Fashion is a great way to get into the blogosphere, especially if you have something new to offer. Whether you are trying to help people who are challenged with their fashion sense, provide the latest styles to the Fashionista or help give people tips as to keeping things cheap but looking like a million bucks, there is a formula that works and will help get you noticed. You need to write from experience and you need to have a voice. People are going to trust you because of the information you provide and a connection to you is the way you keep them coming back.
Get Good Cover Shots The most important part when you are trying to drive traffic is to find good cover shots. Images are everything when it comes to fashion and you need to show the reader how knowledgeable you are. In addition, you need the attention of the search engines which means good search words, metatags and images that backlink to other popular sites. All of these things will help you climb the Google algorithm so people can find your blog. Fashionista.com is a great example of a site that always uses the latest news and the latest images to help get people to the website.
Make it Personal Whether it is something that is totally voyeuristic, like a $10,000 handbag most of your readers will never buy, or something more practical, you need to find a way to make it personal. You can develop relationships with companies to try and run contests from your blog once you are up and running. This can drive traffic as well make your readers loyal as they don’t want to miss out on a chance to win something. While you will likely need to start small, something that is just nice to get. These contests spread the word faster than anything else and even the most practical of an item (mascara, scarf, sunglasses) can bring people out of the woodwork and elevate them to the level of rabid fan. StyleList.com is a great example of a site that does this.
Advice, Saving Money In this economy everyone is looking for a way to save money. While some of it may seem very simple, finding great deals and broadcasting them via your fashion blog will help make you indispensible. This is the way you get people hooked because everyone wants to look their best but might need to do so with things already in their closets or with small purchases rather than large. This is a great place to reach across the aisle and ask for help. Guest bloggers bring their audience too and can be a great symbiotic relationship when building a readership. Bellasugar.com is a great example of this as well as finding little things to share like “makeup tips” and “hottest nail color.” By utilizing these tools you not only help grow your readership but you also form a nice outline for how you need to write. Keeping things simple and to the point is important with fashion blogging. People want to come to your site for the tips and suggestions but they don’t have a ton of time to read extensive articles. Images and videos are a great way to give more information quickly and turn your readers into regulars.