How to Start A Blog: Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle in 2020

How to Start A Blog: Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle in 2020

Blogging Tips, Lifestyle

If you want to know How to Start a Blog, then you have come to the right place.

Today I will be talking about how to set up a professional Beauty Fashion and Lifestyle blog and give you the proper steps to getting started.

How To Start Blogging

In this post, you will find the recommended programs and services I personally use to help you start your professional Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle blog today. This post contains affiliate links however all opinions are my own and from my years of professional blogging.    

DreamHost

Divi

Canva

 Flodesk

Having been blogging for several years now since 2016, I have learned what you need to be focusing on and what you shouldn’t

At the start, I had to go through many trials and errors. I spent countless hours learning what to do and how to do it the right way.

With influencer marketing being more accessible and becoming saturated, social platforms are no longer enough to stand out amongst the competition.

 

Brands are even looking more into bloggers to create content as they know bloggers have stronger relationships with their audience.

If you are still thinking about making it into the Influencer Marketing and Blogging Industry, you have to start a professional-looking blog from day one.

If this is not convincing enough to start a blog, read below on WHY you need to start a professional aesthetic blog in 2020.

Why You Should Have A Blog

 

1. You don’t have to depend on an algorithm.

I have personally experienced the effects of The Algorithm from Instagram and its control over my account and I can’t do anything about it. 

An algorithm is an operating system behind each social platform. It helps control how people see your content and monitor all activities.

Social platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are notorious for changing their algorithm and impacting how your content gets viewed.

When blogging you don’t have to worry about this problem. 

2. Your account will never get deleted.

Having your blog is the best way to ensure your content will never get deleted by someone else.

You have complete control over what you do and how you share your content with your audience.

3. You can make money while blogging.

With blogging, you can make money by blogging through various methods.

Ads seen on your website, affiliate links that your readers click on, and brand collaborations are all great income sources to make money.

4. You can build a community

When creating content, it’s essential to build a community of people who are interested in what you have to say.

Blogs allow for building a strong relationship with your audience and give you more creditability when posting.

5. Brands are looking more into Blogging Collaborations

In 2020, brands are looking more into Blogger Collaborations as they know bloggers have stronger relationships with their audience and willing to pay for content creation.

 

If you have a blog that has a lot of traffic, you will be able to show your stats to brands without worrying about the impact of an algorithm. 

 

Now that you know how important it is to have a professional aesthetic blog, continue reading to know what steps you need to take today to get started.

9 Steps on How to Start A Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Blog in 2020 

1

 

 

Identify Your Niche

First, you will need to be clear on what area of blogging you want to be in. The more specific, the better. By having a specific niche will help you plan, create, and reach your ideal readers much more easily and effective than having a larger area of content.   

There are so many blog niches you can choose. The reason why you should be specific with your niche is that it will make you stand out as an expert in that area.

For example, if you are planning to have a motherhood lifestyle blog, think about a specific niche you want to be in.

Do you want to share mommy and baby outfits? Do you want to share organic baby products? Do you want to share your pregnancy journey? Be as specific as you can as this will help you to develop content that makes you become an authorithy in your niche. 

2

Pick A Name, Check & Secure Social Chanels

When picking out your blog name, there are three main factors I recommend you to take into action. It is very simple and straightforward. You can use this easy formula to help you to come up with your unique blog name.

1) Use your name, 2) Use words that describe what your blog is going to be about, and 3) Use a combination of the two. Your blog name has to give your readers a picture of what exactly your blog offers.

Take your time with this step as it may be challenging to change your name in the future after establishing yourself.

Once you decide on a blog name, check out all the social media platforms you will be using and secure your name.

You can check to see if the domain name is available through Dreamhost.

You want to make sure you have control over all those accounts before fully committing on a name.

3

Purchase Your Domain

Your domain name has to speak about you and your business clearly, so your readers understand what it is you offer.

Once you picked a great blog name, you will need to get the right domain name from a reputable hosting site when starting your blog.

Go for .com if it’s available because it’s more popular and professional. 

I got my domains from Dreamhost. I like that I can manage and access everything in one place.

4

 

 

Web Hosting

A host that I use is also Dreamhost. I got all of my domains from them as I mentioned earlier and have my blog run through their web hosting service as well.

