how one small detail in my content got me invited to the Maybelline HQ

How was I flown out to New York to the Maybelline headquarters to Jose Masterclass on social strategy and personal branding focused on my signature framework aka the Hugh coded method. Wow, it all started with a little Maybelline lift liner. I'm Alyssa and welcome to the Inspired Media Podcast, a space for creators, creatives, and entrepreneurs who know they're meant to do more than just stop the school. So we're putting the spotlight on the unspoken truths and unconventional takes on how to truly build a standout brand online. Now let the show begin. Hello, Bestie. So reading the title, if you're a little confused, that's totally okay. Because in this episode, I want to tell you the story of how one little lip liner changed my life. And of course, because it's me, I also want to spill the tea on the strategy, the lessons, how I even got flown out to Maybelline to host a masterclass in front of so many creators, there's so much about the event and the weekend and the highlights, just so much so let's dissect. So how did we get here? Wow, it all started with a little Maybelline lip liner. And yes, I'm working with them now, but this has been one of my favorite lip liners, like above even high end lip liners for so many years, the Maybelline lifter liner in the shade on it specifically. I love all their shades, but on it has always been like my number one for years. So naturally, while I'm getting ready to do my face to cam videos, I use their liners. Okay, I do my little lip combo in between takes. I'll touch up. I'll reapply lip liner in hand. And I'll just be talking. If you know me, you know, I talk a lot with my hands and I start to use it as a little pointer as a pen. And I'm like, wait a minute, this is now my lip liner pen. Yeah, I'm going to keep doing that. And I kept doing that consistently in my videos. And this is truly the power of having a lifestyle pillar. And if you don't know what a lifestyle pillar is, I have so many resources for you. I have a podcast episode on it. I have a free resource. I have multiple videos. All you have to do is type in lifestyle pillar inspired media co, but a lifestyle pillar was built to take little things about you, your isms, your quirks, your catchphrases, little things about you and make those things a key part of your strategy. And that's exactly what I was doing in these videos. This lip liner became a consistent reoccurring prop. So fast forward, I kept doing my videos, the lip liner was in my videos. And these are the three main things that happen. Number one, I got more engagement. And more importantly, more engagement on something that didn't have to do with my business, didn't have to do with my niche, didn't have to do with the topic I was talking about or the quote unquote value I was bringing, but it had everything to do with this little thing about me, which was my love of this lip liner. I would get comments like what shade of lip liner are you using is that a lip liner pen has anyone noticed that that's not the pen. That's a lip liner. Oh my gosh, that lip liner in your hand is so chic. Okay. So more engagement off of being me, which brings me to my second point, which was being remembered for it. And this is why I love my girlie so much. Other people would even clock when other creators are doing this. And then I love what you send this to me. I love it. I love when people send me things that they think that other people allegedly are copying me and they go inspired with the sparkly emojis inspired. Okay, but that just shows the power of the strategy. They knew me for that. So they clocked on other people were doing it, meaning even though that thing is so small, it still made me more memorable. And the third thing, this got the attention of a maveline team member. So this maveline team member DM to me said, hey, I know this you use our maveline lip liner. Can I send you some PR? And I said, oh my gosh, absolutely. They sent me all of their lip products, like a full box of lip products. I was diving in, my mom, my sister, we were diving in, we got all this PR. Okay. Then myself and this team member, we start to work together for her personal brand. Okay. Her results were amazing. Then she text me, calls me on the phone and says, hey, I have this idea kind of crazy. We've never done it before. But we have this program called the babelines who are our maveline creators. How would you like to be the first social strategist to host a masterclass for our creators? First of all, I was speechless. I was trying to keep calm. I was hyperventilating and I was like, oh my gosh, absolutely. Yes, what do I need to do? What do you need for me? Let's get on a call with your other girls with the other team. Let's build this together. Let's go back and forth. And we did, we spent months going back and forth on what this is going to look like. How it's going to be the absolute best for their creators. What we need to do, how I need to prep and just last week, I was in New York and I hosted that master class. So let me just set the scene for you because this weekend was absolutely insane. Okay. To get invited on a brand trip is insane. But then to get invited in this other way that's not, you know, I was in a part of like the babelines program. I