As part of a much-anticipated expansion, Beauty Independent will be moving to a subscription-based business model beginning Tuesday. The launch of the new platform marks the start of Beauty Independent 2.0, distinguished by the introduction of a new services marketplace, Uplink, and the second year of Beauty Independent’s operation as a news leader for beauty entrepreneurs.
“We are proud of what we have accomplished with you, our readers, contributors and subjects,” says Editor in Chief Rachel Brown. “Through your feedback, advice and, most importantly, stories, Beauty Independent today is bold, confident and fierce like the people it covers.”
Readers subscribing within the first 24 hours of the subscription launch, starting at 8 a.m. EST, will be entered into a drawing for a free ticket to a BeautyX Summit of their choice. The first 100 subscribers will be thanked by name as founding members in an upcoming article celebrating “The First One Hundred.” All readers who subscribe within an initial promotional period will secure yearly subscriptions of $8.25 per month, a 36% savings off the regular price of $12.95 monthly.
Readers who subscribe within the first 24 hours of the subscription launch, starting at 8 a.m. EST, will be entered into a drawing for a free ticket to a BeautyX Summit of their choice.
Beauty Independent’s aggressive publishing schedule will be augmented in year two by more articles devoted to key subjects such as finance, technology and trends, and more coverage of emerging beauty innovations in international arenas. Revenue from subscriptions and the expanded capabilities of the Indie Beauty Media Group, parent company of Beauty Independent, will be tapped to bring further information to an audience that increasingly relies on the publication for actionable business news. In recent surveys and daily feedback, beauty entrepreneurs have stated the need for resources to help them advance their brands, and Beauty Independent will provide them.
The success and growth of entrepreneurial education programming at the BeautyX Summits provide a particularly potent source for feature coverage. The courses, panel discussions and live learning experiences developed by BeautyX lend themselves to the creation of new Core Concepts educational pieces and How-To’s published by Beauty Independent. Reporting from the Indie Beauty Expos in London and Berlin, the latest cities to be added to the IBE lineup, will allow Beauty Independent to dive into the international expansion of independent brands on both sides of the Atlantic.
Beauty Independent’s services marketplace, Uplink, is the first in a line of digital business tools to go live. It is also the most immediately impactful feature of the Beauty Independent 2.0 buildout. At Uplink’s core are six directories grouped in major categories like manufacturing and public relations. Collectively, the directories contain more than 600 service providers attuned to working with independent brands. A select group of companies have joined Uplink as Verified Vendors. These launch partners are Oyl + Water, Leaping Bunny, Qosmedix, Solesence, Colour Collective, Ritual Rebellion, Ten Eyck Solutions, Erin Kelly PR, Aptar, Texas Beauty Labs, Formula Botanica, de Janosi Designs, Essential Wholesale & Labs, and Shipping Beauty, .
For the introductory offer of $8.25, subscribers will gain complete access to all of Beauty Independent’s articles and first looks at exclusive specialty content such as IBE Trend Reports. In addition, they’ll have unlimited use of Uplink, including Uplink Requests, which is a fast and easy way to submit a work order to qualified, verified vendors. The Beauty Independent site will still be available to less committed readers, who will be able to read up to five articles every 30 days.
“As a publication, as with our related properties of BeautyX Summits and IBE, we believe we have established the trust of the passionate innovators in beauty who understand that as we grow, they grow,” says Beauty Independent Publisher Nader Naeymi-Rad. “A subscription revenue model makes fundamental sense. It allows the publication to expand and deliver more content and resources to its readers. It keeps the look, feel and focus of the site free from the pressure of advertiser requirements. And it’s a way to develop digital assets that will speed the growth of brands and solution providers alike. For the past year, Rachel Brown and her team have been there for the indie beauty community, and we’ve no doubt that the community will be there for us as we take the next step forward together.”