They are very professional, have a user-friendly portal, and have a very responsive customer service team whenever you need help with your website.

The specific service I recommend is DreamPress because of its hosting speed and unique single owner hosting. 

At first, the Shared Started worked, but my website speed greatly improved after having my separate hosting service. 

5

One-Click Install Your Site

After signing up with DreamHost, you have the best option of using their 1-Click Install.

1-Click Install allows you to install WordPress, a website building platform that lets you build, customize, and enhance your website.

I strongly recommend WordPress as it’s the best website building platform out there, there is a small learning curve, but once you finish going through this guide, it will become even more straightforward to use.

Some people might not recommend WordPress for a starter blog. Don’t be alarmed if you read somewhere that said you need to know coding in order to use it properly.

I talk about how to make you WordPress expirence much easier in step 7.

 

 

6

 

 

Simplify Your Brand

Once you have your name picked out, simplifying your brand will become even easier to do.

You will need to craft a compelling message, pick out the right colors, design a beautiful logo, and determine your target audience.

 

Message

The most important part of branding is your brand’s message. You need to show your audience what it is you are offering and define the direction your brand is going.

Developing a proper message gives a sense of purpose to your blog and makes it easier to pick out your colors, design a logo, and know who your potential audience is.

Color

Color is key to a successful blog. Using the right colors helps to portray your brand’s message clearly and convey the right feelings and emotions to your audience.

A website I use to help find the right colors is Canva. Here you can generate color palettes and upload mood boards to find your unique brand colors.

Logo

After picking your blog colors, designing a unique logo is next. A logo is a way for potential customers to help identify your brand and know what you are about to offer. You can use Canva or Adobe Illustrator to help design and create the best-looking logo.

 

Audience

The last step to simplifying your brand is targeting the right audience. This step is critical to show your content to the right people properly.

Your niche helps you to know what content your audience is interested in, but you decide who you think will be interested in your blog.

7

Install Your Theme

Creating a stunning theme is not easy to do unless you have the right tools to help you. 

You can buy your theme from Etsy stores or you can subscribe to Divi and get access to over 800 pre-made website layouts come packaged right inside of Divi for free. It only costs $89/year or $249 for a one time purchase with a life time access. Brand new layouts are added weekly along with royalty free photos, icons, and illustrations.  

“Divi is The Most Popular WordPress Theme In The World And The Ultimate WordPress Page Builder.”

Divi is a program I use to help create and customize the theme, pages and posts on my website. I know about Divi through Adored Design when I rebranded my blog with them.

With Divi, you can edit your website on the front end V.S. making changes to the back end and constantly saving and switching over to view it.

It makes the theme design process much more efficient and allows you a better view when creating your website.

You can play with their Live Builder Demo to see how easy it is to create your WordPress blog. 

If you don’t want to put your time into building your site, you can buy the theme you like from Etsy. I recommend the following themes, Thrive, Faith, and Jouy.

You can install the Divi Builder Plugin to have the ability to use the Front End Builder feature.

 

8

 

Set Up Your Newsletter

The last step to building your blog is creating a Newsletter. Having a blog Newsletters is key to controlling your traffic.

A newsletter is a fantastic way to keep your audience engaged by sharing with them helpful information.

You can let them know when new blog posts are up and can offer them special promotions if you are selling products.

Also, when you grow your email list, you can track who clicks on what links and with this information can target specific groups to specific content.

A service I use for this blog is Convertkit.

But I just discovered Flodesk. Here you can create stunning emails with ease that not only look beautiful but have a higher chance of getting clicks to your website.

One of the best features I love is the Marketing Automation. With this, you can set up a series of emails to send to your reader. When editing the email series, you can make changes clearly and easily.

The platform is very user-friendly and super simple to use.

This is an example of the form I created using Flodesk.

9

 

Launch Your Blog 

 

Before you launch your blog, you will need to make sure you have a professional looking Home Page (the look of your homepage depends on the theme you selected), an About Page, a Contact Page, a Blog Category Page, an Individual Post Page and a Policies and Disclosures page. 

 

About Page

Your about page needs to describe what your blog is all about first and then introduce who you are. 

This Page is where a reader will go to find out more about who you are and what you offer.