wasn't a part of the influencers because obviously that's not why I was here. I was invited to be a speaker with such an amazing experience. So first of all, I'm not even going to lie to you. Okay. I took a red eye flight and I was exhausted. I was so tired. I was like hang by a thread. But then my spirits lifted because I walk into the room of the one hotel in Dumbo. I opened the door and it is the Brooklyn Bridge and it is one of the most stunning views I've ever seen gorgeous, beautiful, my spirits were up and I was like, oh my gosh, I have so much energy plot twist. I put on that hotel robe instantly fell asleep. Yes, instantly fell asleep. Okay. But then I got ready. Okay. Got ready for dinner, met some of the girls. The girls were curling. We had a beautiful dinner. We had such a time. Went back to my hotel room to prep for the class because yes, we prepped for the class. Okay. Wasn't just all fun and games. We prepped for the class. And my number one tip already in this episode is if you are ever hired to do any sort of speaking arrangement or speaking gig, I want you to practice your entire set naked. Okay. Naked in your hotel room. I did it and all of a sudden I was just infused with a level of confidence I've never had before. And this will be a strategy. This will be a tactic. This will be a routine. I will continue to bring with me. So there you go. Rehears naked. Okay. Went to sleep. I'm not even going to lie to you. I had like four hours of sleep, three to four hours of sleep. But don't worry because I did get my coffee. I did get my coffee. I was hosting the master class. And yes, I did feel a little bit nervous. But also when we feel nervous, what do we do? We turn on the it girl mentality. We turn on the it girl energy. And I started and I felt so in my element. And I think this was largely due to the years of being on stage and being on theater. And again, just another testament of your skills can be pulled from so many different aspects of your life. And I always come back to theater. Theater always comes back to me. And being in front of people, not something new to me. Speaking in front of people, not something new to me. Also not something new to me is when you're speaking in front of people, you do not want to give them a synopsis of your life story. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to hear it. You want to get them emotionally invested from the beginning. You want to break down the awkwardness. You want to get them at the level of emotion or at the level of excitement that you want them to be. You want to set the tone. And you're not going to do that with, hi, my name is Alyssa. I started my business five years ago. Then then this I'm from this. I'm located here to know what they want to do. So what did I do? I go, hey girl, it's how we feeling. Do you want to know what I did at two o'clock in the morning? I was prepping for this class because I'm so incredibly excited to be here. And number one tip, I'm already starting giving you a tip. I was in my hotel room at 2am rehearsing this presentation naked. So here you go. There's the tip for you to start the class. Instantly the energy was there. Instantly I felt really good because I knew that they were emotionally there with me. And I could go through the whole entire class knowing that this not only is going to be so incredibly informative, but we're going to have so much fun. And it was and it was so much fun. And the feedback that I got from the girls was everything. Like after the class, one of the pieces of feedback that I got was this girl came up to me and oh my gosh, this girl was everything. Her energy was everything. Her hair was everything. And she was like, I really enjoyed that class. And you know what? I'm not able to lie. I don't like hearing people talk. I like to hear myself talk. She said this. I like to hear myself talk because everyone is boring. But honestly you, you made me laugh. You're funny. You're so funny. And you're so in your purpose. And that just, that just, it made me feel so good. Like it really did. It made me feel so good to hear that because when you are in your purpose, when you're doing the things that you have been set out to do, the fulfillment and the gratitude is like nothing else. And also she called me funny. So like obviously we love. But with that, with doing the master class, I asked the girls, well naturally came up in conversation, but I also asked the girls, what are the main highlights that you took away that were the most impactful for you? I jawed them down. I noted them. I want to share them with you. So that even though not everybody could be a part of this class, you could still learn something. So let me go through the main takeaways. Number one, hating social media gurus, not liking social media gurus, not liking the tips and the tricks. Which flattered me because I was like, oh, thank you so much. Thank you so much. I am set for [BLANK_AUDIO] I'm saving on different, but really this was something that so many of the girls said that they don't like social media advice Content, but what they loved about the you coded content method was for the first time They were told that their personality and their authenticity was an asset It wasn't here's the education. Here's the strategy on one side and here's one