Are you fond of cooking? Maybe your recipes are fit to become restaurant cuisines? Do you feel like your culinary skills are top tier? Why not try making profits and enjoy what you love to do at the same time?
With the pandemic affecting everyone, people now want to earn money at home. If you have a passion for cooking, there is plenty of ways to earn just by making cooking videos alone. You can start by, teaching cooking classes. In addition to this, you can sell cooking class subscriptions online. Moreover, starting a cooking channel on YouTube can earn you big bucks. If you’re not a fan of YouTube, another option would be making a TikTok account.
Furthermore, you can also earn money by just writing. If you’re a bit camera shy, try working on becoming a food blogger instead or even become a recipe writer. There are plenty of opportunities to make money out here on the World Wide Web. Another idea would be selling home-cooked foods through various applications.
Earn money by cooking online! There are a variety of mediums by which you can earn money just by cooking. Since the pandemic shifted our modern world more to the digital world, audiences are much accessible than before.
If you love experimenting in the kitchen, if you’re a certified foodie, and have great experience in the culinary field, check out these guides on how to make your passion, into a career.
Here are your guides to make money online by cooking:
1. Start your YouTube cooking channel
We all know that Content Creators on YouTube earn money. If you feel comfortable in front of a camera, try creating your own YouTube channel. Although running a YouTube channel is not at easy as it looks, you would have to upload regularly and provide different and enticing content. You’d probably get millions of results on YouTube just by typing “home cooking”, so being unique is a great start.
In addition to your YouTube channel, it would be a great idea to create separate social media accounts for your channel. Adding a Facebook or Instagram account for your channel will help boost your engagements. This community is a large place. Here you will be able to connect with thousands of people who share the same passion for food as you do. This community will be your stepping stone. These people will be an opportunity for future exposure on your channel. Furthermore, here are small tips to gain exposure for your cooking channel:
- Like and Subscribe – Always remember to include these reminders from your videos. Videos that have many likes and views get a higher chance of getting featured on people’s recommended pages.
- Collab with other creators – Yep, even cooking channels can collab on a certain project. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other food channels, for this is a way of gaining exposure outside your audience. You will be able to interact with different communities, and you’ll be able to help your fellow creators as well.
- Engage with your Subscribers – Take the time to read their comments, some of them might have insightful feedbacks for your channel.
Remember that being a full-time YouTuber is not an easy job, for instance, it will be a 24/7 job. Your community might require daily uploads. Time management will be essential for this kind of job.
A list of the best YouTube Food Channels right now:
- BuzzFeed’s Tasty – With over 20.6M Subscribers
- First We Feast – You already might have heard of the YouTube series, Hot Ones. Where celebrities get interviewed by host Sean Evans. For every question, they would have to eat a progressively spicy chicken wing.
- Bon Appétit – Over 5.82M Subscribers, watch to get Recipes, opinions on different Restaurants, and other cultures.
- Travel Thirsty – With 6.9M subscribers, Travel Thirsty Blogs focus on different kinds of food around the world
- Gordon Ramsey – No way we’ll forget about this guy. There’s really no need for an introduction from the great Gordon Ramsey
How do cooking videos make money?
How do you even make money on YouTube? Well, it’s more complicated than just uploading your videos regularly. This is not a Twitch stream where people can come and donate to your channel with ease. The two main ways to earn money from your videos are getting Ads and getting sponsorships for your videos.
a. Get Ads
When you finally get enough subscribers and watch hours, this is the time that you can monetize your cooking videos. Now, YouTube will be able to put Ads on your videos. The amount of money you earn now depends on the format of the ad on your content. Here are the requirements on how to monetize on YouTube :
- A minimum of 1,000 subscribers is required
- A public watch hour of 4,000 in the past 12 months
- Sign the Terms and Conditions
- Create an AdSense account.
