Lisa Lin, JD '13, created her popular food blog, "Healthy Nibbles and Bits," shortly after graduating from GW Law. Ms. Lin shares her story on the formation of her successful blog and explains how her law degree ties in with her unique venture.
Ms. Lin’s interest in food began at a young age when her mother taught her how to cook, but she never thought this childhood hobby would lead to a career. When she became a student at GW Law, food blogs caught her attention. Often the healthier and cheaper option, making recipes from food blogs allowed Ms. Lin to avoid eating out.
Eventually, she decided to merge her interest in cooking and blogging into launching her own food blog. Keeping in mind her friends and other young professionals looking for healthy meals, she began creating and posting recipes that demystified healthy eating and sticking to a nutritious diet. She also focused on developing both gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly recipes as she noticed her peers' dietary changes.
In terms of her social media following, particularly on Instagram – she has more than 11,000 followers – Ms. Lin says that her photos and the way she manipulates the use of color draws people in. "When you make healthy foods beautiful, people are more inclined to follow and replicate what you do." As a result, her recipes have been featured by leading media outlets, such as Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, and Self.
In an age of self-promotion, anyone has the ability to create a blog; however, now that blogging has become such a saturated market, how does one distinguish a new blog from established websites? Ms. Lin explains that it took time – three years – and hard work for her blog to reach success. In the beginning, she was not profiting from her blog, nor was she an active social media user.
It raises the following question: What made her blog different?
She simply credits her healthy recipes. "I share healthy recipes, and I also want to make them approachable. I am not using extravagant ingredients to make my dishes healthy. I want to make sure that I show my followers and readers that making healthy meals are easy and accessible to many people. I try to simplify my recipes as much as possible," Ms. Lin said.
Although Ms. Lin devotes her time to running her food blog, she also creates recipes, photos, and video content for various food companies. As an entrepreneurial law graduate, Ms. Lin uses her law degree frequently in her business matters, noting that her law degree gave her the confidence to negotiate contracts with companies in regards to how her original content is used.
As for future goals, Ms. Lin has a list of things she would like to accomplish. She says that she would like to publish a book of her recipes. "I would love to write a cookbook on the history of Chinese food. This would allow me to learn more about my heritage and the food I grew up with. Plus, it is something tangible that will make me feel like I have some sort of authority in the food world."