It’s essential here to list what your expertise is, who you are, and what you have to provide to someone that wants to read your blog. 

Contact Page

This Page can be a part of your about page, or you can have it separated. 

The contact page is crucial if you want to make money from your blog and be able to receive collaboration inquiries from brands. 

Make sure to have useful contact info so that you will know right away when a brand is reaching out and wants to work with you. 

Blog Category Pages

Blog category pages are where a reader can click on, and all your posts that are related to that topic will show up.

For example, if you have a beauty category page, have the name ‘Beauty’ at the top of your blog, so when a reader clicks on that link, it will bring them to a page that will show them all beauty related blog posts. 

Individual Post Page

The individual post Page is where your post will be showing.

Every time you create a new blog post, you are creating an individual post page. Here you can changes things up every time you make a new blog post. 

Policies and Disclosures 

When having a blog, you will need to include a page with your Policies and Disclosures.

Your readers need to know the policies, or rules, of your blog, so they are well informed about the information you are giving them when visiting your blog. 

You can create customized Privacy Policies from PrivacyPolicies; they will generate custom-made Privacy Policies in seconds to help keep your business safe.

I use it for my website and highly recommend it. 

After you have all these pages up, you are ready to start spreading the word about your blog and get people to read your posts. 

Lastly, make sure all links to your social channels and any forms you have are all working. 

Now you are ready to spread the word about your blog!

 

Share with me:

What blog niche are you planning to start?

I hope this post about How to Start a Blog was helpful. Starting a new blog from scratch can seem like a lot to take in, but with the proper steps and right planning, you can do it.

I have put together this in-depth blogging workbook where you can download and find more helpful information when starting your blog.

Thank you for stopping by All About Good Vibes.

See you again soon.

5 Reasons Why Branding Is Important

5 Reasons Why Branding Is Important

Blogging Tips

Today, I’m welcoming my web designer, Aleksandra Rogala-Jacek, who has helped me trasformed my blog and brand to the next level. I asked her to share her thoughts on the 5 Reasons Why Branding Is Important. She’s an expert in this area, so make sure to get some reading in.

Branding is a HOT topic among entrepreneurs, but there seems to be a lot of confusion around it. Not many people can actually confidently say they understand what branding is and with so many branding resources available everywhere the fog only thickens, doesn’t it?

Well, today I’m here to bust the myth around what branding is and tell you why it’s so important for your business + how to do it well. Ready to dive in? 

Branding = logo?

When you hear the word “branding” you probably think about the logo, the color palette and selection of fonts, don’t you? 

Those are just elements of the brand identity, which is only a part of the branding actually. 

 

So what is branding? To put simply, it’s a method of making people feel a certain way about your brand. This includes things like the selection of your products or services, your tone of voice, your photography, your brand personality, your customer service and even your marketing strategy. The visual aspect of branding like your website and logo are important, but they are NOT the branding themselves.

 

To create proper branding you first need to define what your brand stands for, who’s your ideal audience and how you’d like them to see you. 

 

This means you need to dive deep into your business and create a smart strategy behind it. Once you do that, whatever you create afterwards will surely be purposeful and consistent with the overall idea of your brand. 

 

Sounds complicated? It isn’t! I even created a free resource to take you from confusion to clarity using our design studio’s signature discovery process. 

5 reasons why branding is important

Now that you understand branding is a strategy behind your business + different ways to communicate it, it’s time to see why it’s so important and how it can absolutely transform your brand.

1. It adds credibility

Would you trust a hairdresser who’s hair is neglected with your own? I wouldn’t. And so would many other people. 

 

When you see a lack of consistency you lose trust. When you see a brand who hasn’t invested time, energy and effort into their branding, you subconsciously think they are not worth your investment either (cause they probably don’t treat their business seriously).

 

Just like in real life, trust is built with consistency. When I see a person is true to herself in different situations, I know what to expect of her = I know I can trust her.

 

When your potential customers can see your brand is inconsistent, without a strategy behind it, it plants a seed of doubt which will be very difficult to overcome. People do not tend to open up and connect with people who make them feel that way.

With branding done right, your audience sees your business as thought through, purposeful, trustworthy and worth the investment both time and money. They see you’re here for the long run and they feel more comfortable buying from you, working with you and refer their friends to you. That’s a huge thing if you ask me.

