Hey there!

Welcome to my traffic and income report for March 2018. I’m a little behind publishing these, but I believe late is better than never. If you’re new to these reports, I publish them to track progress and share lessons from building a food blog.

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In January I set a traffic goal for Salted Mint: reach 500,000 pageviews per month by December of this year. I’ve faced personal challenges that slowed me down, so these reports help keep me accountable and document progress. My aim is to be useful to anyone starting out in this crazy online world—proof that you can begin with nothing and grow.

March was genuinely exciting. I only posted four recipes that month, yet pageviews stayed steady and income was strong. Below are the details and what I learned.

The Numbers

Traffic Overview

Top 10 Traffic Sources

Income

Mediavine: $165.68

Amazon Affiliates: $4.43

The Struggles:

I struggled with commitment. For years I had one foot in and one foot out of blogging. Self-doubt kept me from consistent posting—hence only four posts in March. I feared investing myself fully and not getting the response I hoped for. I “what if”ed everything until it stopped me from moving forward.

But we don’t live that way in other parts of life—when we want something, we apply, ask, and take risks. The same must apply to blogging. You must commit and keep going even when it’s scary.

What was the solution:

The solution was simple but uncomfortable: start doing the scary things.

Begin publishing an income report—terrifying but honest and useful.
Say yes to opportunities, like catering a food photography workshop with friends, even if it made me nervous.
Set rates for sponsored posts, despite not knowing what to charge at first.

Tackling these fears forced my inner critic to quiet down. The “monkey mind” throws up all sorts of sabotage—“no one will care” or “people will hate it”—but those doubts aren’t worth letting steer your decisions. Taking action is the antidote.

What were the gains:

A major win this month: I was contacted by a great company for a sponsored post. I had assumed my audience was too small to attract such opportunities, but they reached out after seeing my recipes, photography, and how I engage online. They didn’t even ask about traffic. This was a valuable reminder that visibility, quality, and connection matter as much as raw numbers.

The takeaway:

Focus on the “who,” not just the “how many.” Early on it’s easy to obsess over pageview counts, but a more useful question is who is reading and what are they looking for. If a handful of the right people find your content—people or brands who truly appreciate your work—that can lead to meaningful opportunities. Commit to creating content that serves the people you want to reach.

What I’m working on For April, May & June

I’m getting to know the numbers. I’ve been intimidated by math for years, which left earnings, expenses, and time investment as blind spots. You can’t hit traffic or income goals without a clear starting point, so I’m tracking everything closely now.

Spreadsheets are becoming my friends. I’ve begun using free accounting software to track income and expenses and to create invoices. Understanding hours worked versus income earned will make it possible to improve efficiency and profitability.

Until next month, I’ll be learning my numbers and committing to consistent creation.

Thanks for reading. If you have thoughts on growing a food blog or tips to share, I’d love to hear them—leave a comment and let’s chat about this wild, creative work!