[Music]
hi everyone I’ve introduced myself as a
food blogger enough to know the reaction
some of you are resisting right about
now I get it
i embarrassing you stand on my chair in
the middle of a restaurant to get a good
picture of food I take borderline
inappropriate boomerangs of egg yolks
and I post them on the Internet I am a
food blogger and for those of you that
may not know what that means I develop
recipes take pictures of them create
videos for them and I post them on my
blog and on Instagram Facebook Pinterest
Twitter and YouTube I didn’t grow up
dreaming of having my own food blog I
enter this profession because the weird
twist of events that I never saw coming
things will go wrong in your life
uncontrollable events will happen and
there will be a ripple effect that
follows I didn’t end up here because my
plan worked out I’m standing here
talking to you because things went off
course and I did my best to embrace and
navigate the ripples that came after I
am a food blogger and I am part of a new
wave of entrepreneurs that’s disrupting
a major global market and chiseling out
a piece for ourselves before we get into
the nitty-gritty let me give you a
little backstory I met my husband in
college it was love at first sight for
him I on the other hand rejected his
advances rolled my eyes at his jokes and
found him to be a bit much then one
beautiful day he made me laugh and the
rest is history
Jared enjoys eating salad he never
misses a morning run he has a 20-story
threshold before he even considers
taking an elevator I on the other hand
I’m a second piece of cake kind of gal
we graduated college moved to a small
apartment in Philadelphia I worked a
couple jobs and then I started law
school my husband started medical school
and we had what was arguably the most
fun wedding of all time you know when
you have your life pretty mapped out
there’s this sweet spot where
you have a plan you’re on a path and
you’re trucking along you know exactly
where you are and where you’re headed
that was me I was pretty comfortable but
shortly before our first wedding
anniversary my husband started feeling
off he was having a hard time finishing
those morning runs he was eating a ton
but losing weight and he had to stop
during his bike rides to chug water one
day he walked into the emergency room at
temple hospital where he was working and
he asked them to take his blood sugar
she was immediately admitted he was
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes it was
particularly crazy because people are
usually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes
in childhood and so this diagnosis in
his 20s was a shock it was a huge
adjustment for us there was growing
pains there were days of frustration
days of mourning a more carefree life
and not only did he have to deal with
this whole new world of blood sugars and
insulin and finger pricks and pumps but
he also had to deal with a support
system me that didn’t know how to cook
for him along with this diagnosis we had
to change our lifestyle a bit which
meant embracing a lower carb diet in
order to control his blood Sugar’s this
low-carb thing was foreign territory to
me I had this battle with meal time that
I just could not get peace with and so I
did what most people do I googled it I
searched and searched and searched the
internet Pinterest food blogs anything
that could give me an easy fix
an easy weeknight meal something
anything and I was disappointed I
couldn’t find recipes that incorporated
the wholesome ingredients and flavors we
craved but fit within our newfound of
dietary criteria so I started
experimenting on my own I made recipes
uniquely for us recipes that we loved
and obsessed over and I began to think
that if the internet had failed me in my
search for the recipes that we needed it
was probably failing a heck of a lot of
other people too at the same time
I had graduated Law School I passed the
bar and I became a mom to to it
perfectly crazy little boys I was at a
point in my life where I was having a
hard time balancing the requirements of
a traditional professional career and
the daily rollercoaster of raising
humans so after spending countless hours
telling myself why I shouldn’t I took a
leap that leap was creating my food blog
I’m not gonna lie I had no idea what I
was doing I took a dimly-lit pictures in
my South Philly kitchen I had never even
heard about search engine optimization
and my friend Marcy had to teach me what
a hashtag was I worked on my food blog
any chance I got I woke up an hour
before my kids to work on it
I created recipes during their nap times
and I typed a blog post at night after
they went to bed as I invested more time
learning about food photography posted
recipes consistently and communicated
with my readers to see what they needed
from me most things began to click my
Instagram began to grow my blog page
views were on the incline and I even had
people sign up for my newsletter which
to me is the ultimate commitment what I
didn’t realize with that humble food
blog three plus years ago was part of a
bigger story a story of women
entrepreneurs pursuing their passions
and modernizing the marketing landscape
to fit the new generation consumer
bloggers and influencers like me
creating content that we’re passionate
about have not only built an audience
and a community that’s looking for their
new favorite recipe they’re also looking
for product recommendations from their
favorite bloggers because we learn about
products from our peers from social
media and from native advertising and
catching on to this new era brands are
paying closer attention to social media
in their marketing strategy they find
bloggers they like bloggers that align
with their brand brand values and they
work together to create content to build
buzz and awareness around their products
