C&C Classifieds Nº23: Well + Good, The Spare Room, Inked & more!
Say yes to 2017 by stepping into a new career.
Happy New Year!
As we step into 2017, there are many resolutions that we may have set our minds to. New workout habits, network more frequently, call your parents more often. While these resolutions are on your list, perhaps finding a new career in the new year remains at the top of your list.
Let us help you make the next step in your career for the new year with this week's C&C Classifieds! Cheers to new opportunities in 2017!
VIEW THE FULL LISTINGS BELOW:
If you have signed up for access to the C&C Classifieds before, click here.
MORE FROM OUR BLOG
What Success & Authenticity Mean to YouTube Star Ingrid Nilsen
Living in her truth, every damn day.
In the world of YouTube there are those considered to be “top of their game.” Beauty blogger Ingrid Nilsen is one such name. Her charm and smile are infectious. As is her honesty. "First of all," she says in a recent "July Favorites" upload, "I just have to say that I am on my period."
“I don’t see myself at the top as much as I see myself as successful,” she tells us when we chat a few weeks later. “Those are two different things for me. I think that my success is rooted in the intention of helping other people and moving in the direction of love. Everything that I do in my life revolves around those two intentions.”
Ingrid has followed that intention from the very beginning of her jump into YouTube. Now 27, she uploaded her first video over seven years ago. It hasn’t always been smooth vlogging. The wwwaves are rough and first videos can be choppy. Ingrid’s first upload has been described as painfully awkward, something that makes her laugh now, but in and of itself is a success, having started video blogging as a way to get over a fear of public speaking.
“That,” she says, “has kept me rooted and has made me feel truly successful. You can have millions of subscribers, you can, numbers wise be at the top, but you can also feel really unhappy being there too. That’s why I don’t equate being at the top with my success. I felt really successful from the beginning.”
“Reflecting on that, recognizing and accepting that,” she says of the initial video, “will carry you through difficult times you’re bound to encounter.”
She’s had her share. She first got into makeup to deal with the passing of her father. It became a way to express what was happening inside of her. “Experimenting with makeup was a way for me to navigate my grief from losing my father when I was a teenager,” she says. It’s also why she doesn’t agree with the idea that you can’t be a makeup blogger and authentic. “I think behind every person wearing mascara, lipstick, foundation… is a story that’s waiting to be told.”
"I don’t equate being at the top with my success. I felt really successful from the beginning.”
Tweet this.
“I talk a lot about being comfortable with yourself,” she says when we talk beauty standards and authenticity. She comes up against a fairly standard argument, those who say that the two are mutually exclusive. “I think beauty standards in general are harsh and I wish our standards were simply acceptance and love-- the world would look very different, but people think makeup is used as a mask,” she says, “and it can be. But for so many makeup is used as a tool to navigate something internal. And if this is the tool that helps someone navigate something inside of themselves, let them have it. Let them have this outlet. It’s so important.”
She does acknowledge that there is much more pressure for young girls. "There is definitely a lot more," she says, "because there’s more information and access,”
"When you become completely consumed by these images-- which, is not to put anyone consuming the content at fault because there is just so much and you come across it without even trying to look for it-- it has an effect on young people. It makes them feel like life is a competition and love is a competition, and that beauty is a competition. It’s not. I think that digging into and trying to find a deeper awareness of yourself is really important to navigate this world we live in. This stuff,” she adds, “isn’t going to go away.”
Though she's a "beauty" blogger, dishing on winged eyeliner and lipstick hacks, Ingrid feels "the most beautiful when I’m crying." She tells us. "I may not feel that way the entire time, but I'll remind myself, this is the moment when I feel the most beautiful because I’m completely exposed.”
“Everyday, whether it’s a good day or a bad day I look in the mirror and see myself. I’m not always thrilled, but I see myself , I'm grateful for that. That has not always been the case.”
Still from "Something I Want You to Know."
In her coming out video titled, “Something I Want You to Know,” Ingrid told her subscribers the she was gay. The video has over 15 million views to date. "I'm gay," she tells the camera, laughing and crying, "it feels so good to say that."
Though it felt “natural and important" to her, it was also "a big step in bringing my audience closer and letting them in. I didn’t want to hide. I didn’t want to shut them out."
"YouTube has been a space where people can be themselves, and be themselves in whatever light that is that day and receive acceptance," she says. "I think that’s why it’s why it’s so accepting of the LGBQT community. It’s rooted in authenticity and acceptance at its core."
