Mark - Blogs - Black Business Women Online

Be Famous Online Too

Posted by Tamara Garrison-Thomas on June 25, 2012 at 5:53pm

Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. Whether you want to admit it or not, we all have had thoughts about being famous or popular for something (whether business-wise or talent-wise. I will be focusing on business). Hence why you started a business or why you are thinking of starting a business. That does not make you narcissistic at all, it actually shows how selfless you are. Because businesses always provide a NEED for people and you are helping them in one way or the other. However, as we all start out in business the goal is for people to flock to our website and to become...FAMOUS! We want to become famous for our services or our products or our blogging content, our brand! Unfortunately, it does not always come as fast as it did for Justin Bieber via YouTube or Mark Zuckerberg via Facebook or even within 6 months of blogging like Perez Hilton. So sometimes we have to take matters into our own hands. Below are a few tips on how to become famous online too, like these people did.

Step 1: Figure out what you want to be famous for

Whether it is for your business services, products or content, make it a goal to be the best. Another way to put this, is to find your niche and create a brand. If you want to be famous for creating great websites, figure out who you are selling websites to? What age group? What type of businesses? Why should they work with you? You need to make sure that however you are presenting your website brand, it is more creative and better than anyone else that is selling websites. You should try your best to come up with ideas that APPEAL to the people you are trying to reach.

Also, define what being famous online means to you. Do you want to be famous online for having a great company? Do you want to be famous online for having the best coaching services and products? Do you want to be famous online for making money from being the best blogger on business matters or women's fashion? Do you want to be famous online for a great personality and creative website? Do you want to be famous online for being the best video creator of advertisements? Do you want to be famous online for being the best short story writer? First you have to decide how you will be famous so you can stay focused on your online journey to fame.

Step 2: Get to know your computer

There are SO many programs, some FREE, that can help you accomplish ANYTHING you want online. Whether it is to create your own website, get a domain name, create a logo, create an ecommerce site, or blog (befamousonline2.com), you can do it all online. You can find customers or leads, do lots of social networking, learn how to create your own autoresponder and advertisements. There is a lot of information on the internet. Just go to GOOGLE.COM and find the answers to ANYTHING you are looking for.

Step 3: Do your research

You should be familiar with the saying, "You don't have to reinvent the wheel". In some form or other, what you are looking to do has been done. Research people that have done it, or close to doing what you are interested in doing to become famous online. Find people you like or you feel are competition and start your own imaginery competition against them. Always keep watch of what they are doing so you can avoid it and do something greater. Find out what didn't work for people. Read books about people who are doing what you are interested in doing and how they got famous. Email people you are interested in knowing more about and ask them questions about what they went through to get famous online. This all helps you from going into your project blindly and to be aware of all of the obstacles you have to face.

Step 4: Market yourself

Facebook. Twitter. Youtube. Just to name a few. All great starts to getting your brand out there and finding your road to becoming famous online too. Also look into paid advertisements like Google ads and Facebook ads.

Step 5: Spend the time

Let's get serious here. Although the people above appear to have come out of nowhere, they did A LOT to get to where they are now. And they have to continue to fight to stay relevant and fresh. Think about it, overnight, Justin Bieber's voice changed and all of a sudden he's crooning like Barry White and STILL famous. Mark Zuckerburg has had so many rumors spread about him and people disappointed in the Facebook changes etc., but you don't see too many people deleting their pages. And Perez Hilton has to make cameos here and there just so we'll remember he is still around. My Point? Is that you are going to have to spend a lot of time building your brand and keeping it a brand. Please do not be alarmed by any of the following conditions:

Sleepless nights because of all of the ideas swirling in your head
Late nights UP on the computer, writing content or editing websites (what do you think I am doing right now), preparing for interviews, photo shoots, etc.
Taking your computer everywhere so you can work when you have a free second
Constantly researching for new ways to market yourself, trying them all and only finding a few that really work for you. (results will vary)
Sharing your ideas with people you think are as excited as you are, only to be disappointed by their response (WARNING: Do not pay attention to the reaction of those in family, spousal or amicable roles. They do not know your vision or have the same passion. And you cannot make them. Keep following your dreams and hit them up AFTER the first $million$ They'll really want to listen then!)