2017 was the first year that digital ad
spending
finally beat out traditional TV with
video streaming and the rise of ad
blockers through traditional TV
commercial isn’t appealing to younger
generations as these consumers turn to
their phones digital ad spending is only
expected to grow on Instagram five
hundred and seventy million dollars was
spent on influencer marketing which is a
space not only dominated but largely
geared towards women but why are brands
paying so much attention to the female
consumer well it’s reported that eighty
five percent of all consumer purchases
are made by women and almost 90% of
women turn to social media to research a
product before they make a purchase not
only are women leading the way in
influencer marketing they’re also
talent manager noted that when you
compare a male influencer with a similar
size Instagram following to a female the
female would easily earn 50% more so
what is with this disparity well women
tend to be more engaged on social media
than men and brands aren’t just looking
for a big follower number they’re also
looking for an engaged and enthusiastic
audience I think it’s the relationship
that female bloggers cultivate with
their readers that enables their
business and their blogs to grow my food
blog is a 24/7 commitment not all the
hours are hard but not all the hours are
fun either what keeps me going is each
reader email each real-life hug each
person telling me that mealtime was a
little bit easier or more enjoyable or
fun again because of my recipes I
haven’t lost sight of the fact that I am
here for and because of my readers women
aren’t just entering the blogging world
because they’re more active on social
media women are finding their way to
this space because we live in a world
where good maternity leave is scarce the
next promotion is gender bias
equal pay is still a battle and
workplace harassment is women like me
craving flexibility the power to
determine our own paychecks and the
freedom from restraints of attrition
traditional office we are going out on
our own to build a business for
ourselves three and a half years ago I
took a leap and I didn’t fully
understand where I was going to land I
entered a space that is ever-evolving
and ripe with opportunity my story is
unique to me but the theme is recurring
with many bloggers and influencers out
there we all took a leap and whether we
realize it or not we redefined a major
market to fit modern-day needs what I
love most about this field is the
barrier to enter is low I have bloggers
friends from all walks of life different
backgrounds different ages whoops
different countries no matter what plan
you made what path you’re on what
uncontrollable events happened in your
life you have a device in your pocket
that enables you to start something new
and don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of
work that comes after but literally
anyone can start thank you [Applause]
hi everyone I’ve introduced myself as a
food blogger enough to know the reaction
some of you are resisting right about
now I get it
i embarrassing you stand on my chair in
the middle of a restaurant to get a good
picture of food I take borderline
inappropriate boomerangs of egg yolks
and I post them on the Internet I am a
food blogger and for those of you that
may not know what that means I develop
recipes take pictures of them create
videos for them and I post them on my
blog and on Instagram Facebook Pinterest
Twitter and YouTube I didn’t grow up
dreaming of having my own food blog I
enter this profession because the weird
twist of events that I never saw coming
things will go wrong in your life
uncontrollable events will happen and
there will be a ripple effect that
follows I didn’t end up here because my
plan worked out I’m standing here
talking to you because things went off
course and I did my best to embrace and
navigate the ripples that came after I
am a food blogger and I am part of a new
wave of entrepreneurs that’s disrupting
a major global market and chiseling out
a piece for ourselves before we get into
the nitty-gritty let me give you a
little backstory I met my husband in
college it was love at first sight for
him I on the other hand rejected his
advances rolled my eyes at his jokes and
found him to be a bit much then one
beautiful day he made me laugh and the
rest is history
Jared enjoys eating salad he never
misses a morning run he has a 20-story
threshold before he even considers
taking an elevator I on the other hand
I’m a second piece of cake kind of gal
we graduated college moved to a small
apartment in Philadelphia I worked a
couple jobs and then I started law
school my husband started medical school
and we had what was arguably the most
fun wedding of all time you know when
you have your life pretty mapped out
there’s this sweet spot where
you have a plan you’re on a path and
you’re trucking along you know exactly
where you are and where you’re headed
that was me I was pretty comfortable but
shortly before our first wedding
anniversary my husband started feeling
off he was having a hard time finishing
those morning runs he was eating a ton
but losing weight and he had to stop
during his bike rides to chug water one
day he walked into the emergency room at
temple hospital where he was working and
he asked them to take his blood sugar
she was immediately admitted he was
diagnosed with type 1 diabetes it was
particularly crazy because people are
usually diagnosed with type 1 diabetes
in childhood and so this diagnosis in
his 20s was a shock it was a huge
adjustment for us there was growing
pains there were days of frustration
days of mourning a more carefree life
and not only did he have to deal with
this whole new world of blood sugars and
insulin and finger pricks and pumps but
he also had to deal with a support
system me that didn’t know how to cook
