Creating Reader-First Content and Growing to 800,000 Monthly Page Views with Elena Davis

Prioritizing providing authentic value to your readers, updating old content, and choosing the right marketing channels for your content with Elena Davis from Cucina by Elena.

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Welcome to episode 509 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Elena Davis from Cucina by Elena.

Creating Reader-First Content and Growing to 800,000 Monthly Page Views with Elena Davis

We are so excited to welcome back Elena Davis to the podcast this week. When we first chatted with Elena in 2022, she had just hit 100,000 page views and qualified for Mediavine. Three years later, Elena’s site, Cucina by Elena, gets over 800,000 monthly page views! But her journey to get there has not been without it’s challenges.

In this interview, Elena catches us up on the last few years of her business — including a major traffic decline in 2023 (and how she recovered from it) and how her mindset around her business, and the value she provides to her community, has changed.

Three episode takeaways:

• The importance of updating content — After hitting a traffic plateau in September 2023, Elena realized that some of her older content wasn’t serving her audience (or Google!) anymore. Instead of leaving it stagnant, she began steadily auditing her old blog posts. Elena speaks to the importance of continually evaluating the value of your content and knowing when to take action to improve your site. Her approach was key to her traffic growth and helped her bounce back better than before.
• How to choose the right marketing channels for your food blog — When it comes to marketing, knowing which channels work for your brand is everything. Elena relies on email marketing, Pinterest, and Instagram (especially Reels) to drive traffic, engage her audience, and build brand loyalty.
• Prioritizing providing value to your readers — Elena has a really wonderful perspective on creating content that serves your readers above all else. She shares more about how she guides readers through her blog, how she helps them achieve their goals, and how that mindset has changed her business.

Resources:

• Cucina by Elena
• 372: How Elena Davis Went From 20k to 100k+ Monthly Pageviews and Got Accepted Into Mediavine
• TopHatRank
• Clariti
• Traditional Panettone Recipe
• Kit
• Manychat
• Grocer’s List
• Pinch of Yum
• Simply Recipes
• Follow Elena on Instagram
• Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group

Thank you to our sponsors!

This episode is sponsored by Member Kitchens.

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