Thinking about making money from your fashion blog? Well, good luck because it’s tough. With thousands of fashion blogs being created daily, in addition to the popular ones already making money, it’s hard to get in the game and get recognized. But with a clear niche and a relentless work ethic, those long days and nights spent typing away on the computer could turn your fashion blog into a real paycheck. Here’s 3 ways you can turn your blog into a moneymaker:
1. Good old-fashioned advertising
In order to even make some pocket change through sites like Google AdSense or Shop Sense, your fashion blog needs to be raking in thousands of viewers per day. Getting from point A (starting out) to point B (getting an advertising check in the mail) seems to be where your fashion blog will either make it or break it. If you don’t have the patience and dedication to watch your audience grow organically, which can take several months or even a few years, there’s no way you’re going to make money from ads. And the only way your audience will grow is if you’re consistently updating and giving your readers more. Make sure that you choose a topic for your fashion blog that you’re in love with and that you can stick to because, essentially, you’re building your own brand. Every brand has a niche. Find yours and stick to it. Updating your fashion blog regularly and networking/leaving comments on other blogs are sure-fire ways to gain more readers. Document the growth of your site traffic with Google Analytics or SiteMeter, so that you’ll be aware of what’s popular on your blog, as well as your readers’ demographics. At this point, you can even try selling your own ad space instead of depending solely on sites like Google AdSense to send you a check. Offer 300×250, 160×600, and 728×60 ads to the businesses you want to target in a formal media kit, show them your site statistics, and see if they’re willing to work with you. The number of viewers to a website is equivalent to the number of listeners to a radio station, for example. The more listeners tune in to the radio station, the more advertisers want to buy ad slots. So with your fashion blog, the more visitors you have, the more advertisers would be interested in buying ad space.
2. Pop-up sales
Pop-up sales are ideal for fashion designers who own a blog, but aren’t using it as a direct moneymaker, as selling ad space would be. Instead they’re using their blog as a marketing tool to sell their items offline. Setting up a one-day shopping event for your fashion label at a local boutique or art gallery and promoting it on your blog and social networks is really a great way to make some extra money. Use your blog as an easy method of advertising your next pop-up event to sell your clothes, jewelry, or vintage items, and as a little bonus, offer a small discount to buyers who mention that they found out about your pop-up sale from your blog.
3. Sell a service
Make your services accessible online by starting a fashion blog. It’s free advertising for you and it’s an instant portfolio of your collection of work for your potential clients to see. Fashion professionals providing a service such as photography, styling, and writing should use a company blog to showcase their work and make their services available to a wider market. Having a blog makes it easy for clients to discover who you are and contact you, plus it gives a hip inside look into what’s going on with your company. Lots of businesses are blogging! Post pictures of your work, your studio space, your inspiration, and just make it fun. Get on Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr and cross-promote your images back to your blog. Stay active on Twitter and create a page on Facebook for your blog. Take advantage of free social media outlets to advertise your business which will in turn have clients paying YOU!
That’s the power of blogging. You’re able to connect with a market larger than you ever knew existed. And you can definitely make money if you realize that it’s not just merely a blog, but it’s a brand that people are buying into or it’s the quality of service that you’re selling. Put in the groundwork to first build high quality, and then pursue the monetary value.
Lauren is a freelance fashion copywriter based in Los Angeles and is the owner of She Copywrites. She specializes in producing web and print copy, including websites, media kits, ads, sales letters, press releases, articles, are