Receiving acceptance is a huge part of why she keeps doing the work and sharing herself with the world. “I give a lot, but I also receive so much from the people I meet and the comments I receive online. I am fueled by the people in my community who care and accept me.”
Even with success she’s not immune to impostor syndrome. “I’ve felt this so many times, but those feelings are coming from a place of fear. Everything I have and love in my life right now are all things that once completely terrified me. So I think the way I work through those feelings of, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing’ or ‘why are people following me?’ stems from my willingness to surrender to my mediocrity. I’m not going to be good at everything. Getting to that level of humility takes work."
“A lot of times of what you really want is on the other side of fear,” she notes. You have to go straight through, there’s no shortcut.
"I am fueled by the people in my community who care and accept me.”
Tweet this.
When it comes to her work, she's found, not a shortcut, but a bit more balance. In the beginning she was shooting, editing, and posting the same day-- a grind that wore her fine. “When you’re doing that for years,” she says, “it can really take a toll on your general well being.” Now she does a quarterly brainstorm with Eileen, who manages her day-today. They "brain dump" ideas and then really hone in on the forthcoming season, events, and holidays. When possible she likes to shoot a month in advance.
“I think that there is always a balance,” she says about creating content. “Content that your audience wants but doesn’t require you to lose your authenticity. There’s always a sweet spot and I try to find that sweet spot."
She was “a lot more stressed out,” in the beginning. “I was pumping out as much content as I could, whenever I could, and the turnaround was much faster.” But she knows that the work she put in at the start, what she calls an “I will not stop mentality,” is what got her where she is today. “Having the experience of a one-day turnaround was essential to my growth.”
Today she is committed to being her most authentic self. "You have to know where you stand and what you feel comfortable with." So how does Ingrid know what she’s comfortable with? “Sometimes what I’m comfortable with is being uncomfortable," she says, "especially if it means that I’m moving in the direction of emotional bravery."
She doesn’t know exactly what’s in her future, but she does know that "it will be exciting." She credits this to moving "in the direction of truth and helping other people. I would love to figure out a way to make something that’s tangible-- a product, book, or something that I can put into people’s hands and have them feel the energy that I put into my work and my life every single day.”
Ingrid will be joining us on panel at #CreateCultivateATL-- there are just a couple of ticket left!
MORE FROM OUR BLOG
YouTube Star Shares Her 3 Essential Tools for Creating Video Content
Melissa Alatorre is giving us 1-2-3 steps.
Self-taught professional makeup artist and YouTuber Melissa Alatorre clearly has a knack for figuring things out for herself. The San Diego born has amassed over 250,000 subscribers in a little over a year, having only joined the platform in 2015.
That's right. The first-generation Mexican-American MUA joined YouTube April 21, 2015. So for those of you who think it's too late to start, Melissa is living proof that if you put your mind to something, you will get it done. (And perhaps look drop dead gorgeous while doing so.)
We caught up with Melissa ahead of Create & Cultivate Atlanta, where she'll be joining us on panel, to talk tips, learning the basics of videography, and the one thing she really "sucks" at.
In a little over a year, you have gotten over 250k subscribers on YouTube. For some content creators, it's almost impossible to get that many followers in that short amount of time - what do you credit your success to?
I would have to say that passion, persistence and consistency are what really helped me gained a following. I had been wanting to start a YouTube channel for over 3 years but never had the right tools in order to get started so as soon as I did I knew that I had to hit the ground running. This is something that I am not only passion it about, but I also knew it was what I wanted be doing with my life full time. So I began producing 2-3 videos a week and putting my all in to them to make them the absolute best I could at the time. I also made sure that my videos weren’t just there to watch for entertainment, I wanted to really teach my viewers how to improve their makeup skills having been a freelance makeup artist for years. I think my subscribers have noticed that and for that reason my videos have resonated well with not only them but with everyone they share my videos with!
"Passion, persistence, and consistency are what really helped me gained a following."
Tweet this.
You created your YouTube channel after already having built an Instagram following. How was your transition from just posting on Instagram to creating video content?
What’s interesting is that you think everyone from Instagram would immediately just follow you on to YouTube, but that wasn’t the case for me. I would say about 30-40% of my followers actually went over and subscribed to my channel, so my thoughts were “Dang, this is going to be so HARD!” Then miraculously my YouTube channel managed to surpass my Instagram following... by a lot! I think that my Instagram has now become a platform for promoting my videos, whereas before it was more so just creating beautiful images that weren’t linked to any other external content. I tell everyone Instagram has become your magazine/TV Guide that is simply there to visually please the human eye on a daily basis, whereas YouTube is your TV show that people are more actively engaged with and more emotionally connected to.
