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US Based Blogger, ADEOLA SORUNKE
Celeb With Swag (CWS) Media Group is one the fastest rising and wave-making events and party bloggers in town. The blog has grown to prominence within its first five years of existence, thanks to its Publisher, the Dallas based Adeola Sorunke. She has successfully lifted the blog so high that top celebrities and celebrities now request her blog to help them publicise their occasions.
Few weeks ago, the highly creative Deola was honoured at the 2024 City People Female Achievers Award held in Lagos State, Nigeria. She is celebrated for her immense contribution and remarkable achievement recorded in the event blogging business, which is seriously booming day by day. Mrs. Adeola after receiving her award amidst pomp was interviewed by City People Reporter, JAMIU ABUBAKAR (08085185886), there she revealed how she left her lucrative profession in the Telecom industry to start her own event blog platform called Celebrity With Swag. Read and enjoy what she told me about event blogging which is very insightful.
Congratulations to you on the reception of the City People Females Achievers Award, how do you feel about the honour?
Well, I feel highly honoured, you know when your mentor decide to honour you with an award, Dr. Seye Kehinde has always being my mentor right from when I was in Telecom industry, I was working with ZTE, it is a telecommunication company, it is a Chinese government company in Nigeria before I relocated to US. Dr. Seye Kehinde has always being my mentor because I handled media sector for ZTE then as well, so most of our work before it comes out on media, I have to approve it because that’s my department, it is part of my department, so I was the major person communicating with media people, that was how I got to know Dr. Seye Kehinde and a lot of people in media, I never knew I can even become an event blogger. So, let me say maybe I got my passion from Dr. Seye Kehinde. Dr Seye Kehinde, God should continue to bless him, he has made a lot of us, many people, not just the people that came out of City People, a lot of us from outside, Dr. Seye Kehinde is someone that likes to put people through in life, he is not envious of anybody, he wants to support you, he’s always there for you, he is one boss that likes to listen to people especially the junior ones. So, we love him, we respect him a lot for that and we continue to pray for him, City People will continue to grow, higher and higher in life. So, that is where we all got our passion from.
Can you tell us what inspired you to start the “Celebrity with Swag” event blog?
I love parties, when I use to go to parties my husband will say everybody is going to event, making money, you, you will go to event and come back empty handed, what is wrong with you, why can’t you be like this, why can’t you be like that and I’m like what do I do, He said okay before you come back from event most of your friends are asking you, Deola, that video you did for us, send it, a lot of people like me to do their video when we are at events, so many of my friends. So, when my husband said why don’t you monetize your video thing and I’m like that’s true ooo! So, I started trying to put names together. Biola Orisile is also a friend, I met Biola Orisile through Dr Seye Kehinde, when I brought out the name, Biola Orisile called me, she said sister mi, that name is not going to come out well, why don’t you change to this and that was how we started gradually, you know, I still respect the person that gave me my first job.
Like I said when I got the award, I said when I entered the hall, I saw the crowd and I was like can I do it, I ran outside and said aunty I’m shy, she said you don’t know the job you collected, you can’t be shy, you better go back, so I started gradually, now I don’t feel shy anymore, so when I get to the event, I don’t care about the crowd, I start my work and I do it diligently, I don’t get tired.
What does it take to thrive as an event blogger?
One thing I know about event blogging is that you must have passion for it. if you don’t have passion for it, you can’t do it. If you are a lazy person, you don’t have passion for this job, when you go to events, you will just be sitting down, be eating but when you have passion for this job, even if they call you to come and eat, you will say I’m coming because you will be engrossed with that work, you will be inside that work, to get you to do other things will be difficult, that’s my story, I don’t get to sit down at any event, I’m always going around, I don’t like to miss any shot. So, even if I go out in Nigeria and my guys are working for me, I used to disturb them, no why don’t you do this because the thing is in me, so that’s all about celeb with swag.
How does CWS operate?
Celeb With Swag is a US registered company. We just registered our company in Nigeria as well. We have an office in Nigeria now. So, we get events in Nigeria as well. We are not just into event blogging. We do all manner of media activities like digital marketing, advertisement, a whole lot of stuff, we are also media consultants. So, if I do work in the US and my customers say I would like my event to come out in City People, I will place a call to the publisher. Hello Oga, this is my event. I want to send it to you, my client wants this, okay, we work together. If I celebrate my client on my blog and my client wants it in any media outlets in Nigeria aside from Celeb With Swag, I consult with those media companies and we work today as colleagues.
For how long have you been running celebrity swag?
I have been running celebrity swag for over 5 years but It took me time to monetize it, then I was just doing it for fun. The monetization part of it started, let me say probably 3 years ago, it is not that long.
With a short period of setting up your blog, you have achieved this much, what would you say has been working for you in the business?
Humility! When you are humble, this work goes a long way. Like I went to an event in Houston, Texas and I was to collect my head gear from a lady from Chicago, so I called her, she gave me the head gear, we didn’t have enough time to interact, do you know that this lady called me recently and said that out of all the people that came to collect their head gear, you are about the nicest person to me because others were talking to me like I’m nothing and I’m like why she said I have an event coming up next year, my birthday I want you to come and cover it, you understand. So, when you meet people, sometimes when I’m blogging some people will frown, don’t do my video and I’m like please smile, they will think you are fighting me, please smile, you know not everybody wants their face out there but if you want to get them out there you need to be able to patronize them. So, these are part and you have to be dedicated to the work, consistency and dedication goes a long way as well aside from humility.
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