How To Start A Fashion Blog



Hi all, hope you’ve been enjoying reading our blog. In our previous article, we talked about how to start a travel blog in 10 minutes. Following along the same line, today we’ll look at how to start a fashion blog with this step-by-step guide.

So let’s dive in!

You need to pick a blogging platform to start a fashion blog. A blogging platform, or a content management system (CMS), is a tool that lets you create, manage, update, and optimize a blog. Don’t worry if you’re not a tech-savvy person. Starting out, a blog name like, “If Shoes Could Talk” may have caught the eye of more clothing and accessory brands for me. It took weeks of only posting about fashion for people to see that was my niche. A good blog name should be descriptive so that potential readers can instantly tell what your blog is about just from the name. If you’re looking for ways to network, here are a few good options: joining a local blogging network, guest posting, contributing to a blog or magazine, getting involved in your community’s fashion scene, attending a blogging conference such as Go Blog Social, or attending New York Fashion Week. There are three things you need to start a fashion blog using WordPress.org: Domain name – This will be your website’s address and what users will type in browser to visit your blog (Example, wpbeginner.com). Web hosting – This will be your blog’s home and where you will store all your website files. Your undivided attention for 30 mins. Use every possible way to create a brand's identity, whether you're starting a fashion label or just a fashion blog. From the name, logo, colors theme to the website, blog, social media — use every available door to engage the prospects in making your brand recognized.

Fashion blogging is huge. Really, really huge.

With the growing dependence on online means and the increasing popularity of social media, fashion blogging has joined the runway.

One of the most beautiful things about fashion blogging is that almost everyone has the ability to create a fashion blog. They can also nurture this fashion blog into a career and still keep it individualized to their own personal style.

If you are wondering how to start a fashion blog, keep reading.

Contents

Getting Started

There are fashion bloggers all over the world, each posting individual and unique content. But before you begin, you need to understand that blogging is hard work.

Starting any type of blog takes endurance and perseverance, but starting a fashion blog may be an even harder challenge because this niche is already so cramped and crowded, you may have trouble finding room to breathe.

Blogging is competitive, with many doing their best to break into the market. The good news, however, is that the vast majority of these blogs are bad. Really bad!

This means you have an opportunity to create something truly awesome and unique, but it will take courage and perseverance. To make your fashion blog work, you must be different. You must be smart about how you approach your content and design.

If you are willing to work hard, then keep reading.

As you begin your fashion blog, there are some basic steps you must complete. This includes choosing the best website hosting, selecting a domain name, picking a website building platform among others. This how to start a fashion blog will guide you on each of these steps, thus helping you create your own fashion blog.

Many new fashion bloggers start with Blogger or Tumblr. This is not a good idea since these are not domain names you will own and these sites can limit or regulate your content.

Remember, your blog is an asset, so you want to maintain creative control at all times. Thus, instead create a unique, catchy domain name and then buy it.

There are several sites where you can buy domain names for as little as $12 per year. You can also buy a domain name directly from your hosting service. If you choose Bluehost then you can save money on domain registration through the use of Bluehost Domain coupons.

Also, find a good hosting service where you can purchase basic hosting service for just a few INR a year.

What’s more, if you decide to go with Bluehost, (as you should! Read this Bluehost review to know why), then here is a video on how to buying hosting from Bluehost!

#Step-by-Step guide on how to buying hosting from Bluehost

  • Step 1. Click here(Exclusive 40% Discount) to visit the Bluehost website. Next, choose a web hosting that you want to purchase.
  • Step 2. Select a plan and click on “Buy Now”.
  • Step 3. Specify your domain name, if you have one or create a new domain. Select add-ons (Sitelock & CodeGuard), as per your preference. Next, click on “Continue to checkout”.
  • Step 4. Check your order summary, add “Bluehost coupon”, check the total amount and once satisfied, click on “Proceed to Payment”

#2. Set up Your Blog

Hosting services also allow you to download WordPress, the best blogging tool on the Internet. WordPress is a content management system that was originally designed for bloggers.

