All Articles Tagged "black blogger"
Fab Black Vlogger: Abiola Abrams of Abiola TV.com
Source: redroom.com/
- Blog: AbiolaTV.com
- Niche: Relationships/Sex/Lifestyle
- Founder: Abiola Abrams
- Twitter: @AbiolaTV
Putting one title on Abiola Abrams is simply impossible. The proud Caribbean and Harlem-based owner of AbiolaTV.com does it all. What started off as an online hub for interview and opinion videos developed into a multi-platform mini-empire that includes books, TV appearances and product lines. What drives her? Passion. That mission statement is embodied in her site tagline: “Life is not a passive experience. It’s a passionate one.”
Abrams’ motivation is to encourage women to live their best lives everyday. Her “passion” has also lead her to publish two books (one of which, The Official Bombshell Handbook, hits stores soon), be a lifestyle expert on the CW’s Bill Cunningham talk show, pen regular advice columns for Yahoo Shine and contribute to the teen site Gurl.com. Despite having monthly traffic of 30,000, over one million YouTube hits and 14,000+Twitter followers, Abrams is still humbled about her success. Now, as part of BlackEnterprise.com’s Black Blogger Month, she discusses the business of running a passion-focused site, the importance branding and what drives her passion everyday.
The difference between blogging and vlogging is…
Like magazines to TV. It depends on the approach that a blogger/vlogger takes. I do a mix of videos from those that are highly produced—shot with two cameras and edited—to those that are just me and a Web cam. A few years back I had a great conversation with Melvin Van Peebles. I asked his advice about knowing what needs to be said and in which medium. He said to let the work dictate the medium, so some things may be a book others a blog, Web series or film.
The secret to making good TV and keeping segments from getting stale is…
Realizing that, yes, blogging and vlogging are a business but I am at service to my readers and viewers. My blog is about passionate living. So it all comes back to that. My objective is to build passionate living as a brand the same way that Martha Stewart built home keeping as a brand. She took cooking, gardening and home design and combined them under the home keeping banner. I am doing the same with “passionate living,” combining love, sex, dating and relationship advice with food, parties, empowerment, self-love affirmations and inspiration.
People trust my brand because…
A few years ago folks were calling me the “Black Carrie Bradshaw,” which I rejected as being sort of ridiculous. I am a Caribbean chick living and loving in Harlem, sharing my successes and failures. If I can have a fabulous life and help my sisters at the same time, then all is well. I say all the time that my whole reason for being is to help others know that they can live a big, fat, fun, juicy life. Carrie doesn’t eat curry chicken and struggle with her weight and student loans and the media telling her that Black women are doomed every time she turns around!
My best branding method is…
A combination of transparency and living out loud. It was very scary at first because I talk about self-empowerment but I also talk about love and sexuality. Those things are scary to talk about when working in Black media. But I realize and learn every day that the more comfortable I get, the more doors open.
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Get to Know The Savvy Shopper
Source: Black Enterprise.com
By Starrene Rhett
- Blog: Looking Fly On a Dime
- Niche: Budget Shopping/Fashion/Style
- Founder: Patrice J. Williams
- Twitter: @flyonadime
When Patrice J. Williams began working at a popular fashion magazine in New York City, she quickly realized that image was everything. However, she refused to break the bank just to keep up with the latest trends. Eventually, the New Jersey native found a solution by diving head first into her passion for thrift shopping. She got so good at finding excellent deals and top-notch pieces at bargain prices that others began to take notice. But it wasn’t until getting laid off in 2009 that Williams founded Looking Fly On a Dime,where she shares her shopping tips and strategies for helping women look chic on a budget.
Like most blogs, most of Williams’ was in print form but eventually she began video blogging her thrifty adventures, which demonstrated how much of a pro she was and that her on-camera personality was relatable to the everyday woman. In fact, it was these elements that caught the attention of talk show host Nate Berkus, who has invited Williams on his eponymous show several times as his “thrifting guru,” and landed her a permanent spot on New York City’s WPIX 11 News as the Savvy Shopper. As part of Black Blogger Month,BlackEnterprise.com caught up with the princess of thrift shopping to chat about how she turned her passion for fashion into a TV friendly brand.
I started blogging because…
I wanted a creative outlet. I was laid off from my job at a magazine and I wanted to make sure I had a daily or at least weekly project that I was working on. It was actually a late night conversation with a friend that got my wheels turning. She told me I was great at finding awesome clothes at a cheap price and she suggested I start an online show, telling viewers how to find the best deals. I wasn’t really interested in doing a show, but I thought starting a blog would be a great outlet. I wanted to create a space that was all mine, something that I had total control over. It was only natural that I focus on affordable fashion. Working in the fashion industry meant I was constantly surrounded by well-dressed women. I didn’t have the budget to mimic their style but I created my own equally fly wardrobe by shopping at thrift stores.
Looking Fly On a Dime stands out because…
My primary focus is thrift shopping. Budget blogging is nothing new, especially since the economy tanked but my niche is thrifting. Since I have such a specialized focus, I’m the go-to girl for all things thrifty. Even though I’ve been thrifting for a decade, it’s chic all of a sudden so people want to know how to thrift and I help them along the way.
People trust my brand because…
I live my brand. I don’t blog about the joys of thrifting and then spend all my cash at Bergdorf. Also, when I’m putting together content for my readers or YouTube viewers, I talk to them the same way I chat with my girlfriends. I don’t have a phony blogging “personality,” this is just me and people who connect with my brand feel my authenticity. In a sea of style blogs, readers love finding those who are genuine.
The biggest mistake I ever made in business was…
I didn’t do my research before deciding upon a blog name. Initially my site was called Living Fly on a Dime. It wasn’t until a year in to blogging that I got a friendly email from a site with a similar name that told me I was infringing upon their trademark. I picked my site name without even thinking there could be future legal issues. Luckily, I was able to change my name to Looking Fly on a Dime, which was still similar to the former name and the change didn’t confuse readers or affect the brand.
Check out the rest of Patrice’s story at BlackEnterprise.com.
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Black Enterprise’s Black Blogger of the Month: Necole Bitchie
You’ve read her site…alot, you appreciate her wit and you respect her business sense. But do you know her background story? The transition to full time blogger was not an easy one for Necole “Bitchie” Kane. In fact she was unemployed on her aunt’s couch when she saw Perez Hilton’s site and decided she could do the same thing.
Her story is truly inspirational and you can check it out at Black Enterprise.com.