personality and here's me having fun on another No, no, no, no, the you coded content method was created to leverage your authenticity and personality and magnify them in your strategy so that they can all work together because when it works together That's when you're gonna become so incredibly magnetic online So that was a piece of feedback that I got a lot from the girls The second one was this analogy that I started off the master class with and it is Social media is like a dress any piece of advice that you see I want you to treat it like a dress So pretend we're all in a store together and in the corner of the room You see this girl and she has this gorgeous dress on and it fits her like a glove body is tea The color is in her color analysis. Okay, it just looks good. So you're like, oh, okay I want to try that for myself you try it on you look in the mirror you look again You do a little double take and you go oh Does not look good on me does not fit your body does not look good on my skin tone It doesn't look good. So what do you do you take the dress off you hang it up And you give it to the sales associate you do not go around the mall and follow the girl with the dress that fits her Wishing that it fit you now you put the dress away and you go what is something that complements me and that is how I want you to treat Social media advice and the tips and the tricks you try it on for yourself See if it works if it doesn't you don't ruminate on it You just move on to the next thing and honestly you could apply this to any life advice But obviously this is a social media master class. So I made it very specific to social media But you don't ruminate on why something is not working because it's working for someone else you find what compliments you Third piece of advice that really stuck out was when it comes to posting on your feed I want you to post on your feed like you do with stories so many of the girls said posting on stories is so easy But posting on feed is like going to war and it is like so terrifying and I said okay Well, if you can post all this on stories. I'm sure if you finesse it just a little bit It is going to be good enough quality to post on feed because I see the stories content And yes, there is a lot of it and yes, there's maybe it's more low effort Maybe you feel like okay, it's easier because it's only up for 24 hours. There's less pressure But you're creating the content you're doing the content you're telling me you're not gonna post on feeding you're only gonna Post on the stories like What is that? What is that? It's not strategy. It is not aesthetics It is not hooks. It is that mental block. So look at your feed and your stories Not as too completely separate things but that are complimentary to each other and start looking at your feed more like your stories Not I can only have fun on stories, but on feed them. Look in a freak out. No, we don't need to do that You're creating the content post it and trust that you have done the work to make it a good piece of content Next one you have permission to breathe new life into old concepts either creator come up to me after the class And she said I went super viral last summer on these videos and now I don't know what to do I don't know what to do because that thing can't happen again And I said well, why don't you just bring it up again? Who says you can't talk about the same thing again Because one thing about the girlies. Okay, one thing about the girlies you sit down with the girlies What do we love to do? We love to yap. We love to unpack repack repurpose. We love to reminisce So why would you not reminisce on something that was so iconic for your community a year later? That doesn't really make a lot of sense Why would you get keep that from your community? Number one number two you have new eyes on you all the time So if new people are coming into your friend group Why would you not want to share that experience with them? Why would you not want to have them in on the joke? Why would you not want to tell them about this thing that you're known for? So repeat yourself repeat yourself repeat yourself repeat yourself another key takeaway comparison i this and overthinking is so common and it will happen and it does happen no matter what stage You are in your content creator journey So if you have been caught in the cycle of comparing yourself to others of overthinking here's what I want you to do I want you to one understand that you are not alone But we need to turn on that what that it girl mentality that it girl behavior and go I'm not going to let myself sabotaging thoughts ruin me I'm going to do something about this. I am going to one be aware of how I'm feeling and be aware of the behavior And then to do something or have a routine that I can lean on to combat this So what is that when you get the itch to do and scroll when you get the itch to look at well I just want to look up what the scroll is doing because I want to see what they're doing And then maybe I can find some inspiration before you scroll your feed meaning your fip your explore page I want you to scroll your own page and your own camera roll first because the content creators that truly stand out are the content creators That are really really good at being them you're never going to be good at being