It is easy-to-use and you do not have to know HTML or CSS to get started. You can download a theme, either free or paid and then set up your fashion blog and get started.

WordPress has some nice free themes which are fine to begin, but as you gain more experience, you may want to shift to a premium, paid theme.

The good thing about WordPress is even if you change themes, your content remains which means you do not have to redo much. You may have to tweak sizes or fonts to work with the new theme, but no major transfers or updating of content.

A word of caution about working with WordPress. Once your blog is up and running, you may be very tempted to play around with the millions of WordPress plugins and various WordPress themes. You may want to change colours, fonts, and templates which can distract you from producing any content.

Once you get your site up and running, keep it simple to start with. Choose a basic free theme and set up your colour scheme. Then focus in and get your mind in the create mode or your blog may never see the light of day.

As mentioned earlier, you will be entering a very crowded niche. This means you must clearly define how you will be different from everyone else.

What do you bring to the table that will make your own fashion blog stand out?

Kids

If you cannot clearly articulate this, your blog is doomed to failure.

Why are you fabulous? What makes your brand special? Knowing the answers to these questions will provide you with what you need, to be different. It is this difference which will bring you the small successes, which are very important.

Your difference may be a really cool domain name or a unique approach to how you blog.

You may have an innovative take on the latest style trend and your post is noticed by someone on Facebook or Twitter. This person gives you a shout out, telling you they like your cool idea and you are on your way.

Having these small successes is very, very important. They help build your reputation and bolster your confidence.

If your take on scalloped hemline mini skirts was awesome, then you must know what you are talking about, right? So, what do you need to make your fashion blog stand out?

First, put your face on it. You are the biggest part of your blog, so ensure that you’re about me page tells your story, even if it is a long one. Readers love to know who has these opinions and is doing the writing.

Giving people a sense of your background and experience provides credibility to your blog and it gives them a reason to listen to you.

Create a strong brand and make it different. You are your brand. Your brand is everything you say and do. It is how people perceive you. Ensure that everything within your brand connects.

This means your logo, your name, your style and your design all work smoothly together, creating a fashion blog that is unique and different.

#4. Do Not Be Afraid To Take Risks

One thing you must understand while starting a fashion blog is how to risk it all. Writing content is a very personal endeavour and you must be prepared to step off the ledge. Write about the things that matter to you. Do not just parrot what others are saying. Provide your own spin and make it yours. Truthfully, this is probably the hardest part of blogging.

  • Now, Start Writing. Your goal must be to publish the absolute best content you can. This is what differentiates the great bloggers from the average. Publishing great content can make up for a myriad of sins. Even if you chose a lame domain name or decided to go with a free web hosting, you can still make your blog a success.
  • Publishing great content is not so much about how it looks likes as what it is telling your reader. Great content will change someone’s life. Yes, this might sound dramatic, but it is true. Check out this blog writing tips.

  • Consider your goals for your fashion blog. Is it about teaching teens how to dress for themselves and determine their best style? Your advice could make someone feel great about themselves and stand up to those school bullies. This is huge and your readers will remember.
  • Fashion bloggers can write about anything fashion-related. There are unlimited possibilities when writing for a fashion blog. You could post pictures of your daily outfits and add a short blurb about where you purchased a certain bag or pair of shoes. You can write about a great sale you found and what you bought. You can write about a dress you covet or an article on the Spring runway shows.
  • You may prefer to create style guides where you help your readers determine if a particular trend will work for them or give advice on what type of outfit to wear to a certain event, such as a wedding or travelling. You may want to write about your favourite designer and their vision for the next season.

    Any of these will provide great content for a fashion blog post, but you may come up with a different angle or approach and make it your own. That is how you get noticed and build a following of loyal readers.

    The best content provides solutions to problems your readers are facing. Deciding what to write will take time. You will need to do research to discover issues that need to be addressed. Spend time coming up with helpful and best content ideas and it will pay off.

