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    • A bottle of coffee syrup.
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    Home » Recipes » Life

    Building a Blogging Business: First Quarter Goal Review 2023

    Published: Apr 2, 2023 · Updated: Mar 29, 2023 by Katy McAvoy

    I love when you share my recipes!

    You can set all the goals you want but if you’re not making progress towards them, what’s the point?! I have several B.A.G.s (Big Audacious Goals) for this year, so let’s see what the steps forward are looking like. 

    Goal Review: First Quarter 2023
    Jump to:
    • If You’re New to This Series
    • Ads are Running! 
    • Winter Events for Mitten Girl 
    • Learning, Learning, Learning
    • Happy Anniversary MittenGirl.com 
    • 74.5% to my B.A.G. (Big Audacious Goal) 
    • A Very Ambitious Spring 
    • Ways to Support My Business 

    If You’re New to This Series

    Since I started my full time food blogging journey back in early 2021, I’ve been setting yearly and quarterly business goals, then writing these recaps every three months to keep myself on track and share how I’m doing. Check out some past updates below: 

    • Building A Blogging Business: Fourth Quarter and Year End Goal Review 2022
    • Building a Blogging Business: Third Quarter Goal Review 2022
    • Building a Blogging Business: Second Quarter Goal Review 2022

    Ads are Running! 

    If you’ve been reading these updates for the past few quarters, then you know how hard I’ve been working to gain enough website traffic to qualify for an ad network. Ads mean money, and money means this site becomes more than an expensive hobby. 😉 And as you’ve noticed, ads are now running on MittenGirl.com. 

    It costs around $2,600 a year to run this website, including the technology and tools I need to make it the best it can be. (And that’s if you don’t count my time or the equipment I use to do the work.) I joined the SHE Media network in early January with the sole goal of making enough money from ads to pay for the site. 

    If I make more than $2,600 in ad revenue this year, then fantastic! I can start to pay myself for the hours put into MittenGirl.com. But for now, I’m headed solidly towards my breaking even goal for 2023.

    January Recipes

    • 10 Delicious Non-Alcoholic Drinks for Dry January
    • How to Make Grapefruit Simple Syrup for Drinks
    • Non-Alcoholic Margarita Mocktail on the Rocks
    • Non-Alcoholic Moscow Mule Mocktail Recipe
    • Bourbon Hot Toddy with Maple Syrup
    A steaming mug of bourbon hot toddy cocktail.

    Winter Events for Mitten Girl 

    In 2022, nearly all of my events were in the 4th quarter surrounding the major year-end holidays. But in this first quarter of 2023 I have had just as many events as I did in that fourth quarter of 2022 with more scheduled for April!

    Mocktails and books set up for a tasting and signing.

    Events look to be an additional revenue stream for my business that I hadn’t really considered until now. They’re also a great way to advertise my book and teach people how to make delicious drinks at home.

    Two new ones are on the horizon for spring. Watch my Instagram or my book page for more information about these spring events are the details are confirmed. 

    Learning, Learning, Learning

    Just like in 2022, I spent the beginning of March 2023 in Chicago at the Tastemaker Conference getting to learn from fellow bloggers, enjoy the restaurants of Chicago with lots of food-loving friends, and see so many people I usually only talk to through DMs or via Zoom. Connecting with other food content creators is what it’s all about for me. 

    A hand holding a conference badge.

    I’ve also enrolled in two food photography-specific classes this spring - one on how to run a successful food photography business and one specific to restaurant photography. Both are taught by successful female photographers whose work is inspiring. I’m super excited to keep learning all I can about this new-to-me industry. 

    February Recipes 

    • 10 Easy-to-Make Super Bowl Snacks
    • Easy Cocktails for Valentine’s Day
    • Delicious Sugar Cookie Martini Recipe 
    • Easy Strawberry Mocktail with Pineapple
    • How to Make Blackberry Simple Syrup
    • Unicorn Drink for Kids (Color-Changing Lemonade)
    The final, layered unicorn drink lemonade.
    Color-Changing Unicorn Lemonade

    Happy Anniversary MittenGirl.com 

    OK, so technically, this site's been around for MUCH longer than 2 years. But in its current form - running on great technology, dedicated to food and drink recipes, and with me consistently dedicating a lot of my time to it? That was 2 years as of March 16.

    In an effort to do better at celebrating the business-related things, I asked my friend at Foliage and Flour to create a cake for me. The gorgeous (and absolutely delicious!) blackberry lavender cake she made was the perfect treat to kick off the next year of this website. 

    A hand lighting one of two candles on a purple cake.

    74.5% to my B.A.G. (Big Audacious Goal) 

    When I decided to self-publish my cocktail book, Homemade Happy Hour, I set a lifetime goal of selling 1,000 books. As of March 31, I have sold 745 books, meaning I am 74.5% of the way to my goal in less than 2 years since publishing my book! That is amazing. 

    The cover of Homemade Happy Hour.

    Homemade Happy Hour is now available in 22 retail stores in 10 states! All of my retail locations are independent small businesses. Head over to my book page to see all of the locations and find the one nearest you! Even if you already own a copy of my book, give these stores a visit and help support them. 

    Buy Homemade Happy Hour

    March Recipes

    • Refreshing Blackberry Margarita Recipe
    • Two Ingredient Coffee Syrup (Kahlua Substitute)
    • How to Create an Easy DIY Mimosa Bar
    • How to Make Fresh Mint Simple Syrup
    Blackberry margaritas.
    Blackberry Margaritas

    A Very Ambitious Spring 

    I have a few BIG projects on my plate for spring, including moving my newsletter over to a new email platform, launching a new mocktail ebook, building and launching a new and separate website for the photography side of my business, and creating enough content that my site and social media can largely run itself during July when I intend to take a LOT of time off. Fingers crossed I can get it all done! 

    Ways to Support My Business 

    Please review my recipes on my website so Google shows them to more people!
    • Leave a review on one of my recipes. Made a recipe from this site that you enjoyed? Go give it a star rating! Google favors recipes that have reviews, so your review helps more people find my recipes. 
    • Share my site with your friends and family via email or social media. Word-of-mouth is still the best promotion there is! 
    • Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or join my mailing list! I’m regularly posting new content to all of these social channels and send out a newsletter once a week. 

    As always, thank you so much for reading and following along on this business-building journey. I appreciate your support more than you know.

    xo - Katy

    Life

    • Conversation heart candies falling into a coupe glass.
      Easy Cocktails for Valentine’s Day 
    • Super Bowl Snacks
      10 Easy-to-Make Super Bowl Snacks
    • A hand squeezing a lime over a cherry mocktail.
      10 Delicious Non-Alcoholic Drinks for Dry January 
    • Goal Review: Fourth Quarter and Year End 2022.
      Building A Blogging Business: Fourth Quarter and Year End Goal Review 2022

    I love when you share my recipes!

    About Katy McAvoy

    Katy is the author, photographer, home cook, mixologist, and Michigander behind MittenGirl.com. Since 2017, she's been crafting easy-to-make cocktails and delicious meals, along with sharing her love of all things Michigan (a.k.a. The Mitten)!

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    Katy McAvoy

    Hi! I’m Katy (she/her). I’m an author, photographer, home cook, mixologist, Michigander, and lover of all things food and drink. I never turn down a good happy hour and believe that a couple hours of meal prep pays off for days. Follow me on Instagram to check out what I’m working on next!

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