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thebrewstorian · 7 years

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Feminism and the Beer Industry Pt. 1: History and Representation

A month or two ago, Tiah and I sat down in the library cafe to discuss women in the brewing industry. Tiah was getting ready to do her presentation(s) at the Pop Culture convention on the topic, and it was good timing since I had already been trying to collect data on women brewers and brewery owners in Oregon. The mission was this: to read the current online literature on sexism, racism and feminism in the brewing industry and to clarify common themes within that lens. The need for feminism is so imminent now with all of the turmoil in American politics, and finding ways to make inclusive change in our communities and our economy are essential going forward. The craft brewing industry provides a unique opportunity to challenge discrimination because it’s still new and growing in many areas, allowing us to blur traditional social norms. However, reading the current literature has been a challenge because so many different writers often harken back to the same ideas, and it’s hard to find some original clarity in all the repetition. It can also be emotionally challenging to read because while progress is being made at an increasing rate, it can be disappointing to see that we haven’t come further. From continually sexist or misguided marketing in macro breweries to the small numbers of women head brewers and people of color in craft beer, it can be tough to find a good place to start. Still, it’s a fascinating story because the culture of beer reflects the historical context it was built in, and understanding that context can allow us to move forward.

One of the first things many historians, beer journalists and craft beer nerds will tell you is that beer is ancient, and so is the presence of women in beer. The oldest documented recipe for beer is from the Sumerian Hymn to Ninkasi, describing how the goddess of fermentation made her own brew about 4000-6000 years ago. This goddess is so prominent in brewing history that she’s even got a craft brewery named after her and she’s cited by numerous brewers in their knowledge or influences. The presence of women in brewing was reflected in the populations who worked in it, with women known as “alewives” dominating the craft. Fermentation was a primary method of food preservation at the time, and beer was commonly more safe to drink than water, so brewing easily fit into the cult of domesticity and everyone was drinking beer. Not only did women make beer in the home, they also sold it in their communities. Even into the 19th century, women were owning breweries (see Oregon BrewLab’s blog post), and it was a nun who discovered the value of hops in beer. It was only when brewing became a commercial industry did men take over brewing and shut women out until the mid-20th century. This takeover was maintained for so long that brewers even prohibited women from entering the brewery floor, saying they were bad luck.

These historical facts have been cited in droves by articles on sexism in the brewing industry, and the acknowledgement of male-domination in beer makes it more surprising that women were actually the founders of the craft. But as many writers note how men gained control when brewing became a commercial process, I’m left with a question: Why and how? Why is the link between sexism and capitalism so strong, and where did it come from? In feminist theory, plenty of research has been done on the clash between ecofeminism (a philosophy that combines environmentalist concerns with feminist ones) and capitalist systems, inspired by capitalist greed and the will to marginalize smaller portions of the economy. This ability to monopolize economic power has been constant through history, and brewing is no exception. The key has been to use current media to villainize any competition in the market, including the use of stereotypes about various identities. In medieval times, this was done to alewives through the use of churches as a space for economic propaganda (among other media like poems and mystery plays). One author from Women in Theology notes that men’s guilds were major players in the economic field, and they used this power to fund the construction and decoration of churches in their community with the intent of demonizing alewives. This tactic worked in that most people of the time were illiterate and gained information through visual art. Women were often resigned to domestic and supportive activities, and alewives violated this through being involved in the local economy. Alewives were also hypersexualized, considered bad because of their connections to taverns, which were considered taboo places (this is similar to how POC were marginalized from brewing prior to Prohibition), and rumors were spread that their ales were unsafe.

This image of alewives as bad brewers can be tied to the accessibility to ingredients that is still present now. Brewing is an expensive craft to get involved with, and in Medieval times, this was no different. The inclusion of hops into beer made it more challenging to brew because hops were also very expensive, and beers that went unhopped could spoil sooner. As a result, unhopped ales were considered bad for you, adding another layer to the dismissal of the alewives’ work. This connection between limited resource access and economic power dynamics is common, and is still seen in brewing today (it’s suggested as one reason behind the lack of people of color in brewing).

As mentioned above, the connection between economic power and moral symbolism runs deep and both sides worked together in bringing the decline of women brewers to the point where they only were involved as replacements for their deceased spouses. Among academics, the symbolism is rooted in how alewives juxtaposed the traditional role of women in medieval society. At that time (as well as in many other periods), women were supposed to play supportive roles to their husbands and male family, maintaining the home and providing sustenance. If women got jobs in the local economy, they were usually low paying and low status. The woman brewer or tapster contradicted this role because she held high status through providing sustenance to the community and making decent income independently. Interestingly, the art that villainizes these brewers was more common in urban settings than in rural ones. This says something about the level of professionalization of brewing in different economies, where women brewers were more accepted in rural or poor communities because everyone had to pitch in on communal tasks. In urban areas, though, jobs were more tied to social rank and professional guilds, which were male-dominated and set on removing female competition. Still, the overall point was that these women were breaking social norms, and were therefore bad. Some scholars are even researching the link between brewsters and an antithesis, the Virgin Mary. Mary provides wholesome sustenance and is completely desexualized as the ideal of motherhood, while brewsters were suspect of selling unsafe products and being sexually promiscuous. In summary, they’re seen as what can go wrong in a woman’s role as provider. As Roxane Gay notes in her Bad Feminist essays, society and literature also generally idealize women in a pure, one-dimensional way, while women with flaws or complexity like brewsters are seen as bad or unpopular. This idea of symbolism even connects to the women involved in temperance movements several centuries later, who were rejected by male temperance leaders but accepted by the public across genders for their non-aggressive approach to seeking change. It seems that the success of these women in gaining political solvency in a male-dominated field is based in how we perceive identity, and the manner in which we challenge stereotypes of gender and other identities.

So what does this history mean in terms of bringing women membership back into brewing? As Lee Hedgmon discusses in her oral history, seeing women in brewing roles and getting recognition for their work is key to inspiring others to join. In total, representation is key. Representation in our media and our communities helps us decide what is socially normal, and it shifts our attitudes towards different issues. If we see women in brewing working hard as professionals, artists and scientists like anyone else, then we begin to accept them as such. To quote iO Tillett Wright from his TEDx talk Fifty Shades of Gay, “Familiarity really is the gateway drug to empathy.” When we see women brewers for their work and their humanity, we can discard our ideas of brewing as a gendered trade and appreciate them for what craft beer is all about: the shared love of producing and exploring beers in all their complexity. But how do we increase visibility in a practical sense? Women beer and brewing organizations like the Pink Boots Society, Barley’s Angels and Girls Pint Out do a great job making spaces for women to enjoy beer and get professional help without being intimidated by their male counterparts. This work is important, and I commend them for all they’ve achieved. On a broader scale, though, what can we do to normalize seeing women in brewing so that the connection between beer and gender (and all its stereotypes) falls away? In the world of beer journalism, one thing that could be done (or continued) is showing women brewers or their breweries in articles about places to check out alongside their male counterparts. There are many articles about great women brewers breaking the glass ceiling of the industry, and while it does introduce us to them, it still treats women as tokens of the industry. Seeing women recognized for their good work among their male colleagues, without making a spectacle of them in such articles, does what Hedgmon suggested: it inspires us to see women as equals in brewing, and it inspires others to join the community, Sexism in brewing is about as old as the craft itself, so it will take time to rewrite the habits we have a society, but it is a good thing for all of us and for the diversity of beers we hope to keep seeing going forward.