Coming up with meaningful content can be intimidating. There are several strategies you can use to help.

  • Plan your strategy for your blog. Study your target audience and figure out what they want to see.
  • Study your competitors. Spend time reading and browsing through the fashion blogs of your competitors. Pay attention to those who are really successful and study what they are doing well. Take their methods and make them your own. There is never any reason to re-invent the wheel.
  • Keep Writing. The only way to get better at writing is to write. To create a successful fashion blog, you will need to write a lot of content. The more you write, the easier it will be to find your voice and make it your own. Your blog posts should be smart, witty, and provide value to your readers. Longer blog posts between 1,000 and 2,000 words tend to be the best.
  • Keep Your Content Evergreen. This means the information you provide does not age. It is relevant forever. This is one of the best strategies for making your blog successful.
  • Learn Good SEO. If your blog cannot be seen, it cannot be read. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is how you get your blog to rank on the first page of the search engines.
  • SEO is something every successful blogger masters and you will need to learn how to use these techniques. There are guides and other blogs that will teach you what you need to know about how to craft great content that will make your blog visible to your audience.

    Good, relevant content is not easy. It takes extensive research and lots of time to write and edit so your content is perfect. If you are providing rich, relevant content, your blog will get noticed. Even if you do not hit it out of the park on the first few posts, stay with it and your blog will grow.

#6. Build Your Network

Good content is extremely important, but if no one sees it, your blog will never get off the ground. Building a strong network of readers and peers is what will make your blog famous.

How To Start A Fashion Blogger On Instagram

  • Track other fashion bloggers. Build a Google+ profile and grab a Twitter handle and start following the best of the fashion bloggers. Do your research and discover who are the best and learn what they do.
  • Make contact with these bloggers. Start slowly and read their content. Comment on their posts and try to make friends with them.
  • Share their content. Let them know you would like to share their content on your blog. Offer to give them a mention and try and build a relationship through email or IM.
  • Visit forums and social media and start discussions. Whenever and wherever you can, try and start discussions. You can make some great friends and build strong relationships by proving pertinent comments on social media and the forums. Also, here are some great techniques to promote your blog on Facebook.
  • There are other ways to network online, but these are a good place to start. As you gain experience, you will develop your own strategies for keeping in touch with your fashion blog peers and building great relationships.

    There are some great fashion blogs where you can get ideas and make contact with the bloggers. Visit these sites and see what they are doing and saying. Take the time to read their content and the comments made by their readers. This is valuable information as you create your own fashion blog and build your readership.

Creating a fashion blog will be one of the best, most exciting challenges you will ever face. Take your time and make it your own. Follow these tips and advice on how to start a fashion blog and make it your own. Put your creative stamp on your site and your content and you will soon find you have a growing legion of dedicated and loyal followers.

I know a lot about blogging, but when it comes to fashion…

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How To Start A Fashion Blog 2019

Not so much.

That being said, fashion blogs have always been in style, and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. That’s because there are limitless styles and trends out there just waiting to be discovered.

Or maybe, there’s room for a blog to help people like me figure out why my belt and my shoes need to match.

Either way, you’re here because you’ve got the “eye” for this kind of thing, and that’s a talent that shouldn’t be hidden from the world.

I had the pleasure of connecting with some of the most notable fashion bloggers in the industry and they shared some invaluable tips that I’d like to pass on to you.

I’m going to show you how to start a fashion blog, but more than that, I’m going to show you how to put it on blast so you can make waves in the fashion industry.

How Do I Start a Fashion Blog?

Think of blogs like a blank canvas. The way you start them is always the same. What makes any one blog different from the others is what happens next. While you can go anywhere on this site and find out

While you can go anywhere on this site and find out how to start a blog, I’m going to give you the crash course here so you can find out what makes your fashion blog unique from all the other types out there.

It only takes four simple steps:

Step One: Choose Your Domain

The domain is your website’s address or URL. This is how people will get to your website, so you want something short and memorable. When I say ‘domain’ I don’t mean that you should go off running to Tumblr, Blogger, Weebly or any of those other free blogs – because those are just vanities. They don’t possess the robust tools you’ll need to build a powerful brand.