What are your keys to creating a great video?
Great lighting…just kidding, but not really. Great lighting, camera set up and all the technical production aspects are obviously keys to a great video but what matters most is the content you are producing. Like I mentioned, in the beginning my videos were NOT a great quality, production wise (even though I thought they were at the time) but people, my subscribers still loved my videos because the content was great - they could care less that the tungsten bulbs I was using were making me look a pale shade of yellow. A great video/content has to have substance, it needs to provide your viewers with something that will benefit them. In my case, it’s showing my viewers my “ secret” little tips and tricks on how to make your makeup look its best.
Since you started your YouTube channel, what are some of the things that you've learned along the way about creating video content?
Plan your content in advance, again, think of your channel as a TV show. Don’t just throw content out there for the sake of having to upload a video weekly. Take the time to plan out what videos you will be uploading on what dates and around trends that are current. The more you carefully plan and strategize your content the better response your videos will get. Also, use all the other tools available to you in order to promote your channel - Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc.. It makes a HUGE difference #snapchatfam.
"The more you carefully plan and strategize your content the better response your videos will get."
Tweet this.
What are three essential tools to creating your video content?
1. Familiarize Yourself with Some Basic Videography Knowledge
I get SO many emails from aspiring YouTubers that simply say, “What are your camera setting and lighting, please tell me.” I encourage everyone to watch some YouTube videos on basic videography skills because you are going to have to tailor your filming setup to what you are working with. My setup might be completely different from yours. What if I film in a dark dungeon with no lighting? You'd never know! Haha. Same thing goes for editing software and lighting, just watch some YouTube videos on it and learn the basics, after that it’s all trial and error!
2. Utilize Your Audience
Really listen to them and take into account what their needs are and what they want to see you do next on your channel, after all without them there is no us!
3. Be Active on Your Channel
Don’t just upload and disappear, engage with your audience in the comment section and on your other socials, it makes a difference!
How do you create a content calendar to make sure you have a new video every week?
To be honest, I suck at this so, next question… hahahaha. I’m in the process of planning out a 3-month system so I have my videos planned out strategically.
What are your tips on creating collaborations with other content creators?
Try to meet other content creators organically versus just emailing them first. If you can go to events where other content creators will be at and engage with them in that way first. Then spark up a conversation about a potential collaboration. Also, collaborate with creators that have a similar style to yours so that the collaboration has a great response from both of your audiences, not just one or the other.
What are three strategies that you abide by to make sure your content is always getting traction and your channel is always growing?
1. Utilizing ALL the social media channels that are out there to my full disposal - when a video is freshly uploaded tell your Snapchat fam to go watch, post on Instagram that it’s live, and have Twitter automatically tweet out your new video.
2. Upload videos on the same days each week - I still struggle with this from time to time but I try to stick to every Tuesday and Friday. My subscribers LOVE Quick Tip Tuesday videos!
3. Stay creative - Don’t just upload the same thing one after the other, after the other. People get bored easily and will drop off, keep everyone entertained with new and fresh content that will get shared and attract new subscribers!
Tickets for #CreateCultivateATL are going fast! To catch Melissa on panel be sure to snag your ticket now.
More from our blog:
C&C Classifieds Nº10: The Heat Is On - Find Your New Career Move
May the odds be ever in your favor.
Photo by @pistol_sf
You’ve thought about it too long, and the time has come for you to put the pen to paper and fill out some job applications. If you were skeptical before about making the next career move, don’t worry. Your next career move is yours for the taking.
Check out this week’s listings from YouTube, Netflix, Reformation, Edelman, BloomThat and so many others for you to take a look at.
Good luck! May the odds be ever in your favor.
If you have signed up for access to the C&C Classifieds before, click here.
What Is Transgender Model Gigi Gorgeous' Most Vulnerable Career Move Yet?
We chat self love and big dreams.
Being inspired keeps up alive. And YouTube star Gigi Gorgeous, currently clocking 2.2 million followers on the video platform and 2 million on Insta, is nothing short of inspiring. Born Gregory Lazzarato, the middle of three brothers, Gigi began sharing YouTube videos from her bedroom in Toronto in 2008. They were confessionals, makeup tutorials, and normal goofy videos with high school friends. At the time Gigi identified as a gay male, receiving support from both her parents. Her brothers appeared in videos alongside her as well.