María Catalá – brand identity for professional makeup artist by Adored Designs

2.  It gives you clarity

Since branding is based on strategy, if you’ve done it right you would have gone through the discovery process and defined your brand’s purpose, personality, voice and ideal customer.

 

This gives you incredible clarity around things that usually can be tricky to get right. It gets easier to decide which social platforms to be active on, what sort of content to create to attract the right audience and then what to do to get them ready to buy from you.

 

Everything starts falling into place and you’re not spinning around in circles. Instead, you can move confidently and grow your brand purposefully. Whenever you need to make a decision that will impact your business (like creating a new course or product) you can simply go back to the strategy and ask yourself: is this aligned with my brand? Do my people need it? Will it get me where I want to go?

 

The answer will come to you a lot quicker when you know you’ve built your brand’s fundaments.

3.  It connects you with the right people

Can you confidently say who your ideal audience is? Our signature discovery process resource is packed with powerful questions to help you make sure you do.

 

When you understand your audience pain points, doubts and mindset blocks it gets so much easier to meet them where they’re at a build a meaningful relationship with them.

 

You know exactly what feelings you need to evoke to help them connect and engage with your brand. You know which words and visuals to use to set the right expectations and help them trust you. You know what type of resources and content to create to attract them and when they do land on your website, you can make them feel like your brand exists specially for them.

 

This makes growing a community and selling more of your products and services so much easier! Instead of trying to appeal to everyone and wasting your efforts on people who do not care about what you have to offer, you attract only those who are the perfect match for your brand.

4.  It makes it easier to promote and grow your brand

With so many possibilities to get the word out, which one do you chose? Which social media platform is the best for you? Should you use Facebook ads or make better use of Pinterest? What about an email list?

Should you create a sales funnel, and if so, what kind? What about video? Insta stories? IGTV?

Getting a headache yet?

The truth is all those strategies are great, but they may not all be great for you. When you create a strong brand strategy though, it gets easier to choose the right one for you.

You know where your ideal audience spends their time and what sort of content they prefer to consume. You know what freebies they download and what sort of support do they need.

You also know what products are they interested in and if they are emotional shoppers who make a decision on the fly, or if they need a little bit more persuasion before they use their credit card.

You can understand what you need to do to take your ideal customer from merely a lurker to an engaged member of your community and a customer. 

No more wasted effort of trying to do all the things and being everywhere.

5.   It helps build an experience

Great branding makes people remember your business and talk about it with their friends. From the very first moment they get in contact with your brand they need to be met with a consistent experience.

 

You can set expectations about your brand through your copywriting, photos and visuals and then provide a service or product that is consistent with this expectation (or better!). 

This creates a brand experience that builds trust and is worth remembering and sharing. It creates raving fans and helps spread the word about your brand in the best possible way – through satisfied people!

MOTD Cosmetics website by Adored Designs

Where do you start then?

Before you start browsing Creative Market for a new logo or even hire a designer, always do the homework first. Building strong fundaments will save you months (if not years) of wasted effort and going around in circles. It will help you build a strong brand presence people will remember, understand and relate to. 

 

By getting clear on your brand’s purpose, personality, mission and vision + your ideal audience you’ll speed up the process of building an engaged community that’s ready to hear from you, buy from you and tell all your friends about you. 

 

Start here and have fun building your own, unique brand!

About Aleksandra Rogala-Jacek
Aleksandra Rogala-Jacek is the owner, Creative Director, Brand Stylist, Web Designer and Digital Strategist of Adored Designs. 

For 5+ years, she worked for brands like Jimmy Choo, River Island and Childrensalon, helping them sell more, attract ideal customers and keep their branding strong and consistent. She sat in the front row, watching how their websites perform, which strategies work and which are not so successful.

Now, She uses that knowledge to work with fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands + e-commerce businesses, creating strategic branding and websites that bring great results and connect them with people who need their products, services, and are excited to buy from them.

 

Instagram: @adoreddesigns

9 Must Have Flat Lay Backdrops

9 Must Have Flat Lay Backdrops

Blogging Tips, Flat Lay Tips

In today’s post I’m going to talk about my favorite backdrops I use for my flat lays. The below items are what I found to be easy to find and incorporate into your photo.

