(Photograph by Mario Testino) Kate Moss and her own personal army of fashion bloggers - laptops at the ready!
Yesterday evening, a small group of newbie bloggers gathered in the Go Blog! Lounge at the Westfield Big Wardrobe for the first ever FEAL tutorial.
I was joined by Victoria Lan, Tayo Bello, Natasha Woodward, Anyi Hobson, Kat Nowakowski, and Debz Eastlake for an hours discussion on all things blog-related, including setting up a site from scratch, common obstacles that all bloggers encounter, and the benefits that a great blog can bring.
It all got very excitable, as you can imagine with a group of seven girlies all full of ideas! I thought I'd share some of our hottest topics with any other fledgling bloggers out there.
- Starting Out!
We agreed that it is crucial to decide on your 'modus operandi' before you start out; to work out the identity of your site so that you can create a consistent voice. The look of each blog is also crucial; don't feel that you have to follow the same mould as every other blogger with exactly the same template.
- The Techy Stuff
There is a definite divide between the Wordpressers and the Bloggers of this world! For those that are more clued up with HTML coding, it seems Wordpress offers more flexibility with site design - but it's best to find which one you find easier to use. Key words are also the bloggers best friend, along with linking your blog to sites like Bloglovin, to make it more 'searchable'.
I'm currently writing this on a neon 'Vaio' laptop in the Go Blog lounge - vibrant!
Just like the layout, it's key to find your own niche; there is no point trying to emulate bloggers that are already successful because they will have cornered their own little part of the market. Whether your blog is image or word based, find what you are passionate about and post about it - and although frequent updates are crucial to achieve a good group of followers, on the flip side there is no point posting 'for post's sake'. Quality not quantity, and all that.
If you are starting a blog, your laptop/Blackberry/iPhone/iPad will become your closest friend...
- What's The Point?
With any blog, it's helpful to work out what you want to achieve from it. In our tutorial group, we had a mixture of writers, stylists and entrepreneurs who all wanted to start blogs for different reasons, and that goes for everyone. Whether it's to hone your writing skills, create a visual portfolio or promote your new business, blogging is the perfect platform to get your work out there. You can also choose to go on the 'blogging as a career' route; it will take a whole lot of hard work, but you with blogging, you really do get out what you put in.
That's just a taster of what went down during our discussion yesterday, so I'm looking forward to what's going to come out of the second session in a few hours. If anyone else has great advice or tips for newbie bloggers, please post a comment!
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Posts
Your post would be perfect for our link up today for Fashion Friday's. If you want to link up with me, grab the button! Kori xoxo
ReplyDeleteblondeepisodes.com
Blog because you love it not to make money. If you are working to make money that is a great opportunity for your blog but do not blog just to make money. This reasoning will allow your content to suffer and then of course your readers to disengage.
ReplyDeletejust started blogging,growing fast !!..needing to link up with other bloggers !! any advice.
ReplyDeletedawn
www.dressmeperfect.com
Its weird because I have been blogging for almost four years & I started when I was 15 in 2007. I started when blogs were popular but still very new, i was the first of my friends to get one and a lot of people told me it was strange. I wrote, and still do, about my life or at least i complained a lot about school and exams. I don't have a particular area that i talk about nor do I strive to have a lot of followers because blogging is writing and is something many people do for enjoyment. I find it hard to believe people who say they just want to find out how to blog, because thats simple all you need to do is write about anything, instead what people want out of blogging is a lot of followers because they think with followers they will make money or get something out of doing it. They are some really lucky bloggers who do make a living out of their blog and who get to travel the world attending events but those people have already cornered that market. Maybe I am being a bit harsh but to me it seem we now have blogging rules that have to be followed.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying your points aren't good in fact I think they are really great but i think many people now use the internet through blogs & youtube as a way to become an 'internet star'.
Obviously many people will disagree with me, I think how to blog is a very interesting subject so thank you for letting me share I opinion.
Caitlin.
i love that first image, the shoes are amazing
ReplyDeleteHow much do we love Ms Moss' outfit and shoes in the head photo?!
ReplyDeleteI'm a newbie blogger and so gutted I'm missing this event at Westfield - I'm heading to London next week and my Westfield trip is arranged for the 14th by which time this will all be gone :(
Much Love
Roisin Elizabeth
xoxox
She has a great style, beautiful look.
ReplyDeleteGame plan? No.
ReplyDeleteConsistent voice? No.
Niche area? No.
F*ck, my blog's screwed, ha ha... ;0)
Sarah x
http://stylesouk.wordpress.com
great style .. i love it
ReplyDelete