for him along with this diagnosis we had
to change our lifestyle a bit which
meant embracing a lower carb diet in
order to control his blood Sugar’s this
low-carb thing was foreign territory to
me I had this battle with meal time that
I just could not get peace with and so I
did what most people do I googled it I
searched and searched and searched the
internet Pinterest food blogs anything
that could give me an easy fix
an easy weeknight meal something
anything and I was disappointed I
couldn’t find recipes that incorporated
the wholesome ingredients and flavors we
craved but fit within our newfound of
dietary criteria so I started
experimenting on my own I made recipes
uniquely for us recipes that we loved
and obsessed over and I began to think
that if the internet had failed me in my
search for the recipes that we needed it
was probably failing a heck of a lot of
other people too at the same time
I had graduated Law School I passed the
bar and I became a mom to to it
perfectly crazy little boys I was at a
point in my life where I was having a
hard time balancing the requirements of
a traditional professional career and
the daily rollercoaster of raising
humans so after spending countless hours
telling myself why I shouldn’t I took a
leap that leap was creating my food blog
I’m not gonna lie I had no idea what I
was doing I took a dimly-lit pictures in
my South Philly kitchen I had never even
heard about search engine optimization
and my friend Marcy had to teach me what
a hashtag was I worked on my food blog
any chance I got I woke up an hour
before my kids to work on it
I created recipes during their nap times
and I typed a blog post at night after
they went to bed as I invested more time
learning about food photography posted
recipes consistently and communicated
with my readers to see what they needed
from me most things began to click my
Instagram began to grow my blog page
views were on the incline and I even had
people sign up for my newsletter which
to me is the ultimate commitment what I
didn’t realize with that humble food
blog three plus years ago was part of a
bigger story a story of women
entrepreneurs pursuing their passions
and modernizing the marketing landscape
to fit the new generation consumer
bloggers and influencers like me
creating content that we’re passionate
about have not only built an audience
and a community that’s looking for their
new favorite recipe they’re also looking
for product recommendations from their
favorite bloggers because we learn about
products from our peers from social
media and from native advertising and
catching on to this new era brands are
paying closer attention to social media
in their marketing strategy they find
bloggers they like bloggers that align
with their brand brand values and they
work together to create content to build
buzz and awareness around their products
2017 was the first year that digital ad
spending
finally beat out traditional TV with
video streaming and the rise of ad
blockers through traditional TV
commercial isn’t appealing to younger
generations as these consumers turn to
their phones digital ad spending is only
expected to grow on Instagram five
hundred and seventy million dollars was
spent on influencer marketing which is a
space not only dominated but largely
geared towards women but why are brands
paying so much attention to the female
consumer well it’s reported that eighty
five percent of all consumer purchases
are made by women and almost 90% of
women turn to social media to research a
product before they make a purchase not
only are women leading the way in
influencer marketing they’re also
talent manager noted that when you
compare a male influencer with a similar
size Instagram following to a female the
female would easily earn 50% more so
what is with this disparity well women
tend to be more engaged on social media
than men and brands aren’t just looking
for a big follower number they’re also
looking for an engaged and enthusiastic
audience I think it’s the relationship
that female bloggers cultivate with
their readers that enables their
business and their blogs to grow my food
blog is a 24/7 commitment not all the
hours are hard but not all the hours are
fun either what keeps me going is each
reader email each real-life hug each
person telling me that mealtime was a
little bit easier or more enjoyable or
fun again because of my recipes I
haven’t lost sight of the fact that I am
here for and because of my readers women
aren’t just entering the blogging world
because they’re more active on social
media women are finding their way to
this space because we live in a world
where good maternity leave is scarce the
next promotion is gender bias
equal pay is still a battle and
workplace harassment is women like me
craving flexibility the power to
determine our own paychecks and the
freedom from restraints of attrition
traditional office we are going out on
our own to build a business for
ourselves three and a half years ago I
took a leap and I didn’t fully
understand where I was going to land I
entered a space that is ever-evolving
and ripe with opportunity my story is
unique to me but the theme is recurring
with many bloggers and influencers out
there we all took a leap and whether we
realize it or not we redefined a major
market to fit modern-day needs what I
love most about this field is the
barrier to enter is low I have bloggers
friends from all walks of life different
backgrounds different ages whoops
different countries no matter what plan
you made what path you’re on what
uncontrollable events happened in your
life you have a device in your pocket
that enables you to start something new
and don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of
work that comes after but literally
anyone can start thank you [Applause]
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