photo source: The Haute Pursuit
So, in the world of designer blogs, it’s pretty cutthroat. I have said this before, it wasn’t quite like that 7 years ago when I started blogging, it was still relatively new, and the glut of fashion bloggers had not yet arrived on the scene. Today though, things are very, very different. As a blog designer, I feel like it’s my responsibility to keep up with trends in custom blog design and custom website design, and that means not only trends for blog design templates but also the bloggers themselves. Which I admit I fail at miserably. But probably the biggest thing I hear as a blog designer is “I want to be a full-time blogger.” Well I guess who doesn’t, because the whole point of professional blogging is that these gals appear to have a super glamorous life because that’s the whole point of their blog designs, it’s all about the aesthetics. But I recently ran across a great article on Pinterest “What Most People Don’t Know About Fashion Blogging” on Who What Wear.
This article highlights a bunch of famous fashion bloggers with some behind-the-scenes questions about how they do what they do and what their lives are like. I wanted to share some of the interview and also share some other tips, as a blog designer that I have picked up along the way.
One of the biggest points is that fashion bloggers make blogging look effortless. But there’s a lot of hard work that goes into their blog posts. Sure, starting out with the basics: a professional custom blog design or custom web design, hiring the right blog designer, and maybe hiring someone for SEO work is important, but blog designs are only the start of it. In the article, the author of Eat.Sleep.Wear. says “People don’t realize that blogging is a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week job,” …”Oh, you’re sick? Sorry, no sick days! I think bloggers who are doing a good job make it look effortless.”
When I started my own blog, I always say that I spent an hour every day following and commenting on other blogs. I commented back on every single comment on my own blog. Then I started working as a blog designer, doing custom blog design and custom website design for my blogging friends, initially, and I was trying to work a full-time job AND maintain my own designer blog and also designing other people’s blogs. I sweated it out a lot of days (and nights) and still do, to be honest. So, like everything in this world, you definitely can’t expect to get something for nothing. Be prepared for a lot of late nights. One of my most vivid memories is sitting on the floor in a hotel room that only had a wired Internet connection at like 6 in the morning trying to comment back on blog posts before I headed out for the day (to my college reunion, nothing glamorous or anything) but I was committed, work before play.
The other key thing to remember, and this is my own opinion, is content, content, content. You can have the best blog designer, the most amazing and professional custom blog design or custom website design, the latest and greatest blog design template (which is where Little Blue Deer comes in of course!) but if the content you are posting is only mediocre, it’s just not going to be that popular. Let’s face. These girls, most of them, are really beautiful. Like, they could probably make Walmart clothes look good (caveat: I have purchased and still do purchase clothes at Walmart, not one thing wrong with that!). But it’s not Prada. So be realistic, I guess, it sounds horrible but it seems to be that fashion blogs are all about the looks, and it seems like fashion blog followers can be really critical, so be prepared for that. It’s a cruel world out there!
The other big thing is photography. As a blog designer and custom website designer, I do a little dance of happiness when a client sends me awesome photography to work with. A picture is literally worth a thousand words, and it takes me like, no time at all to create a fabulous website design if the client sends professional photos, photography can make or break a site or blog design template. And as a blog designer, trust me I know, no amount of photoshopping is going to make a ho hum photo look spectacular. And photography is really 80% of blog designs, because what is a blog about really except showcasing images? I think a lot of professional fashion bloggers have a professional photographer or are professional photographers themselves (my last selfie session was when I tried to record myself chasing the cats around to get them in their carriers for the vet and even that failed miserably – I was hoping to make a buck on Youtube!). So I know nothing about photography which is why I don’t post my own photos on my own blog, I’m no good at it. So, get good at it, or hire someone who is (blogging is an investment). Because this might be the most important aspect of a good fashion blog.
I really loved this article and it got me thinking, I think it’s an incredibly valuable resource for anyone looking to invest in a custom blog design or custom website design. Hiring the right blog designer is but the first step in a future in professional blogging, so learn as much as you can. And hey – there’s no law against blogging for fun! It’s an awesome and fun creative outlet and community so my best advice for potential bloggers is to be authentic and enjoy yourself!
