I’m going to start a series of posts about breaking in to the world of fashion blogging. I’ve been talking to quite a few people who are wondering not only how to launch a fashion blog but how to promote their blogs and make them more popular. When I give them a quick overview of the promotion part, they get that dazed look in their eyes, so I think it’s better if I split the information up and go into detail about each point.

But first, why would you want your own fashion blog? Here are a few of the reasons why:

  • Because you love fashion, of course.
  • It’s a fun and productive hobby. And whenever you want to rant bout something or rave about a product, you’ll have 100′s, possibly 1000′s looking to your opinion.
  • If you are looking to break into fashion journalism, I would say this is a must. Having a fashion blog, especially a popular one has broken down doors and led to prestigious gigs for many a blogger.
  • The perks are great. Boutiques and fashion lines will give you free stuff to keep, review and giveaway to your readers. You also might get the chance to interview designers and go backstage at fashion shows.
  • You can monetize your site if you want.

Of course this will all take a little bit of time and work, but it’s not uncommon for bloggers to enjoy this kind of success. But it all starts with….

Step #1: The Idea

It all starts with a concept. Many will tell you that your blog needs to standout and be unlike any other fashion blog on the web, but I slightly disagree. There are tons of shopping and product blogs out there, and I definitely think there’s room for more in the niche, it will all be about how you market it (we’ll get to that). But try and give your blog a focus. Pick a product to focus on; tops, designer jeans, sunglasses, jewelry. Or, if you’re already a fashion industry insider, there will ALWAYS be readers interested in knowing more about what you do!

Fashion isn’t just limited to products either. There’s celebrity style, DIY style, sales and promotions, fashion industry news, fashion forecasting, bad fashion, you name it! You can even show off your own style like on Nitrolicious.com. Beyond just your sites niche, try to think of different weekly columns you can do to set yourself apart. For example, FadedYouth.com started doing a column called “who wore it best” comparing celebrities to models wearing couture gowns. The site has gotten a lot of press for this and ultimately, it’s been copied everywhere.

Have your idea in place? Good, now it’s time to put them into action.

Step #2: The Tools

There are tons of blogging tools out there, but I’m going to focus on the two most popular, and the ones that I’m familiar with: WordPress and Blogger.com. Blogger.com is by far the easiest way to slap a blog up and have it running in minutes, but WordPress is more powerful and slightly easier to use. If you don’t plan on hosting your own blog, definitely go with Blogger.com over WordPress.net if you plan on monetizing your blog at all in the future. Blogger.com is free to use, it gives you a choice of templates and you can easily drag and drop things to customize your page.

But as I said before, I highly recommend WordPress software. For this you’ll need to register a domain name (NameCheap.com and www.GoDaddy.com are good choice) and get a hosting plan (I recommend HostGator.com) which you can get for about $7/mo, and it’s worth the money. If you sign up with Host Gator you won’t have to worry about installing the script because it comes with WordPress software (ask support about this).

Oh, and as for your domain name, choose a .com that is as short as possible. Try to use a name with keywords but also something more “brandable” that isn’t generic and will be easy to remember.

Any questions? If so, just post them in the comments section or email me. This is the first part in a series.

Up Next: How To Run Your Fashion Blog … [read]