1. What’s the quick origin story of your brand, and what makes your product or positioning genuinely different from other options in your niche?

Kira Byrd: My husband & I started Curl Centric back in the 2000s when we were looking to find reliable information to help us manage our curly hair. We found very little helpful online.

Our initial efforts were simply documenting what we did to manage our own hair, and those efforts evolved into an ever-growing online community today reaching over 10,000 readers daily at www.curlcentric.com.

We differentiate ourselves from most other blogs focused on curly hair through my education (chief accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner). Our goal is to provide tested, documented, and transparent approaches to managing curly hair rather than hyped up methods or myths created by companies that sponsor their products.

Before publishing, we thoroughly research the methods, ingredients, and tools we recommend and create detailed, long-form guides, e-books, and checklists. We also continue to update our recommendations based on additional data and feedback from our readers, which often reveal holes in many of the common curly hair recommendations.

Since we are primarily educators and do not have a single product line to sell, we are able to provide our readers with objective routine recommendations that can be tailored to each individual’s unique texture, budget, and lifestyle rather than relying on a “one size fits all” type solution.

2. Since launch, what have been the 1–2 real turning points for your brand-specific decisions, pivots, or experiments that noticeably changed your growth or profitability-and what did you learn from them?

Kira Byrd: The most significant “turning point” occurred with the launch of our very first in-depth eBook focused on curl care and a subsequent membership program. The transformation of a large portion of our readership from non-paying to paying members provided us with consistent and predictable recurring revenue, resulting in an increase of over 40% in monthly income within less than six months. This transition revealed that people are willing to pay for trusted and organized guidance, and that depth and substance consistently outperform superficial or quick tips.

Another significant “turning point” occurred as we began creating video tutorials and before-and-after experiments on social media. Within one quarter, traffic and engagement nearly doubled, and both affiliate and advertising revenue became viable additions to overall revenue. This transition demonstrated to us that visual evidence creates trust far quicker than written content, and that demonstrating what you are doing creates a loyal and committed follower, versus a casual reader.

3. Which 2-3 channels drive most of your revenue right now (for example SEO, paid social, email, marketplaces, influencers), and what have you learned about making those channels work in your category?

Kira Byrd: The majority of our revenue comes from SEO since natural hair search results provide an opportunity for depth, accuracy, and consistency. We find long-form guides, ingredient explanations, and comparisons have performed well due to the large amount of confusion in the area of providing guidance on hair care. The most important thing we’ve learned in terms of authority building is that each article should solve one problem at a time using proven methods and transparent reasoning.

Our second most successful revenue channel has been through email because people who opt-in to receive emails want to follow a routine or structure as opposed to receiving many tips. What performs best is a simple series (typically 2-3 emails) which begins by teaching how to identify your hair type, then follows up with selecting products based on those characteristics, and ends by teaching you how to maintain your new hair care routine. This performs much better than sending promotional messages.

Finally, affiliate programs connected to both of the above channels create a third revenue stream. But the only way to use them successfully is to make sure the products you’re recommending are aligned with the method you’re teaching in the content. When there’s alignment between the content and product recommendations, trust remains high and repeat purchases increase without having to use pressure-based marketing techniques.

4. How are you thinking about search in 2025 – Google, AI assistants like ChatGPT, and other discovery platforms? What, if anything, have you changed in your content or site to stay visible as AI search grows?

Kira Byrd: We have structured our search strategy for 2025/2026 to be an ecosystem of multiple surfaces (Google) and while we recognize the importance of Google we are also seeing the role of AI Assistants in filtering information at increasing speeds which will require a clear structure to provide the best possible information.

Our changes to date are focused on improving the architecture of content and providing proof of what we say vs just writing content based on volume. So, we have structured our writing to include tighter topic clusters which connect problems to steps and outcomes so the intent of the user can be mapped by the AI system without losing context.

Also, we are providing clearer definitions and ingredient explanations along with routine sequence in order to allow the AI Assistants to pull these out and use them directly in answering the users question.

We have also been able to expand our first party data collection through controlled testing, photographing routines and documenting results. As such our guides carry the signals that generic models could not create. This evidence will help both Google and the AI Assistants to identify our pages as authorities.

To achieve this we have also made it easier to navigate our website, removed redundant topics, and established clear internal links so the Discovery Platforms can understand how each of our guides fit into a larger method. The ultimate goal is to maintain visibility and continue to show verifiable expertise, predictable structure and consistent problem solving across all pages.

5. What do you do to turn first‑time buyers into repeat customers and advocates? Are there specific experiences, content, or community touches that work especially well for you?

Kira Byrd: Our goal is to provide new customers with an easy-to-follow routine in the first week to eliminate overwhelming feelings when using a new product. We also want to show them what products to use when (order), at what time (timing), and how to make adjustments to the routine based on their curls’ reaction to the products, so they can see quick results. Quick successes are shown to reduce customer churn and increase the chances of a second purchase.

Following this, we continue to send the new customer educational emails that will continue to educate the buyer on the techniques they have learned, but will not be trying to sell anything to them. Each email will solve one problem, such as maintaining moisture levels in their hair, reducing breakage, or preventing overloading the hair with too many products, and will relate it to a proven technique. Building trust and confidence in the process and positioning the brand as a constant source of information and guidance, versus a salesperson, will help build long-term relationships.

The last step is to build a loyal relationship with the customer by providing them access to community areas where customers can post pictures of their hair after implementing the techniques provided, ask for recommendations on how to tweak routines to fit individual needs, and see how other customers’ hair has reacted to the same techniques we provided. Real-life examples of results within these communities create authentic social proof, which is shown to produce a higher ROI than discounting. When a first-time buyer has a structured program to follow, receives continued education on the techniques they have learned, and sees results from those techniques, they become an advocate for the brand and will come back again because they trust the system and know it works.

6. If you had to write a short playbook for an ecommerce founder one stage behind you, what would you double down on over the next 12 months – and what would you stop doing entirely?

Kira Byrd: Increase the amount of evidence-based content for the reason that buyers respond to instructional content that will solve one defined problem using a repeatable method. Create a library of routines, comparisons, and ingredient explanations that reflect what you have tested on actual hair. Consider every single piece of content to be an asset that will compound over time and support all of the other content (email, social, search) with one cohesive message.

Increase the investment in owned channels because algorithms are constantly changing. Develop stronger email sequences, build text-based educational funnels, and make it easier for new customers to find their way from discovering you to subscribing to you. The ability to generate a predictable revenue stream is directly related to the audience that you can reach at any given time without having to pay for that access.

Do not pursue micro-trends that do not align with your main method of doing business because pursuing those trends takes up too much time and erodes the level of trust that customers have in you. Do not post content with a high volume of posts with no specific purpose in mind because it makes it difficult for search engines to determine what you are trying to convey and creates confusion for potential customers. Do not add products or affiliate links that you can’t explain why you chose them in a transparent manner; short-term revenue never supersedes the importance of building long-term credibility with your customer base.