Mystery writer, Susan Stoner and I produce Just Read It, a 10 minute YouTube program reviewing national best sellers. We air them 8 times a year and invite a local writer to join us each time. We’ve been at our project for two years and our audience continues to grow. Naturally, we cherish our viewers and are happy we are no longer talking to ourselves.
That said, it’s a puzzle to me why some YouTube sites make a splash faster than others. I’m not talking about videos of boxing cats or a baby that sings when it cries, entertainment with a short life span. I’m talking about steady programming which takes off from the first day and rises to the stratosphere. Michelle Phan knows this kind of success. In 2007, she walked into her bedroom and, using her smart phone, started making videos of herself applying makeup. Today she has 8 million subscribers and heads Ipsy. The company provides studio space to other makeup vloggers who give lessons on everything from how to obtain the grunge look to copying the image of Daenerys Targaryengrun from Game of Thrones.
To date, Phan has developed a network of 10,000 beauty vloggers who offer glam bags for sale or as prizes during a promotion. Recently, Ganier launched its Fructis Full and Plush Hair-care line on Ipsy and provided 100 of Phan’s vloggers with free products to give to their viewers. The ladies drew over 3 million hits and Garnier couldn’t be happier. Now the rest of the cosmetic industry has taken note. (“Serious Beauty,” by Nicole LaPorte, Fast Company, Feb. 2016, pg. 29.)
True, the majority of women still buy their cosmetics from brick and mortar stores, but the potential for changing their habits is real and so is the chance for blowout profits. That’s why social media celebrities like Phan are of growing importance.
I must give this young woman a pat on the back. She’s created opportunities for many start-up, female entrepreneurs. I regret my co-host Susan and I won’t be among them. We’re too old, lack any cosmetics sense and want to talk about books, not lipsticks. Still, we, too, serve a purpose. We introduce the public to local writers and provide our viewers with a chatty book club atmosphere. Anyone from around the globe can join us at our little YouTube hearth. All you have to do is (Click) here.
(Originally posted 2/4/16)
Courtesy of www.thegloss.com
