So, you’re wondering how to start a fashion blog. Or, more specifically, you’re wondering how to make money as a fashion influencer. Here’s the good news: You have access to all the tools you need. The magic happens when you combine those tools with your own tenacity and love of fashion.
Intrigued? Then read on for the inside scoop on running a fashion blog.
This post may contain affiliate links*Step by step: How to start a fashion blog
1. Assess your advantages
You don’t need to be a social media expert, masterful wordsmith, talented clothing designer, tech guru, and professional photographer to break into the fashion influencer business. You only need some skill in one or two of those areas. You can learn the rest.
The thing is, you’ll have a shorter ramp to success if you lean on your strongest skills to start.
So here’s your first piece of homework. Write down your relevant skills and rank them from strongest to weakness. Skills to evaluate include:
- Writing
- Photography
- Outfit creativity
- Organization
- Planning
- Website management
- Social media management
- Modelling
- Graphic design
- Self-promotion
Chances are, you’ll conclude that you’re great at some things at not great at others. I’ll use myself as an example. I was writing and managing websites professionally long before I took over Budget Fashionista. But I’m no model. And I’ve never cultivated a strong personal social media presence. I’m also not good at taking pics of myself.
So my business model focuses on writing great content and managing my website to stay in Google’s good graces. I don’t do much with Instagram and I outsource other social media tasks.
You, on the other hand, may have a knack for selfies and creating engaging social media content. In that case, maybe you decide not to create a fashion blog initially. Instead, you focus on building your social media following. If you are strong on social, you don’t need a blog to pursue paid and commission-generating gigs with brands.
3. Know the job
As a fashion blogger or influencer, you create fashion content people love. That content can be blog articles, social media photos and videos, or all of the above. The more attention you garner from your content, the more income opportunities you have.
The main ways to monetize your influence are:
- Display advertising: You show ads on your fashion blog.
- Affiliate income: You recommend products using specialized links. Your audience clicks to the product website or buys that product. You earn a commission.
- Brand deals: Brands pay you directly to promote their products.
2. Know the tech
There is a technical side to blogging, and you should know the landscape — even if you’re focusing on social media channels to start. Here’s an overview:
- Your domain name is the website address, as in thebudgetfashionista.com. You buy domain names from registrars. You will pay a small fee annually to keep that domain name.
- Your website is built on a content management system, also called a platform. WordPress is free to use and the preferred choice among bloggers.
- Your website needs a hosting plan so it’s accessible on the internet. Hosting plans range in price from $10 monthly to thousands monthly. If you don’t know anything about hosting, get referrals from friends and family. Having the wrong host is a nightmare. I can recommend WPX as a good mix of value and price for WordPress blogs — but there are cheaper options.
- You can monetize your influence through display advertising, affiliate commissions, and paid sponsorships from brands. You can manage your own display advertising, but it’s vastly easier to work with an ad network. Affiliate programs are available on platforms like Commission Junction and Impact Radius. You generally have to apply to brand programs. Established brands will want to see social media engagement or solid traffic on your blog. The most productive start to monetizing may be influencer platforms, where you can connect directly with brands on specific projects.
- Google Analytics is a free platform that tracks your blog traffic. Brands will typically request your website traffic before engaging with you. If you don’t have a website, they’ll ask about your social media following and engagement levels.
4. Write a plan with milestones
Here’s how I like to write a business plan. Start by jotting down major milestones and their expected timelines. You might want to increase your TikTok following to 50,000, by mid-year, for example.
Once you have a list of milestones, dive into each one individually. Write down the actions required to reach those milestones. For example: Post on TikTok twice daily. Spend three hours weekly engaging with other TikTok influencers.
Once you have action lists for each milestone, plan and prioritize them. Through this process, you may realize your expected timelines are too aggressive — and that’s OK. Simply adjust them.
5. Define your brand
Now, for the fun part. Research other influencers and define what makes you different and special. Your unique qualities form the foundation of your fashion influencer brand. Have an angle and deliver on the angle better than anyone else. That’s how to build a lasting follower base.
You can come up with a catchy name for your brand, like Styling Santa Fe (I just made that up). Or, you can use your own name. There are pros and cons of each. A fun name is less personal. But then, your own name can be limiting down the road. Say your blog takes off and you want to sell it. That will be more difficult if the entire brand is you personally.
6. Network
Join online groups with other fashion bloggers. There are many on Facebook. You can learn tons from other entrepreneurs who’ve walked this path — and stumbled — ahead of you.
7. Fill in your knowledge gaps
At some point, the growth potential of your fashion blog will be limited by what you don’t know. Get ahead of that by listing out topics you want to learn — be it graphic design, video production, whatever. Check off those topics by attending a free seminar or workshop at least once a month.
8. Work your plan and adjust
Learning how to start a fashion blog isn’t the hard part. The hard part is learning from mistakes and staying motivated when your influencer business seems to be stalling out. You will have setbacks. You may miss your self-imposed timelines, for example. Be pragmatic in these situations. Assess what went wrong and where you are now. Then, adjust your plan and press on.
Keep on that cycle and you will find success.
I read somewhere that people tend to overestimate what they can accomplish in one year but underestimate what they can accomplish in five years. This advice has kept me going in tough times — I hope it does the same for you.
Roco Coco
Monday 27th of February 2012
This was a nice, short, inspiring article. It is very hard for anyone that want's to genuinely write about or convey fashion online now because the market is flooded. I think pages 1, 3, & 4 are the most important, in my opinion.
Kamea Tisdale
Sunday 26th of February 2012
I have had sooo many problems it is crazy.I changed my blog name twice (I am keeping this one), because I thought it was not fashion bloggy enough. What puts me down is when I am done writing a post. I google it, just to see that what I have talked about, has already been done. What do you think of fashion blog names that does not necessarily have anything fashion word related in their titles. My blog name is My Innovative Mind, is that good? I am always second guessing myself, especially when it comes to my blog name.
TBF
Sunday 26th of February 2012
@Kamea- I think you're problem is that you're focusing a bit too much on the fame aspect of fashion blogging rather on just writing what comes naturally to you. If you do what you feel and what you enjoy, you will confident in what you do. Who cares if someone has written about something before (there were several books about god before the Bible was written, does that mean that the bible should have been written??), it's about your perspective. If you have an unique perspective, then it will come through on your blog and other people will notice. Do what you feel is best, what is in your heart, and screw what other people think.