Looking to turn your hobby into a career? 

Want to share your passion for fashion with the world and make some money in the process? 

Then the exciting life of the fashion blogger could be the perfect choice for you. 

Writing a fashion blog is the perfect way to bring your unique sartorial style to the world, creating your own platform to share your talent. It doesn’t matter whether your passion is for creating fashion content, styling or photography, your blog is an open space to showcase your skills and attract the right kind of attention from readers, brands, and other taste makers. 

Easier said than done? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Here’s everything you need to know about becoming a fashion blogger: 

Find Your Voice 

Ask yourself this:

• How will your blog be different from everyone else’s? What will keep your readers and potential readers coming back for more?

The blogosphere is a competitive marketplace, particularly within the fashion and style arena.If you want to stand out in that crowded market then you have to find your own voice and  have something unique to say. 

If your content is true to you, your personality will shine though. And that means not trying to copy other successful fashion bloggers. Instead, bring something new and unique to the table. Speak in your own voice, embrace your own style, and keep it personal. 

So, what does make you different? Are you committed to eco fashion or obsessed with colour? Do you own your curves, or own a wardrobe full of designer clothes? By working out your USP you will be better placed to position your blog in the marketplace, create a network of similar bloggers, and target the readers who will best enjoy your content. 

Perfect Your Photography  

They say a picture paints a thousand words so, if you want your fashion blog to be a success, you are going to need plenty of great images. 

Behind every good fashion blog stands a great fashion photographer. Do you have someone willing to take outfit photos for you on a weekly basis? Or do you need to invest in a tripod so that you can capture the images you need without support? 

Great fashion photography is an art. There are several things you need to bear in mind to help your images stand out from the crowd: 

• Find an interesting location
  Your garden or local park will provide a great natural backdrop to your photos, particularly during the spring and summer months. Alternatively, if you’re looking to create an edgier or more rural feel why not look for a raw brick of graffiti wall to be the co-star of your images. 
• Think about lighting
  You may find it easier to shoot in natural light to start with, although of course you have no control over the weather! If you do choose to shoot indoors then look for a bright, well-light room: lots of windows will definitely help. 
• Practice your poses
  Looking natural in front of the camera won’t come naturally to everyone. Practicing your poses will help: think about how you are going to hold your hands, whether you want to look straight into the camera or into the distance. Can’t stand still? Moving slowly may help you to perfect your new fashion blogger pose. 
• Capture details
  One photo per post isn’t enough! Give your readers a reason to stay on the page by offering them plenty of shots of your outfit details: shoes, bags, accessories, a close up of the print your wearing. The more relevant images you can share, the more likely your readers are to engage with you. 

Grow A Network

No blogger is an island. It doesn’t matter how great your content is if nobody is reading it. Building a successful blog involves so much more than having a website that looks good with regularly updated content (although that’s definitely a good place to start!) 

You can’t just expect your blog to grow organically without connecting with anyone else: you have to reach out to other bloggers, engage with your potential readership, make yourself accessible. You need to grow a network. 

But How? 

Social media is your friend here. When you create your blog you should also create social media accounts under the same umbrella. As well as following, and engaging with, other bloggers and brands, this will also give you a platform to engage with your readers. Blogging is built on two pillars:  conversation and community. Starting conversations and ensuring your blog and your brand are recognized within the community are surefire routes to success.

If someone leaves a comment on your blog, check theirs out. If you like what you find then leave a reciprocal comment for them. Connecting with people who have the same interests as you won’t only help you to grow your blog, it may also help you to make new friends and social connections too.

• A great rule of thumb, particularly during the early stages in your blogging career, is to spend at least as much time promoting each post as you do writing it. 

Treat Your Blog Like a Business

The idea of working in the fashion industry might seem exciting, but it’s important to remember that if you want to make some cash and pay your rent then you should treat your blog like an ordinary business, just like any other. 

Pretty pictures and a great blog title aren’t enough to bring in the money. To receive sponsorship and advertising revenue you need to be able to quickly and succinctly let big brands know what benefits they will receive from choosing to work with you. 

Statistics are your friends here. 

