Welcome to the Kati Keksi monthly newsletter, bringing together the latest content from the Kati Keksi website as well as highlights from social media including Facebook and Instagram.

Hey there,

So I think it's fair to say the cooler weather is there to stay. Over the last month we've had quite a few cool nights here in Melbourne with temperatures getting closer to zero.

Our whole family works from home so the heaters are constantly on and I can't say I'll be looking forward to the next bill.

But as we settle into winter we've been able to shift to heartier foods, and warming bowls of delicious soup.

In early May I released my gluten free soup guide. I don't think it's been all that successful, but maybe we aren't all in soup mode yet?

​

New ads for Kati Keksi

I mentioned in my last newsletter that I would go into a little bit more detail about my journey to change ad services on my website.

Ads are more than just an annoying little picture between paragraphs on a website, they can actually be a solid revenue stream for bloggers.

For massive websites (with millions of views per month), they can represent a full-time income. For a small fries like me, it's more modest.

But the fact is it's real income and it helps fund quality information on the internet for free.

What you may not notice is that there's a huge variation in ad quality.

If you jump on a website like Becky Excell, you'll see ads for a pop star's latest album, a huge sale at Myer or a promotion for luxury travel.

However if you went to my website three years ago, you'd have seen ads saying "How to lose fat with this one simple trick!" 🤷

Back then I was getting my ads through Google AdSense. I got it running on my website right in time for my first ever Easter guide and I was absolutely rapt when I made about $45 for the whole month. Then for the next year I made $3 to $5 a month. 😅

​

Fast forward to June 2024.

I applied to a new ad firm called Journey, who had a minimum requirement of 10,000 visits a month.

I got in and immediately my rates went up. Suddenly I was earning two times what I had ever got through AdSense. It was a step in the right direction, the next step was Mediavine.

Mediavine, the parent company of Journey, is a premium ad partner, with a minimum requirement of 50,000 visits per month before you can apply.

​

Then came Easter 2025.

My Easter egg guide was more successful than ever before and I was sitting at around 30,000 views for the month. I toyed with the idea of sharing more articles to my Facebook page to see if I could get even more people to my website.

I started posting links and the numbers kept climbing.

I even put a bit of money into some Facebook ads to promote my popular McDonald's article.

That was a huge step for me mentally, to actually back myself to the point that I was going to invest money in what I was trying to achieve rather than just investing my own time and labour.

I reached 50,000 visits just after Easter and applied. To my massive surprise I was accepted just a few days later and by May 1st I was running Mediavine ads on my website.

It's always been the dream to be able to have Mediavine on my website. To meet the requirement of 50,000 visits is huge, something that is hard to imagine when you're just starting out.

​

The first month

Already I've seen a large improvement in my website income, and while the rates vary on a daily basis, it looks like the rates will be three or four times higher than where I started just three years ago.

This might sound like I've made it, and in many respects I have, but in terms of income, it's really only about $200 a month (May's projected earnings).

Successful bloggers are earning upwards of four, even five figures per month - per month! I don't think I'll ever get there, and that's fine. But it is nice to see that I'm no longer losing money every month just to keep my website online.

I hope you found this little story interesting, I was wondering how much detail I should go into as it's pretty personal (sharing some earning figures).

But also I think that there's not that much information around about how influencers get paid or where they get their income.

There's certainly a misconception by some people that I'm paid by supermarkets for my weekly posts, I'm definitely not. Or that anytime I post about a product that a company has paid me or given me that product as a gift.

That couldn't be further from the truth. You'll always know if it's a sponsored post because I'll disclose that in the caption or the website article and the same goes for a gifted products.

In the last month there would be two sponsored posts on my Facebook feed, out of something like 100 posts.

It's not a lot, but I'm very content with it. 🙏🏼 I don't ever want to be a person only posting when I'm getting paid or getting something for free.

Anyway, on to the updates!

Kati x

​

​

Latest posts on katikeksi.com​

Not up to date with the website? Here's what I've been talking about this month.

​

What soups are gluten free?

You'd think finding a GF soup would be easy but there's a surprisingly high amount with pasta, barley or wheat flour. Not to mention may contains. Everything in this guide is safe.

​

Review: Nourish'd Meal Co

I ordered from Nourish'd for the first time and checked out a few of their meals. Everything they make is gluten free and they're also endorsed by Coeliac Australia.

​

Senza pepperoni pizza

Senza's pepperoni pizza is a new offering available at Woolworths in the freezer section. I put it to a taste test with myself, my husband and my kid!

​

New gluten free products May

Pizzas (yes, plural!), donuts (plural again!), noodles, ready meals and more. May has been a bumper month for new gluten free products and I couldn't be happier.

​

Most popular content on Facebook

So many posts have been popular this month, including some random ones thanks to the Facebook algorithm.

• I posted a little reminder about rainchecks which ended up with over a million views. It was even mentioned on an Aussie news website.
• Dark chocolate Weis ice cream is back, but just for a limited time at Aldi. It's also dairy free.
• Coles brand milk bottles no longer list wheat glucose syrup. They've always been safe but now it's just a little less confusing - definitely a win!
• Cream of chicken soup is on the menu and ready as a recipe base, Rosella's new soup is GF by ingredient.
• ​Coles has revamped their bread packaging and a few recipes by the look of it - notably, different allergens with some now egg free.
• Along with new packaging Coles bread products are turning up in different places, namely the bakery with fresh breads. It seems to be happening at more stores than just my local - keep an eye out!
• We also saw a leaked image of the next Arnott's GF biscuit, Chicken Crimpy!

Instagram @kati_keksi

Do you follow me on Instagram? I tend to post different content there compared to Facebook so it's worth checking out both.

Here's what I've been sharing this month.

• My family and I were invited to Melbourne pub Bobbie Peels to check out their gluten free menu items - including a GF Yorkshire pudding?!
• I made a little reel just to showcase the many gluten free dumplings that are available... in my freezer.
• I checked out new Melbourne venue Korya (also an invite) which serves pan-Asian cuisine (and hot chips!). Their entire menu is gluten free.
• And of course my monthly reel with the last new products​

​

New product alerts

Here's just a few of the new gluten free products I've seen in the last month.

• Pizza x 2! Of course there's the new Senza pepperoni (review just above) but also a chicken BBQ pizza by Jase's Kitchen also at Woolworths.
• Coco and Lucas released two new products, bacon mac and cheese as well as a vegan japchae noodle dish with Fable "meat"
• Technically not new but Toscano macarons at Woolworths are now gluten free thanks to a recent recipe change.
• Oodles of noodles, there's two spicy noodle options from Aldi.
• It's rare to get a GF dinner option, Luv a Duck has released a Thai red curry with duck.
• ​Warburton's snuck in a new bread product to Coles. I had no idea until my pal Alyssa posted it on Instagram!

Be sure to follow me on Facebook where I post everything I find, and if you prefer, follow me on Instagram for a monthly reel summary.

​

Article from the archive

Did you know I started my website back in January 2022? There's so many articles, including reviews that you can read. Here's one I picked for you.

Roasted tomato gnocchi

Did you see my recent post about a super cheap gnocchi at Woolies? It's $2.90 for 500g! Half the price of other brands. The perfect excuse to try out my favourite gnocchi recipe, one tray and all in the oven - no boiling.