Many questions remain, however. This topic of women, feminism and beer spans all of history, within cultural, moral, religious and economic lenses. It’s an extensive rabbit hole that I’m just starting to delve into more deeply (and I’ll admit that I’m not versed in the feminist theory that relates to these discussions). Here are some of my continuing questions and thoughts below. If you have any insight on them, or clarification on any of the points I’ve discussed above, please feel free to comment on them:

How were alewives treated among different countries in Europe during the Medieval period, and how did different religious contexts contribute to such treatment? Were some religions more lenient than others

Where did the idea of taverns as sketchy places arise? Did it relate to higher crime rates in urban areas, or was it more about symbolism of getting companionship and nourishment outside the family home?

Where does this opposition between capitalism and feminism stem from? How is it different from interactions between feminism and other economic systems?

How does social class fit into the dismissal of alewives? It’s mentioned that they were persecuted more in urban areas than in rural ones, which is tied to the localization of powerful guilds. How was brewing transformed into a high status profession, and what does high v. low status work mean?

Where did the negative rhetoric surrounding alewives start? In the home, in guilds, in the church or some combination of all three?

How did the negative treatment of alewives relate to the overall disdain against alcohol over time? (Judith Bennett notes that male brewers of the time were also criticized for their profession, if only gently)

Women in brewing during medieval times is seen as a way of economic defiance of patriarchy during the time, and women in temperance during the 19th and 20th centuries seem to have moral independence (producing and opposing alcohol both taken as forms of women’s rights)

During the rise of the temperance movement in the mid-19th century, many of the women involved in these groups were also suffragettes or women’s rights activists. Their ideas about temperance were accepted by both men and women because they used familiar language and were non-aggressive in their presentation. Given this, how does the way that feminism and female empowerment is presented impact the way it is received? How do we challenge oppressive systems in a way that is more easily accepted but isn’t complicit to the system itself?

~Gillian

For more information on the history of alewives, check out these sources:

Vaughan, Theresa A. "The Alewife: Changing images and bad brews." Medieval Science, Technology and Art Avista Forum Journal, vol. 21, no. 1-2, 2011, pp. 34--41. www.academia.edu/3428837/The_Alewife_Changing_Images_and_Bad_Brews.

Bennett, Judith M. "Misogyny, Popular Culture, and Women's Work." History Workshop Journal, vol. 31, 1991, pp. 166-183. www.24grammata.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/misogyny-Bennett-24grammata.pdf.

Garves, Dana. "OREGON’S FIRST WOMEN BREWERS [1879-1908]." Oregon BrewLab blog, 7 May 2015, www.oregonbrewlab.com/oregons-first-women-brewers-1879-1908/.

Mattingly, Carol. Well Tempered Women: Nineteenth-Century Temperance Rhetoric. Southern Illinois University Press, 1998.

#women in beer #ecofeminism #beer history #craftbeer #sexism #sexism in beer #feminism #poc in beer #brewer #ninkasi #medieval brewing #the temperance movement

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amrutservices · 5 years

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Everything You Need to Create a YouTube Channel That’s Ready to Grow

Despite being over a decade old, YouTube still acts as a ripe garden bed for audience growth. Brands looking to interact with audiences in current, relevant ways will find that video marketing content is one of the most effective methods they have at their disposal. They’ll also find that YouTube still remains one of the best platforms to host this content.

While big social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are shrinking, YouTube pulls in over 1.8 million unique users every month. That figure, by the way, ignores all of the views that come from people who aren’t logged into a Google or YouTube account. YouTube’s traffic volume is so large that it is the second biggest search engine after Google and likely the most common platform for embedded videos seen around the web.

Creating a YouTube channel is therefore one of the best methods for earning traffic and engagement from audiences. By making smart moves and structuring your YouTube channel properly, your video content marketing campaigns can be poised for excellent growth. You’ll also be positioned to easily share and embed video content in order to grow your viewer base. It’s the perfect recipe for branded exposure!

You can start your business’s YouTube channel off on the right foot by following these steps to create a channel and give it the most growth potential.

1. Decide on Your YouTube Channel’s Video Marketing Positioning and Strategy

Your channel’s “position” is a name for basically everything that makes it distinctive. The idea is to not only have a channel that matches your branding principles but that can also meet your goals for audience building, lead generation, engagement, awareness and more.

The first step is to determine exactly who your audience segments will be, along with a few actions you want them to take in response to your content.

For example, maybe you are in an exciting industry like online retail for motorcycle apparel and accessories and you want everyone to come to your channel weekly for reviews and news on the latest products. Or, maybe you are a law office that wants to pop up first when people search for answers to their legal questions.

As another alternative, maybe you want to create highly shareable videos that generate brand awareness and drive traffic towards your site.

Your goals and your audience will significantly affect how you decide to run your channel, including:

Your style and approach (e.g., formal or conversational)

The format of your videos, such as an ongoing “show” vs. how-to videos vs. quick Q&A sessions

How long your typical videos will be

How often you will post new content

Who your target audiences will be, and how you intend to reach them

Your amplification strategy for getting maximum views on your new content, such as sharing new videos on Facebook or through your email list.

All of these factors come together to make your YouTube channel unique compared to others. And being unique is important considering that over 400 hours of new content are uploaded on YouTube each minute. Being unique also means that your channel is as prepared as it can possibly be to appeal to your chosen audience and accomplish your chosen goals.

2. Decide on a Channel Name and Icon

Your next step is to start filling in the blanks for your new channel. Specifically: what’s your name going to be? And what image will you use for your channel icon?

These two seemingly minor things can have a gigantic impact on your ability to attract audiences. Your channel name serves as both your brand and your initial pitch to potential viewers.

You can choose a descriptive name, such as “DUI Law Q&A,” which already promises what type of content the channel will contain.

Or, you can go for a long-haul strategy and create a unique brand name for your channel that allows it to build a presence as it builds an audience. Channels like Smosh and Dude Perfect have titles that are as recognized as any pop culture movie or show.

Plenty of people choose to use their business name or even their personal name as their channel’s title. This strategy provides the benefit of immediate association. As your channel gains strength, you can rely on more people knowing who you are or what your company is, thanks to the shared name.

Once your name is chosen, decide on an icon that reads well on a small screen. Keep in mind that over half of all YouTube views come from mobile devices. You might not be able to use your logo or cram a bunch of text into your shrunken down profile picture.

Settle on something that’s easy to comprehend, such as a few letters or your host’s face. You can also use some sort of iconographic representation of your channel’s purpose. For instance, the fictional motorcycle gear review channel mentioned earlier could have a helmet or a gloves gripping handlebars.

3. Come Up With Channel Art, a Description, and a Trailer

Some channels stand just on the strength of their content. They earn views through shares and YouTube algorithm suggestions, and eventually someone might connect the dots to realize several of the things they’ve watched come from the same channel.