you if you're constantly Filling your own head with other people's lives So that is an immediate action item that you can take and start implementing when you're feeling this way Which brings me to my next point which is you are a CEO start acting like it So many times as creators we get really caught up in the creative process the content ideas that editing the hooks the aesthetic Which amazing we need that we need that creative side of us we need to nurture that creative side of us But we very often forget to nurture the CEO side of us the one that gets things going The one that says okay, this is not working. This is let's lean into this the one that doesn't overthink and doesn't over complicate But makes sure that things are moving So with the example that I just gave you when it comes to doom scrolling when it comes to comparison I miss the creative brain naturally is going to go in on that and go okay, what else can I do? They're gonna ruminate on this they're gonna go well how could I tweak this how can I tweak my art so that this person likes it How could I tweak my art here so that the algorithms do this this and this and they're gonna try to look and see and fix and They're just gonna think their way into nothingness where the CEO brain will take over and go okay This is not working we cannot waste time. This is how we're gonna fix it This is how we're gonna move and she gets to moving we need to balance both the CEO and the creative brain Which then actually brings me to my next point that a lot of the girls were relaying to me Which was there was a lot of unlearning of what success looks like and when you're in this space It's like there's this vision in this image of success that we think we have to adapt Which is the views and the virality and going to these places and having these things and there's nothing wrong with that Don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with any of those things But I think we get we almost like train ourselves into thinking like this is what I want But then you take a step back and you're like well, what do I want? What does success look like for me? And I was having a conversation with one of the girls in the bus and she said yeah the vanity metrics in the virality It's nice. It feels good. Yeah But at the end of the day if I don't have a community I don't want all of that I want a community who loves me and I love my community and we have depth and I'm like yes Depth over with so there was so many moments of like unlearning or girls saying like I'm unlearning that because I haven't really been thinking about it that way I'm unlearning that that's not really what I want and I'm getting really specific with what I'm trying to build and that Oh my gosh that was such a highlight won't for me because I'm like yes Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes And the last thing that they said was so impactful was Really knowing your why and knowing it with confidence if you cannot answer the question Why are you creating and it has nothing to do with your mission and your impact meaning I ask you why are you creating and it's I want more views. I want to build a community I want to get invited to this brand trip. I want to make this amount of money if that's your why we have to go way way way deeper your why has to be bigger than you because the reality is Doing something for yourself is not enough. It has to be bigger. There has to be a mission There has to be an impact. This is not a personal diary. You're building a personal brand. What is building a personal brand means it means There is place for other people within it not just here's my life and watch me live it So really being so confident and intentional and reworking your why was so impactful for them because once you have that down That's the core of your brand once you have that down that will answer all your other surface level questions So yes, you're why actually is that important. I hope you took your notes out because I know that was a lot But after hearing all this feedback from all these women in this space Them thanking me for not giving them basic advice that so many gurus are so disappointing like they were telling me that I've done classes I've I've been in programs and they they bring these And co-experts but it was never anything impactful actually one of the girls even told me like I've never felt so inspired Then I have after listening to your class and to create something out of this annoyance and frustration of this basic Surface level content ideas content pillars hooks virality advice to create something out of depth to create something That makes people feel seen and understood and something that has been tried and tested time and time again on my own account And on other creators account and then to present it to them and for them to feel like, wow, I actually feel so understood. This is what I've been wanting. These are the conversations I've been craving and wanting to have. The feeling of that is like so undescribable. And I hope that you have moments that you feel like this. Like everyone deserves to feel like this. And I know this is gonna sound so cheesy, but truly, truly, truly, when you are walking in your purpose, it's so obvious. It is so obvious to people, to everyone around you, but this experience made