A lot of the items on my list, you can probably find in your home already. They are affordable and you don’t need to go above and beyond to get them.

I love working on my flat lay photos as they bring a lot of creativity out of me. Whenever I want to make my photo simple but yet relatable to everyday life, I tend to use items around me to create backdrops for my flat lays.

 

 

The items I’m about to mention are the things I’m sure you can find in your home. You can work with them even if you have a small corner to work on your photos. I love everything on this list, and I hope you find them helpful in your upcoming flat lay photo session as well.

 

If you are ready let’s dive into it.

1. 

White Table Top

This is the basic and the one must have item for almost everyone who enjoys taking flat lay photos. It’s easy to incorporate, and won’t steal the scene of your main products.   

2. 

Bedsheet

I love using white bedsheets for all kinds of flat lays. It doesn’t need to be covering your bed though but it can still replicate the “on my bed” mood. 

3. 

Blanket

This might sound weird to say that I recommend you to use your blanket as a backdrop. But it’s not weird to me as I use it often in my photoshoots. It is a perfect item to use, if you’re planning to take a photo that needs a lot of empty space. It will also be good if you need a backdrop thats big enough to fit all of your props. 

4. 

Magazine

I love using magazines as they already have pretty designs or pretty faces on them. This is a great backdrop for an effortless style.   

5. 

Couch/ Chair

I took a picture on my couch and talked about flat lay tips on my previous post, “One Rule To Achieving A Prettier Flat Lay“. You can see here as well that I use my couch as a backdrop for different products I’m shooting. Give your couch or chair a try, as you will see that this furniture pice would do a great job as a flat lay backdrop.   

6. 

Marble Top

I love marble but it’s very expensive to buy a big marble table if you don’t have one already. You can use contact paper with a marble design instead. It comes in a lot of patterns and colors. I found mine on Amazon.  

7. 

Cutting Board

I love using cutting boards as my backdrop when I have to create content around food ingredients and nature focused photos. I got my cutting board from Bed Bath & Beyond.  

8. 

Wrapping Paper

This is a good choice when it comes to the holiday season or DIY project photos. They come in many different designs which you can find the one that matches your overall photo theme. 

9. 

Interesting Texture

Find interesting textures around you. For example, faux fur, fluffy sweaters, straw bags, lace fabrics, and more. They will help with the depth of the photo.   

Share with mE:

What do you like to use as a backdrop for your flat lays?

If you are interested in learning more about how to plan your flat lay photo session, feel free to grab my step-by-step Flat Lay Planning Workbook. 

Thank you for stopping by All About Good Vibes today.

See you soon for more #FlatLayFriday tips.

One Rule To Achieving A Prettier Flat Lay

One Rule To Achieving A Prettier Flat Lay

Blogging Tips, Flat Lay Tips

Sharing with you today, the one rule I use all the time when it comes to taking flat lay photos. I call it “The Rule of Similarity”.

It’s a super easy rule that works like a charm every time. Enjoy the read and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

My favorite rule I use to achieve a prettier flat lay is “The Rule of Similarity”.

No, this is not a geometric rule about the two geometrical objects that both have the same shape, or one has the same shape as the mirror image of the other. But this is the rule I invented for my flat lay photography. It’s Molly’s Rule! Lol! ? But I’m happy to share how I use this rule with you today. Pretty much this Rule is to pick similar main objects and props to use in your photo.

This is the one rule I use all the time when it comes to taking flat lay photos. Either the similar pattern of objects, the similar colors, color schemes that create an aesthetic feeling to the photo, similar shape, feel, and many more. Nothing too complicated. If they look similar, that’s all that matters. For me personally, I’d normally pick and play with similar colors and similar patterns in my photoshoot session.

The Rule of Similarity

For example, this flat lay photo above, I took on my couch, using my iPhone to take it as the iPhone comes in handy with the camera grid tool that helps guide with spaces and straightening of the photo. As well as it’s very easy to use and control when working in a small space.

As for my photoshoot steps, I follow my flat lay planning process, (you can download it here), got the couch as my background, and picked pink and red as my main colors. The purpose of this flat lay is to share my current favorite items, bag, cami dress, slingback heels, hair clips, summer perfume, and my new couch.

