I have been thinking for a while now to add a “blogging” section on my blog. Yes, this would be a completely new section for me, but one of my friends just started her blog and she has so many questions! Which reminded me of myself when I first started blogging. So, here we go! And of course, the first blog post for this section has to be about fashion blogging! Also, please keep in mind I’m in no way a complete expert on blogging, I keep learning new things every single day. But just thought I would share with you what I have learned so far!
Writing fashion content is a lot of fun! It’s probably my favorite topic to blog about, even though I first started as a college blogger. But this whole transition deserves it’s own story time post! Nowadays, there are probably millions of fashion bloggers (exaggeration? I don’t think so), and it is getting harder to stand out. However, here are some basic tips on how to start and grow your fashion blog.
Take a lot of photos
When it comes to the images for your blog posts, Instagram and other social media – take more pictures than you think you’ll need. Go for multiple images of each pose, because in the moment you might not spot what is going on in the background. You might miss that your face wasn’t in focus, or that your shoes were clipped out of the shot. Take plenty of photos, and you will have enough fresh ones for future posts, your social media, and for the post you’re working on.
It is funny to think about how effortless and smooth everything seems to be when you come across a fashion blogger Instagram or blog. When in real life, they probably took more than 100 pictures to only get one Instagram worthy photo, to then edit it using probably at least 2 apps.
When taking my pictures for my blog or Instagram, I take as many as I can. And then just convince myself that there is no way I look bad in all of them. When I first started out, I was a perfectionist and would try to get THE picture, which normally would just stress me out and frustrate me, ruining the creative process and making it stressful instead of fun. So, don’t overwhelm yourself and try to enjoy the process as much as you can! Taking pictures should be fun, not a burden.
Always tag the brands
You are missing a big opportunity if you aren’t tagging the brands in everything you do. And especially on Instagram. Brands want to see how people are styling their clothing and welcome the free publicity in most cases. It gives them a chance to feature your photos on their accounts too. And, when tagging brands you are slowly putting yourself in their radar, which can lead to a future collaboration.
When it comes to brands, and tagging you need to be clear about your relationship with them. If they sent you the item and you are collaborating, then tag them up as #ad or if it is a blog post, clarify the relationship on the first line. Remember that transparency is key.
Don’t be afraid to explore working with brands and products that aren’t always in the spotlight or that are start ups, like mountain mamas women’s tunics. New brands and companies are sometimes more willing to collaborate or work with bloggers with a small reach. Besides, they will for sure repost your images and hopefully you’ll be able to benefit from that.
Hashtags and keywords matter
I have a love/hate relationship with hashtags… If used correctly they can drive a lot of traffic to your Instagram posts! But, if you don’t use them correctly, you can get “shadow banned”. Instagram claims this doesn’t exist, but I’m almost 100% sure I got shadowbanned a couple of months ago… Anyways, I’ll write another blog post about this.
The use of hashtags is honestly such a broad topic, that it deserves its own blog post. But I’ll try my best to summarize how important they are. People who are interested in the hashtags you use will find your account and hopefully engage with you. You basically attract the audience you want to reach with the hashtags you decide to use. With this being said, always use hashtags that are related to what your post is about!
Keywords and SEO – a topic that is not fun or exciting, but that is so important when it comes to blogging. It is a bit complicated to explain but I’ll try my best or I’ll just use a Wikipedia definition… SEO means search engine optimization. “Search engine optimization is the process of increasing the visibility of a website or a web page to users of a web search engine. The term excludes the purchase of paid placement, referring only to the improvement of unpaid results (known as “natural” or “organic” results).” A way to improve your SEO so that your posts rank higher on Google is to use keywords in an organic way throughout your post. Use a keyword in your title and then add some as you write your post.
Engagement is important
When people spend time asking you questions or commenting on your work, take the time to respond. It might seem a little bit over the top, but if they spent time supporting you in your work, then a reply is the least you can do. It will encourage them to engage again in the future too. Be friendly and network with the people who are enjoying your content. Instagram nowadays, is all about engagement and “interest”. And so is blogging, if google notices that more people are interacting with your content – commenting and sharing your blog posts – then it will start ranking you higher because it “seems” people are interested in your content or that they find it useful.
Editing
While you shouldn’t be editing or reshaping your body (always remember to love your body), learning to make photos aesthetically pleasing to yourself and your audience is key. It will give your fashion blog a brand and an individual feel. Making all of your platforms cohesive and beautiful is very important, especially for Instagram.
Related: My Favorite Photo Editing Apps
When it comes to your blog, you also want to make it look as aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate as possible.
Sometimes I come across some profiles on Instagram, where these girls post very low-quality pictures. Maybe the picture is tilted, pixelated, or just very blurry and they seem to be frustrated because their blog or page isn’t growing. And while their blog content probably is amazing, the low-quality pictures just drive people away.
Collaborate with other creators
Always remember that blogging and social media are very social jobs or hobbies. Interacting and networking with people is super important. This might be kind of scary if you are an introvert, but it is what it is.
Collaborate, both, with brands and bloggers. If you have an idea for a fashion shoot, pitch to a brand for their clothing or accessories, and pitch to other bloggers to swap photography and MUA skills. This is a great way to get a boost in coverage and make new friends! Fashion blogging is a lot of fun but can turn into a fantastic career if you keep it authentic and creative too.
Consistency is the most important thing
This is something I still struggle with, but I try my best to be consistent at posting blog posts and also to be consistent on social media. It is important for a lot of reasons, one of them is that you want to keep giving your readers/followers fresh content. But, always make sure that the content you are posting is high quality. And don’t give up quality for quantity.
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