Creative Online Revenue Streams for Dietitians: Tips and Success Stories!

Tired of trading hours for dollars? Getting a bit burnt out on one-on-one client work? You’re not alone! Luckily, as a dietitian there are tons of creative ways to generate income online outside of private practice. Whether you are looking for a side hustle or want to take the full leap into entrepreneurship, you can find options that work for you!

Some of the most successful online revenue stream options for dietitians include (click on each to jump to that section):

• Ad revenue from blogging or YouTube
• Brand partnerships
• Affiliate marketing / Amazon influencer program
• Freelance writing
• Digital products
• Online courses
• Memberships
• Physical products

Let’s take a look at each of these in more depth, along with stories and tips from dietitians that have experienced success with each.

Ad Revenue from Blogging or YouTube

Ad revenue is the quintessential “passive income” strategy, and has been one of my personal favorites. With ad revenue, you’ll need to create consistent content that attracts a high volume of traffic – either through a blog or a YouTube channel. Once you hit certain traffic thresholds, you can earn passive income from display ads.

Pros: Passive income potential, scalability, and no direct 1-1 work required.

Cons: Requires a significant time investment to grow traffic before any monetization occurs (often 12-18 months or more). Also, the current Google landscape and shift to AI search means less traffic potential moving forward as far as blogging goes; you’ll need to diversify to other traffic sources too (i.e. Pinterest, email marketing, etc).

Success Story: Ashley Petrie, RDN, LDN of Everyday Homemade

Ashley earns a full time income through ad revenue on her blog. She started the site because she wanted a revenue stream that wasn’t directly tied to time – something that could generate income after the initial time commitment of creating the content. As a self-described introvert, she also loved this option since she didn’t have to sell anything directly to her audience when starting out. She did note that now, in the current Google landscape, she is evolving by doing more email marketing, affiliate marketing, and selling digital products to her audience.

Key skills Ashley recommends for ad revenue:

• Ability to niche down
• SEO (search engine optimization)
• Constant willingness to learn
• Ability to pivot
• Analyze what’s working and what’s not
• Consistency

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Ashley told us:

“Just start, and then keep going. It’s easy to let perfectionism keep you from starting or to get discouraged by the slow grind of blogging. But looking back, I’m so glad I didn’t give up when I was only making $270 after 15 months of hard work. And I’m glad I hit publish on every blog post, even the ones I cringe at now. Content can always be updated and improved, but you can’t grow if you don’t put yourself out there. The only way to find your audience is to just start, and then keep going.”

[Thinking about starting a food blog? Read up on key tips to grow your food blog.]

Success Story: Katie Dodd, MS, RDN, CSG, LD, FAND, Owner, Dietitian Side Hustle & The Geriatric Dietitian

Katie makes a part-time income from ad revenue on her blog. She started because she loved the idea that she could build her own website, on her own time, and grow the traffic to make money. It took her about 16 months to grow the site to be accepted to Mediavine. She notes “Ad revenue is passive income which gives me more time freedom and allows me to work on other aspects of my business.” Mindset has been a huge part of the journey for Katie; she sets big goals and writes down affirmations that have helped her tremendously in growing her business.

Key skills Katie recommends for ad revenue:

• Tracking Google analytics and Search Console
• SEO (search engine optimization)
• Business management skills
• Mindset
• Ability to adapt when the market shifts

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Katie told us:

“Discover what is possible- see what dietitians are successfully doing online and believe that you can achieve this too. Blogging and making money isn’t just for a special few- anyone can do it with the right skillset, mindset, and perspective. Ad revenue is a long-term game- not a get rich quick scheme- but once you start making that passive income… it is INCREDIBLE!!”

Brand Partnerships

Brand partnerships can encompass a variety of options. You might do sponsored social media posts for your audience, Instagram “takeovers” on the brand’s account, email marketing campaigns for your audience, live events, recipe creation for a brand’s website, broadcast media segments, PR work, or more.

Pros: High earning potential per project and allows you to be very creative.

Cons: Generally, requires a good sized or engaged social media presence, unless you are doing work directly for the brand’s channels. Income may be inconsistent unless relationships are ongoing. Not everyone agrees that dietitians should work with food/supplement brands, so you may experience occasional public pushback.

Success Story: Cara Harbstreet, MS RD LD of Street Smart Nutrition

Cara generates a full-time income from brand partnerships. The transition into brand partnerships felt natural for her, because the content already aligned with her social media presence and core messages. The flexibility of project-based work also fit well with Cara’s preferred work style, allowing her to control her workload and income.

