We were lucky to catch up with Brandon West recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later?
I believe I started my business venture at the right time for me, but I wish I had leveled up sooner. Before I explain that I’ll share how I got started. I was in college and completing an internship during the summer. Me and one of my closest friends had always joked about having our own celebrity blog/platform, and literally just one day I got home from my internship, I texted my friend and said, “We’re doing it. Let’s think of a name… I’ll start on the website right now.” I designed the website and we came up with our brand in about three days, got a couple blog posts done, and then launched within about two weeks.
Things went well over the first two years or three years, but during COVID when TikTok blew up, we didn’t take advantage of that platform. I even thought it would be perfect to do; there weren’t too many celebrity news creators yet and it was quarantine so we had plenty of free time after our 9-5 jobs. I had never really done video content of myself yet, so I was inexperienced and too insecure to jump into it. Several months later after the platform exploded even more I began to try it. To be honest, they weren’t great videos, but hey, I was trying. Unfortunately by this time, there were several popular creators with similar content that had blown up so I was playing catch-up in a saturated space. To this day, I feel like I am playing the same catch-up game, especially when my account got wrongly deleted and I had to start over after finally reaching 50,000 followers. Moral of the story: trust your gut and do NOT be afraid to jump into new opportunities to expand and grow. It is so essential to every business. You hear it all the time about businesses who fail because they were too afraid or hesitant to adapt to changing markets.
Looking back, I of course wish I started jumping into TikTok and video content sooner. Maybe I could be way more popular than I currently am. But I am also a big believer that everything happens for a reason, so it’s possible other amazing opportunities I have gotten since that I am grateful for wouldn’t have happened. In the end, I am glad I still grew into more video content as I have also expanded some into YouTube, though I have a lot of opportunity still to grow even more in the video space.
Brandon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Front Page Pop is all about bringing together the best of celebrity news, reality TV, pop culture nostalgia, and exclusive interviews into one vibrant platform for fellow celebrity-obsessed fans. It’s not just a blog—it’s a full experience across social media too. One of my favorite parts of running Front Page Pop is interviewing rising stars. Now, let’s be real, I’m not Perez Hilton or Ryan Seacrest (yet!), so I’m not catching Britney Spears on the red carpet. But I do partner with PR and management agencies that represent up-and-coming talent, which is such a rewarding experience. I’m always grateful to those who supported me when I was a smaller blogger, and now I get to pay it forward. I’ve interviewed some of my favorite reality TV stars, actresses from hit Netflix shows, and more. But those chats with emerging music artists—some with just 30,000 followers—really stand out to me. Their dedicated fanbases make these features extra special, sharing and engaging with every piece of content. It’s a win-win: they get valuable press, and I gain new audiences.
Recently, Front Page Pop expanded with a partnership with Brandon TV (BTV)—and no, despite the name, we’re not related, just a fun coincidence! Along with promoting their content, I have a segment on their celebrity late-night talk show, *Obsessed, with Brandon Stewart* (https://itsbrandontv.live/show?showID=14), called ‘Hard Topics,’ where I get to submit juicy questions for their celebrity guests. It’s honestly a dream come true! Now, I’m transparent about this—I don’t get paid for promoting BTV’s content right now. I believe it’s important for fellow entrepreneurs to understand this part of the business. I genuinely love what they create, especially their reality TV content, which fits perfectly with my brand. In return, I get behind-the-scenes insights, exclusive news, access to their stars for interviews, and, of course, my own segment on their show. BTV is still growing, competing with streaming giants like Netflix and Hulu, so we’re both benefiting as we expand. It’s crucial for entrepreneurs to recognize when a collaboration is mutually beneficial, even if there’s no immediate monetary reward. Sometimes, building these relationships can be incredibly valuable in the long run.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I love telling this story! So originally Front Page Pop was KB Pop Culture. The KB stood for Kaitlin and Brandon, the former which is my original cofounder and business partner. We met years ago in a big college group chat of hundreds of admitted students. Naturally, as time went on the group chats dwindled to less and less people for one reason or another, and there were only a couple of us for a while. Believe it or not, we actually both changed our minds last minute to go to different schools, but we clicked so much so we stayed in touch. We both had interests in celebrities and reality TV so we started our blog on a whim a couple years later in 2017.
Since then, she has gone on to start her own social media agency, Leave Your Mark Social, and I have continued our blog myself and rebranded to Front Page Pop. I am so proud of the work she has done with that and even though we aren’t business partners anymore, she is still my #1 supporter! We have basically talked every single day since 2015.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I wouldn’t say there’s a specific story behind how I built my social media audience, but consistency has been key. It’s crucial to stick to a regular posting schedule and stay true to your brand. You need to give your audience something to engage with. I often hear from people trying to grow their social media presence who aren’t seeing results, but their posting is random and inconsistent. How can you expect to grow if you’re not giving people a reason to follow you? Make sure you’re providing value, whether you’re solving a problem, giving them news, or even just a laugh!
Besides posting frequently, what you post is just as important—especially if you’re trying to attract a specific audience. Your content needs to be relevant and tailored to the people you want to reach. That said, don’t be afraid to experiment, especially if you’re newer or have a smaller following. One thing that’s worked well for me is incorporating memes related to reality TV or popular celebrities. My primary focus is celebrity news and reality TV moments, but the memes are still relevant to my audience and help attract new followers who are already interested in the celebrity world. Memes work because they’re highly shareable—they don’t require people to “commit” to your brand right away. This gives me a chance to reach new audiences, and once they’re hooked on the meme content, they often stick around for my interviews and news posts because it is related. It’s a great way to grow a loyal, engaged following.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.frontpagepopculture.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontpagepop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontpagepop
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonwest23/
- Twitter: https://x.com/frontpagepop
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Frontpagepop
- Other: Email for partnerships, interviews, or collaborations: [email protected]