Smaller channels, especially business-focused ones, often come under much more scrutiny. Someone may wonder “what are these people all about?” and take a look at their channel to learn more.

This instinct to inspect actually benefits your business. When they read your channel description, they can learn how the channel connects to your brand, for instance. They might even follow a link back to your official website.

Above all else, they’ll get a first impression that helps them decide then and there whether they’ll bother to ever check out your channel again. Accordingly, your channel’s “home page” elements better make one heck of an impression!

Start with your description. It should be short, exciting, and explain exactly why they should tune in to your channel regularly. Avoid talking too much about yourself or your business unless you think those elements hold inherent interest.

For instance, a personal injury law office might not want to bore people with local peer awards they won in the precious channel description space. On the other hand, they might want to throw out a number like “we’ve earned our clients nearly a billion in injury settlements.” Wow! That’s something they can get interested in.

Consider your channel art a supplementary description of what your channel offers. Maybe you have an image of a handsome host dressed smartly next to some of the informative topics they’ll cover. Or, maybe it’s an image of an awesome project your business has completed, such as a sandwich shop showing a record-breaking hoagie.

Keep your channel art simple and readable. Think of it like a billboard you have to read while whizzing past at 60 mph; if you cram too much on there, it’s just going to be a distracting mess. Limit the amount of text you use to a dozen or so words. Balance any “busy” graphics with blank space to give them air.

Finally, you’re going to want to create your channel’s trailer. This is a video that ideally gets someone hooked on first view. Far too many channels instead approach the trailer as a show-and-tell. “Hi I’m Bob this is my channel we have many exciting things to share with you…”

Instead, think of your trailer as a highlight reel of sorts or an actual TV show trailer. Yes, you want to tell people what you’re about, but you can do that by showing rather than telling.

If you aren’t 100 percent in love with any of these elements, then let that motivate you to revisit them over time. Your channel trailer in particular will evolve as your skills, content, and familiarity with techniques improve.

Getting Ready to Launch Your YouTube Channel

After you have all the main elements of your channel in place, you will want to prepare for its launch as a sort of grand opening. Consider that this is your chance to debut with flash and gather an early audience. If they get a bad impression, you’ve sown the seeds for an uphill battle to convince them to come back.

Ideally, you will have several videos’ worth of content for them to peruse—including your channel intro. You should also have the next months’ worth of videos queued up on your backburner so that you can ensure your channel posts regularly. Channels that post sporadically tend to lose audiences. They also have a more difficult time getting visibility via suggestion algorithms compared to more-active channels.

These are just the ingredients to the recipe for YouTube success; it’s up to you to make them work! If you need help with any aspect—including content creation—do not hesitate to contact an experienced digital marketing company to ensure your YouTube marketing meets with success.

from Amrut Services https://amrutservices.com/everything-you-need-to-create-a-youtube-channel-thats-ready-to-grow/

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simonhopes · 5 years

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What to Blog About: The Ultimate List Of 144 Blog Topic Ideas

So, you’ve decided you want to start a blog, but you’re not sure what to blog about.

The good news is, deciding what you want to blog about doesn’t have to be hard or take a lot of time. However, choosing the right topic to blog about is important, so you will want to make sure you put enough thought in.

But what should you be thinking about, and how do you decide what the best topic for your blog will be? There are a number of things that you should take into consideration including your potential audience and your own goals.

This guide will help you decide what to blog about by looking at some important factors. For a list of 144 actionable blog post ideas to help you get started.

The topic you choose can mean success or failure for your blog, so take the time to thoroughly understand these points and do some research.

Without further delay, let’s look at how to choose a good blog topic.

Part 1: Finding A Topic To Blog About

To find a suitable topic for you, there are a number of things that should be taken into consideration.

First, you should look at your own interest and experience to help you choose a topic. A blog topic that you are knowledgeable and passionate about will help you not only create better content but enjoy what you are doing.

You should also look at the popularity, audience, and competition for your topic. You want to choose a topic that will allow you to attract and grow a readership.

Another important factor that you should consider is whether you will be able to produce content for your specific topic. If your topic is too specific you may have trouble coming up with things to write about.

Let’s take a look.

1. Self-Analysis

The first thing you should be looking at when looking for a blog topic is your own interests.

Blogging about something that you are knowledgeable about will be easier than starting a topic you know nothing about. That being said, blogging is also about learning. If you have an interest in a particular topic you can always learn about it and become an expert.

Here are some things you can ask yourself:

What am I passionate about?

What are my hobbies?

What interests or intrigues me?

What am I knowledgeable about?

Do I know more than the average person about a particular topic?

These are all things you can ask yourself to help you come up with blog topics.

Brainstorm a list of ideas that come to mind and write them down. If some ideas are similar, group them together or try to find a general topic they fit under. Once you find a broader category, use it to come up with even more ideas.

Ask yourself, can you be an authority on do you have the experience or can you gain it? Readers will be looking for answers and information. Do you have the knowledge to be able to answer their questions? Are you or can you become an expert on your subject?

Having a general idea of your skills and knowledge is a good place to start when trying to find what to blog about.

The next important thing you should look at is your potential audience.

2. Your Potential Audience

You want to make sure your topic has a big enough audience so you can get enough traffic.

There are a number of things you can do to determine if your topic has enough people interested in it. You can look at searches, social media statistics, and around the web to judge traffic and get ideas.

What exactly are people looking for?

Looking at what other people are looking for can help you find out if your topic will be popular or not.

A useful way to do this is to look at what people are searching for on search engines. You can use Google’s keyword planner tool to look at what is being searched for and get other ideas.

You will now be able to look at the number of searched that keyword received and suggestions for other topics.

You will also see the competition level for that topic. This will tell you how hard it will be to compete for those keywords. You should try to find a topic that ins’t over saturated, this will be covered further on in this post.

What Is Popular?

Another way to get a feel for what is popular is to look at the social media reception for a topic.

If you are seeing posts from other blogs getting a high number of shares, there is a better chance there is a good audience.

A useful tool for researching social shares is BuzzSumo.

To get social statistics, type your topic into the search bar.

You will now see the top posts arranges by the number of total shares. You can also see the number of shares for each individual social platform.

Looking at the number of social shares will give you a good indication on how large your target audience is. If it looks like there isn’t much social share activity, either your topic hasn’t been covered or it isn’t popular.

What Questions Need Answering?

You can also what topics are in demand by looking at what people are asking.

Use sites like Quora to find these questions.

Do a search for your topic and find questions people are answering.

Also, you can find questions that people are asking in forums.

To find forums for your topic, you can do a search on Google. Here are two searches you can use. One uses a search operator to look for the word “forum” in the site URL.

“Your Topic” forum

“Your Topic” inurl:forum

Notice that the word forum appears in the link.

Once you find a good forum to look at, you can start looking for questions or topics that people might be asking.

3. Topic Competition

Looking at existing blogs and websites will not only help inspire ideas for topics, but also give you an idea of the competition for that topic.

Do a search for your topic to see how many blogs are on that topic. If your topic is over saturated, it may not be the best choice.

However, if you have found that there is a good enough audience and there are only a few blogs on your topic, you may have something.

