When Esi and I decided to host meetups in London, we doubted people would book time to meet with us. However, with no website, and hardly any industry clout, we had three days worth of meetings with individuals looking to build their brands and gain exposure.
📷Esi (left) and I (right) in London, England. Esi is my friend with a Film & Production background, she helped me launch my business and encouraged me to start taking clients.
When we decided to build The Blacklist it was because we constantly received similar requests of support from prominent creatives and brands within the African Diaspora — help to find money, getting publicity and bringing brand activations to life. With all the incredible ideas we were faced with it was a shame that most of these individuals didn’t have the right resources or support in bringing their vision to fruition.
The Blacklist is a different affiliate marketing platform that specializes in enhancing brands and creatives within the African Diaspora. It’s a service dedicated to nurturing collaborations, pioneering brand alignment and structuring brand development. This is done by offering tools for sponsorship procurement, event production and publicity.
At first, I thought that the competition would be stiff and that so many platforms already fill this gap. But, after a passionate discussion with Nike London’ Brand Director over breakfast, I realized that The Blacklist’s approach is less focused on a scout to make money process, but more on a people forward approach that considers the values, synergies and development of our clients. While fast money is easy, I know the value in setting the proper foundations to have invested money of a lifetime. Every client that I’ve come across has reiterated how hard it is to find people who provide our services but focused heavily on the vision of their clients. It appears that within our millennial narcissistic society, it’s difficult to find people bending over backwards to see the success of other individuals and their platforms.
Original Definition of Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. The process involves a platform, a network, a buyer and commission. You find a product you like, promote it to others and earn a piece of the profit for each sale made.
Blacklist Definition of Affiliate Marketing: Working alongside creatives and brands to develop their business ideas to gain sponsorship, publicity and perform successful activations. The process involves strategic marketing and research networks that benefit the alignment of clients and potential buyers.
In early June, Esi pushed me to put it out there that we’ll be in London and we’re looking to talk to individuals who might need/want our services. So I sent a tweet out and posted on our Instagram. Our whole following is just over 300, so I wasn’t too optimistic. But, I should’ve known that as a Marketing professional, vanity numbers shouldn’t be prioritized. Within a day, we received two bookings, and I was shocked! I texted Esi saying “People actually want to meet with us.”
Fast forward to the week of July 4th, 2018; we had three days worth of meetings from a range of creatives doing spectacular things throughout various industries within the U.K. One woman brought a sample of her product, others showed us demo videos, online portfolios and more. At the end of each meeting, each person made it a duty to share that they were incredibly excited to work with us and find a platform that is offering this kind of support. We even continued to have people who couldn’t meet in person, reach out to us online with warm regards.
The feedback from the meetings was music to my ears, but also reminded me of my time in South Africa. In Johannesburg it became evident that many Black creatives and entrepreneurs don’t have the backing of PR firms, agencies and managers to set them on the path to greatness. So many people were doing it by themselves and hoping for the best, ultimately missing out on so much. In a conversation with Soweto based Influencer, Twiggy Moli, she mentioned that it’s rare for Black Influencers to get that sort of support we’re offering and what we’re doing will go a long way for so many.
I haven’t solidified a slogan just as yet, but often find myself repeating “catch flights, and secure the bag.” Coming from a Travel Marketing background, I can’t help but encourage my clients and peers to take their vision and ideas worldwide; and securing the bag is self-explanatory. With less than a year into work, I’m elated by the work that continues to come our way, and I can’t wait to help more individuals of the African diaspora get their ideas and brands elevated to higher heights.