For a 14-year-old, Catholic school kid in Toronto, she says YouTube was “an amazing outlet,” and like we hear from so many bloggers, it was a creative space where she nestled into an online community.
“I found so many people online through my comment section who were like me, and I think that’s what is so amazing about YouTube. You can type in any topic and find it— it makes you feel like you’re not alone.”
The first YouTuber Gigi watched online was Michelle Phan, "pre-empire," when she doing makeup tutorials. “That’s what got me started, I was a huge fan of her, I started making videos and grew a community from there.”
It was after losing her mother to cancer that Gigi posted a video officially identifying as transgender. That was December 2013. She had spent the year prior not posting anything too personal to the channel. It was a move she recognized as not “fair to her fans,” later citing one of the reasons as wanting to “keep being the person that they loved.” In perfect makeup and fuzzy blue sweater she told her audience, “I’ve done some soul searching… I’m not the same person I was when I started my YouTube channel. It’s still my heart, it’s still my body, it’s still my mind, I’m just choosing to be identified as a different gender.”
It was an exercise in self love that she calls “successful and freeing.”
“Obviously not everyone has had as dramatic an experience as transitioning to another gender, but everyone is under pressure, everyone doubts themselves.”
"Everyone is under pressure, everyone doubts themselves." #selflove
Tweet this.
Looking back at her 14-year-old self she says, “I was so out there and unapologetic. I was in my own world, which I kind of still am. I was having fun.”
Fun is a lot of what Gigi has online, from answering fan questions to blindfold taste tests with Kylie Jenner, but she draws a fairly definitive line between her online personality and off. She’s always honest and forthcoming, but also acknowledges she hasn’t always shown an emotional side. For some it might be hard to imagine that Gigi, who has shared endless personal stories and laughs with her viewers, could share more. However this fall, she is, with a forthcoming documentary that follows her transition.
Gigi says she's "over the moon" about the release while also recognizing, "It's the most vulnerable thing I’ve ever done. It wasn’t just months. It’s years of footage and I’m sharing things that are so personal.”
The documentary will show an “in depth” view of her transition, “sadness, happy parts— there are tears," she says. "I go into aspects of my life that I’ve never touched on on my YouTube channel: family, relationships, really going in depth with my transition, whatever you haven’t seen on my YouTube channel, you’ll see in the documentary.”
It was a move she was hesitant to make and admits to being nervous about the camera crew following her around. “I do like to keep myself somewhat private, and online, making videos from my bedroom I have control over that. It was nerve-wracking but it was freeing,” she says.
“I think a lot of people watch my channel and think that everything is perfect, but the documentary shows that I am just like everybody else and I’ve gone through a really hard time.”
Still a hard time hasn’t slowed her down. She’s spent almost a decade in front of the camera. She edits all her own videos. She's taken acting classes and made a few moves in the world of cinema. As to who she wants to work with? "Any major star would be amazing," she says. "I really love acting." But she's also broken barriers, working with major brands like Pantene and Crest- what she calls “pinch me moments.” "When I signed the deal for the Crest campaign for 3D White, I bawled my eyes out to my dad, but it shows what you put in, is what you get out.” She’d love to work with MAC cosmetics, she says “for the same reason I use the products every day. I’m never going to work with someone that doesn’t align with me. It was the first makeup I ever bought as a young teenager, and that was a huge moment. I love their brand through and through.”
At the end of the day Gigi’s dreams “are to be happy,” adding, “I think everyone can relate to that.” As a role model for the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ youth, Gigi also serves as a role model to anyone who has ever felt alone, confused— human, really. Again, thinking back on her younger self she says, “I would tell myself to be strong. You’re going to get shutdown and feel alone and depressed, but I would also applaud myself.”
“If you’re feeling alone or not accepted, turn to YouTube, find a group of people or a community online, or in real life if you can, where people love and accept you for you," she says. "No one is alone. I definitely felt alone, but love yourself and find people around that support you.”
"No one is alone. I definitely felt alone, but love yourself and find people around that support you.”
Tweet this.
Standing ovation is more like it.
Be sure to catch Gigi on panel when she joins us for #CreateCultivateATL and follow her on IG, Twitter, and YouTube.
Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's editorial director. Follow her @ariannawrotethis.
More from our blog:
Building Your Audience: Two Maker Studios Executives Share the Secrets
"There are a lot of things we do, that content creators can't do on their own."
THE YEAR IS 2009. JUSTIN BIEBER IS 15 AND HAS BEEN CAPITALIZING ON THE POWER OF YOUTUBE FOR JUST ONE YEAR, HAVING BEEN DISCOVERED ON THE PLATFORM.
