One Year In: Natalie Kalmar’s Journey to Growing a Fitness & Foodie Blog
Some of our favorite podcast episodes are the ones where we get to chat with members of our Ultimate Blog Roadmap community. Today, we’re excited to introduce you to Natalie Kalmar, owner of a fitness and foodie blog, FitnessFoodieSTL, who took the leap to start her blog just one year ago. Her story is inspiring, especially for those in the early stages of their blogging journey, wondering if they should take the plunge.
Meet Natalie Kalmar
Natalie is a fitness & foodie blogger, a St. Louis Native, mother of 3 and lover of trying new things. The mission of her blog, fitnessfoodiestl.com is to help others have more fun with fitness, dine with delight and live a more joyful & balanced life.
From Corporate Life to Blogging
Natalie spent 17 years working in the corporate world before realizing that her career no longer aligned with the life she wanted. As a mother of three, she took a step back to focus on her family and rediscover her passions.
During this break, she recognized her love for writing, creating, networking, and, of course, her two biggest interests – fitness and food. But she wasn’t sure how to bring it all together until she stumbled upon The Ultimate Blog Podcast. Listening to other bloggers’ journeys gave her the push to explore the possibility of starting her own blog.
Taking the First Steps on her Fitness and Foodie Blog
Natalie’s first move was joining a free three-day training we offered. From there, she enrolled in our membership, where she learned everything she needed to build her own website and establish her brand. While the thought of launching a blog felt overwhelming at first, she took it step by step – choosing a blog name, securing her domain, and working through the logistics of website creation.
She says that if you had told her a year ago that she’d build her own website and understand digital marketing, she wouldn’t have believed it. But with guidance and determination, she made it happen!
Facing the Fear of Putting Herself Out There
One of the biggest challenges Natalie faced wasn’t the tech or the writing – it was the vulnerability of sharing her blog with the world.
But she pushed past the fear, knowing that if she wanted her blog to succeed, she had to let people know about it. And now, a year later, she’s so glad she did.
The Learning Curve of Blogging
Like many new bloggers, Natalie had to navigate a steep learning curve. Her background in marketing and sales helped, but website development, SEO, and digital marketing were entirely new to her. However, she embraced the challenge by Googling, watching YouTube tutorials, and utilizing the support available in the Ultimate Blog Roadmap. She shares that the community supporting her made the difference to making blogging achievable.
Providing Value to Her Community
Natalie originally started her blog to share her love for fitness and food, but as she immersed herself in the blogging world, she discovered a unique way to provide value: by curating a fitness events listing for her community in St. Louis. At first, she managed this list using a simple Excel spreadsheet, and refined her system over time. Now, she’s upgrading her website using The Events Calendar plugin.
Balancing Her Fitness and Foodie Blog with Family Life
On top of growing her blog, Natalie is also a busy mom raising three kids. Balancing blogging with family responsibilities isn’t easy, but she’s found ways to make it work. To make it work, she schedules specific blocks of time on her calendar for tasks.
She finds that working at night, when the house is quiet, is often the most productive time for her to write blog posts and focus on her work.
Investing in Growth
As Natalie’s blog gained traction, she realized that she couldn’t do it all alone. To free up time for higher-impact tasks, she recently hired a virtual assistant to help manage her fitness events listing. This small investment has allowed her to focus on expanding her blog and engaging more with her audience.
For new bloggers, she recommends getting help when you’re able. Whether it’s outsourcing a time-consuming task or investing in a course to build your skills, putting resources into your blog can lead to faster growth and more opportunities.
Takeaways for Aspiring Bloggers
Natalie’s success story is an inspiration for anyone thinking about starting a blog or looking to turn their passion into something bigger. If you’re thinking about starting a foodie blog – or any kind of blog – a page from Natalie’s book: start now, don’t be afraid to refine as you go, and get plugged into a community!
In this episode, we covered:
- How Natalie left the corporate world to start her blog
- When Natalie knew it was time to go all in on blogging
- Natalie’s first steps to create her blog
- The fear Natalie faced (and overcame) of putting her blog out there
- How Natalie learned about website development, SEO, and digital marketing
- How Natalie balances her blog with family life
- What investments Natalie has made in her blog this year
Links and resources mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with Natalie Kalmar on her blog, Instagram, and Facebook
- Join The Ultimate Blog Roadmap
- Sign up for our newsletter
- Check out last week’s episode
We hope you loved this episode with Natalie about growing a fitness and foodie blog! Please leave us a comment and let us know your biggest takeaway from this episode!