How This Vitamix Blog Survived Google Killing Its Traffic (‪@blendingforgood‬)

Six women at a book club all owned a Vitamix. Zero of them actually used it. That moment is what pushed Lenny and his wife, Shalva, to rebuild their entire business around one idea: owning one of these machines isn't the hard part, actually using it is. Lenny didn't start out here. He was an accountant-turned-traveling-consultant who hated the lifestyle and had no interest in making shareholders richer. He quit, got obsessed with health and egg-white smoothies, and started a scrappy blog called Life Is No Yolk. Somewhere along the way, one product took over everything he wrote about the Vitamix and he spent the next decade as its biggest affiliate partner, then an authorized dealer, riding a decade of Google search traffic that helpful niche sites used to get for free. Then the algorithm changed almost overnight, and that traffic vanished. So Lenny and Shalva rebuilt from scratch as Blending for Good, a membership site (built on MemberPress) that hands people Shalva's recipes, a weekly tasting menu, and a jumpstart email course instead of just another affiliate link. They're also working toward B Corp certification and giving 2% of revenue to No Kid Hungry. In this interview, you'll hear about Lenny's background, how they started BFG, and lessons learned along the way. This is an ongoing interview series, so if you like the video, don't forget to like and subscribe for more! Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro & Subscribe 1:10 – Meet Lenny 1:47 – What Blending for Good Is 2:11 – Corporate Burnout 3:07 – Life Is No Yolk 4:44 – Becoming Vitamix Guy 6:45 – Early Blog Content 8:04 – Ahi Tuna Steak 9:21 – Chasing Search Traffic 14:55 – Book Club Story 17:28 – Jumpstart Course 18:06 – Initial Website 20:01 – Google Algorithm Crash 20:53 – Rebrand to Blending for Good 22:59 – Building on MemberPress 24:22 – Weekly Tasting Menu 25:37 – Other Member Offerings 28:10 – Member Feedback 31:49 – Lenny's Gravestone 32:33 – Starting YouTube at 27 39:52 – Traffic Sources 41:51 – Tech Stack 49:49 – Biggest Lessons 54:17 – Full-Time Income 56:22 – What's Next 58:50 – Where to Find Them Get started with MemberPress today: http://www.memberpress.com/pricing Learn more about MemberPress here (sell content, courses, communities, and more): http://www.memberpress.com/features Blending For Good: http://www.blendingforgood.com BFG on YouTube: @blendingforgood ​ #onlinebusiness #smoothie #entrepreneurship