How to Start and Promote a Fashion Blog

If you're passionate about fashion and would like to get your foot in the fashion industry as a writer or journalist, starting a fashion blog may be the perfect way to get your start. As a veteran fashion blogger I've created a couple fashion and beauty-related blogs which have connected me to other leading fashion writers and bloggers around the world. I've also been able to make a decent amount of income from my fashion blogs. There are virtually no barriers to fashion blogging and as long as you have a computer and access to the internet, you're ready to start and promote a fashion blog.

Getting Started With Your Fashion Blog

The first step in starting a fashion blog is deciding on a niche topic. Fashion is such a huge industry with so many different areas that you could blog about. I would recommend selecting a topic that you love or have an interest in so you never have trouble coming up with ideas on what to write about. For instance, if you have a huge shoe collection and know a great deal about shoe styles, then you could start a shoe blog. When you focus on a niche topic you will eventually establish yourself as a credible source and people will return again and again to your blog to get information and tips. Also, from a search engine optimization standpoint, your fashion blog will rank higher in the search engines because you are focused on one particular topic.

After deciding on a niche topic for your fashion blog, the next thing you'll want to do when starting a fashion blog is decide which blogging platform to use. Wordpress.com and Blogger.com are the most popular blogging platforms, they're fairly easy for beginning bloggers to use, plus they offer free blog hosting. You may also want to check out OnSugar.com which is a blogging platform that was developed specifically for fashion bloggers. OnSugar offers a wide variety of templates to choose from, all kinds of features that a fashion blogger needs, and you have access to Getty Images so you don't have to worry about being sued for using copyrighted images! I would highly recommend OnSugar.com if you're starting a fashion blog.

The third step in starting a fashion blog is to come up with a domain name and title for your blog. If you signed up with one of the free blogging platforms, you'll already have a domain. For example, if you signed up with Wordpress, your domain will look something like www.fashionblog.wordpress.com. However, you can also purchase and have your own unique domain name for your fashion blog. Having a unique domain name gives your blog a more professional look which is good if you want to treat your blog like a business and make money from it.

Promoting Your Fashion Blog

After you've written the first couple posts on your fashion blog, you should submit it to Google (www.google.com/addurl/) and other major search engines so that people can find your blog when they're doing internet searches. It may take some time for your blog to get indexed by the search engines, so in the meantime you can work on promoting your fashion blog the way I've done to drive more traffic to my fashion blogs.

Here are five ways to effectively promote your fashion blog:

1. Visit other fashion blogs and post comments. Blogging is a two-way conversation, so if you find other fashion bloggers who inspire you, leave a comment on their blog. When you make a comment, you create a link to your own fashion blog and if others like what you have to say, they can visit your blog via that link.

2. Promote your fashion blog on social networking websites. There are so many social networking sites that you're probably already a part of like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let your friends or contacts in these networks know about your new fashion blog and ask them if they can help spread the word. There is so much power in social networking websites nowadays and it's a great way to drive free traffic to your blog.

3. Participate in online fashion forums. There are tons of fashion forums on the internet and it's highly likely that you'll find a forum related to your blog topic. However, a few words of caution when posting on fashion forums: Don't use them just to post a link to your blog. The whole point of these forums is to interact with others and share information. Besides, many forums have guidlines and rules when posting links to external sites.

4. Join fashion blog networks. One of the major fashion and beauty blog networks that I have joined is Coutorture.com. Coutorture features fashion and beauty blogs through their daily "Must Read's" plus your blog is added to their directory of fashion blogs.

5. Submit your fashion blog to blog directories. There are many blog directories such as Technorati, MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. These directories have social networking features, so it's fairly easy to search for and connect with other fashion bloggers who may be interested in reading your blog. You can also find fashion blogs that you can trade links with.

Starting and promoting a fashion blog can become time consuming - especially if you want to write blog posts everyday and build a big readership. However, starting a fashion blog can jump-start your way to a very rewarding fashion writing career! Who knows - maybe someday you'll be invited to cover New York Fashion Week...