Key skills Cara recommends for brand partnership work:

• Clear and authentic brand voice
• Media training
• Developing a consistent on-camera persona
• Public speaking
• Food styling
• Video editing
• Ability to manage backend admin work (contracts, invoices, negotiations)

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Cara told us:

“Be prepared to hear “no” and say “no”. It’s flattering when you’re getting pitches to partner, or opportunities are coming your way. But inevitably, someone will pitch a partnership that doesn’t align with your brand, your values, or your expertise (or one that refuses to pay what you’re worth). Is it worth undermining your reputation with your audience or other clients just to book the partnership? Likewise, you might pitch a potential partner that feels like a natural fit. But based on a limited budget, the timing, or other factors, they might reject you or decline your pitch. It’s OK – this is not necessarily a reflection of you or the quality of your work, they just know what they’re looking for with these campaigns and can be very opaque about why you weren’t selected. It takes a thick skin to do this work because you’ll have to advocate for yourself and your rates, learn to deal with rejection, and withstand scrutiny from others on your public-facing work. Learn to ignore the haters. If you’re proud of your work and consistently do what you’re good at, your portfolio will speak for itself and great partners will continue to seek you out.”

Success Story: Kelsey Kunik, RDN Media dietitian, freelance writer, and owner of Graciously Nourished

Kelsey has several online revenue streams in her business, and brand partnerships are one piece of that puzzle. She decided to add partnerships in since she was already talking to her audience about her favorite brands (both on social and on her blog).

Key skills Kelsey recommends for brand partnership work:

• Creativity
• Communication
• Establishing your unique value proposition (what sets you apart from other nutrition and food influencers)
• Food photography
• Recipe development
• Social media following or engagement is helpful, but Kelsey notes there are lots of ways to partner without this as well

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Kelsey told us:

“Get on the brand’s radar and start developing relationships with people in PR and within the brands you want to work with someday before you ever pitch them an idea. I’ve never had success with cold pitching, but getting in front of brands and being on their mind when a project or campaign does come up has opened a lot of doors. One big partnership I had came almost two years after having a casual introduction call with someone at a PR agency after we connected over a Facebook post about whether or not to change your last name after a divorce. Big opportunities can come from small encounters if you take the time to nurture them.”

Affiliate Marketing and Amazon Influencer Program

While brand partnerships for sponsored content are generally paid up front with a flat fee, affiliate marketing is a bit different. In this case, you earn a commission when someone clicks on a special link you’ve shared, and they purchase the product or service you’ve recommended. Affiliate links can be shared through blog posts, social media, or email newsletters.

Another adjacent form of affiliate marketing is the Amazon Influencer Program. In this case, you create video content for products on Amazon, and when someone watches the video and purchases the product on Amazon – you earn a commission.

Pros: Great way to monetize products/services that you’re already sharing. Generally not an extensive time commitment.

Cons: Income depends on traffic and engagement. Some affiliate programs have large commissions which may require less overall traffic, but others have small commissions where it is more of a volume game. Affiliate terms can change at anytime and programs may close, potentially suddenly eliminating revenue.

Success Story: Ana Reisdorf, MS, RD founder of RDs Who Thrive.

Ana was making a part-time income from affiliate marketing and the Amazon influencer program when I interviewed her; this was one of many income streams she has. She started focusing more on this revenue stream in order to create more passive income opportunities, as she has spent much of her career focused on content marketing. She notes that most affiliate partnerships do require ongoing content promotion, but the Amazon influencer program is nice because you can make a video once and continue earning from it with zero to little promotion (when it is displayed on the Amazon product pages).

Key skills Ana recommends for affiliate marketing / Amazon influencer:

• SEO for regular affiliate marketing
• Video for Amazon influencer program
• Ability to build an audience that you can promote content to
• Focus (so many affiliate programs, it can be overwhelming)
• Analytics (assess what’s bringing in revenue and how to do more of that)

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Ana told us:

“Start slowly and stay consistent. You aren’t going to make sales the first time you introduce a product if you are doing affiliate stuff. It is more of a build up over time. Pick 1-2 products and create a large number of evergreen assets around it (blog post, Pinterest, Youtube, IG, etc) and keep promoting it to your followers. The more evergreen assets you can create, the better. And if you are interested in Amazon Influencer, you need an audience before they will approve you. They don’t say how many followers you need, but some people say it’s a combo of engagement + followers that helps get you in. So start building that following.”