To be surer, you can look again at Google’s keyword planner tool. Do another search for your topic and this time look at both the number of searches and the competition. Look for keywords with a relatively high amount of traffic, and a low or medium amount of traffic.

This is a good way to get ideas for topics with lower competition. As a blogger just starting out, it can be easier to focus on a narrow topic with less competition. Usually the broader the topic, the more competition. If you can narrow your topic down, you may be able to drive more traffic.

4. Can you produce content for your blog?

After you’ve come up with some topics to blog about, you will want to ask yourself if you will be able to create content for that topic.

Try to brainstorm a list of blog posts ideas. If you find yourself struggling to do this, perhaps your topic will be too hard to produce content for.

Your blog topic should focus on something, but it shouldn’t be so narrow that you can’t write about it. Finding a balance will help you in the long run.

Will Your Topic Last?

You should also ask yourself if your topic will stay popular for a long time.

Try to stay away from topics that come quickly and go quickly. You don’t want to build up your blog only to see your audience fading away.

5. Narrow It Down and Decide

Once you have a few topics in mind, decide what topics you don’t want to cover.

Eliminate the ones that are don’t have enough traffic or have too much competition.

You may also decide that the topic just isn’t right for you. If you have to, go back through this process with your topics to see if they are a good fit.

If you are having trouble deciding, take a break and come back. Let your ideas sit and give them some thought before making a final decisions. You might come up with other topics in this time also.

Also, you can look at the list below to see where your ideas fit in.

144 Topic Ideas to Help You Get Started

If you haven’t come up with some ideas on what to blog about already, here is a list to get started with.

Not everyone may be for you, but you may just find one that you realize is a perfect fit.

Relationships and advice

Sports or a specific sport

General food blog: Could be a type of food or food from a certain culture.

Bodybuilding

Question and answer

Technology

Health and fitness

Nutrition and eating healthy

Parenting

Web design

Martial arts

Coffee

Tea

Organic foods

Politics

Quotes

Inspirational

Recipes

Gardening

Antiques

Hiking

Skiing

Self-improvement

Fashion blog

Writing

Photography

Interviews

Travel blog

Location specific: A blog focusing on a certain place or city.

Social media: General social media discussion or focus on a specific platform.

Business

Board games

Poetry

Books

Stocks

Real estate

Dairy

Card games

Chess

Entrepreneurship

Outdoors

Boating

Cars: You could also focus on a specific make or type of car, like antiques.

Furniture

Home decor

Smoothies / nutritional shakes

Ponds

Juicing for health

Web tutorials

Learning languages

Meditation

Running

Cartoons

Mathematics

Humour

Science

Hosting a party

Bikes

Vegan or vegetarian food

Software

Men’s/women’s lifestyle

Computer parts

Dance or a specific type of dancing

Acting

Performing Arts

Art

Movies

Drawing

Pets

Carpentry

Environment

Apps

Pools

Wireless systems

Yoga

Astronomy

Woodworking

Stained glass

Animals

Birds

Insects

Vacations

Clothing

Sewing

Living naturally

Knitting

Cats

Gymnastics

Restaurants

Hotels

Product reviews

Cell phones / smart phones

Essays

Interior design/architecture

Psychology

Skateboarding

Laptops

Economics

Trends

DIY (do it yourself)

Personal finance

History

Green lifestyle

Swimming

Pottery

Tobogganing

Lighting

Painting

Origami

Arts and crafts

Marketing

Dogs

Weight lifting

Philosophy

Communication

Makeup / cosmetics

Baking

Comics

Marathons

Skydiving

Nightlife

Camping

Kitchen design

Surfing

Skiing

Snowboarding

Mountain climbing

Cross country skiing

Kids apparel

Coding languages

HTML

CSS

Weddings

Tourist destinations

Dream interpretation

Trees

Hobbies

Myth busting

Tennis

Golf

Bowling

Animation

Typography

Table tennis

Hopefully, this list has given you some ideas for what to blog about.

There are many topics you can choose from, and it might be hard to decide. Write down some that interest you and then narrow your choice through elimination.

When you have a topic you like, research and evaluate the topic with some of the methods we covered in the first section.

Conclusion

With so many options available, it can at times be hard to decide what to blog about.

With the methods we discussed, it should be easier to narrow down your choice.

Look at your passions and skills to see what you might be interested in blogging about. If you like your topic, it should be that much easier to spend time researching and blogging about.

Make sure you do enough market research when choosing a topic to blog about. You want there to be a big enough audience so you can get enough blog traffic.

A perfect example would be the Onlinefoodblog. We blog about food and how to make food.

Also, look to see that your topic is not over saturated. If there are too many existing blogs on your topic already, it might be more difficult to compete for the same subjects.

There is always room for great, unique content that helps people answer their questions. Whatever topic you choose, make sure you focus on providing quality material and you will be on the road to successful blogging.

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myaussie · 6 years

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New Post has been published on Online Crowd

New Post has been published on https://onlinecrowd.com.au/everything-you-need-to-create-a-youtube-channel-thats-ready-to-grow/

Everything You Need to Create a YouTube Channel That’s Ready to Grow

Are you ready for your business to be a YouTube star? Video marketing performs better than any other medium, and YouTube is a top channel for video content. Here’s how to start your own channel the right way and position it for maximum growth.

You can start your business’s YouTube channel off on the right foot by following these steps to create a channel and give it the most growth potential.

1. Decide on Your YouTube Channel’s Video Marketing Positioning and Strategy

The first step is to determine exactly who your audience segments will be, along with a few actions you want them to take in response to your content.

As another alternative, maybe you want to create highly shareable videos that generate brand awareness and drive traffic towards your site.

Your goals and your audience will significantly affect how you decide to run your channel, including:

Your style and approach (e.g., formal or conversational)

The format of your videos, such as an ongoing “show” vs. how-to videos vs. quick Q&A sessions

How long your typical videos will be

How often you will post new content

Who your target audiences will be, and how you intend to reach them

Your amplification strategy for getting maximum views on your new content, such as sharing new videos on Facebook or through your email list

2. Decide on a Channel Name and Icon

Your next step is to start filling in the blanks for your new channel. Specifically: what’s your name going to be? And what image will you use for your channel icon?

These two seemingly minor things can have a gigantic impact on your ability to attract audiences. Your channel name serves as both your brand and your initial pitch to potential viewers.

You can choose a descriptive name, such as “DUI Law Q&A,” which already promises what type of content the channel will contain.

3. Come Up With Channel Art, a Description, and a Trailer

Smaller channels, especially business-focused ones, often come under much more scrutiny. Someone may wonder “what are these people all about?” and take a look at their channel to learn more.

Instead, think of your trailer as a highlight reel of sorts or an actual TV show trailer. Yes, you want to tell people what you’re about, but you can do that by showing rather than telling.

Getting Ready to Launch Your YouTube Channel

If you need help generating leads, please call us. We have an excellent lead generation program where we pay for all your advertising expenses and take all the risk for you. You only pay when you get results. This is a massive undertaking and understandably we’re limited in how many companies we can help at any one time. If you’re interested and find the program paused or not available, just leave your details and we’ll let you know when it re-opens.

Thanks! Click here to download the free pdf file.