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The thing about domains, though, is that you can’t have any identical ones on the internet. This means that your first, second, or tenth idea may already be taken.

Don’t fret, though, even if several ideas of yours are already taken, this will just push you to really find something unique. Try to make it convey the concept and focus of your fashion blog and the brand you’re trying to create. If your goal is to become a designer, consider using your name in the title for example.

Step Two: Set Up Your Hosting & Blog Platform

Hosting is the service provider that puts your blog online. If your blog is a house, then the hosting is the property you’ll build it on. Purchasing your domain and hosting makes you the boss.

Because you’re here to build a fashion brand, securing blog hosting and setting up a WordPress blog is the recipe you’re going to need to follow.

Your blogging platform or blog site is the program you will use to design and post your articles and fantastic fashion photos. There are several options out there, but I always recommend WordPress and do many others. This program feels like a classic word processor like Microsoft Word, so it’s user-friendly from the get-go.

There are currently over 74 million websites on the internet that use WordPress and that number is constantly going up. Once you’ve set up your WordPress, your hosting, and your domain, you’re ready to blog!

Set up your blog in minutes with this short video:

Start your First Fashion Blog

  • Navigate to BlueHost
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    BlueHost even offers you a free domain name for a year.
  • Submit your personal information
    Name, phone number, email address and payment information is used to purchase the hosting package, which is billed annually. Once you’re done you’ll have access to the blog control panel.
  • Installing WordPress in One Click
    Bluehost offers a simple method to installing WordPress in just one click. Find the button in the control panel that says ‘Install WordPress’ and you’ll be all set up in under a minute.

Step Three: Figure Out your Fashion Angle

What makes you special? Now, that’s not a knock on you personally but it poses an existential question to help you put your reasoning into perspective.

There are too many blogs out there without a purpose or a unique approach. Ask friends and family and list out some ideas that you want to explore with a blog.

Step Four: Publish Mind Blowing Content & Network

After you’ve launched your blog, give every piece of content you publish some serious thought. Do a considerable amount of research to understand how the competition is resonating with their audience and use that as inspiration to curate content that will reach the next level. Quality outweighs quantity in this realm and I generally take up to a week before I publish anything.

Now that you’ve published some content, network your tail off. You should be communicating with countless people in the space before you even think about the next piece of content. Networking and making friends in the industry is the only way you’ll be able to garner some initial attention.

This means making friends and connecting with like-minded individuals, whether they’re your peers or your competition, they’ll most likely be able to help you. Stay active on Pinterest and Twitter and share your own expertise in order to expect reciprocity.

7 Ways to Get Your Fashion Blog Noticed

Let’s be real here:

Blogging is HARD work.

Fortunately, 9/10 of blogs out there are absolutely terrible. I hate to be brash but it’s the brutal truth.

Being successful in the world of fashion involves getting noticed. If people don’t see and hear you, then something’s not working right.

A successful fashion blog shows that you can network, showcase your unique style, and establish yourself as an expert in this ever-changing world.

Before you start writing, though, make sure you have a solid concept of your blog’s purpose and brand. You want to confidently enter the fashion world with your bold new ideas.

Once the blog is up and running, there are six steps you need to take to get yourself noticed by the fashion world.

Grab your camera and put on that fashionable thinking cap, because we’re about to make a fashion statement to the world!

1. Start Promoting Your Fashion Blog Immediately

Now that you have an idea of how you want to rock the fashion world, you need to start producing posts and promoting them. When you first start, your readers will consist of friends and family that you reach out to via email or social networks. These people will provide valuable feedback. You’ll get to see what’s working and what isn’t.

Once you’ve tweaked your style and you have some posts going, it’s time to network with other fashion bloggers. Twitter is great for this since you can search based on hashtags and find similar bloggers and readers.

