The Yellow Bite
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She turned recipes into revenue (and quit law to do it)

She turned recipes into revenue (and quit law to do it)

From baby bump to business boom: Tanya’s creator story

Stephen Stanberry
June 26th, 2025

In partnership with

I’ll be honest…friend

I didn’t expect a food blog to teach me this much about email growth.

But Tanya Harris? She turned dinner ideas into a six-figure business—and built an email list that prints traffic on demand.

Let’s break it down.

A few years ago, Tanya Harris was a lawyer.

But when she got pregnant, something shifted.

She didn’t just want more time she wanted more ownership.

Of her schedule. Of her income. Of her life.

So she made a quiet bet on the food blog she ran on the side.

No investors. No grand plan.

Just 3,000 email subscribers…
and a goal: match her lawyer salary and quit.

The founder:

Tanya Harris
Lawyer turned food blogger
Started My Forking Life in 2016
→ Now 67,000+ subscribers
→ Quit her job and went all-in

Tanya Harris

Here’s what she figured out fast:

People don’t just want “content.”

They want help. At the exact moment they need it.

So she didn’t just say:
“Subscribe to my newsletter.”

She said:
“Reading an air fryer recipe? Grab this air fryer guide.”

Here’s what she nailed (and what you can steal):

→ 1. Relevance > reach.
Every blog post had its own opt-in.
No generic pop-ups. No bland CTAs.
Just personalized offers that matched the reader’s intent.

→ 2. Content that saves the reader.
She let readers email themselves the recipe they were reading.
Sounds basic. But it turned one-time visits into long-term subs.
Why? Because useful = memorable = shareable.

→ 3. Email wasn’t the backup plan. It was the plan.
She sent consistent emails. At least 2x a week.
Not just to grow—but to keep subscribers engaged and buying.
That’s how she turned guides into products and content into cash.

The lesson?

Your email list isn’t a bucket.
It’s a system.

One that starts with story, serves real value, and scales with consistency.

Tanya didn’t just collect emails.
She made promises and kept them.

That’s why people stayed.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about the email mistake that nearly tanked my open rates—and the switch that saved it.

—

Stephen

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