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samuelyagaclasses-blog · 6 years

Text

samuel yoga classes

Find the best yoga blogs. Look at the winners of the CreditDonkey Best Yoga Blogs Award for inspiration, motivation and practical tips for your next session on the mat.

BEST YOGA BLOGS © CREDITDONKEY

BLOGS THAT WILL HELP YOU PERFECT YOUR YOGA PRACTICE

When stressful thoughts - such as worries about debt or concerns about home safety - start creeping into your mind and messing with your yoga practice, it's time to get some yoga refreshers.

Blogs from yoga instructors and other experts are a must-have resource for both experienced yogis and beginners. They offer many photos of postures, helpful videos (you could finally learn how to do a salamba sirsasana, or supported handstand!), and ideas for incorporating yoga into your daily life. Luckily for you, there is a ton of yoga blogs, but it's tough to choose just a few to follow.

Read on to discover the very best yoga blogs on the Internetso you can fold them into your practice. Hopefully these will help you make time for you, to silence the worries in your head while you're trying to be in the moment, on the mat. Namaste.

Why Traveling is Good for You

and

What Are Airline Miles

BEST YOGA BLOGS © CREDITDONKEY

Elephant Journal

My name is Jessamyn

Tara Stiles

Rachel Brathen

The YogaFit Blog The YogaFit Blog, voice of the largest yoga fitness school in the world, shares tips, stories and wisdom to help make yoga more a part of everyday life.

CorePower Yoga

Yoga Download

ISHTA Yoga Blog

Beyond Yoga

YogaByCandace

Prenatal Yoga Center

Marianne Elliott

Ashley Turner

Stephanie Spence Tales of The Traveling Yogini

Yoga Tree Yoga Tree is a yoga center in the San Francisco Bay area, and their blog offers up yoga tips, advice for mindfulness and mental health, and other health-focused content.

Carol Horton, Ph.D.

YogaGlo

Alive in the Fire

Katie Silcox

Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

Yoga Tune Up Blog The Yoga Tune Up Blog is packed with videos, advice, and more for those who use yoga to ease or ward off chronic pain and other ailments.

Rachel Scott Yoga

Yoga Alliance

Street Yoga

8 Limbs Yoga

YogaKids

The Living Yoga Blog The Living Yoga Blog covers Living Yoga's mission to bring yoga to children, correctional facilities, drug treatment centers, and more.

The Yoga Institute

Accessible Yoga

Vini Yoga Vini Yoga, a forum for the American Viniyoga Institute, shares content that promotes the core values of this organization dedicated to honoring the integrity of ancient yoga and making it relevant for today's professionals.

Big Sky Yoga Retreats COURTESY OF BIG SKY YOGA RETREATS / LARRY STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY

Gwen Lawrence

Hot 8 Yoga

Bloom Yoga Studio

Yoga Calm

Gigi Yogini

Prajna Yoga Prajna Yoga's blog includes daily practices, good yoga techniques, healthy recipes, and thoughts on current trends in yoga.

Trill Yoga

Off the Mat Into the World

Yoga 216

Five Pillars Yoga Five Pillars Yoga, a New York-based studio and apparel store, shares their recommendations on yoga positions, nutrition and lifestyle.

Yoganurse

Kia Miller

YBI Coalition Blog

Silver Island Yoga

The Yogalicious Blog

YogaBellies

The Yogi Muse Blog

Chelsea Loves Yoga

Ninavukas Yoga Ninavukas Yoga documents the travels and teachings of a free-spirited yoga teacher and retreat leader.

Yoga Six

Runners Love Yoga

Hala Khouri, M.A

YOGO

Luma Yoga

Adam Hocke Yoga

The Peoples Yoga

Azulfit

Yoga Force

Starr Struck

The Art of Living Retreat Center

Elephant Journal is your guide to what we like to call the mindful life: yoga, organics, sustainability, genuine spirituality, conscious consumerism, fair fashion, the contemplative arts…anything that helps us to live a good life that also happens to be good for others, and our planet.

Why Elephant Journal is a Top Yoga Blog: The use of numerous authors provides readers with a unique opportunity to browse and experience the insights of several fellow passionate yoga advocates in one place.

Read: Elephant Yoga Follow @elephantjournal

Jessamyn Stanley works to break society's conditioned views on appropriate body image, using yoga as the springboard.

Why My name is Jessamyn is a Top Yoga Blog: Jessamyn does not pull any punches as she talks about being body conscience in today's society, how yoga can impact your life and upcoming events.

Read: My Name Is Jessamyn Follow @JessNotJazz

Tara Stiles, founder of Strala Yoga, shares her yoga tips, recipes, inspiring thoughts and studio updates.

Why Tara Stiles is a Top Yoga Blog: As a best-selling author, Tara Stiles is uniquely skilled at articulating her lifelong passions of yoga and overall mind-body wellness.

Read: Never Get Sick Soup : Tara Stiles Follow @TaraStiles

Rachel Brathen, yoga instructor specializing in exotic retreats, documents her personal life, passion for yoga and many other outside interests.

Why Rachel Brathen is a Top Yoga Blog: This yoga lifestyle blog invites readers to experience Rachel's personal and professional milestones and learn along with her from the challenges.

Read: Costa Rica: Pure Magic - Rachel Brathen Follow @rachelbrathen

Why The YogaFit Blog is a Top Yoga Blog: As an authority on yoga education, YogaFit offers sage advice for both the yoga enthusiast and professional.

Read: Yoga News, Traing Tips & Education

CorePower Yoga's blog covers a wide variety of yoga topics, including how to prepare for and recover from workouts, self-care advice, and more.

Why CorePower Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Anyone who practices yoga will find this blog and its wide variety of tips for staying active and engaged to be an indispensable resource.

Read: CorePower Yoga Follow @CorePowerYoga

Yoga Download is an online destination for yoga. It offers online classes and subscription for folks looking to practice anywhere. Their blog offers readers advice for good yoga practices as well as healthy recipes, news from around the world of yoga, and more.

Why Yoga Download is a Top Yoga Blog: This blog's unique, healthy, energy-packed recipes will appeal to any health-conscious yoga practitioners.

Read: Online Yoga Teacher Training Follow: @yogadownload

ISHTA Yoga Blog, the forum for a New York-based studio, shares event updates plus training recommendations.

Why ISHTA Yoga Blog is a Top Yoga Blog: ISHTA Yoga finds the synergy between ancient and contemporary practices to offer readers practical lifestyle tips.

Follow @ishtayoga

Beyond Yoga is a athleisure clothing retail and their yoga lifestyle blog keeps its readers up-to-date on great recipes, fashion and yoga tips.

Why Beyond Yoga is a Top Yoga Resource: This well-manicured site whisks readers through everything that appeals to the yoga-conscience individual.

Read: 6 Reasons to Try Pure Barre Follow @beyondyoga

YogaByCandace, a yoga lifestyle company, offers training tips, educational materials and other practical recommendations for achieving overall wellness.

Why YogaByCandace is a Top Yoga Blog: Readers enjoy the mixture of videos, training tips, product recommendations and recipes from a company that specializes in everything for the modern yoga lover.