it obvious to me. And it reminded me of how impactful your persistence is, how impactful your consistency is. It truly makes the lowest lows so worth it. And yes, it was nice to be noticed, and it was nice to get all this positive validation and this feedback, but I actually could take a moment. I'm like, I meant to be here. And you have those moments, small or big, that you're like, wow, this is exactly what I meant to be doing. I am exactly where I need to be. This is why God put me here. This is why God allowed all those hard and hurtful things to happen, because all of that got me ready to be here, so that I could have the knowledge, so that I could have the wisdom, so that I could have the confidence to serve who I need to serve. And all I could say to that is thank you, Jesus, for making that possible. So for you, in all those moments, where it's just so clear that you're walking in your purpose, small or big, doesn't matter. I want you to keep track of every single one of them, especially the small ones, 'cause the small ones prepare you for those big, wow, Dululu pinch me, I'm screaming crying, throwing up ones. Doing what we do and the career that we have, there's so many cool things that happen in this space, but honestly, the most memorable ones are the ones where you know you've impacted someone's life. And surprise, surprise, I'm actually gonna have an action item for you. I gave this action item to the girls, but now I'm gonna give it to you. So right now, I want you to refine your Y, okay? And then I want you to make a post about it. I made one, you can look at it on my Instagram, on my TikTok, on Spark Me Deco, it is a montage compilation of me teaching the girls with a text overlay and a song, and then in the caption, I talk about my Y. But knowing your Y, like truly knowing your Y, makes these big wins so much sweeter, because you're like, damn, I set that intention from the beginning. And this is it actually happening. I'm actually living in it. I can't even describe that feeling, but I want you to have that feeling, which is why I want you to do this. So for an example, I will give you mine, okay? In very simple plain terms, my Y is proving limitations wrong. Middle school and elementary school, I couldn't even afford some Mabling products. And now I'm speaking with them, and I'm working with them, and I'm getting flown to speak at their HQ. Even the way I presented myself, the way I constructed this presentation, I did it in such a me-coded way, and I'm so glad that I didn't let any, you have to do it this way where it has to be professional, or you're in a corporate office, you have to do it this way, I didn't do it like that. And if I did, it wouldn't be as impactful, but because I did it my way, it was able to actually impact every single person in that room. And I'm not saying that to like brag and be like, oh, I'm the best and did it, I could feel it. And I heard it, and that was the feedback that I got, and that is so special. So in your content plan, write down your Y, okay, solidify that, make sure that's super strong, and then create a piece of content sharing it. It can be a carousel photos with a caption, it can be a real, and you talk about it in your caption, it can be a video, and you talk about it, it can be a story that I don't care, just do it, tag me so one I can hype you up, but I also wanna hold you accountable, 'cause you know I always will. Do that and see how much clearer you create, knowing that you're coming from that deep intention. Okay, perfect, so we have an action item, no surprise there, back to the trip. So, Masterclass happened, it was amazing, incredible, energy was there, loved it, felt so good, we had a little Q&A, the girlies were there, they were so engaged, it's like a presenters or a speaker's dream, that so many people were asking so many questions, and there wasn't like a ton of dead space, love of love. Then we got split into groups, and they actually had so many amazing activities. I am a speaker, I'm not actually, quote unquote in the program, but they invited me to be a part of all the activities, which was amazing. So, we had a color analysis done, this was actually the first time I did an in person color analysis, I've only done it in chat, but I knew I was an autumn, I knew I was an autumn for sure, because warm tones always look good on me, but it was just like cool to go through the experience, and yes, I am an autumn. We also had some Q&A shots done, they fed us very, very well, okay, we got to play with some of their products, we got obviously so many, so many products, oh my gosh, so, so many products, we also got to go into their employee store, where everything was like 50% off, it was like their own Sephora, with all these brands, I got like two carastas products, for like $100, it was incredible, amazing. I'm just gonna pick products, and then you have to buy them at the employee discount, which is amazing, oh my gosh, I wish I could go back, what else, what else? Oh, before I last went through that thought, we got to play around with some products, and we got to play around with some unreleased products, I wish, I wish I could tell you what these products are, but when they launch, and I will tell you, on Instagram, on TikTok, when they launch, they are so incredible, I'm so