Make sure to be consistent. Give yourself a deadline for putting your ALL into your brand building towards being famous. 90 days is ideal. If you work really hard you may begin to see the BEGINNING fruits of your labor within 90 days. However, your hard work does not stop after the 90 days. You have to keep working towards your dream. Show off your writing skills, services or products. Be nice to everyone that communicates with you. Remember to be creative. Lastly, stay motivated and focused on your goal to be famous online too, today!

Tamara Garrison-Thomas

P.S. If you are still looking for a way to Be Famous Online Too with blogging, get access to this video. You'll see actual stories of real people (previously struggling to be famous online) who are well.... let's just say.... famous now! (before you click this link, make sure to grab a piece of paper to take notes after you have access)

http://www.BeFamousOnline2.info

What I learned from the movies - 'Date Night'

Posted by Sonya Dunn on April 12, 2010 at 8:40pm

First and foremost, I am a HUGE Steve Carell. He is a comic genius. Second, this is my first blog post on this subject title. So, the format will most likely change over the next couple of months. Lastly, I strongly believe a film has done its job if it can entertain and enlighten at the same time. Now, on to the commentary.

My husband and I saw the film Date Night this weekend. If I didn't say it before, let me now, I AM A HUGE STEVE CARELL FAN!. COMIC GENUIS!

Date Night is about a married couple trying to relight the flame of passion and intimacy in their ritualistic daily lives. Their normal weekly date night is just as boring as the other parts of their lives. They decide to try something different. Everything goes wrong for them and this is were the lessons are learned.

Ten Things I Learned From The Movie DATE NIGHT

Your husband can come up with a good plan every now and then
Just becuase your girlfriend is unhappy, don't bring her drama into your marriage
Steve Carell is a comic genius
Your never too old to share a plate of food(with one spoon or fork) with your spouse
Always know someone like Marky Mark (Sorry, Mark Wahlberg) to help you get out of bad situations
Steve Carell is a comic genius
You can't just make a marriage work. You have to work at the marriage.
Counting to 3 or 5 or 10 work for adults as well as kids
Steve Carell is a comic genius
You know your spouse is a keeper when they go to things they HATE becuase they want to shoe there support for you.

Okay, I owe you three more:

Just becuase marriage is a compromise, don't compromise on who you are
Men love it when you dress up for them
Never take someone reservation. That's just wrong. Nothing but bad karma will come from that

And that is what I learned from the movies.

NY Times Article: Avon's Little Sister Is Calling

Posted by Tracey Fisher on January 26, 2010 at 3:55pm

The following is a re-print of an article that I found in the NY Times and I wanted to share it with you. Please take a moment to read it and let me know what you think. Thanks and enjoy!Greg Sailor for The New York TimesKristiauna Mangum, left, an Ohio State University student and the campus sales manager for Mark cosmetics, with Amanda Heintzelman, a sales representative.By CAMILLE SWEENEYPublished: January 13, 2010

KRISTIAUNA MANGUM, 22, a senior at Ohio State University in Columbus, said she always had a flair for makeup, but never considered it a professional calling. Then she heard about a pilot college program offered by Avon’s little sister brand, Mark, two years ago. “My mother was an Avon Lady, so I thought, huh, maybe becoming a Mark Girl could really be the way to go,” she said.