Read: Confessions of a Yoga Teacher: Breaking up with Lululemon Follow @yogabycandace

Prenatal Yoga Center's blog is packed with information on yoga for expectant mothers, as well as pregnancy and childbirth advice.

Why Prenatal Yoga Center is a Top Yoga Blog: Pregnant women who are interested in practicing yoga as part of their prenatal plan will find all the information they need to get started on this blog. Their website also offers additional resources, even online classes, for moms who wish to practice at home.

Read: Too Tight or Too Loose- What is Going On With Your Pelvic Floor? Follow: @PYCyoga

Marianne Elliott is a yoga instructor, writer and human rights advocate who shares stories and thoughts about making the world a better place.

Why Marianne Elliott is a Top Yoga Blog: Yoga is simply a thread in Marianne Elliott's life tapestry that more importantly includes a life of dedication to human rights and the ability to inspire others to join her.

Read: The crime of being an unapologetic woman Follow @zenpeacekeeper

Ashley Turner, a published yoga and meditation teacher, shares tips and updates from her digital and live training events.

Why Ashley Turner is a Top Yoga Blog: With a mix of event updates and insight, this blog is a lifeline for readers who are interested in Ashley Turner and her teachings.

Follow @ashleyturner1

Stephanie Spence's Tales of The Traveling Yogini draws on the vast life experiences of the California-based writer, yoga teacher and screenwriter to guide others towards personal wisdom.

Why Stephanie Spence Tales of The Traveling Yogini is a Top Yoga Blog: Stephanie inspires, motivates and conveys positive energy with articles focused on the synergy between happiness and the yoga lifestyle.

Read: Yoga Wisdom of the Day ~ PatienceAsana - Stephanie Spence Follow @stephanieyogini

Why Yoga Tree is a Top Yoga Blog: Readers who are looking to use yoga as part of a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle will definitely want to read this blog's content.

Read: Yoga Tree Heart Opening Challenge

Carol Horton, Ph.D.'s blog uses long-form articles and think pieces to examine the state of yoga, how it affects mental health, and more.

Why Carol Horton, Ph.D. is a Top Yoga Blog: Readers who want to read content that examines the cultural and psychological effects and benefits of yoga will be fascinated with Dr. Horton's insights.

Follow: @CarolHortonBks

YogaGlo is a blog and on-demand yoga and meditation streaming service that brings readers the latest yoga and meditation classes (more than 3,500 available), taught by world-renowned instructors. Users can access any class while on-the-go and can also stream cutting-edge content, including tips and tools for both the seasoned to beginner yogi. They were also recently named by Apple as one of the top TV apps of 2016.

Why YogaGlo is a Top Yoga Blog: YogaGlo is for everyone. YogaGlo has classes and content for beginners who are new to yoga as well as seasoned yogis looking to expand and deepen their knowledge of the field. They also have content and classes available for cyclists, runners, surfers and many more.

Read: Yoga for People Who Sit A Lot Follow @Yogaglo

Alive in the Fire uses eye-catching photos and short posts to promote yoga and overall happiness.

Why Alive in the Fire is a Top Yoga Blog: With a foundation of asana practices, this blog inspires students and teachers to achieve peace and happiness through yoga.

Read: Alive in the Fire: Yoga Books for Your Asana Practice Follow @aliveinthefire

Katie Silcox' insight will send you on a path to mind-body wellness through tantra, yoga and ayurveda.

Why Katie Silcox is a Top Yoga Blog: Katie Silcox, a New York Times best selling author, infuses her in-depth holistic living posts with her engaging southern belle charm.

Read: Becoming exceptional - bring gasoline and matches Follow @SilcoxKatie

The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health's blog applies the philosophy and practice of yoga to everyday life, encompassing self-care, relationships, and more.

Why Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a Top Yoga Blog: If you practice yoga as the intersection of the physical and the spiritual, this blog's content will be right up your alley.

Read: Remembering B. K. S. Iyengar, a Man Who Was Once the "Anti-Advertisement for Yoga" Follow @kripalucenter

Why Yoga Tune Up Blog is a Top Yoga Blog: If you are thinking about getting into yoga as a means to ease back, lower body pain, and strengthen your core, this blog is for you.

Read: Yoga Tune Up®

Rachel Scott Yoga is an outlet for both students and teachers to perfect their craft with advice from the Director of Teachers' College and Development of YYoga.

Why Rachel Scott Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: The sage advice of this vetted expert extends far past yoga into guidance on diet, relationships and life.

Read: Sequence to Dragonfly. Bam! Follow @rachelscottyoga

Yoga Alliance is the largest non-profit association for the yoga community, and this resource champions their efforts to support the integrity of its teaching.

Why Yoga Alliance is a Top Yoga Resource: Posts regarding regulations, local laws and overall advocacy of yoga make this a unique but important read for all those committed to furthering the proper growth of this craft.

Read: BREAKING NEWS: Rejection of Bikram Copyright Case Upheld Follow @YogaAlliance

Street Yoga details organization news and the real-life stories of the teachers who have graduated from the trauma-informed yoga training.

Why Street Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Readers truly appreciate Street Yoga's success in educating individuals on the benefits of yoga for children coping with trauma or adverse experiences.

Read: NEWSLETTER Follow @streetyoga

8 Limbs Yoga shares stories that build on the studio's core belief that everyone is unique and the diversity of yoga can support anyone through life's challenges.

Why 8 Limbs Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Posts on yoga, parenting, studio events and many other subjects make this an excellent resource for anyone who desires assistance along life's path.

Read: Inclusivity, Compassion, and Action Follow @8limbsyoga

YogaKids' blog covers the benefits of yoga for children, and how it can help practitioners throughout their lives.

Why YogaKids is a Top Yoga Blog: Parents who want to get their kids into yoga will find plenty of fun ideas and inspiring tips for doing so on this blog.

Follow @yogakids

Why The Living Yoga Blog is a Top Yoga Blog: Anyone interested in learning how yoga can and does improve the lives of people across the vast spectrum of human experience should read this blog to learn about Living Yoga's work.

Read: Radical Self Acceptance

The Yoga Institute's blog takes a spiritual approach to yoga, with advice for practitioners of all levels as well as meditation tips.

Why The Yoga Institute is a Top Yoga Blog: This blog's real standout is its meditation content, which ranges from articles about the many benefits of meditation to how-to's for beginners.

Follow @yogainstmumbai

Accessible Yoga is a long-form blog that aims to make yoga accessible to all - both the practice of it and its philosophy.

Why Accessible Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: The world of yoga can seem overwhelming to beginners, but with this blog's guidance you can begin to understand and love it like so many others do.

Read: Blog Follow @accessibleyoga

Why Vini Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: This blog shares the organization's media features as well as helps readers truly understand the fundamentals of this yoga practice aimed at supplying the tools for self-discovery.

Read: What is Viniyoga? Part Five: Yoga vs. Yoga Therapy

Big Sky Yoga Retreats' blog features content that finds the connection between yoga, nature, and the Montana lifestyle.

Why Big Sky Yoga Retreats is a Top Yoga Blog: Nature-loving yoga practitioners in particular will love this blog's approach to the yoga lifestyle.

