Thinking of starting a fashion blog, but don’t know where to start? Here are some important factors to consider if you’re hoping to achieve blogging success.
Local domain and hosting
Search engines give advantage to local domains (.co.uk, .fr, .es, etc.) that are hosted on local web servers. It is an important local authority and trust indicator. So, if you want to start a blog in the UK it is important to pick a UK domain and web server. This will also help you target your geographic audience.
Learn SEO
It is important to learn how to apply basic SEO elements to your blog. This is the best way to boost traffic and your visibility online. Most importantly, it is cost effective; search engines give value to SEO friendly blog websites over those that are not following their guidelines.
Search engines also give value to websites that are mobile friendly and have high-quality content. Thin pages, low quality content and duplicates are big no-nos as they will get you penalised.
Choosing a design
Responsive websites are great because it gives your readers a great user experience. It also helps to boost your visibility on mobile search results.
Blog ideas
There are several tools that you can use to carry out your research. Google’s Keyword Planner, Moz’s Keyword Explorer and SEM Rush can be a great help to see what people are searching for. They will also give you suggestions on other related searches people are looking for. Make sure you attach visuals or videos to your posts - these often help to increase click through rates.
Content calendar
Once you know what you want to write, use a content calendar to help you plan your content strategy. It can also show you an overview of what you have written in the past and remind you of scheduled posts, which will help you to plan out content topics for the future.
Social media
When you publish your blog posts, share them on your social platforms. Your existing friends and contacts are the first few people that can help you get noticed. Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter are useful for helping you gather readers and followers, and Instagram in particular is very popular among fashion bloggers. Make sure you pick attractive visuals and use popular hashtags on them; #ootd #instafashion #fashionblogger are usually trending.
Networking
While your blog content is important, you need to get out there and meet people. There are many events for bloggers advertised on Meetups and on blogger communities on Facebook. This will help you to grow your network within the industry.
Now that you have some general tips on how to start your fashion blog, take a look at our previous blog that will tell you how to become a successful fashion designer.