Journey by Mediavine Review 2025: 

1. Introduction – How I Almost Deleted the Application Email

If you clicked on this post because you needed a brutally honest Journey by Mediavine review, friend… grab a cup of coffee. I’m about to spill all the tea. ☕️

Back in February 2025, I was still limping along on AdSense—making a whopping $47 a month on my little food + lifestyle blog I started way back in 2017. I’d been stuck under 10k sessions for years, and honestly, I’d convinced myself I just wasn’t “one of those bloggers” who got accepted into big networks.

Then—y’all—I almost deleted the application email.

It landed in my Promotions tab with the subject line: “Your Journey by Mediavine Application Is Ready”. I swear I thought it was spam. And because I was in the middle of making mac and cheese for my kids (it was one of those chaotic Tuesday nights), I hovered over the trash icon. Something made me open it. Maybe Jesus. Maybe the universe. Maybe exhaustion. Who knows.

But that email changed everything.

Fast-forward 60 days and I’d gone from $47 AdSense checks to $1,400 in two months. I still remember sitting in my kitchen in Texas in pajama shorts at 2 PM (don’t judge me 😂) when the approval email came through. I cried actual happy tears—like ugly crying—with a toddler hanging off my leg.

So… have you ever cried over an ad network email? Because I did.

And this is my full, honest, I-won’t-hold-anything-back Journey by Mediavine review for 2025.

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2. What the Heck Is Journey by Mediavine in 2025?

If you’re new to all this, Journey is basically Mediavine’s “starter program”—kinda like Mediavine Lite for us small bloggers.

But don’t let the “starter” name fool you.

Journey runs:

• header bidding for small blogs

• real Mediavine ad tech

• lazy loading ads

• automatic ad placements

• Grow plugin integration

• AI-based ad density controls (super helpful for food blogs)

It’s legitimately the first ad network that made me think, “Holy crap, my blog is a real business.”

In 2025, Journey isn’t just another low-RPM network for beginner bloggers. It’s the only one that gives you the Mediavine ecosystem without forcing you to hit the 50k sessions requirement.

For moms like us juggling school pickups, spilled juice, and nap-time blogging sessions… it’s a lifesaver.

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3. The Real 2025 Requirements (Yes, They Changed Again)

People keep spreading old info, so let me give you the REAL Journey by Mediavine requirements 2025 straight from my onboarding manager:

• 10k sessions (30-day window)

• Majority traffic from US/UK/CA/AU

• Original content (no AI-generated spam)

• Clean site layout, no excessive ads

• Grow plugin installed (mandatory)

• HTTPS, privacy policy, and proper disclosures

• Good ad visibility areas (sidebar optional)

And yes, they DO manually review your site design. They rejected one of my pins for low-quality traffic, so trust me—they’re picky in 2025.

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4. My Precise Application → Timeline of Approval

To be honest, I was too afraid to apply. I reloaded the application page as someone mad.

Here’s my exact timeline:

• Feb 12 - Application received (heart pounding)

• Feb 14 -Verification email

• Feb 17 – Traffic review request

• Feb 27 -Approval email (I screamed, not joking)

•  March 1 – Ads went live

• March 3 – First $11 day 

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5. Installing the Grow Plugin – My Site Speed Nightmare & Happy Ending

Let me be 100% real with you… the Grow plugin scared the heck out of me at first.

I’d read horror stories about site speed tanking, and since I run a food + lifestyle blog with tons of photos, I was convinced it’d destroy my Core Web Vitals.

Spoiler: it didn’t.

But oh boy, did I panic.

My PageSpeed Insights score had fallen to 38 when I initially installed Grow because it had been 73. I almost had a heart attack. I sent a support email in full freak-out mode and it was answered (in a matter of 30 minutes) with the advice that I should only enable the features that I really needed and allow their lazy loading to perform the magic.