excited, there was one product in particular, I kept using it over and over and over again, and I was so mad that I couldn't take it home with me, 'cause it was so good, it feels really good, it looks good, ingredients are good, like when this comes out, I'm going to be buying like 20,000 of them, so good, and also so cool, that we got to have like the first look at all these products, also something you might not know about me, because this also surprises a lot of people, is I am an entrepreneur, and there were so many moments of the day where I was like, I am just going to excuse myself and find a corner, and decompress, because my social battery, my social battery is running out, and not because I wasn't having fun, or I didn't want to talk to anyone, it was just like, if you're an entrepreneur, you know, like you just need to recharge being by yourself, but nevertheless, every single event, every single activation, it was so intentional, it was so beautiful, it was so much fun, even the downtime I had with the girls was so, so special, and just hearing them talk about, oh my gosh, you know, this thing you said in the Masterclass, this is what I want to do with my content, and they're already thinking about how they're going to execute it, like my strategist, heart and brain is like, oh my gosh, yes, yes, yes, yes, we love, we love, we love, love, love, love to see the action. And then we wrapped up our weekend together with a farewell dinner, love the dinner, we were at Zuzuz, is that what it's called? Zuzuz, something, something, really good food, loved it. Went back to the hotel, packed up all my things, again, just sat in, I know it sounds so cheesy, but truly just sat in gratitude, like, oh God, thank you so much, I can't believe it, this truly is a dream, and this was an honor of a lifetime, and I want to sit in it, and I want to say for that moment, and when things move so fast as they do, especially in our space, I have learned over the years, just like force myself to sit and like, really sit and think and let myself feel where I'm at, because things are only going to get busier, and if you're like me, and you know, things are moving really, really fast, and you're really ambitious, and you're like, okay, I have this to do, and this to do, and this to take care of, I get it, but really, like if you have a hard time sitting in it, force yourself to do it, please do me a favor, honestly, force yourself to do it, and just to sit in this, because I don't want you to miss that moment, things like this are just too good, for you to say, oh, I'm just too busy, and I have to focus on other things, just sit in it, and I'm saying that to myself because I'm bad at that, okay, so we're doing this together, so what's next? Honestly, there is a lot happening right now, and this whole work-life balancing, work-life balancing right now is I have a lot of work, and I have a lot of life, and I'm trying to balance them both, so little rapid fire as we end off the call, I have a really exciting client project coming up, where I will be traveling again. I'm still finessing my routine to stay productive, to stay organized, to stay energized, when traveling, I do have routines and tips and tricks and all that, so let me know if you want me to do a video, or a podcast episode on it, I'm happy to do that, but also if you have tips and tricks that you really lean on, please share them below DM me, email me, comment on this podcast episode, because I have never traveled as much, I didn't grow up traveling, so I'm learning how to do all this as an adult, but I feel like I have a pretty good routine down, but it's definitely, whoo, it's definitely a lot with travel, I will admit that, but I do have a really exciting travel project coming up, and it's going to be a wedding that I'm doing the content for, so I'm so excited about that, that's coming up, what else, what else, oh yeah, small detail, I bought a house, I haven't even talked about this really yet on feed, or even on stories, but I bought a house, we're in renovation, and I'm being humbled to say the least, it is, it is a lot, pray for me, and of course, serving my clients, serving my girly pops and trying to be consistent on socials and posting, because I just have a lot, and I wanna share, and I'm doing this podcast now, oh my gosh, it's midnight, I do need to go to sleep, it's midnight right now, but I just have to get up, and then just have to catch you up, we're busy over here, but we are blessed, nevertheless, and we're figuring out together, am I a little tired? Yes, but I'm also confident that I'm in the right place, and for you, let this be your reminder that when you are walking in your purpose, when you're doing the thing that you're meant to do, tired just isn't as bad anymore. I hope listening to this, at least one thing that you learned and one thing that inspired you and if there was police shirt with me tag me on Instagram on TikTok email me whatever feels good to you. This episode had a little bit of everything. It was a catch up some lessons some story time some tips an action item because duh it wouldn't be me without an action item and if you have a request let me know what else you want to see on the inspired media podcast how this podcast can serve you and as always break a leg. [BLANK_AUDIO]