Read: Cowgirls vs. Cancer Yoga Retreat in Clyde Park, Montana Follow @cowgirlyoga

Gwen Lawrence shares recommended yoga poses and suggested routines for individuals based on their sport per position or physical ailment.

Why Gwen Lawrence is a Top Yoga Blog: Working with a who's who of professional athletes and celebrities, Gwen brings her extraordinary understanding of the body to develop sport-specific yoga training.

Read: Great Testimonial From a Trainee Follow @GwenLawrence or on Instagram

Hot 8 Yoga's blog is all about the health and spiritual benefits of hot yoga, and it also provides tips for those looking to become certified yoga teachers.

Why Hot 8 Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Readers who are curious about what benefits hot yoga has over more traditional yoga practices should give this blog a read.

Follow @hot8yoga

Bloom Yoga Studio, based in Chicago, explores the intersection of yoga and everyday life through the insight of the studio's founder.

Why Bloom Yoga Studio is a Top Yoga Blog: This blog aims to inspire people to be happy and healthy by integrating yoga into their life.

Read: How learning what I CAN change changed everything Follow @BloomChicago

Yoga Calm supports children's health and well-being with mindfulness, movement and social-emotional learning. Its award-winning curriculum and college-accredited certification courses have impacted over 250,000 youth around the world in schools, clinics and yoga studios.

Why Yoga Calm is a Top Yoga Blog: The Yoga Calm blog provides practical tips and tools to help parents, teachers and therapists support the physical, mental and emotional health of youth.

Read: 4 Tools to Help Kids Manage Big Emotions - Yoga Calm

Gigi Yogini, the outlet for yoga teacher Brigitte Kouba Neves, shares training tips and class updates.

Why Gigi Yogini is a Top Yoga Blog: Brigitte is an advocate for positive body image, so her posts and classes are all about building confidence on and off the mat.

Read: Do You Ever Feel Like A Fraud? - Gigi Yogini Follow @gigiyogini

Why Prajna Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: This blog's combination of expert yoga tips, health advice, and recipes is a great read for anyone who uses yoga as the basis for a healthy lifestyle.

Read: Tias shares his personal practice space in the latest issue of Yoga Journal

Trill Yoga, based on a unique yoga method created by Claire Fountain, empowers readers and offers tips to follow this globally recognized movement.

Why Trill Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: This new-age, yoga-inspired blog offers readers everything from information, practice tips, diet recommendations, lifestyle guidance and much more.

Read: Sleep So You Can Live Follow @cbqualitylife or on Instagram

Off the Mat Into the World is a nonprofit group dedicated to bridging yoga and social justice activism; their blog covers their efforts and offers advice for those looking to apply the philosophy of yoga to their everyday lives. Their website includes their latest course offerings, trainings, events, retreats, partnerships, news, and opportunities.

Why Off the Mat Into the World is a Top Yoga Resource: Yoga is a philosophy as well as a practice, and this organization's blog offers ways to become involved in your community using yoga as the gateway.

Read: SEVA SPOTLIGHT! Donny Starkins Follow @offthematyoga

Yoga 216, a New York-based studio, reviews best practices, insight and updates on the studio and its students.

Why Yoga 216 is a Top Yoga Blog: Readers will find practical tips on yoga that will help them better understand the practice and its benefits.

Read: 216's Personalized Fall Kitchari Cleanse Follow @yoga_216

Why Five Pillars Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: This blog is entirely dedicated to promoting a balanced lifestyle, good health and positive attitude with yoga as the guiding light.

Read: Love Yoga but Crave Cardio? Say Hello To CrossFlowX!

Yoganurse focuses on spreading the benefits of implementing holistic medicine and yoga therapy into traditional nursing practices.

Why Yoganurse is a Top Yoga Blog: Appealing primarily to nurses, this blog is an excellent outlet for professional caregivers to learn about how holistic medicine and yoga therapy can help their patients.

Read: Blog Entries - Yoganurse.com Follow @theyoganurse

Kia Miller mentors readers on how to increase strength and achieve mental clarity using radiant body yoga.

Why Kia Miller is a Top Yoga Blog: Kia Miller uses radiant body yoga training as the foundation to share tips and personal insight to encourage readers to follow this holistic yoga path.

Read: Media | Radiant Body Yoga Follow @KiaMillerYoga

The Yoga and Body Image Coalition is a group that works at the intersection of yoga and body image to create a world with more access to health and dignity for everyone.

Why YBI Coalition Blog is a Top Yoga Blog: Anyone who feels uncomfortable working out in a group or has trouble with their own perception of their body will find this blog to be both uplifting and helpful.

Read: All Lives Can't Matter Until #BlackLivesMatter: Yoga and Body image Coalition Social Justice Statement Follow @ybicoalition

Silver Island Yoga shares their story of how this became a private island yoga retreat in Greece, as well as pieces written by the yoga teachers, who teach the intimate eco-yoga retreats.

Why Silver Island Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Customer reviews, updates and sneak peaks at island living make this blog ideal for readers interested in venturing to this or similar yoga retreats.

Read: Silver Island Yoga Follow @silveryoga or on Facebook

Jillian Pransky's Yogalicious blog offers up spiritual and mindfulness advice and think pieces for yoga practitioners.

Why The Yogalicious Blog is a Top Yoga Blog: Yoga lovers who want to expand their favorite practice to help them be more mindful, positive, and connected with the world around them will love this blog's content.

Read: Pause & Relax (With This Free Guided Meditation) Then Set Your Intention Follow @JillianPransky

Yogabellies' blog is all about creating an inclusive, nurturing space for women at every stage in life to learn about yoga, women's health, and more.

Why YogaBellies is a Top Yoga Blog: Women who want to use yoga as a cornerstone of their health will love this blog, particularly pregnant women and new mothers.

Follow @yogabellies

Michelle Marchildon is a yogi and author whose sense of humor and positivity injects her blog with an infectious joy.

Why The Yogi Muse Blog is a Top Yoga Blog: Yoga enthusiasts who want to read the thoughts and advice of an expert, written with good humor and fun in mind, will love this blog.

Read: My Conscious Uncoupling: Poses I'm Letting Go. Follow @Michelle_Muse

Chelsea Loves Yoga primarily introduces yoga professionals from around the United States and shares their stories.

Why Chelsea Loves Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Dr. Chelsea Jackson Roberts leads this yoga blog like she leads her life: by exploring and learning from the lives of individuals across different communities.

Read: Check Out My Feature on Black Girl In Om! Follow @chelseajaya

Why Ninavukas Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Posts are very well-developed, with interesting streams of thought that capture the attention of yoga and health conscience readers.

Read: Why for me travel is a necessity

Yoga Six's blog is packed with great yoga tips for almost any situation, from relaxing to working out, as well healthy recipes and more.

Why Yoga Six is a Top Yoga Blog: Readers on the lookout for yoga tips for working out, warming up, or just about any other situation will find tons of great ones on this blog.

Follow @Yoga_Six

Runners Love Yoga promotes the advantages of incorporating yoga into a runner's training regimen.

Why Runners Love Yoga is a Top Yoga Resource: While focused on runners, this blog details very specific poses with pictures and instructions that would benefit anyone interested in yoga. Runners Love Yoga is much more than a blog. Their main mission is to provide yoga to runners through streamable online workouts and their monthly yoga challenges on Instagram. They also offer high performance activewear, much of which is made in the USA.