Greg Sailor for The New York TimesDIGITAL TOOL A Mark iPhone app.Now Ms. Mangum is the sales manager for Mark at Ohio State, and manages 155 other Mark Girls who roam the dormitories and sorority houses, selling Mark beauty products and fashion accessories for a commission in the range of 20 to 50 percent.“It’s really a grass-roots kind of thing, hitting the dorms, sororities, Facebook,” said Ms. Mangum, who uses her share of the profit, about $800 a month, to help settle her student loans. “I even rented space at local high school fairs — with 16- and 17-year-olds, you can move a lot of lip gloss,” said Ms. Mangum, whose major is marketing.She is one of more than 40,000 Mark Girls in North America, mainly 18- to 24-year-old women who are changing the nature of direct sales by using the brand’s personalized e-boutiques, iPhone app and new Facebook e-shop, one of the beauty industry’s first forays into Facebook e-commerce.“We’ve taken the same DNA of direct selling that has always been a part of Avon’s history and applied it to the digital world for our Mark reps to reach their customers,” said Claudia Poccia, president of Mark at Avon, which introduced the brand in 2003. “Now, we’re offering our Mark reps the opportunity to sell products not just door to door, but on Facebook, wall to wall.”The Mark brand is evolving. It has its own spokeswoman, Lauren Conrad, the former reality TV star of “The Hills,” now a fashion designer and best-selling author of “L.A. Candy.” Its Facebook fan page has over 84,000 fans. According to estimates from Stifel Nicolaus, an investment bank, Mark’s revenue last year was about $70 million.Unlike other companies involved in direct sales — including Amway, which may dedicate a product line or two to a more youth-oriented market, or Mary Kay and Avon, whose products are geared toward middle-aged women — Mark focuses almost exclusively on teenagers and women under 30.The younger demographic, at least concerning sales representatives, has its drawbacks. “The fact that the reps are younger can mean different rules apply as to how a direct-selling company is going to have to manage them,” said Linda Bolton Weiser, a managing director of consumer equity research at Caris & Company, an investment bank. “There could be questions about volume limits and credit — a younger rep may be cut off earlier. And, if a rep is under 18, obviously you would need parental permission.”Still, Mark’s motto — “Make your mark” — seems to resonate with its zealous representatives.But can Tweets and news feeds from Mark Girls compete with over a century of Avon Ladies’ experience?Because of the difference in how the products are branded and the separation between Avon and Mark representatives (those selling Avon can also sell Mark products, but not the other way around), there is some internal competition among representatives.On the mark.girl discussion board on Facebook, the Mark-versus-Avon topic sparked a lively debate when one Mark representative wrote: “Has anybody else noticed Avon reps not taking the Mark product seriously?” An Avon representative replied: “A lot of Avon women I know don’t push Mark because it has a lower profit as compared to the Avon core product line.”Some experts in the beauty business are fans of Mark. “It really helps that Mark has such low price points,” said Elaine D’Farley, beauty director of Self magazine. “Visually, it’s fun. The products hit the trend.”Indeed, products such as the magnetic refillable color palette compact ($4) and Hook Ups (about $10) — two-ended cosmetic dispensers that can be customized to connect, for example, lip gloss and lip pencil, eyeliner and mascara — are so popular, as one Mark representative said, that “they’re impossible to keep in my purse.”But some products have been criticized online, where a bad review may resonate more negatively than an item quietly returned to a store. On the Mark Web site, one reviewer said that a cheek tint left “zero shimmer on my cheek but plenty on my hands.” And on Makeupalley, a forum for comments on beauty products, a reviewer complained about Mark’s Good Riddance: “I have under eye circles and it didn’t even come close to covering them.”But when it comes to using social media tools to sell services or products, Annemarie Frank, director of digital media and strategic alliance of Mark at Avon, said the viral nature of Mark’s brand presence is what company executives are after.“Mark Girls can advertise their ability to sell products right on their Facebook profiles, and the widget functionality of Mark’s e-shop enables us to drop the shop into other places to give the brand a presence wherever people hang out online,” she said.Of course, Mark is not the only beauty company to use digital marketing. Direct-sales firms like Mary Kay and Avon are also using social media and online tools. Both companies have a presence on Facebook as well as apps for cellphones and hand-held devices that their representatives can use to make sales.Other skin care companies like Jafra, which also sells cosmetics, and Arbonne do less with social media.But this might be changing.The Direct Selling Association dedicated its annual communications seminar last month to new media strategies. “Attendance was double our usual number,” said Amy Robinson, an association spokeswoman. “If you’re a direct-selling company and you’re not on the Internet or making use of some of these new technologies, you’re already behind.”For college-age sales representatives, Mark’s digital and mobile offerings can inspire any number of approaches.One Mark representative, Hannah Parish, 20, a senior at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., has been selling Mark products since last January, when she ordered a Speedway Do Everything cover stick ($8) and signed up for her Mark Girl starter kit two weeks later.“I fell in love with it,” Ms. Parish said.This fall, when the Mark Rewards Program advertised a contest for all-expense-paid trips to this year’s Sundance Film Festival (a guest included) for the two highest-selling Mark Girls, Ms. Parish said, “That forced me to be really creative.”She created a Facebook event, “Send Hannah to Sundance,” and invited 600 people in her network to join. She made numerous special offers, including one to bring her best client along with her to the festival in Park City, Utah.Ms. Parish sold $6,000 worth of products; she and a friend will be traveling to the festival in two weeks.“I’m a film buff and I’ve never seen snow," she said. “When I answered the phone and heard, ‘Congratulations,’ I started screaming. My friend who bought $617 worth of merchandise and gets to come with me is still screaming.”

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.