You might not remember it, but Maker Studios, the now largest content network on YouTube which attracts more than 10 billion views every month with over 650 million subscribers, certainly does.
In 2009 a group of dynamic content creators joined together to drive audiences to a single destination–The Station. Maker is now home to top digital stars, multiple channels, and content, where programming is organized by genre. Court Petrie, Head of Audience, and Rona Moser, Director of Programming, spearhead Life + Style, developing content for The Platform, Maker's global beauty and fashion destination. With shows like The Fashion Statement with LA DJ and trendsetter Amy Pham, The Platform has over 37M views on YouTube.
But with ever-changing platforms, why is YouTube and Maker still relevant?
"With ever-changing platforms, why is YouTube and Maker still relevant?"
According to Court it doesn't hurt that Maker is, "one of the oldest multi-channel networks. We’re the pioneers," he says, "the OGs if you will." But even OGs have to pivot and change. "We’re moving past being a multi-channel network and into being a true media company," explains Court, "with a focus on original programming and intellectual property. We want our creators to constantly be creating and pushing their brand, and that is where we are really strong."
Strong they are, at least if Disney's nearly 1 billion dollar March 2015 acquisition is proof for the Maker pudding. In a deal that raised a few eyebrows and got comment sections shaking, Maker received 500 million upfront, cementing the company's belief in the massive opportunity that short form digital video holds.
It's strategically-enhanced storytelling with plenty of room for growth and expansion. In 2016 Court and Rona are focusing on pushing their current audience, trying to get new audiences, and thinking about what will do well in distribution with Maker's 20 plus distribution partners in the US and worldwide, maintaining that content creators should be thinking about this in the same way.
As for retaining an audience in an over-saturated market both content and platform-wise, it's a two-part strategy: "Audience is based on listen and learn," explains Rona. "You have audience comments- listen to those. Learn their habits. When are they dropping off? When are they tuning in? For instance, with The Fashion Statement we know if they don't see the looks upfront in some kind of a montage, they aren’t going to stay to watch."
"Audience is based on listen and learn."
Tweet this.
Adds Court, "You have to look at the algorithms and the numbers to figure out how to bubble your content up."
In terms of new platforms, they think betting on Facebook Live is a pretty safe. And over the next year audiences can expect a rebrand from The Platform as well as Court's strategy for social programming that involves Snapchat and Instagram working together.
“We know what we do really well. As long as we create strong brands, we can change platforms easily. You can't just be on YouTube anymore. This is the time where you can experience and grow your brand and grow your audience,” heartens Court.
"As long as we create strong brands, we can change platforms easily. You can't just be on YouTube anymore."
Tweet this.
“Women are looking for inspirational, but relatable content,” says Rona. “That’s what we want to develop, and that’s not always a ten-second clip.”
The biggest mistake they see with new talent is inconsistency. "You have to figure out a system," explains Rona. "Whether that's Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, or something else, but you have to have a schedule."
"There's a reason it's called social programming," says Court. "It needs to be consistent. But early on you should be taking risks and trying new things. I've had a lot of conversations with green content creators who say, 'This is my brand,' but they're not established enough yet, so taking risks is paramount."
Which means breaking from the pack. "Everyone is doing 'What's in my Bag' and smokey eye tutorial," Rona points out. "Don't do that. You do you boo."
"Everyone is doing 'What's in my Bag' and smokey eye tutorial. Don't do that. You do you boo."
Tweet this.
The talent Maker wants to get in bed with are those with an original POV-- because what Court and Rona are looking for are the possibilities beyond short-form. For instance, developing a television show that's unique to that person, merchandise that's special, and brand partnerships that live online and off. They need to understand the 'why' behind the talent before they can start a conversation with a brand. You can post a photo that everyone else is posting, but if there isn’t intention or your voice behind it, “You’re just another follower,” says Rona.
Two such Maker talent with an understanding of their respective brands are Chriselle Lim and Alisha Marie. "Chriselle is one of those rare talents that has mastered her brand on every platform, says Court. "Her brand carries out across platforms in a very fluid way. There are large brands that don’t do it as well as she does."
"Luck," vocalizes Rona, "has nothing to do with it. The most successful talent in the content game understand the numbers and analytics." Something Court and Rona say the Create & Cultivate audience will glean from listening to Maker's roster talk about harnessing the power of digital platforms this coming May 7th.
As Rona says, "Be a beginning." Which is clearly something Maker has been doing since 2009.
Images shot by Joshua Escueta.