Best Friends for Frosting - Personal Blog Turned into Profitable Business
Best Friends for Frosting blog, or BFFF, was created in 2011 by Melissa Johnson from Land Park area in Sacramento, CA. This blog was launched as a dessert-focused blog in 2011 and then was expanded into a lifestyle blog in 2013. The rebranding turned the personal niche blog into am influential "lifestyle website dedicated to celebrating joyful and wholehearted living" as described in the blog's About page.
According to Sacramento News & Review, BFFF blog owned by a young couple (Melissa and her husband) made enough money for them to buy a new home. As the blog grows, they started to hire employees to help create contents, manage the systems, and develop business relationships. Even though the BFFF is no longer a personal log, it still stays with a personalized tone. It is the personal touch that catalyzes the traffic and facilitates the growth. Best Friends for Frosting blog is a typical example that a personal blog manifests a profitable full-time business.
Style and Impression
It is a pink blog with feminine personality, and Melissa's smile everywhere. The blog doesn't seem to have a focus; it has various things, - DIY, home decor, recipes, and lifestyle. You have to browse around to find out it has to offer. From page to page, you'll see a lot of Melissa. It is a personalized branding blog.
The context and tone of the blog are very inviting and engaging, for example:
"My name is Melissa, and I am so glad you're here! BFFF is my corner of the internet where I share what makes me happy! Grab a cup of coffee and stay for a while."
"Together, let’s make room for saying yes to what brings you joy, more passion for the lives we’re building, and more choices to live a life you love inside and out!"
Blog Platform
The blog is on Wordpress with customized Twenty-Twelve theme. The Mail Chimp mailing manager is integrated with the blog.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Although this blog does not fall into a unique niche, it does provide unique styles and ideas. There are already too many blogs on lifestyles and receipts. Melissa just added one more and managed to get this blog stand out by giving it a personalized life. Every post is like Melissa is talking to you in person. Another uniqueness is that all of the receipts are the desserts. The encouraging and affirming words in the posts make you feel good to eat desserts. Overall, this is a feel-good blog. The USP of Best Friends for Frosting is the affinity of Melissa's smile.
Making Money
There are multiple channels of cash flow generated from this blog. There is a Google Adsense banner floating at the bottom of every page; there are a few advertising banners on the sidebar, and there is a "Shop" which is an affiliate store selling affiliate products from Amazon and other affiliate networks. With the blog's popularity and traffic, Melissa and her husband earned enough income from the blog to buy a new home. They currently employ a considerable staff, including a human resources director.
A featured article in Sacramento News & Review reported the blog owner's considerations on advertising income and upcoming book deals:
Because of the graphic nature of this blog, heavy promotions are dumped on Instagram and Pinterest. This blog has 90k Instagram followers and 109k Pinterest followers. Most of photos feature the bog owner Melissa and her family including two kids. Thse photos were shot by professional photographers. The blog is also promoted on Facebook (30k Likes) and Twitter (4k Likes).
According to Sacramento News & Review, BFFF blog owned by a young couple (Melissa and her husband) made enough money for them to buy a new home. As the blog grows, they started to hire employees to help create contents, manage the systems, and develop business relationships. Even though the BFFF is no longer a personal log, it still stays with a personalized tone. It is the personal touch that catalyzes the traffic and facilitates the growth. Best Friends for Frosting blog is a typical example that a personal blog manifests a profitable full-time business.
Style and Impression
It is a pink blog with feminine personality, and Melissa's smile everywhere. The blog doesn't seem to have a focus; it has various things, - DIY, home decor, recipes, and lifestyle. You have to browse around to find out it has to offer. From page to page, you'll see a lot of Melissa. It is a personalized branding blog.
The context and tone of the blog are very inviting and engaging, for example:
"My name is Melissa, and I am so glad you're here! BFFF is my corner of the internet where I share what makes me happy! Grab a cup of coffee and stay for a while."
"Together, let’s make room for saying yes to what brings you joy, more passion for the lives we’re building, and more choices to live a life you love inside and out!"
Blog Platform
The blog is on Wordpress with customized Twenty-Twelve theme. The Mail Chimp mailing manager is integrated with the blog.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Although this blog does not fall into a unique niche, it does provide unique styles and ideas. There are already too many blogs on lifestyles and receipts. Melissa just added one more and managed to get this blog stand out by giving it a personalized life. Every post is like Melissa is talking to you in person. Another uniqueness is that all of the receipts are the desserts. The encouraging and affirming words in the posts make you feel good to eat desserts. Overall, this is a feel-good blog. The USP of Best Friends for Frosting is the affinity of Melissa's smile.
Making Money
There are multiple channels of cash flow generated from this blog. There is a Google Adsense banner floating at the bottom of every page; there are a few advertising banners on the sidebar, and there is a "Shop" which is an affiliate store selling affiliate products from Amazon and other affiliate networks. With the blog's popularity and traffic, Melissa and her husband earned enough income from the blog to buy a new home. They currently employ a considerable staff, including a human resources director.
A featured article in Sacramento News & Review reported the blog owner's considerations on advertising income and upcoming book deals:
Melissa says, she enters every deal with an eye toward honoring her relationship with the site’s visitors—and herself. When advertisers for the BDSM-themed film 50 Shades Darker came calling, for example, she had to say no—no matter how tempting the payoff.
“It would have been thousands and thousands of dollars,” she says. “But I’m Christian, so I had to go back to why I do this.”
Besides, for every ad she turns away, there’s another potential pot of gold waiting. In the coming year, Melissa hopes to land a book deal, launch a podcast and start a series of online classes to show others how to live their best, most profitable online life.Social Media and Marketing
Because of the graphic nature of this blog, heavy promotions are dumped on Instagram and Pinterest. This blog has 90k Instagram followers and 109k Pinterest followers. Most of photos feature the bog owner Melissa and her family including two kids. Thse photos were shot by professional photographers. The blog is also promoted on Facebook (30k Likes) and Twitter (4k Likes).
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