Bri Bell, RD
NUTRITION COMMUNICATIONS & SEO
for Steph Langdon, RD
Bri reached out wanting to share her unique career. She worked in a variety of roles before carving out her niche as a SEO expert. She’s also helping fellow dietitians connect with clients via a Canada-wide directory for dietitians, so in our current pandemic world, her online work and working from home hasn’t changed much or been drastically affected.
Why did you become an RD?
I’ve always been interested in food, cooking, and nutrition. I originally studied Food Science and part of that program was an intro to nutrition course. I was super interested in it and asked to meet with the prof to discuss different career options for Dietitians. I totally had the commonly mistaken belief that Dietitians basically only do weight loss counselling. She of course told me of so many career options that sounded fascinating so I applied to nutrition for the next year!
What area of dietetics do you work in?
I would say nutrition communications would best sum up what I’m currently doing. I run a blog, Frugal Minimalist Kitchen, where I help people save money and simplify in the kitchen. I also help other RDs optimize their websites and blogs so that they can get clients from Google and I help run Dietitian Directory, a business directory listing site for Canadian Dietitians!
How would you explain what you do?
I write articles to answer questions and provide solutions to the problems people are searching for on Google. I also help fellow Dietitians learn how to do SEO (aka get found in Google).
What are your ‘typical’ daily/weekly tasks?
In a typical day I:
8-8:45 get up, get dressed, make tea, do some yoga and meditation while enjoying my tea
9-2 work on various projects and tasks (outlined below), with a break for breakfast & lunch
2-3 work is done at 2, then I go for a walk or bike ride and enjoy some fresh air
I do this routine most days of the week, including weekends. I focus best in the mornings so that’s when I try to do my best work. Since all my work is done on the computer, working a bit each day and taking long breaks also reduces back and neck pain because I’m not forced to sit in front of the computer for 8 hours straight
In a typical week I work between 24-32 hours:
write a new article
design social media graphics
share my articles on Pinterest and social media
create resources to sell on my RD2RD store or on my product store
work with other RDs to optimize their website to get found in Google search results
respond to journalist requests for nutrition experts to quote in their article
meet with my blogging mastermind group and accountability partner
work on various tasks on Dietitian Directory and side projects
update my accounting software with my income & expenses
work through a course, webinar, or training and implement what I’ve learned
deal with techy stuff which might include switching to a new program, troubleshooting a problem, or monitoring changes to website visitors
What has been your career path?
My RD career path has been pretty unconventional! Right after graduating, I moved to Australia for a year and managed the corporate wellness program for a nutrition not-for-profit there. When I moved back to Canada, I worked as a Food Service Supervisor. Then I went travelling again.
When I came back from travelling, I helped my parents with their new business (not in the nutrition world) for a while. Later, I moved from my home town to Toronto where I definitely underestimated the level of competition for jobs! While I was searching for jobs, I volunteered with RDs at several community nutrition organizations, started my website, and worked part time teaching fitness classes. I also got a role as a Digital Marketing Manger at the fitness company. This job included doing their social media, copywriting, helping their site show up in Google, and doing some customer service work.
The Digital Marketing Manager role, plus running my own website, got me a job as a nutrition writer, and later Manager of Nutrition at an online plant-based nutrition organization. Having the flexibility to work from home at these two part time jobs made me fall in love with working from home! I had been learning how to monetize my website and in 2020 I finally focused on my website and work 100% for myself! It’s so much fun!
What advanced education or special training do you have?
Running your own business is a constant learning experience, which is good because I love learning! I’ve taken so many online courses related to online business, making money online, SEO, and other areas of interest in nutrition.
In an ideal world, what does the industry look like 5 years from now?
I’d love to see all the dietitians who are online dominating the search results for nutrition topics. That means when someone searches for an answer to their nutrition question, they will find the answer from a Dietitian rather than a random website!
What do people think that you do for a living?
Everyone thinks I do 1:1 nutrition counselling. I think most people envision working for yourself as having a private practice. Fortunately there are TONS of other ways for RDs to make money working for ourselves.
Think:
blogging
freelance writing
online courses
digital products
consulting services
coaching other RDs
What are you passionate about in dietetics?
One of my major passions is to have Dietitians’ websites showing up in Google search results! If more Dietitians learned how to do this, it would mean more people are finding credible nutrition info online! That’s why I help RDs learn this valuable skill and am working on Dietitian Directory to help Canadians find Dietitians to work with!
What tip(s) would you give to our readers?
Don’t be afraid to (respectfully) question your nutrition professors, preceptors, and colleagues. They are smart but they don’t know everything. Our profession needs more open, honest discussion and less polarization.
Be yourself and don’t worry about conforming to be like the “typical RD”.
Don’t wait around for the perfect job to come up. Create your own!
Don’t just write blog posts because you feel like it or need something to publish. Publish each article with intent by researching some keywords and optimizing it for SEO. This will help people actually find your useful information!
Try to get a job over the summer or while in school that is closely related to what you want to do when you’re finished.
Don’t get any advanced education above what you need to get a job as an RD (unless you really want to). It’s almost never worth the extra time/money/stress and RDs are already overeducated and underpaid. You’re better off just getting into the job market as soon as possible and building your career from there!
Take care of your mental health while job hunting. Depending on the job market, it can be so brutal, but you’re not alone!
Only take career advice from someone whose career you’d actually want to have.
There is not one “best” way to eat that suits everyone and it’s harmful to practice this way.
Nutrition is about so much more than just food and eating.
More about Bri:
Instagram: @frugal.minimalist.kitchen
Facebook: Frugal Minimalist Kitchen
Pinterest: Frugal Minimalist Kitchen
Thanks Bri!