FNCE Reflections -- Mavis Ren

As a dietetic intern one of the best opportunities is to be able to attend the 2012 Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Philly this year. Along with the Expo with many different companies showcasing their new products; there were also around 10 lectures going on at the same time. I learned a lot while I was in Philly and now I will share some information from one of my favorite sessions that I attended that weekend. One of the sessions was titled:  “Calling All Food Bloggers: Stay in the Game”. I chose this session because my internship has a focus on information technology and I learned a few basic blogging tips that will be helpful for me to start my own blog. Here are some of the blogging tips that I learned during this session:

 

 

 

 How often should you blog?

Along with our full time jobs many people do not have the time or opportunity to blog daily. One option is to create the blog post, save it and then schedule the post date on your website so that it automatically updates for you. One thing that I learned is that time to post a blog that will attract the most viewers is on Wednesdays or Thursdays.

 How long is the post?

Blogs are generally short, understandable, does not have to be in essay format because people typically skim through blog posts on the web.

 

Research

Stay updated on current research! It will help to cover yourself so that you provide accurate information on your blog posts. Find research from literature, magazines, journals and recent research. It does not have to be reported in research format, set your own tone.

 

Format

Write about things that matter to you and have a consistent format for blogging. Provide pictures if you are giving sample recipes and it does not have to be a professional photo.  Try opening a forum at the end of the blog to generate more comments on your post and see what readers have to say.

These were only a few topics covered during the lecture on how to create a food blog. I found these very helpful for me and will definitely consider these key points/tips while I create my first personal blog.

Posted on behalf of Mavis Ren