Read: 4 Hip Strengthening Exercises to Help Your IT Band Follow @RunnersLoveYoga

Hala Khouri, M.A., yoga teacher and somatic counselor, shares her lifelong passions and advice through insightful posts.

Why Hala Khouri, M.A is a Top Yoga Blog: It is evident that Hala Khouri's passions include writing, as she eloquently weaves between real-life examples and her yoga lessons to really make the points hit home.

Read: Trauma-Informed Yoga Training - Venice, CA - Yoga for Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health Follow @halayoga

YOGO, designers of a minimalist, health conscious yoga mat, share yoga tips and updates on their mission to donate a food tree for every mat sold.

Why YOGO is a Top Yoga Blog: The YOGO blog is ideal for people who like to take yoga on the road, and believe in the company's inspiring mission and want to follow their progress.

Read: YOGO NEWS! Updates & Tips From YOGO Follow @YOGOanywhere or on Instagram

Luma Yoga's blog features advice and thoughts on the practice of yoga, offering meditations on family, happiness, and a healthy lifestyle.

Why Luma Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: This is a blog built for yoga and healthy lifestyle enthusiasts who love to share their passion with their families.

Read: Luma Yoga Follow: LumaYoga

Adam Hocke Yoga primarily provides training tips and at home audio yoga classes via his podcasts.

Why Adam Hocke Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: In a female-dominated industry, Adam Hocke shows through his teachings that the mind-body benefits transcend all body types, genders and backgrounds.

Follow @adamhocke

The People's Yoga focuses on yoga-centric issues, from the challenges some face in practicing yoga to its many benefits.

Why The Peoples Yoga is a Top Yoga Blog: Anyone who wants to learn more about the challenges facing different types of people who practice yoga will learn a lot from this blog.

Read: New LGBTIQ Yoga Class in Portland! Follow @ThePeoplesYoga

With information on different yoga practices, advice for novices, tips on clean eating, and more, Azulfit takes a mindful approach to yoga and health.

Why Azulfit is a Top Yoga Blog: Beginners who are looking for great yoga advice and clean eating tips and recipes will get the most out of this blog.

Read: International Yoga Day 2016 Follow @AzulFit

Yoga Force - Annie's Blog provides readers with merchandise and event updates as well as helpful tips to maintaining a yoga lifestyle.

Why Yoga Force is a Top Yoga Blog: Through short posts, Annie's Blog caters to not only fans of her brand, but also everyone who could benefit from her practical advice on healthy living.

Read: YogaForce Icon Necklace in Argentum .935 Sterling Silver Follow @YogaForce

Starr Struck is focused on the active lifestyle and passions of Cape Cod-based yoga teacher Mary Catherine.

Why Starr Struck is a Top Yoga Blog: Yoga tips, recipe ideas, artwork and life events from Mary Catherine are shared to inspire readers to lead a life full of purpose.

Read: We're Having a... Follow @starrstruckblog

The Art of Living Retreat Center shares tips from their holistic workshops to reawaken your mind and body.

Why The Art of Living Retreat Center is a Top Yoga Blog: Through detailed holistic diet and lifestyle recommendations, this blog paves a path towards happiness for readers.

0 notes

brandavenniehe · 6 years

Text

Loyall Life Grain Free Dog Food (Dry)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Loyall Life Grain Free Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

Buying Tip

Shop at an Online Retailer Get 20% Off + Free Shipping Click for Details

The Loyall Life Grain Free product line includes 3 dry dog foods.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Important: Because many websites do not reliably specify which Growth or All Life Stages recipes are safe for large breed puppies, we do not include that data in this report. Be sure to check actual packaging for that information.

Loyall Life Grain Free Chicken with Potato [A]

Loyall Life Grain Free Beef with Sweet Potato [A]

Loyall Life Grain Free Salmon with Sweet Potato [A]

Loyall Life Grain Free Chicken with Potato was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Loyall Life Grain Free Chicken with Potato

Dry Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 30% | Fat = 17% | Carbs = 46%

Ingredients: Chicken, dried potato, chicken meal, dried peas, turkey meal, potato starch, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), flaxseed, dried beet pulp, tomato pomace, calcium carbonate, natural flavors, dicalcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, minerals (zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate monohydrate, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite), vitamins (vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), choline chloride, hydrolyzed yeast, l-carnitine, dried chicory root, dried carrots, Yucca schidigera extract, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, dried kelp meal, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of ascorbic acid), dried spinach, dried apple, dried parsley, dried milk, yeast culture-dehydrated, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 5.1%

Red items indicate controversial ingredients

Estimated Nutrient ContentMethodProteinFatCarbsGuaranteed Analysis26%15%NADry Matter Basis30%17%46%Calorie Weighted Basis25%36%39%

Protein = 25% | Fat = 36% | Carbs = 39%

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains up to 73% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The second ingredient is dried potato, a dehydrated item usually made from the by-products of potato processing. In most cases, dried potato can contain about 10% dry matter protein which can have a slight affect on our estimate of the total meat content of this recipe.

The third ingredient is chicken meal. Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.

The fourth ingredient includes dried peas. Dried peas are a good source of carbohydrates. Plus they’re naturally rich in dietary fiber.

However, dried peas contain about 27% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The fifth ingredient is turkey meal, another protein-rich meat concentrate.

The sixth ingredient is potato starch. Potato starch is a gluten-free carbohydrate of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The seventh ingredient is chicken fat. Chicken fat is obtained from rendering chicken, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The eighth ingredient is flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The ninth ingredient is beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With four notable exceptions…

First, we find tomato pomace. Tomato pomace is a controversial ingredient, a by-product remaining after processing tomatoes into juice, soup and ketchup.

Many praise tomato pomace for its high fiber and nutrient content, while others scorn it as an inexpensive pet food filler.

Just the same, there’s probably not enough tomato pomace here to make much of a difference.

Next, chicory root is rich in inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and found in certain roots and tubers.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

In addition, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

And lastly, this recipe includes menadione, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

Since vitamin K isn’t required by AAFCO in either of its dog food nutrient profiles, we question the use of this substance in any canine formulation.

Loyall Life Grain Free Dog Food The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Loyall Life Grain Free looks like an average dry product.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 30%, a fat level of 17% and estimated carbohydrates of about 45%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 30% and a mean fat level of 16%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 46% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 56%.

Near-average protein. Near-average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the dried peas and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Loyall Life Grain Free is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of named meat meals as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.

However, those concerned about the presence of menadione in this recipe may wish to ignore our rating and look elsewhere for another product.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Loyall Life Dog Food Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.

To learn why our ratings have nothing to do with a product’s recall history, please visit our Dog Food Recalls FAQ page.

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A Final Word

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Each review is offered in good faith and has been designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food.

However, due to the biological uniqueness of every animal, none of our ratings are intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in a specific dietary response or health benefit for your pet.

For a better understanding of how we analyze each product, please read our article, "The Problem with Dog Food Reviews".

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt, consult a qualified veterinary professional for help.

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Notes and Updates

01/05/2018 Last Update

0 notes