- Wait for YouTube’s approval
- Follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines
b. Get Sponsorships
Let’s look at the bright side for a minute here. Now you have thousands of subscribers on your channel, brands will probably start to be in contact with you for possible sponsorship. Most of the time, these brands will ask you to talk about their products or even use their products on your videos. Sponsors generally look for channels that have a large audience, so focus on growing your channel.
c. Create and sell your merchandise
With your growing community, you can now sell your own products. This can be a different way to sell your food or other types of kitchen tools. For instance, start with an apron with your logo on it. Then try to add some customize kitchen utensils. There really are no limits to what you can brand.
How much can you actually earn from YouTube?
The amount of money you earn after you monetize your channel depends on the uniqueness of your video, the number of clicks the ads from your video get, or even the length of your videos. If you haven’t noticed it yet, most YouTube videos are over 10 minutes long. There’s only one reasoning for this, and it’s to increase watch time. Watch time is one of the most important factors on YouTube.
On average, YouTube pay rate ranges over from $0.001 to 0.004 for a quick ad view. A well-known YouTuber can make around $18 per 1000 ad views. For context, you will need to generate over a million views per month to replace a full-time income and become a full-time creator, so don’t rely on monetization alone.
2. Join the TikTok Trend
If you’re familiar with Vine and Musical.ly, you’re familiar with TikTok. TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing app. If you have ever been on TikTok, you would know how fast videos can go trending. Moreover, the trend of Feta Pasta has over 947.9 million views. Here, not only you can share your recipes, but you can also share your other food hacks.
Lately, Tori Dunlap just shared her earnings on TikTok and Instagram. She discussed on her recent TikTok, herfirst100k that she earns about $12,000 per video.
Here are just a few of the best Cooking TikTok creators:
- newt – If you want to cook and have fun, Newt is your guy. Entertainment with good food is the way to go.
- cookingwithshereen – Making gourmet home cooking easy with her own recipes.
- iamtabithabrown – Tabitha Brown is considered to be the vegan queen of TikTok.
- eithan – Don’t let his age fool you, he’s probably better than most adults.
- kateate – In addition to cookingwithshereen, if you want chill vegan videos, Kate is your gal.
- the_pastaqueen – Delizioso! If you’re addicted to pasta and all Italian, go and watch Nadia.
Entertainment and humor is a very important aspect on TikTok. Make sure that people don’t only learn from your videos, but also be able to laugh and relax with you.
3. Cooking Classes
If you enjoy making cooking demos, a great option is to create a cooking class with subscriptions online. You can also apply to online courses like Udemy. Here, you will be able to publish your own course, you have control over your own content. You will be able to earn money from each paid enrollment. But not only will you be able to make money, but you will be able to inspire people. Not only kids but also aspiring chefs. Teach them new skills, and help them grow.
You can also sell your online classes via Patreon. Here, you will be able to get paid through subscriptions from your audience. Your community can become active participants to your cooking lessons, offering them a monthly membership subscription. With their subscriptions, there will be no ads or trolls to bother you while you watch. They can now enjoy your videos directly and can have conversations with you.
4. Food Blogs
Food blogs would be a great choice for you if you’re camera-shy. Some people might prefer to just read, rather than watch videos online. Due to the pandemic, people are stuck at home, food blogs or cooking videos became their comfort food. There are now plenty of opportunities to create your food content. If you are thinking about starting a Food Blog, start by reading first. Stay up to date with current trends. Not only you’ll be able to learn from others’ food blogs, but maybe you’ll be able to gain inspiration from them. Reading blogs can offer new food ideas for your own blogs.
Here are a few of the Best Food Blogs in 2021:
- Pinch of Yum – The reason why Pinch of Yum is popular is that the recipes on the blogs are easy to understand and follow.
- Sailu’s Food – If you’re addicted to Indian food recipes, this blog is the one for you.
- IAmAFoodBlog.com – We already have Indian food recipes, now we go to Asia with I Am A Food Blog.
- Cookie and Kate – Not only does it have great recipes, but here, you can also learn how to start your own food blog.
- AllRecipes.com – Moreover, this blog is focused on the social networks for cooks.