They will help you to: 

• Work out how many hits your blog is getting a day and from where. 
• Understand who your core readership demographic is, where they are based, and target the brands you want to work with accordingly. 
• Keep track of what kind of content is receiving the most shares, likes and comments. This will help you to shape your blog and give your readers the kind of content they want. 
• Understand what time of day your blog receives the most traffic. You can then schedule your posts and publish them accordingly. 

A growing number of bloggers check their analytics on at least a weekly basis, helping them to understand their growth and where their successes are coming from. You can also measure your blogs growth, and this knowledge will help you to grow it further.

Once you have all of this information you will be in a position to create a media kit: a document that you can send to brands and media agencies to encourage them to start working with you. 53% of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority, so its likely that this will be your main revenue stream. Most brands will only work with bloggers that have a certain number of followers or a certain amount of traffic: even if you don’t hit these thresholds, you will at least be on their radar when your brand grows further. 

Setting your blog up as a professional business will set it apart from hobby blogs, and encourage brands to take your seriously and understand your passion and commitment to the project. By doing this you are more likely to earn advertising revenue and win sponsorship for your blog. 

Be Honest and Open

One of the main qualities that every blogger should have is honesty and integrity. 

Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information, and readers will trust reviews from bloggers considerably more than from more commercial outlets. To maintain this intergrity and keep the trust of your readers, it’s important that you are honest with your readers. Don’t just tell them what they want to hear, or what the brands want you to say. 

• If a product doesn’t work or doesn’t suit you then share it! 
• If you don’t want to say something negative then don’t say anything at all
• Your audience knows your style and your taste: It would be an abuse of their trust to work with brands that you wouldn’t use if they weren’t paying you to do so.
• Let your readers into your world. Be honest about your life and your goals, so that they can engage with the real you.
• Readers can immediately recognize authenticity. If you treat blogging as an easy route to making a fast buck then you’re unlikely to be successful.  

Remember You’re the Expert! 

Do you know fashion inside out? 

A blogger is someone known primarily for their web content, and a successful blogger is considered to be an expert within the fashion world. Make the most of this position. Show off your knowledge! If there’s a big fashion news story, why not approach your local newspaper and ask if they need an expert comment? You can’t buy the kind of exposure that would give to you and your blog! 

Your opinion may even be read by other media agencies or brands, opening further doors to you. Bloggers no longer have to sit in their darkened bedrooms tapping away on a laptop: they are invited to exciting events, product launches and other media opportunities. 

Not sure you belong? Fake it until you make it! Most people feel insecure in a new environment, but just because you haven’t come to the fashion industry via a conventional route doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve your place in it. 

Some key things to remember when networking with other experts at a product launch or media event include: 

• Talk to people and get your name out there. Most people want to make new contents and will be keen to find out more about you and what you do. 
• Swap business cards. Get some cards printed for your blog, so that you have something tangible to give to potential new contacts. 
• Plan ahead. Everyone hates awkward silences, so prepare a few questions and anecdotes to have in your back pocket if you run out of things to say. 
• Be yourself! Remember that people and brands that don’t like you for who you are are unlikely to want to work with you in the long term anyway. 

Keep On Going 

The journey to becoming a successful fashion blog won’t help overnight. In fact you’ll probably be creating content for months that no one will read but your mum! 

Don’t give up. 

You have to be prepared to post regularly, and put in plenty of time and effort into making your blog a success. Be realistic: How much time do you have to commit to creating content for your blog? If you don’t have at least a couple of hours to commit to every post you create then your blog is unlikely to grow. 

Don’t have long gaps between posts: once you have committed to a posting schedule (whether its daily or weekly) you should stick to it religiously. If you aren’t consistent your readers will lose interest and may stop following you or visiting our blog. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got one reader or one million: once you’ve got them you need to keep them! 

You need to approach growing your blog like you would any other job, and put the time into nurturing it. Blogging isn’t an easy career. But it is a rewarding one. 

Above all, have fun! Your passion and enthusiasm will shine through the content that you produce and that authenticity will attract people to you, and to the work you are creating.