Let us start with the pre-launch basics
1. Topic
You need to ask yourself if there’s a particular topic, niche, or genre that you want to specifically concentrate on. It could be that your main interest lies in vintage fashion, stylish professional office attire, girly dresses, high-end jewelry, etc. The main goal here is to write what you may want to blog about. If you want to occasionally post about beauty, food, movies, and music, you can do so as well. One very successful fashion blogger is Cupcakes and Cashmere, she’s managed to blog about her love for fashion while integrating her love of home decor & cupcakes and has even managed to work with big brands such as Coach, secure an amazing book publishing deal and her blog continues to grow. So why limit yourself?
2. Platform
There are a few platforms you can select from, the most popular ones being Blogger and WordPress. Both of these blogging platforms are very user-friendly and equally loved and used by fashion bloggers around the world. WordPress does have more features and options in terms of SEO, plugins, themes etc. but if you are skilled in working at HTML, you can also carry out a lot by using Blogger.
3. Pick a Name
Choose a name for your fashion blog and one that is pleasant and related to what you are going to be blogging about. It’s your blog so feel free to be as creative as you want!
4. Domain Name
It is also important to get your blog a .com or .ca domain name so that you can secure the name you want online and to avoid having your blog’s name taken away from you in the case that you become very successful. having a .com or .ca domain name is essential for branding than having a domainname.blogspot.com or domainname.wordpress.com type of structure. You can purchase your domain name from WordPress, Blogger, or Namecheap.
5. Set the Design, Appearance, and Tone
Picture how your blog will look like. Do you want it to have an overall look that is clean? minimal? classic? vintage? Your blog will be an online memory board reminding you of all the pictures you posted, words you wrote and phases you went through. You can always change the design and style and you can use the services of a graphic designer to work on your header or buy a theme and customize it yourself if you know how.
6. Do not Forget to Socialize
Remember to add your social media widgets to your blog. This includes anything from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Blogloving and other social icons you wish to add. Stay organized and consistent about the way your blog looks to your readers.
7. Keep your Photos Consistent
It is very important to keep the photos on your blog the same size, you do not want to have mismatched photos and photos that are inconsistent in size since this can look very messy and unprofessional. In order to avoid this mishap, you can save your photos at the same width then select, ”original size” before you post your pictures.
8. Get your Blog Noticed
While your drive and goals to do everything to succeed are still very important, It is also important that you do not worry too much about getting a popular blog at first. It is very important to give your readers something of value and something that will make them want to subscribe to your blog and share your blog with others. Let your personality come out because people will ultimately enjoy your blog more if they can get a taste of what your life is like and the ideas and tips you have to offer. A few tips on how to get your fashion blog noticed (can apply to other types of blogs also): Chictopia: This particular fashion community is an excellent place for fashion blogging newcomers to begin. I find Chictopia to be a very welcoming, warm and friendly place to be. Just make sure that you complete the outfit details each and every time you post an outfit look as this will make it much simpler for other people to find your look. Remember to also engage and interact with other Chictopians! Lookbook.nu: This is an amazingly large fashion community. Even though it is hard to break into the Hot page (the site has systems and filters that make it a bit difficult for new members to immediately get noticed). The very best way to start getting traffic from lookbook to your blog is to post often and consistently. You can also add some value by commenting on other people’s lookbooks ( avoid commenting over and over – this is spam and is frowned upon by the community). Forums: Venture into fashion forums such as the Fashion Spot and while there feel free to engage with other users, offer tips and add value to the conversations, soon enough people will notice you, make sure to include your blog’s name as your forum signature so people can click over to your blog for more information. Get Social with Other Blogs: Find other fashion blogs and leave useful comments in the comment section. It is very important not to spam other fashion bloggers by always being that one person who is constantly leaving a mediocre comment followed by ‘please go check out my blog at …’ – This is considered spamming and is frankly distasteful and it is something that people do not appreciate.You can feature your favorite bloggers as well and seek out guest posting opportunities with bloggers you admire in order to increase your readership and traffic to your blog.
