Talking candyblogging with Brian from Candy Addict

An Interview by Thord Daniel Hedengren

Niche blogging is what everyone says you should be doing if you want to make money on blogs. Well, maybe not everyone, but you’ll hear it more than often. Raking in the cash wasn’t the goal set up by Brian Pipa, the creator of what may very well be the web’s biggest blog about candy; Candy Addict.

Naturally, this got me curious, so here’s a brief interview with Brian on running a truly niched blog. Enjoy.

Candy Addict is a blog about candy. When did you launch it, and what made you do it?
I started it in October 2005. I’ve always loved candy. I had some free time in my schedule and really wanted to start a fun site that maybe more than just my friends would read. I looked to see if there were any other candy blogs and there were a few, but none of them took the approach that I wanted to take, so I figured I’d go for it. As far as I can tell, Candy Addict is currently unique on the internet.

Are you concerned that your blog could make people eat more candy, get fatter, and lose all their teeth?
Nope. I doubt my site will make people eat more candy. They were going to eat candy anyway, we just steer them to good candy.

That’s probably true. Have you been approached by people disagreeing with your point of view on this?
Not much really. There was this one blog that was a low-fat, no-sugar diet blog or something. The lady that ran it was an author of some books on the subject. She left a few comments saying how I should be ashamed for promoting candy and I’m pretty sure she signed me up for some no-sugar newsletter. I couldn’t unsubscribe to it so it now gets labeled as spam every time I get it. Besides her, most people have been great.

I know that Candy Addict has presented some opportunities for you. Could you tell us a little about the doors the blog have opened for you?
Well, I and the site have been mentioned in numerous newspapers and we have been mentioned on many radio station. I was interviewed live on a radio station via phone, and the site was even mentioned on a cable TV show. I have also had opportunities to audition to be a host for two different new food-related TV shows.

That’s some nice spinoff opportunities for sure. How did those auditions go? Will you be on TV in 2008 or what?
I haven’t heard back from the first so I assume that’s a no.

The second I just sent last week - no word yet. I’m doubtful though. I’m not an actor. Two of our Candy Addict writers did get interviewed on camera for a pilot for a new food show though. They might make it on TV. We’ll see.

Candy is quite a niche. How do you monetize, and how does it work out for you?
AdSense, affiliate links, Text-Link-Ads, Blogads, direct ad sales are the ways the site makes money. I didn’t start Candy Addict to make money. I have always loved candy and wanted to write about it. I always thought if the site made $100 a month, I’d be ecstatic and that would keep me stocked in candy. Now I’m not making enough on it to ever retire, but it gives me some money to play with each month.

What’s next for Candy Addict? How can 2008 be a better candy year for you and your blog?
Well, we are getting more and more traffic each month and I need to hire some more writers. There is just too much candy news/topics to cover. We have 8 writers now - I’d like to hire maybe four more. We’ve also dabbled with video candy reviews and got some great positive feedback from our readers, so I’m looking to do more of those. Other than that, we’ll just keep publishing articles that Candy Addicts love to read.

2008 will be busy then. Any tips from your experiences with Candy Addict that you’d like to share with bloggers looking to start in similar niches?
For product bloggers (bloggers who write about something tangible that can be purchased), you should always email the company that makes the product you review. This gets your site on their radar which could lead to the company advertising on your site in the future. It could also lead to getting free products to review from them in the future.

I’d like to thank Brian for taking the time for this interview. Make sure you don’t waste your money (or teeth) on bad candy, check out Candy Addict!

This Interview was published on February 5, 2008 at 7:00 am • Did you like it? Subscribe!
Submit to Reddit or StumbleUpon or Digg • Del.icio.us