Launched six months ago by (full disclosure here) former strategy writer Kristen Vinakmens, the thrice-weekly SugarShock blog is catching on with both readers and advertisers. ‘I have an audience of female readers who are beauty- and fashion-savvy and have money to spend,’ she tells MiC. ‘And as a beauty junkie myself, I suspect that my readers are willing to spend more on the premium products I cover exclusively.’
Marketers that have advertised on SugarShock so far include Lush, Benefit Cosmetics, eluxury.com and Makeup.com. Vinakmens says industry sectors that would benefit from following suit are ‘beauty and cosmetics brands as well as fashion brands and, potentially, packaged goods.’ She adds that she is ‘open to the idea of doing brand advertorials on the site.’
While unique monthly page views are currently a modest 2,500, SugarShock is garnering much broader exposure thanks to belonging to two related networks – the newly launched Splendicity.com and the Beauty Blog Network. As well, Vinakmens says readers are frequently referred to her site by other beauty and fashion websites.
Style-wise, she says her approach is ‘to cover beauty in a conversational, approachable way, while giving readers the lowdown on brands they may never have heard of – all with cheeky, girlfriend-to-girlfriend commentary.’ All in all, Vinkamens describes SugarShock as ‘the online destination for the dish on the latest and greatest high-end beauty products, trends and celebrity beauty.’
With half a year’s experience under her couture belt, Vinkamens says she’s now getting aggressive at publicizing her blog. ‘I have Facebook and MySpace pages to get the word out, and I’ve been seeding the site by reaching out to fellow beauty and fashion bloggers, as well as posting on beauty forums and message boards, where potential readers are likely to be.’ As well, she recently began sending press releases to consumer and beauty trade magazines and general-market newspapers.