- Budget Bytes – All the other blogs on the list have exotic recipes, on the other hand, Budget Bytes’ food recipes are budget-friendly.
- Chocolate Covered Katie – This is for all the chocolate lovers out there.
- Vegan Richa – Focusing on a diet? Try reading Vegan Richa’s blog.
- Kalyn’s Kitchen – This is for health-conscious people.
- Recipe Girl – Lori Lange’s Recipe Girl includes all types of dishes from breakfast to dinner.
5. Recipe Writer
Similar to food blogging, if you’re not comfortable in front of a camera, try to pursue being a Recipe Writer. As a recipe writer, you must tackle every bit of information on your dish. Every step, ingredients, to the littlest detail must be precise so that readers will have an easy way to understand and will be able to replicate the dish.
Furthermore, you can research freelance jobs to write articles for magazines like Eating Well and Cuisine at Home. If you have a passion for food, but also have a knack for writing, there are plenty of opportunities for you in the culinary world. For instance, you can write a review, doesn’t matter if it’s a food or a restaurant.
To get started, a few sites where you can upload your services are:
On these sites, plenty of food bloggers will offer to pay for your original recipes and could possibly include you in their work as well, so that’s a bonus exposure.
6. Sell homemade cooked foods
In this day in age, there are now on-demand apps for home-cooked foods, similarly with Uber and DoorDash, but this time it can be your food. You’ll now be able to spread love through food with apps like BonAppetour, Dishdivvy, EatWith, Homefoodi, and Savorly.
Firstly, you can become a host at BonAppetour and earn up to $1,000 depending on your experience. Secondly, a host at EatWith can earn up to $700 per event. There are plenty of travelers around the world that wants to dine at in-home pop-up restaurants. Just like the other apps listed above, Dishdivvy and Savorly are apps where you can make money by selling your home-cooked dish to your neighborhood or community.
Skills you need for your Cooking Show
Creating a Cooking Show for YouTube doesn’t just require a great cook. There are other skills you need to learn before you start. This will take a lot of your time, but remember that all good things take time. Start with brainstorming, practice talking to a camera, and try to be humorous.
Before you start your channel, try to research and read some articles first, and then try to improve on these parts:
- Teaching – Try to practice how will you be able to explain your recipes to newbies. Your audience needs to easily pick up what you’re saying or doing.
- The “it” Factor – in addition to being humorous, find unique ways to entertain your future audience. Think of a catchphrase that your viewers can remember.
- Filming and basic video editing – New viewers to your channel might get attracted to how you present your videos. Try to watch tutorials on video editing or even basic graphic designs for your thumbnails.
Steps on how to host a cooking class
As COVID-19 has influenced so much of our everyday lives, this pandemic has become the new normal. People staying at home want something that’s from the outside to be accessible on the inside as well. There’s still a lot of opportunities to connect with others virtually. If your mind ever come across to teach or host a cooking class, here are the steps you need to be successful.
- What’s in the Menu? – Of course, you won’t be able to push through with your class without a proper menu. Start brainstorming on what will you be teaching
- Pick a schedule – When and what time will the class start? Where will you be hosting the class? There are different kinds of platforms now that you can use like, Facebook and Instagram Live, Zoom, or Google Meet.
- Setlist – Just like your favorite artists, you are going to perform to a live audience. Try and make a setlist so you won’t get confused and the class will go smoothly.
- Promote – Now that you have the What, Where, and When, you now must promote your class. Promote your recipes through your social media so that your audience can follow along what you’re doing once you go live.
- Practice makes perfect – Try and practice in the mirror or much better, in front of a camera. Practice can calm your nerves.
- Have fun! – Remember that you’re doing what you love. Don’t forget to smile, relax and have fun.
Focus on your craft, and continue working on your art. It doesn’t matter if it’s music, painting or even food. Moreover, a quote from Chef WolfgangPuck states that ” Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors – it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.”
Be creative, be unique and have fun!
