Proposal for Collaboration

In today’s fractured internet marketplace, I believe EMasters — in collaboration with like-minded partners — has the opportunity to carve out a niche on the WWW that initially serves the value-added lifestyle marketplace…  a bridge between East & West in the services industry.

EMasters’ vision is two-fold…

Connecting East & West through Stories, Art & Spirituality.

Using the power of storytelling, artistic expression and the shared human experience of spiritual connection to build bridges in our fragmented world.

Building an Incentivized Networking Marketplace and Community for Publishers, Creators & Lifestyle Retail Brands.

An open & safe space where members can actively engage with their audience…  interact & share with each other…  and earn additional income via our single-tier affiliate program.

EMasters is a partnership registered in Malaysia.  EMasters started as an Internet Marketing entity in 2002.  This was before the advance of big platforms (Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc), at a time when the Marketplace on the internet was represented by communities of independent Publishers (newsletters, ezines, blogs).

Note:  We define “Internet Marketing” as Marketing conducted exclusively on the borderless WWW.  The primary marketing tool then was Email Marketing, via a network of independent Publishers that represented the Marketplace.

Note:  I would also like to differentiate between the “marketplace” of the community of publishers vs. the later big platforms.  The community of publishers in the early 2000s was essentially a marketplace where trade of products & services was conducted in a borderless WWW.  So long as we were able to provide the level of quality and product/service needed on the WWW, we could partner with like-minded businesses + access customers beyond geographical boundaries.

Erosion of the Marketplace by Big Platforms

The key to EMasters’ initial success was that our marketing & promotions on the WWW were underpinned by one crucial factor — ie. genuine stats (email open rates, click-throughs, etc).  These real metrics & insights informed us of the viability of the products/services vis-a-vis the marketplace:  It allowed us to accurately measure if we have achieved a Unique Selling Proposition at the correct price points, where to make improvements, and how best to collaborate to deploy our resources moving forward.

However, this internet marketing model — and the marketplace itself — were upended by the rise of big platforms and the unhealthy practices that accompanied them…

• The buying/selling of fake hits, followers & subscribers:  This distorted the original anchor metrics and no longer provided an accurate picture of one’s marketing & promotional efforts.
• An upsurge of intrusive (often misleading) ads, fake accounts, scams & bots:  Big platforms ceased to function as a “safe” marketplace.
• The use of algorithm- and AI-driven applications to selectively serve up sponsored (paid) content + emotionally triggered narratives:  This further distorted the marketplace, and small businesses without deep pockets were edged out.

This erosion of the marketplace by big platforms broke the advertising & marketing models on the internet — it broke internet marketing as we knew it.

Among the hardest hit are SMEs, particularly those in the “slow” lifestyle niche that rely on value creation and compelling storytelling — in a safe, uncrowded & chaos-free environment — to build their brands, build trust, and sell at healthy price points.  Now that big platforms, with their “race to the bottom” pricing tactics, no longer serve them well, many SMEs have exited the WWW and reverted to offline marketing (via pop-ups, brick-and-mortar stores, in-person networking, etc).

This provides a timely opportunity for EMasters & her partners to step back into the breach.

To facilitate a business model that addresses the shortcomings of current big platforms, I propose the following…

The Development of an Alternative Marketplace for SMEs & Brands in the Value-Added “Slow” Lifestyle Niche.

We already have two assets in place that can provide the structure for a corrective pathway.  And with further development in collaboration with new partners, these assets can be up-leveled into the desired alternative marketplace…

I.  It’s My Life – Lifestyle e-Magazine

For readers:  It’s My Life is a tranquil and uncluttered space — like an exquisite Japanese tearoom — where readers can leisurely read & safely shop beautifully presented stories.

For lifestyle businesses & retail brands:  It’s My Life is an uncrowded stage where you are seen & heard — where you can iterate your stories to a captive audience + interact directly with them.  Your stories are published on the magazine site.  We also send email editions to our subscribers + community of publishers (and their subscribers).

For publishers of newsletters, e-magazines & blogs:  It’s My Life Community of Publishers is a supportive & incentivized networking ecosystem that collectively extends our publishing & marketing reach.  The initial catalyst for the growth of this community is the Nusantara Collection Affiliate Program — more on this in the Nusantara section below.

Note:  We’re actively building our Community of Publishers + developing a small Editorial Team so we can publish more frequently… serving Readers a more diverse menu of quality content + creating a more interactive alternative marketplace for Creators to showcase their products & services.

II.  Nusantara Collection – Fashion & Lifestyle Online Store

Nusantara Collection aspires to showcase a curation of handcrafted luxury from Southeast Asia.

The online store is a safe, serene shopping space to discover & buy modern heirlooms and investment pieces.  One can make mindful & meaningful purchases to treasure for years to come…  while supporting artisans and the preservation of heritage craft.

Note:  We have temporarily suspended sales on this site while in discussions with potential retail partners to further develop the store.

Nusantara Collection also has her own single-tier Affiliate Program — we envisage the relaunch of this program will provide It’s My Life community of publishers with an extra income source + incentive.   This is an opportune moment for entry into the marketplace as many SMEs are struggling with cashflow — and the affiliate program incentives can turbo-charge the development of It’s My Life and her community of publishers.

Note:  Development of this community is a selective process — we’re committed to working with genuine publishers with real, organically-grown subscriber lists.

To develop & implement our proposal, we warmly invite collaborations from Publishers (newsletters, e-magazines, blogs), Creators & Lifestyle Retail Brands.

Namaste…

Raymond Siew
EMasters.info