How To Start a Blog

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 Alexis dress // nude heels // ark bag // tassel earrings  // sunglasses

With over 4 years of blogging I’d like to think I know a thing or two about this industry. Even though I have been an influencer for a few years the industry keeps changing so I am constantly learning new things (hello IGTV). Do I have this down to perfection? Not at all; I still make lots of mistakes, still trying to grow, still figuring out SEO, still learning new social media features, still trying to push myself creatively. I don’t think it ever ends and I don’t want the learning experience to end. What I can give advice on is how to start a blog. This is the question I get from most people who email me or DM. I thought I would share a few tips and advice I would give someone asking questions through email. The first thing I always say is to just start, who cares if it looks ugly. Start and grow from there.

Start Then Perfect

Some of the excuses I hear from people who want to be in this business is that they are afraid to start because their site does not look professional or their pictures are not that great. In the beginning it doesn’t matter. When I started I didn’t have the funds to hire a web developer or a photographer. My mom took my pictures for the first two years, with the first being all on my iPhone. Now there are plenty of apps you can download to filter and edit your iPhone photos. Utilize them. My pictures however, during the stone age, looked terrible, but I wanted to get content out there. When I started blogging it was all about pretty pictures, now it seems more people prefer raw, authentic pictures. Personally I still like the pretty ones the best, but sometimes I will throw in a mirror selfie. During a blogging conference I attended one of the key points they made was don’t be afraid to put something ugly on social media. This means to not be afraid if the picture isn’t perfect– be it at an event or mirror selfie. Those pictures hardly ever come out right and yet they still work. People want to see the pretty pictures and they want to see the everyday you.

My blog looked amateur when I started and that is because I developed it myself. For website platforms you have a few options: Blogger, WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace (I am sure there is more). I currently use WordPress but when I first started I used Blogger. Blogger makes it easy to create your own website– I googled and watched A LOT of tutorials. It ended up looking like I did it myself, but truly it was my favorite part about starting my blog. I really enjoyed the development and felt like the website was truly mine. After two years on Blogger I was finally able to hire someone to switch my content over to WordPress and develop a more professional site. Since I first launched in 2014 I have had 4 different website looks. The one I have now is my dream design and I am so happy with it! But I had to get through the ugly to get here. Start your website and start writing.

Finding Your Niche

I actually hate the word niche, mostly because it’s constantly said in the blogging world. It is important to be an authority on a certain subject but we are not all one dimensional. One of the reasons I started to blog was so I can talk about everything that I loved to do– fashion, fitness, wellness, travel, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a niche, in fact having one is important, just don’t be afraid to venture out.

My niche is fashion but I put “and lifestyle” in my bio to make it clear that I talk about other subjects. Another niche of mine is my style. You will never see me in a grunge look, I am feminine and classic. Having a niche is who you are and what you love to talk about. It doesn’t have to be clear in the beginning. I think it is something that develops over time once you start writing daily post. The same with your writing style. You soon realize what topics you prefer to write about more than others, what your readers gravitate more towards, and you become more assertive on what you like and do not like.  Of course there are specific niches you can be– gluten free, petite, curly, travel blog, fitness blog, junk food enthusiast, etc. Sit down and figure out what category you want to talk about the most– to be an authoritative figure on. Then define and tweak it from there.

Pictures

I mentioned earlier that I had my mom take my photos when I first started. Having a photographer to meet with once every week or two is expensive. Some photographers here in New York charge $200 an hour, while others charge $50 per outfit. Unless you have the finances it’s better to find a friend, relative or loved one to take your photos. If you are using someone who is not that advanced in photography, stand in the shadows for better lighting and stand in front of a wall for focus. Learn how to use Photoshop and Lightroom. You will be editing your own photos through these programs. If you have a photographer they can edit for you and sell a pre-set, but I think it’s important to learn these programs. To learn Photoshop or Lightroom there are online “educational”  programs you can purchased– CreativeLive is one that I use when I want to learn new skills. Play around with your photos in Photoshop and Lightroom (Lightroom is usually better for editing photos and you can sync all of the raw images together to make it cohesive), to figure out what you like and do not like in terms of mood and aesthetics of the picture. For instance I like bright photos while someone else may prefer darker images. Right now having a pink, blue, and orange overlay is popular. There is no right or wrong answer for the look of your images, go with one that you like– think about what you gravitate towards when scrolling throw Instagram.