I didn’t have a single main product I wanted to highlight so I gave all of them equal attention but still applied the rule of thirds to this photo, where my bigger objects are at the bottom of the photo.

As you can see that the majority of items in this photo are pink & red and are leopard prints. These are the rules of similarity I applied here.

The last step before the finished photo, I edited it with my Lightroom preset I created to help adjust the mood of the photo.

In conclusion, by using the rule of similarity to pick your objects and props will help make your photo look more interesting, prettier and can strongly showcase its character and story behind your flat lay photo.

Thank you for stopping by All About Good Vibes today. See you next week for more #FlatLayFriday tips.

Share with mE:

What is one tip you use to make your photos prettier?

Blogging Q&A with Diana Elizabeth Steffen

Blogging Q&A with Diana Elizabeth Steffen

Blogging Tips

In today’s post I welcome Diana Elizabeth Steffen of  DianaElizabethBlog.com to answer a few blogging questions regarding blogging full-time. To help clarify what you might not know about how it’s like to be a full-time blogger.

Read on to hear her thoughts and learn from her advice. She’s a true inspiration. 

I met Diana at my very first blogging event I attended in Phoenix about 2 years ago. I was super new and very nervous but so so glad I went. Getting to connect with some of the amazing people in your industry is wonderful and Diana is one of the people I admire and get inspired by what she creates.

Today, I’m so happy to share her thoughts on blogging full-time with you and for you to get to know this talented lady. I promise you will gain some helpful tips from her perspective and point of view to up your blogging game and/or become a full-time blogger yourself.

Read along and share your thoughts with us in the comments.

I will leave it to Diana now and will see you again on my next blog post.

Enjoy reading!

How did you become a full time blogger?

I left corporate 10 years ago and became a full-time entrepreneur juggling photography and graphic design that had been my side hustle, that’s when I had a blog. My blog focused on my photography work, but when I wasn’t sharing photography I started to blog about daily life and thoughts, it was a personal blog where I dumped thoughts and dreams. Slowly brands started to send me products in exchange for product and it was great practice! I had so much fun, then I started to get paid. I have a B.A. in journalism, experience in corporate marketing, html web and graphic design, and being a photographer it seemed natural to pursue blogging and see where it would take me. Today I’m a full-time entrepreneur juggling photography and blogging (graphic design has taken a back seat but I still do it for the same clients). 

 

What does your day look like?

I wake up late like around 9:30 because I work late – I am more creative at night! I’ve always programmed websites and liked to write in the evenings so that’s a good time for me to collect my thoughts. The day varies from an all day photoshoot with campaigns and I hire makeup and hair and a photographer to hammer out 4 to 5 campaigns and content, or I am in my home office on conference calls answering emails, editing images and scheduling content. It’s different every day.

What are some recommendations for someone who wants to become a full time blogger?

Make sure you love it, like really love it – every part of blogging. From pitching brands, to designing your website, to sharing the content you believe in and enjoy creating, invoicing, and networking. It’s so much work and it’s not all glamorous, it really is a hard job. I’ve seen friends try to start a blog for the money but burn out easily when they realize it’s not that easy. It takes consistence and passion – you should want to share information with others and you would want to blog for free. If you want to do it full-time, be hungry, take everything when you start out because you’re practicing. As you get busier and better, increase your rate and make sure you are always continuing your education to improve your craft.

What would you say to people who think it’s easy to be a full time blogger/ influencer?

I know it looks easy, but I think over time people who sees the ins and outs realize being a blogger or influencer is a lot of work. It can also be a struggle for influencers ourselves because our job is social media and we put so much more emphasis on it because it’s our job. Creating content takes time, scheduling, having the energy to get ready and also market yourself is a full-time job. I know some influencers make it look easy but I know once people see how much work goes into it, they respect the work. 

About Diana Elizabeth Steffen

Diana Elizabeth Steffen is an entrepreneur based in Phoenix. She is a full-time editorial photographer, marketing strategist and lifestyle blogger. She blogs about home, gardening, travel and lifestyle on DianaElizabethBlog.com.

Instagram: @dianaelizabeth_

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