With the release of Shane Dawson’s makeup collection on Friday, Nov. 1, fans of the YouTube star have come to discover a new side of Shane Dawson. In fact, this may be the introduction to a brand new Shane. It’s clear that the makeup industry is an unexplored path for Dawson and a path that many of his fans never expected him to travel down. However, as predicted, Dawson has broken the internet yet again as sales flood in from his newly released merchandise website, as well as with his cosmetics release.
As a fan who has been following the social media influencer since his start back in 2006, I have watched Dawson evolve over the years into one of the most popular creators on the platform today. Beginning from a self-conscious young man taping vlogs of his day-to-day life to the comedian who created skits with an array of colorful characters to the wacky food critic who created monstrosities accompanied by click bait titles, Dawson has always stolen the hearts of millennials across the world, sharing smiles and laughs to brighten anyone’s day.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Pi2C_HZBZ/
Now, as the filmmaker and journalist who presents the world with beautiful and tear-jerking documentary series, Dawson has changed the name of who he is and has pushed the boundaries even further. With the most recent documentary series, which has slowly revealed the decision to create a makeup collection, I was surprised with how much time and energy Dawson put into tackling the project. Not only this, but the interest he gained for the art and industry of makeup left me shocked.
Through all of the years that I have followed Dawson and his presence on YouTube, an entry into the world of makeup was never something I thought he’d do with his career. Taking this success of his that he’s had since the release of his new documentary series, there’s a lot to notice about Dawson and his new approach. In fact, many would say that Dawson’s business strategy has changed.
Yes, Dawson has always had a large presence within the YouTube community. His videos never fail to get a few million views. He’s even sold merch through both Hot Topic, back in 2008, and through his merchandise store on Amazon. However, none of this can compare to the success that he’s recently had. For example, after the launch of his new merchandise store, shanedawsonmerch.com, the store managed to sell out in less than an hour.
I expected no less from his makeup collection launch as over 17 million views have already been racked up of each video within the YouTube series. Considering this jump in career success for Dawson, has his strategy as a businessman really changed all that much? It’s safe to say that Dawson’s business strategies have changed drastically over the past few years. Looking back at his short time creating videos such as “Tasting Celebrities Favorite Foods,” Dawson, while still doing fairly well as an influencer of the platform, was not performing up to his abilities or grabbing the attention of his viewers as much as in the past.
It appeared that over time, Dawson would find himself running into marketing problems with his videos. Marketing issues did not just stop there, however. Instagram was not a tool the creator was as savvy with as far as promoting his work, and his merchandise was suffering due to the portion taken by the partner companies promoting his products, leaving Dawson with less financial gain lining his pockets.
As he began to move into documentary-style filming, Dawson had a major comeback as his content grabbed the attention of more individuals across the globe. This fact aside, it wasn’t until Dawson created a stronger connection with Jeffree Star that his career began to take off. Of course, Star is a big factor in the success of Dawson today, but it was the decision to utilize Star to the best of his ability that has created a better businessman out of Dawson.
The Glossins ⚡️ Conspiracy Collection Coming This Friday at 10am! https://t.co/tw2pWVu9gb pic.twitter.com/jWMQhFEDdq
— Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) October 30, 2019
Everyone always says it’s all about who you know and that is definitely true for Dawson. Not only has his career ascended due to his connection with Star, but this friendship has also improved his confidence and self-image, which has ultimately improved his business as well. What this means is, through this new self confidence that Dawson has obtained, he’s been allowed to explore and expand on new ideas for his business, specifically when it came to designing his makeup collection.
By following the series, many will notice how involved Dawson was in the process of creating his collection and how much energy he put into the design, the names as well as the lineup for the whole collection. We have even seen an increase in Dawson’s confidence as far as his posting on social media, specifically Instagram. Over the course of the past few days, his story has been flooded with content regarding the release of his collection, including images from his official photo shoot with Star. It’s obvious, between the new creative mindset, focused energy and his willingness to take new risks, that Dawson has become a better businessman and I wouldn’t be surprised if he catches up to Star very soon.
As we embark on the release of Dawson’s makeup collection, the influencer has a bright and exciting future ahead. Not only will Dawson have a new role as a businessman, makeup artist and guru, but he will ultimately gain new levels of success that he has never experienced before. This may take the form of increased fame or financial gain, but only time will tell. However, it is safe to say that Dawson’s life is about to change as new, exciting adventures will come his way following the success of his makeup collection.
