Hey guys! This time I'm going to share with you guys the most important things that I wish I hadn't missed when I first started blogging, and especially fashion blogging. These are not the usual get your own domain name or write what you love sort of tips that you hear every other day, but genuine and honest tips that I wish someone had told me a year or two back. Ready? Let's go!
1. Think of a good name and a backstory to it
The reason for this is because hopefully, this blogging thing isn't just a two-month fad for you, and that hopefully this would be a record of your journey growing and learning in the fashion industry and will be playing a huge supporting role when you're using it as a reference to your journalistic work. So make sure you have a good name, at least not an embarrassing one, as it will be your identity, and it will be a very very troublesome thing when you want to change it later on in time.
2. Draft, time and coordinate your posts
I'm still trying to correct myself from this mistake. It is always a good idea to have a sort of vision for your future posts, one, two or even three weeks ahead. Plan as far as you can, because this will help you avoid posting the same kind of contents all the time and keep your posts interesting. For example, I would try to avoid posting too many events posts in a row and I'd slot a few food or city guide posts in between to mix things up. Also, drafting up ideas and a few lines for posts whenever you have the whim is also good, and plan when to publish instead!
3. Consistent style
This one kind of goes without saying, but it's a very tricky one because everyone's style develops and changes with time. But the important point is, start off with a consistent style of writing and photos, and that'll help you stay focused and for people to recognise your content! Also it might help you on days where you have to add your own twist and emphasize your own voice and opinions in cases where you're writing about things that are pretty common and/or inspired/sponsored etc.
4. Have your own logo/watermark/graphic
As blogging and personal brand building goes, again, you probably would want this to last longer than one season's fashion. So it'll be a great thing to have if you're able to have some sort of logo designed. Something that'll make your content and your site stand out. It doesn't even have to be a logo per say, it could just be something that you put on all your banners and graphics, like a shape or a certain font. This way you could incorporate this into any related materials like signatures, name cards and anything else you'd need in the future.
5. Don't be afraid to promote yourself
To be honest, this one to most confident bloggers and girls in general won't be a problem, but if you aren't the loudest person in the crowd and is a little bit shy to paste a link to your blog on every social network, then this one's for you. Think of it as sharing your work, showing your friends and family what you have come up with and asking for comments and thoughts. Be proud of what you do and have faith in it in order for others to start giving your work some credit! It's important to build up an audience base (much like selling insurance... lol) and the easiest is to start with friends & fam.
6. Get on social platforms, but not all
Of course, it's so common nowadays for bloggers to have site-specific accounts on different social networks so you can promote your content and keep in touch with your readers. But make sure you keep a balance between keeping your username on every platform available and updating them all regularly, and with different content. It'll be better to have platform-specific or even exclusive content so that readers would want to follow you not just on your blog but everywhere else!
7. Categorize your posts
This might not be the most obvious thing when you first start (or it might be! In that case, brownie points for you!) but it's definitely a super important thing to ensure smooth sailing from here on out. Categorize your posts and add on to them as you go long, but make sure while you tag on relevant keywords, you must consistently put your posts under categories so that you are able to link back to them later, and it'll also be easier for readers to find things. Trust me, I had to re-categorize all my posts at one go and that was not fun.
8. Be relevant
This might go with without saying to many, but I know for fashion bloggers it's easy to overboard with the selfie posts and let the focus drift towards how beautiful you look in a photo rather than the styling value in it. Yes, of course you are beautiful and choosing good looking photos is important, but its equally important that your readers can relate to your post! Think in their shoe, what would interest them, and perhaps more usefully, what would keep them reading?
9. Be different
No, not have your own style or have your own voice per se, but think before you put out content that is already out there in the interwebz. Are there already five other posts about the same event you went to? Relating to the previous point, are the content you're putting out there relatable but also something that your readers may not know yet? Learn from Buzzfeed, Beauty Exchange, or any other successful fashion sites and blogs. Other than being exclusive, you could also offer some unique viewpoints.
10. Be yourself (ha sorry!)
But seriously, this is really important and I just had to. Be yourself and stay true to yourself. If you hate it, don't write about it, but don't pretend to love it just because it's from a sponsor. In the same way, your style may evolve, but always stay true to what you love (so cliche I'm gagging, but it's the #truth) and always, always have your own view. Coming from a very easily swayed and influenced person too, but it's crucial that you are you and not anyone else out there. I mean, who else is going to be you, right?
Till next time,
xx
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