Reach out to them via direct message and ask them to check out your new blog, or maybe send them a tweet with a comment on their latest post. Building these relationships early on is key to getting noticed in the fashion world.

2. Create a Consistent Blogging Strategy

You should immediately put together a plan for how and when you’ll publish posts. Make it visible to readers as well. Let them know on your homepage or your “about me” page that you publish posts every Tuesday and Thursday, or whatever you decide. Set this schedule and stick to it, but keep your eyes peeled for any big developments in fashion.

If you’re on Twitter or Facebook and you see that someone is making waves with some crazy new fashion, then drop everything and write a post about it. Weigh in with your opinion and praise their decision or rip them apart. Either way, opportunities like that shouldn’t be left alone.

3. Reach Out to Your Favorite Brands

When you’ve gained a following, the next step is to start reaching out to agencies and PR firms that are associated with your favorite fashion brands. Seek out these firms and ask them to be added to their media list. When you reach out, show them why your blog is a perfect fit for their fashion styles.

Send links to posts where you’re wearing those brands and showcase your extensive knowledge of their styles. You can also keep an eye on the industry as a whole using sites like PRSA.org, FashionablyMarketing.Me, and PR Couture.

4. Make Money From Your Fashion Blog

When you’re offering to do a piece on a particular brand, they’ll probably send you clothing to model on your blog. That’s awesome, but if you’re doing a promotional piece for them, you should get paid as well. You can think of it as a paid advertisement, just like fashion magazines use to keep their business healthy.

You shouldn’t rely entirely on promotional posts to make money blogging, though. If you start promoting any brand on the face of the fashion planet, your readers will lose trust in you because they’ll think you’re selling out. Only promote brands you truly wear and continue writing your normal posts in between these paid gigs.

5. Write Guest Posts on Other Fashion Blogs

You can only do so much on your fashion blog, before you need to go elsewhere. Once you’ve gained a steady following, reach out to other fashion blogs similar to your own and pitch them guest posts. By doing a piece for their site, you open up an entire avenue of readers to follow that post back to your own blog.

Do some research on these other blogs before you pitch an idea to them though. You want something that will resonate with their readers, while also showcasing your talents back at your own site. A great tool for this is BuzzSumo which shows you the most popular posts for any website.

6. Present Yourself as a Fashion Expert

If you look at the most influential fashion bloggers in 2015, you’ll notice a common trait between all of them: they’re normal people like you and me. They still are kickin’ here in 2017.

Sure, they have millions of followers on Instagram and YouTube, but they all started as someone who had a dream and a vision for the world of fashion. They’re experts, not because they’re better than anyone else, but because they worked to be seen that way.

Research and experience are certainly part of the equation, but ultimately you are the expert of your own style. You created it, you’re promoting it, so no one else can do it better than you. Remember that in everything that you write on your fashion blog. You are the expert, so write with confidence and never back down from your opinions.

How To Start A Fashion Blog For Free

The fashion world can be a competitive and harsh place, which means you’ll need to put on your thick skin at times, but ultimately it rewards those who don’t back down and never give up.

How To Start A Fashion Blog With No Money

7. Establish Yourself on Social Media

A fashion blogger must absolutely have a presence on social media. After all, fashion is almost 100% visual, so pictures are a must. The three sites you should focus on are Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. This is where the world’s top bloggers are living and it’s where you should be posting as well.

How To Start A Fashion Blog 2017

Remember when creating these profiles to have a picture of yourself that showcases your fashion. It could be a style of makeup you do or a shot of a particular outfit that you think speaks to your style. Regardless, it needs to scream you and your brand. Anytime you post something on your blog, promote it through these channels.

Final Thoughts

Anyone can show you how to start a fashion blog. What’s important is how you turn that blank canvas of a blog into a fashionista’s paradise.

How To Start A Fashion Blog

With this information, you’ll be able to not only start a blog but make it a fashion masterpiece!

Do you have a fashion blog of your own? If so, share it with the community in a comment below.

Also, what tips would you offer newcomers? I want to hear from you.