When taking pictures work on the aesthetics of the pictures. Look and see if your background aesthetically works with your outfit.  People want to see a story within the picture. No matter what your niche is make sure you personally are in a few photos.  Content is more relatable when there is a human in it than constantly seeing clothes laid out on the floor.

How To Grow and Work With Brands

You will not grow over night and your first brand collaboration is not going to be with Chanel. You need to work, put in the time, network to grow. If someone grows that quickly over night they bought their following. I do giveaways, and no I do not consider giveaways buying followers. I look at it as a way to giveback to my readers (who are real and can unfollow me as any moment… but please do not 🙂 ) Another way to grow is to be consistent with posting (this goes for blog posting as well). If you post once a month  or once a week people are going to lose interest in you. Especially now with the algorithm– there is so much noise on Instagram. If you are only posting once a week, no one is going to be engaging on your post there for the algorithm is not going to pick it up and move it to the top of your followers feed.  You want to post almost daily (sometimes more than once a day) and engage! Engage, engage, engage!! Respond back to messages and people who comment on your Instagram. Like and comment on other people’s Instagrams with similar aesthetics as you. Tag brands to get noticed and engage with them. I am CONSTANTLY on social media. I try to do my best at engaging and being present. This is how you grow organically with real followers. Don’t be discouraged that so and so blogger has 100K followers and you only have 5K. Micro-Influencers are in high demand from brands and have proven higher ROI’s than those with a million followers.

Working with brands is something that takes time. There are a few agencies you can go through that will connect brands to influencers like Fohr, Tapinfluence, Collectively Inc. to name a few. It’s usually based off of your analytics, demographic, and style when they pair you to a brand collaboration. Another way is brands will reach out directly to you– so make sure you have your email on all of your bios.  When monetizing collaborations, some will say to take a few free gifts in exchange for posts in the beginning. I encourage that until about 5K then have a rate for post (create a MediaKit for this). Unfortunately there really isn’t a black and white rule book on how much you should charge brands to collaborate– it’s all on how much you think your are worth. I do know some of the agencies have a system that figures it out for you.

Pitching brands for a possible collaboration can be a good idea. Don’t just email Chanel and say ” Hi I am Maggie, I am a NYC blogger who loves Chanel but have never worn your stuff, send me free clothes for content please!!”. Only pitch brands if it’s worth their while. Pitch them a creative content idea lets say if you are traveling or thought of a great “story” to tell, etc. Also be realistic when trying to work with brands. Don’t expect to work with Chanel when you only have 500 followers. That is not going to happen. Instead work with smaller brands and boutiques in your area. When I started I worked with a few local boutiques around Columbus. It was a great way to get my name out there since most people in the city were already following the boutiques.

Network

The most important part about blogging is networking. Just like every other areas in your life and in business it’s all about who you know. Find other bloggers in your area and start going to events with them. Ask one of them for coffee to meet or to pick their brain about blogging. The more you network the more you get yourself out there and meet people. Form friendships on social media through other bloggers who have a similar style as you. Some of my best friends I met through blogging– and would be friends with them even if I didn’t blog. For the most part I have found the blogging community to be open, supportive, and kind. Sure I have come across some divas who think they are celebrities but just ignore them. You will find your “tribe” in blogging easily. Get yourself out there and market yourself. You are a walking billboard for your own blog. Talk to the local juice shop and leave them your business card. Chat up the sales lady at the boutique. You never know where a simple conversation can lead you.

Hopefully this helps some of you who may be thinking about starting a blog. If you have any other questions or a topic you would like me to discuss on here please email me maggie@blushandblooms.com.

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