Thirty minutes later:

• CLS: fixed

• Speed: jumped to 82 on mobile

• Ads: loaded faster

If you’re scared about speed, read my post on the best lazy loading plugins 2025 because Grow honestly works great with them.

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6. First 60 Days Earnings Breakdown – Actual Dashboard Screenshots Explained

Here come the juicy numbers y’all always DM me about.

My mediavine journey earnings for the first 60 days:

• Month 1: $612.78

• Month 2: $821.94

• Total 60 days: $1,434.72

From $47/month to over $800/month. I still get goosebumps typing that.

My RPM started low at around $14 (week 1), but by week 5 I was hitting $28–$32 consistently during lunch-time traffic spikes (food bloggers, you know the drill).

7. Journey by Mediavine RPM in 2025: My Real Numbers at 10k, 25k, and 50k Sessions

I tracked my Journey by Mediavine RPM obsessively (because again, I have no chill). Here are my real averages:

Sessions	Average RPM	Notes
10k	$14–$18	First month, ads learning user behavior
25k	$22–$28	Food posts & US traffic boosted it
50k	$28–$34	High Q1 demand helped a ton

Remember: RPM varies wildly by:

• niche

• traffic country

• ad placement

• whether readers scroll

Journey ads are lazy-loaded, so if your readers bounce before scrolling… say goodbye to $$.

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8. The Good, The Bad, and The “Holy Crap” Moments (Pros & Cons)

Let me lay this out real mom-to-mom.

Pros

• The money. Obviously.

• Real Mediavine tech without the 50k requirement

• Easy setup (besides my meltdown)

• Fast support replies

• No more AdSense spaghetti code

• Clean ad placements that don’t annoy readers

• GROW. I love that plugin now.

Cons

• Initial site speed drop

• Approval takes time (my journey by mediavine approval time was ~2 weeks)

• Ads don’t show instantly—learning period is real

• Lower RPM than full Mediavine (duh)

• You MUST meet their quality standards

Holy Crap Moments

• When I saw my first $30 RPM day, I said out loud: “Are you freaking kidding me?!”

• When my toddler unplugged my laptop during a recipe upload and I lost half the post

• When my husband didn’t understand why $600 from ads made me cry 😂

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10. Should YOU Apply to Journey by Mediavine Right Now?

I get this question every week on Instagram:
“Should I apply, or wait until I hit 25k?”

Here’s my honest answer:

If you're at 10k sessions, submit the dang application.

Don’t wait. Don’t overthink. Don’t try to redesign your whole blog and lose your mind (been there).

Journey is the best 10k session ad network in 2025, period.

Apply if:

• You have US/UK/CA/AU traffic

• Your niche is lifestyle, food, parenting, travel, DIY, decor

• You blog consistently

• You follow ad placement rules

Don’t apply if:

• Your traffic is mostly India/Pakistan

• Your theme is broken or overloaded

• You rely on AI-generated articles

• Your site is on a free Blogspot subdomain

Journey wants real bloggers writing real content. Even if your photos aren’t perfect (mine weren’t!), you’ll be fine.

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11. Final Verdict + My Best Tips for Bloggers Under 50k Sessions

If you skimmed everything else, here’s the truth:

This is the first ad network that made me believe my blog could pay actual bills.

My final Journey by Mediavine review in one sentence:

It’s the most stable, highest-paying, beginner-friendly ad network of 2025—and if I could go back in time, I’d apply the second I hit 10k sessions.

My Best Tips for Under-50k Bloggers:

• Don’t wait for perfect photos—publish anyway

• Install Grow early so it has time to collect data

• Write more posts that keep people scrolling (longer recipes = more $$)

• Use a lightweight theme

• Check your analytics weekly

• Focus on US Pinterest traffic

• Treat your blog like a business (even if you’re in pajamas at 2 PM)

And remember: growth isn’t linear. It took me 8 YEARS to hit 10k, and then two months to hit $1k.

If I can do it—with kids yelling in the background, groceries on the counter, and a sticky laptop from juice spills—you totally can too.