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing allows dietitians to earn money by writing articles, blog posts, or newsletters. This may be done as a credited opportunity on a print or digital publication or might be done as ghost-written content for other health professionals or brands. It’s a flexible way to monetize your nutrition knowledge and writing skills.

Pros: Low overhead, flexible schedule, and great for those who enjoy writing.

Cons: Income is somewhat tied to time, as you can only take on as many gigs as you have hours to write. In today’s AI-focused landscape, writing jobs are declining but do still exist, particularly for more complex nutrition topics that require a professional’s nuanced view.

Success Story: Lauren Manaker MS, RDN, LD (I highly recommend signing up for Lauren’s email list where she shares job opportunities, quote requests, etc!)

Lauren makes a full-time income from freelance writing. She loves how flexible this revenue stream here, noting that “I can work in the evenings when my daughter is sleeping or when I am in Florida visiting my grandmother.” She also loves that it forces her to stay up-to-date on new studies and nutrition trends.

Key skills Lauren recommends for freelance writing:

• Flexibility
• Dependability
• Ability to interpret nutrition research
• Ability to translate complex topics into information the general public can understand

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Lauren told us:

“Get out of your own head. Many seem to be scared to start, and you are a better writer than you think. Before I got going, I invested in some writing coaching to remind myself how to actually follow grammatical rules (it’s been a while since I was in high school!). Totally worth it!”

Digital Products

Digital products can include meal plans, ebooks, templates, printable trackers, or other printable products. You can sell these directly on your website, through your email list, or on a platform like Etsy (I’ve got a whole post about how I grew my Etsy shop and my favorite course for that!). You can also create products for other professionals, like handouts and presentations to be used with clients, and sell those on a site like Well Resourced.

Pros: Scalable, passive income after upfront time creation, allows for creativity.

Cons: Requires upfront work that may not always pay off if the product doesn’t sell (it’s a good idea to do audience research or keyword research before creating products). To increase sales, you may need to lean into more marketing skills.

Success Story: Melissa Mitri, MS, RD, Nutrition Writer and Owner of Melissa Mitri Nutrition

Melissa has a side hustle selling digital products on Well Resourced to other dietitians. She found herself creating a lot of nutrition resources for clients and using them over and over again. She realized that if her clients needed these, then other dietitians could probably benefit from having them for their clients.

Key skills Melissa recommends for digital product sales:

• Communication skills (understanding what your audience needs)
• Marketing
• Positioning of products (i.e. promoting them to other RDs as a way to save time and improve the client experience)

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Melissa told us:

“Start with what you already have and use on a regular basis with clients or in your practice. Add some more style and just get it out there! You can start with just a simple educational handout for clients, and go from there in adding booklets, guides, bundles, and presentations you can sell to other nutrition pros.”

Online Courses

Creating and selling online courses allows you to package your expertise into a structured learning experience. The key with courses is to create an option that solves a very specific problem for a very specific audience. You can host courses on online platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, or EzyCourse. Or you can host them on own website with some technical know-how.

Pros: High income potential, great for monetizing an audience that trusts you and needs help, and positions you as an expert.

Cons: Time-intensive to create – always validate ideas before fully developing out a course! May require some technical skills, though most course platforms make that requirement far less intensive these days.

Success Story: Sarah Anzlovar, MS, RDN, LDN – owner of Sarah Gold Nutrition and founder of The UNDIET Method. 

Sarah launched her course last year and is already making a part-time income from it. She created the course to reach more people while managing the time constraints of private practice – a good option for those who couldn’t afford 1-1 counseling and could support people in other states where she wasn’t licensed to provide MNT. Since she frequently found herself repeating the same educational content with clients, the course allowed her to package that material into a foundational learning tool. She has an automated system with a webinar and email marketing campaign that drives sales to the course.

Key skills Sarah recommends for online courses:

• Parse out what is truly necessary
• Keep in mind people have short attention spans
• Marketing

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Sarah told us:

“Run the course live a few times. Teach it to a live group so that you can get feedback, work out kinks, and get people results so you can have testimonials to sell the course. I also recommend pre-selling it before you even teach it live to ensure there is interest in the course and topic. It’s a lot of work to create and set up so you don’t want to spend your time creating something people don’t want to buy. Once it’s done, the work is minimal…I do updates but most of my efforts are on marketing it.”

