking,” she said. “But I think people are intrigued about how to cook it. It’s a type of food many have never tried, or if they have, it was often a bad experience.” By showing how to transform tofu into something crispy and flavorful, she tapped into a highly engaged audience.
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To maximize engagement, she also leveraged automation. She invested in ManyChat, a tool that automatically sends recipe links to users who comment on her posts. “This helps drive direct traffic to my website so users don’t have to leave the app and search for my recipe,” she said.
Beyond her own content, collaborations played a role in expanding her reach. Some brands cross-posted her content to their own pages, exposing her to new audiences. One of her most successful brand partnerships was with Follow Your Heart, where she created a vegan BLT. “I started the Reel with ‘I haven’t eaten bacon in seven years,’ and that really captured interest,” she said.
Through a mix of strategy, experimentation, and automation, she turned Instagram into a traffic and revenue powerhouse — while keeping her focus on long-term search-driven growth.
Related: 21 Low-Cost or Free Small Business Marketing Ideas
How She Turned Traffic Into Income
As Allie’s audience grew, so did the potential for monetization. What had started as a fun creative outlet was now generating consistent income, but making the leap from viral content to a sustainable online business required a strategic approach.
Her primary revenue stream came from ad revenue through Mediavine, a premium ad network for bloggers. “Depending on the month, ad revenue makes up anywhere from 50 to 100 percent of my income,” she said.
The biggest factor influencing earnings? RPMs, or revenue per thousand impressions. “RPMs fluctuate throughout the year, and my highest-earning months are always in the fall and winter when more people are cooking for the holidays,” she said.
In addition to ads, brand partnerships became another key revenue source. While many influencers spend hours pitching to brands, Allie found that once her audience reached a certain size, companies started coming to her. “I used to do a lot of outreach, but honestly, I’ve let brands come to me in the past year,” she said. When brands inquire about working together, she evaluates whether they align with her values and audience before moving forward.
Negotiation is a crucial part of the process. “Some brands provide their budget right away, while others ask for my rate,” she said.
Instead of just quoting a price, she provides brands with engagement metrics and examples of high-performing sponsored content to justify her value. “I usually share my current engagement rate on Instagram and previous branded Reels to help brands see my worth,” she said.
Her ability to generate income is directly tied to her website traffic, and as her organic search traffic has grown, so has her revenue. But rather than relying on passive earnings alone, she continues to refine her strategy, knowing that digital trends — and income streams — can shift at any time.
Related: How to Make Money Blogging in 2025 (Expert Guide)
Balancing a Full-Time Job and a Growing Side Business
Managing a growing online business while working full-time as a physician assistant required structure, discipline, and a willingness to adapt. “As they say, it’s all about time management,” Allie said. She quickly learned that without a clear plan, it was easy to fall behind or burn out.
Her strategy revolved around maximizing her most productive hours. “I’m a morning person, so I utilize this time when I have the most energy to make progress,” she said. This meant tackling high-priority tasks — like keyword research, writing blog posts, and filming content — before heading to work.
To stay on track, she relied on weekly and monthly calendars. “I make weekly and monthly plans for recipes and goals, which helps keep me on track each week,” she said. The structure kept her focused, allowing her to create consistent content while juggling her other responsibilities.
Even with careful planning, burnout was a real concern. “I take breaks when I feel like I’m getting burned out,” she said. “I feel this is really important so you can continue to make progress and produce high-quality work.” Sometimes, that meant taking a full week off from posting on Instagram to reset. “When I come back, I feel so much more refreshed with new ideas,” she said.
Prioritization was another key to staying efficient. “This fluctuates based on my goals at the time,” she said. If her focus was growing website traffic, she dedicated more time to creating SEO-driven content. If she wanted to increase brand engagement, she adjusted her schedule to focus more on social media. “If I try to give equally to each area, I find my quality is compromised,” she said. “I really like to dive in and give my best work.”
By staying organized, knowing when to pause, and being intentional with her time, she was able to build a thriving side hustle without sacrificing her personal well-being.
Related: 8 Tips for Balancing a Side Hustle and Your Full-Time Job
Lessons, Challenges, and Advice for New Bloggers
Building a successful food blog didn’t happen overnight, and Allie faced plenty of challenges along the way. But through trial and error, she learned what worked — and what didn’t.
One of the biggest mistakes she sees new bloggers make is giving up too soon. “A lot of people put in work for six months, don’t see much success, and then throw in the towel,” she said. “But that’s exactly when you need to lean in.” Instead of quitting, she sought out mentorship and advice from more experienced bloggers. “Reaching out for help made a huge difference in my growth,” she said.
Another common pitfall? Focusing too much on social media and neglecting long-term traffic strategies. “Social media can be unpredictable, and algorithms change all the time,” she said. “If you want sustainable growth, you need to invest in something you own — like a website with strong SEO.”
For aspiring food bloggers, her best advice is to differentiate yourself from others. “Think about what sets you apart,” she said. While niching down is important, she cautioned against going too narrow. “The best advice I received early on was to niche down, but not so much that it limits your growth.”
She also emphasized the importance of having a long-term mindset. “Go into it knowing that success takes time — often years,” she said. “The small, daily tasks that seem boring or insignificant are what will make the biggest difference in the long run.”
Most importantly, she encouraged new bloggers to prioritize quality over quantity. “There’s no point in churning out content if it’s not valuable,” she said. “Focus on making your content the best it can be, and the audience will come.”
Related: These 5 Millennials Make Over $1,000 per Month Blogging. Here’s How
The Future: Scaling the Business and Going Full-Time
With her blog now generating a steady passive income, Allie is preparing to take the next big step — scaling her business while transitioning to part-time in her PA career. “In 2025, I’m planning to go from full-time to part-time as a physician assistant,” she said. “This will give me more time to focus on my blog, but also to spend time with my future baby girl — I’m due in June.”
Her long-term goal is to double her ad revenue to $10,000 per month by 2026 while expanding into digital products, including a plant-based diet course. She’s also considering in-person cooking classes, something she’s wanted to do for years.
For Allie, what started as a fun creative outlet has turned into a thriving business with real financial potential. But more than anything, she hopes her journey inspires others to take action on their own ideas. “I hope this encourages people to start the side hustle they’ve been dreaming about,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but if it’s something you truly love, it doesn’t really feel like work.”
She never planned to turn a passion into a business – until she did.
And for those with expertise in any niche — whether it’s food, fitness, or finance — starting a blog could be the first step toward building an audience and an income stream. Success doesn’t happen overnight, but small, consistent steps can turn a passion project into something much bigger.
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- How This Couple Makes $1,000 a Month Cooking on TikTok
