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Hey Reader,

Welcome to September's monthly newsletter! 🍁

The kids are back-to-school, there is (hopefully) a slight crisp in the air, and we're feeling like Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail.

We're popping into your inboxes this September to share our favorite news and strategy updates in the food creator space, but before we do, we wanted to make sure you've tuned into all of our September podcast episodes so far:

• ​How Justin Ellen Went From Camera-Shy to 3 Million Social Media Followers​
• ​Creating Connection and Equity in the Creator Space with Yoli Ouiya​​
• ​Building Smarter Systems as a Creator with Andrew Wilder and Miranda Wicker​​
• ​Reinventing Yourself as a Creator with Timothy Pakron from Mississippi Vegan​​

Now, let's catch-up on some news! ⬇️

1. Social media algorithms in 2026: How they rank content

As content creators, it can feel like we're constantly trying to keep-up with and decipher social media algorithms. This post from Hootsuite pulls back the curtain to explain exactly what shapes the algorithm on each platform (and what you can do about it).

No matter the platform, these four points apply:

Each platform weighs signals like watch time and engagement (likes, comments, and shares) rates to determine how widely it will be distributed. Combine these signals with user personalization, the platform's goals (like highlighting a new format or ads), content quality (are you following best practices), and trends... and you've got yourself a social media algorithm!

Here is a great platform-by-platform breakdown of the algorithms on different platforms:

Always a good refresher on how to tailor your content for each platform!

​Read the full guide on Hootsuite here.​

2. How Savor the Best is giving readers more reasons to come back

Over ten years ago, Dahn Boquist and her mom, Pat, started Savor the Best together. Since then, they've published over 1,700 recipes and steadily grown their business. But a recent Google update meant that their traffic fell by 40% over an 18-month period.

Dahn rethought her business strategy and prioritized "giving readers more reasons to return directly to Savor the Best by making the site more useful after the first visit, strengthening relationships with readers, and taking better care of the content she and her mom had already built."

Dahn didn't want to rely completely on search and one-time site visits, so she spent time enabling her readers to create accounts on her site to save recipes, organize collections, build customizable meal plans, generate shopping lists, and buy digital cookbooks.

She's also leaned into the platforms that are already working — email and Pinterest — and updating her existing library of content.

P.S. Keep an eye (ear?) out for Dahn's interview on The Food Blogger Pro Podcast in October!

​Read the full story on Clariti here.​

​3. Lily Ray on why shortcuts rarely win in SEO or AI search

If you feel like you're on a hamster wheel of SEO updates, this article might be just the breath of fresh air you need. Lily Ray reminds online creators to avoid using AI tools to scale your content ("especially when you believe your particular AI workflow produces something better than everyone else’s"‼️). In her decades of SEO experience, she has found that SEO shortcuts always catch-up with you.

Her recommendation is to focus on "creating a smaller number of valuable assets, updating them over time, and building a presence beyond a company’s own website." She also reminds us that good SEO and developing a well-known, trusted, and recommended brand matter now, more than ever.

​Read the full article on Search Engine Land here.​

4. We’re Nothing Without Our List: What Kept Healthy Foodie Girl Afloat When 60% of Their Google Traffic Disappeared with Shawna & Ella Clark

Another news item about a mother-daughter blogging duo recovering from a major traffic drop! Shawna and Ella, the pair behind Healthy Foodie Girl, weathered a 60% traffic drop with the introduction of AI Overviews. Yes, 60%.

In this podcast episode, they share how they've relied on their email list to make-up for the lost traffic from Google, how they're capturing email sign-ups on their site, how they use guides on their YouTube videos to drive half of their email sign-ups, and how they rely on Kit MCP data to tailor their email strategy. They highlight that your email list is the one thing you control and share why they've set a goal to grow their email list to be able to rely solely on the email list as a traffic driver.

​Listen to the full episode on Happy Subscribers here.​

And that's it for us this month! See you back here in October! 🎃