Real Food Wednesdays

Wondering about “Real Food Wednesdays”?

What is “Real Food”?, “What is a blog carnival?, “How do I participate?  How does it help my blog traffic grow?

Every other week, Ann Marie/Cheeseslave, & I take turns hosting the Real Food Wednesday blog carnival. Keep reading to find out more!

WHAT IS A BLOG CARNIVAL?

A blog carnival is a way to compile many blogger’s posts about a certain topic in one place. It’s handy for the reader and a great way to learn more about real, traditional food. But it’s also good for the blogger, because it gets your website out there more and increases your traffic, too!

How does it increase traffic to my blog?

Not only because other foodies can then easily find your blog, but also because a few of us Real Food Media bloggers Stumble (and often Tweet, too) all the participants in Real Food Wednesdays.  This means that if you add your post to the RFW blog carnival (by using the “Mr. Linky” box at that day’s post), you’ll get some great traffic spikes, and other bloggers have said that it’s not just with that day’s traffic, it keeps going!

HERE’S HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

• IF YOU DON’T HAVE A BLOG, join in by adding your Real Food comment at the RFW post!
• IF YOU DO HAVE A BLOG, use a tool called, “Mr. Linky” (which you’ll see at the RFW post), to add a link to your post on this topic, keeping these RULES in mind:

1. PLEASE be sure to add a link in your post back to this post, so your readers can benefit from all the ideas, too. Also this helps out the other participants who are hoping to get more traffic to their blogs. Call it “blog carnival etiquette“.  (More on this below.)
2. Do not link to your home page, only link to the specific post. (Otherwise later when new readers find this post and go to your link, they won’t be able to find what they’re looking for.)
3. Be sure to read through here so you know what RFW is all about before you add your link.  Anything vegan or low fat most likely will not be a good fit for this carnival.
4. Please don’t add 15 links from your blog archives.  One post from each person is usually the norm.
5. Leave a comment, especially if you add your link later. This way we’ll know to look for it – new comments have email notifications, but new links don’t.
6. Feel free to grab the RFW logo for your post!  (Various sizes are available at the bottom of this post.)

We hate to play hardball, but Ann Marie & I may delete links that do not follow these guidelines or else the carnival could get annoying for everyone involved.

WHAT IS “REAL FOOD”?

Cheeseslave explains it here.

***New update: why do we ask that you link back to our blog in your RFW post?  Often people are forgetting this and there are a couple reasons we ask it:

• We want everyone to benefit from the Real Food recipes or tips that you find here, so if you add a link in your post, then your readers can join in the fun, too.
• Blog carnivals are more work than meets the eye.  While we’re happy to help you get more traffic to your blog, please help us grow our blog, too, by always including a link back here.

HAVE YOU SEEN THESE PAST RFW TOPICS (from when we used to do “themed” carnivals)?:

It’s not too late to add your link or your comment to one of these past topics, as people are still going to these posts all the time! ***If you add your link, though, be sure to comment too, otherwise (as I said above) we won’t know to look for it – new comments have email notifications, but new links don’t.

• Healthy Meals for Kids
• Your best Nutrition Tip or Kitchen Tip
• Real Food Testimonies – how has Real Food changed us?
• Healthy fast food (last-minute meal ideas)
• Real Food on a Budget
• Low-Carb Ideas
• Gluten-Free Real Food
• Rookie Tips from YOU (advice for beginners)
• Recipes using nutritious bone broth
• Healthy Coconut Recipes
• Natural Body Care Products for Real Foodies
  
• Growing Real Food (What Are You Planting?)
  

Beginning in April 2009, Ann Marie & I have decided that we won’t have specific topics anymore (maybe once in a while), we’re opening it up so that you can share whatever you’d like to each week from your blog, or in a comment, as long as it relates to REAL FOOD! Whether it’s kitchen tips, ways to save money, favorite recipes, etc. Just jump in and share what’s on your mind!

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