Case Study: How Sip and Feast increased RPM by 57% after joining Raptive

Summary

• Sip and Feast increased website traffic from 580,000 to over one million monthly sessions and needed an ad management partner that could better support their growth
• After joining Raptive, Sip and Feast saw a 57% RPM lift
• With dedicated support from their Creator Partnerships Manager, Jim and Tara now have quicker resolutions to ad issues and receive tailored strategies for sustainable growth.

Featured Creators

Jim and Tara Delmage, Sip and Feast

Challenge

On Sip and Feast, Jim and Tara Delmage provide meticulously tested recipes with detailed instructional videos to help any home cook make delicious meals with confidence. With video being such a key component of their content, they initially saw incredible success sharing long-form recipe videos on YouTube. 

From there, they’ve been able to successfully drive traffic to their site. Their content strategy includes two to three new weekly recipe posts, a strong focus on email, and a weekly YouTube video. 

“In August 2023 we had 580,000 monthly sessions and by August 2024 we were over a million monthly sessions,” Jim said.  

As their business grew, Jim and Tara suspected it was time to seek out a stronger, more responsive monetization partner. 

“We didn’t have a good relationship with our last ad manager. We didn’t have a bad relationship. We just had a relationship.”

With the current volatility in the industry—from algorithm changes to AI—the Delmages also wanted someone who was at the forefront of industry changes to ensure they continue to build a sustainable business.

“As creators, we’re always looking to work with businesses who are helping us and are in our corner, because AI is going to become a real concern in the coming years.”

Approach

Before joining Raptive, Sip and Feast was already part of Raptive’s exclusive YouTube network.

“Even though we’re at a million YouTube subscribers, we’re still just a number to YouTube.  It’s very hard to get anybody to advocate for you there. It’s nice to know that with Raptive, we have someone who can help with anything that might arise.” 

They had a positive experience with the Raptive team and decided to bring their website over to Raptive. Jim and Tara met the qualifications to join Raptive at the Platinum level. They were matched with Lara, a Creator Partnerships Manager who is their dedicated point of contact at Raptive. 

“In just a few months I’ve already spoken to Lara far more than I ever talked to anyone at our previous ad manager,” Jim said. “Before, we’d avoid emailing them unless we absolutely had to, and now that’s not the case. Raptive really values the partnership.” 

“If we ever have an issue with an ad, I can email Lara and it’s fixed immediately. That would have taken 24 to 48 hours with our previous company. She’s also been proposing A/B tests that are really good and help a lot.”

Outcome

Sip and Feast immediately began seeing higher RPMs after switching to Raptive. Within the first three weeks, RPM was up 57% year-over-year and continues to be strong.  

“We started earning better right away,” Jim said. “RPMs industry-wide were up, but we’re still earning more with Raptive on the website by a lot.”

Jim and Tara knew Raptive had a reputation for working with high-quality sites, and they believe that leads to better outcomes for creators. 

“When you have a larger site you’re better off being with Raptive. They really know their stuff and understand our business better because of their expertise. It’s just more professional.”

We’re seeing higher RPMs and better support. It is night and day compared to our previous ad network.

“Everything has been so seamless. I wish we had switched earlier.”

Contact us to learn more about partnering with Raptive.