Memberships

A membership model offers recurring revenue. Memberships may vary in exactly how they are structured, but generally they provide ongoing access to exclusive content, coaching, community, and/or resources (not all memberships will include all these components).

Pros: Recurring revenue, good option if you want to foster a community, and builds long-term relationships.

Cons: Requires regular content updates, member engagement, and retention strategies to avoid churn.

Success Story: Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN, Founder of The Nourishing Autism Collective

Brittyn runs a membership that provides resources, recipes, live events, individualized roadmaps, and community support for parents of children on the autism spectrum. It has become her full-time income source. She follows an open-close enrollment model to help manage work-life balance and enhance the community aspect for people starting at the same time.

Key skills Brittyn recommends for memberships:

• Listen to your audience
• Build content based on feedback
• Prioritize user experience and design
• Focus on meaningful community interaction
• Consistent marketing (particularly to address churn)

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Brittyn told us:

“Just do it. Just start your membership. You don’t have to be perfect – we’re talking B minus effort for the first iteration. But also, make sure you listen to what people want. Don’t just create something that you think people are going to want; make sure you are listening to your ideal audience to see what they are actually asking for. Create something that’s helpful based on that, not just what you think would be beneficial.”

Success Story: Erica Julson, MS, RDN, Founder of the Functional Nutrition Library

Erica has numerous online business ventures, and the Functional Nutrition Library membership is one of them. This membership currently earns a part-time income. Erica started this membership because she noticed when she was previously running a private practice that she spent a lot of time curating notes on topics for her own reference as a clinician. She eventually realized these notes could be shared with colleagues online to help them too, and that’s where the membership site was born.

Key skills Erica recommends for memberships:

• Recognize a true need that your audience has
• Be very familiar with the content and what the audience would find helpful
• Ongoing marketing to reduce member churn
• Traffic to increase subscriptions (word of mouth referrals, partnerships, and organic content marketing, with an emphasis on SEO, Facebook, and email)

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Erica told us:

“I think memberships are a great option for 2025 and beyond! My best advice is to make the outcome/benefits of the membership really clear. Rather than focusing on what’s included inside (features), put the emphasis of your marketing on the tangible transformation someone will achieve (benefits).  A vague or unclear sales page (and accompanying sales emails) is the number one thing I see people struggle with.  Also, resist the urge to try to make your membership everything for everyone (spoiler alert: you can’t!) The more specific you are, the more your ideal customers will be drawn to your offering and feel like it’s exactly right for them. Finally, be patient. Memberships are wonderful due to the recurring revenue they provide, but are usually slow-burners and take a few years to bring in full-time income.”

Physical Products

Physical products could include branded merchandise, food products, or supplements. It can be a hands-on way for dietitians to create another revenue stream. These can be self-manufactured, dropshipped, done via print-on-demand services, or sold through platforms like Etsy, Shopify, or Amazon, depending on the type of product. Note that physical products are probably the most complicated revenue stream logistically to execute, but I wanted to note it here regardless in case anyone was interested in exploring it!

Pros: Tangible value, allows for innovation.

Cons: Requires far more logistics including inventory management (unless dropshipping or print-on-demand), shipping logistics, upfront costs, and tax implications and legal regulations for sales across state lines. Often lower profit margins compared to digital offerings.

Success Story: Lisa Andrews, MEd, RD, LD, Founder of Sound Bites Nutrition, Lettuce Beet Hunger Food

Lisa sells physical food pun merchandise as a side hustle. She was always a big t-shirt fan and loved the idea of word play. She thought it would be fun to wear shirts with food puns to create more conversation around food, as well as push back against diet culture. She also created the business to give back to her community; part of her proceeds for certain designs go towards food insecurity programs. Fun fact: the first idea she came up with for a shirt was “Peas romaine seeded” when she was on a plane.

Key skills Lisa recommends for physical product development and sales:

• Sense of humor
• Ability to market yourself
• Social media
• Collaboration with others

When asked what the one piece of advice is that she would give other RDs that want to start in this area, Lisa told us:

“Be yourself and be authentic. This is a passion project because I want people to connect through food and humor. Be aware that there are competitors, but you can also learn from them. I prefer collaboration over competition.”

The Bottom Line

With a little creativity and a lot of determination, you could pursue any of these revenue streams! Most have low overhead costs for getting started; all you need is your own time and smart decisions. Best of luck in your creative online endeavors!

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