Blog: SavvyBrown.com
Niche: Green, Health and Natural Haircare
Founder: Karama Horne
Twitter: @savvybrownblog
Savvy Brown is the perfect nom de plume for the Brooklyn-based blogger, Karama Horne. Her blog, SavvyBrown.com, is a comprehensive guide to living consciously while on a budget, covering topics from do-it-yourself natural hair care products to the ABCs of composting.
After being diagnosed with fibroids three years ago, Horne took to the Internet to research treatments and soon discovered that common ingredients in beauty and cleaning products were riddled with toxins that exacerbate the ailment. She was not only inspired to find and make her own healthy alternatives, but to share her findings and recipes with others. “Too many of us believe what we see in the media, what our doctors tell us and what our friends/neighbors/family tell us about what is possible in our lives,” Horne said.
Horne’s expertise has garnered the blogger a feature in Curly Nikki’s book “Better Than Good Hair†and a monthly feature on Carol’s Daughter’s “Transitioning Movementâ€. She was also invited to be a panelist at the 2013 New York GreenFest.
Horne is dedicated to helping others live healthier lives by proving that being green does not have to be complicated or expensive. Â Her mission to help others make better choices in their everyday lives, makes her an inspirational edition to BlackEnterprise.com
‘s 2013 Black Blogger Month series.My blog is unique because…..
I approach going ‘green,’ being ‘healthy’ and natural hair from a holistic perspective. Yes, we all want beautiful hair, but it’s attached to our bodies that also need to be cared for. It doesn’t make sense to spend all that time reading food labels, making sure what goes in your body is healthy, but not reading beauty labels to make sure what goes on your body is just as safe.
I write the blog from a ‘lazy layperson’s’ perspective. Meaning, I’m not preaching about what your carbon footprint should be or browbeating you with declining polar bear statistics. I do talk about how to make subtle changes so that you consume less, waste less, and save more. I show you how to save money by making some of your own cleaning products, so that you can afford to buy a few more organic vegetables and less medication.
People trust my brand because….
I’m very down to earth and I discuss real-world problems with real-world solutions. I think people can relate to that. I also don’t profess to be something I’m not. I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist; I’m just an informed consumer who doesn’t believe everything she’s told as well as sold.
The biggest mistake I ever made in business was…
Never sell yourself short. As you become more and more successful, there will be plenty of people out there ready and willing to do that for you.
What you learned from that was…
1) Never start a conversation about you or your business in the negative. Never say “Well, I’m not this, or I don’t really do that.â€
2) Always be able to explain what you do clearly, concisely and quickly. You need to be able to sell yourself and your brand as efficiently and expediently as possible.
3) Don’t limit yourself. Digital media, the Internet, social media and blogging are all inherently international. Stop writing for your cousin down the block and start thinking globally.
Networking in the digital space is important because….
I definitely have gotten more [page views] and readership by guest blogging on other sites. Also, running giveaways and commenting/promoting fellow bloggers posts has been really helpful. Social media is really the most important piece of the puzzle. It is well worth the time and effort, because your numbers will go up and that is very attractive to advertisers.
The biggest lesson I learned about branding in the digital space is…
Making my brand separate from me, personally. Savvy has her own social media pages. That way no matter what is going on in my personal life, it doesn’t overtly affect Savvy. When at blogger events, I usually go by ‘Savvy’ and not Karama, and when those that I’ve met contact me again, I will know how and where I met them instantly. Best decision I ever made.My idea of success is…
Being able to have a choice. To choose to work, choose to travel, chose to help someone, choose to write or choose to stay in bed all day. When you’re all stressed out, strapped for cash, unprepared or ill, you just can’t do those things.
None of my success would be possible if not for…
My mom, who always loves me no matter how crazy what I’m doing sounds, my best friend, who will tell me to my face that I’m crazy but will help me anyway and my ancestors, who have gone through so much more and come out with so much less just so I could be here. So failure is not an option.
In business you should never be afraid to…
Surround yourself with people smarter than you. You will learn something. It’s like osmosis or something.
If I weren’t in the digital space…
I can’t picture my life without the digital space.
My advice for running a blog is…
1) If you’re looking to make a whole lot of money really quickly. Don’t blog.
2) Find something that you love, read everything there is to know about it and blog about it. But write it well. Content is king.
3) If you are trying to make money with your blog, realize that it will take at least a year of working like you have an unpaid part-time internship working for a toddler for you to see any real revenue.
4) Ad sales can only do so much. It’s e-books, speaking engagements, paid writing gigs and consulting born from your blog’s audience are the things that get you paid.
5) Don’t let anybody tell you you’re too old to do it.
Be sure to check out the rest of the digital thought leaders as they’re revealed each day by logging on to BlackEnterprise.com/BlackBloggerMonth.