Advice about Starting & Promoting a Fashion Blog - See Post #1 for Thread Rules

[Ponies Need It]

I really like your blog, but I prefer bigger images (specially if they are from a magazine, for example, but that's just my opinion!)

I prefer larger images, but we're unsure how to make them larger and add more than five. Does anyone know how to do this?


http://www.poniesneedit.com

 

[Susanna-Cole]

I prefer larger images, but we're unsure how to make them larger and add more than five. Does anyone know how to do this?


http://www.poniesneedit.com

You'll want to add the photos using HTML. To do this, click "new post", and then switch the tabs (in the right corner above the text box) from "Compose" to "Edit HTML". Then upload your picture elsewhere, such as Imageshack or Photobucket or wherever you like, and either just copy the HTML code given for the image (if that's provided where you uploaded your photo) or insert the direct link into this code:

<img src="PasteImageURLHere">

Hope that helps.

 

[Ponies Need It]

Thanks!!!

 

[EasyCool]

I mean this in the nicest way possible.

I think a lot of people on here that want to start a blog have got to remember 3 key words, ORIGINALITY and PERSONALITY and UNIQUENESS.

I find that the originality is lacking in the presentation of the blog/blogs. When a person sees the content on your blog it should burn images into their brain. Color, picture-inspiration, etc.

To many pictures makes the person bored to fast.
Each post has got to be straight to the point, color, inspiration and cohesive.

Develop a strong personality in the way you talk and your style (dressing, and post presentation).

Uniqueness is also key. Think outside of the box. If your goal is just to have a blog for you and a few people okay. But if you want your goal is to become very successful and possible internet blogger famous, ya gotta have this.

Ask your self this, what make you different from the other thousands of bloggers.

I can tell you, that asking for other peoples opinions is a fantastic start.

 

[Ponies Need It]

Yeah I completely see what you're saying, we've just now started writing more but we aren't very consistent. Its hard as I feel like no one reads it or I have nothing intelligent to say, but thats defeatist and I need to get over myself. We have a lot of new and different ideas, its just hard to find the time sometime to actually realize them.

 

[EasyCool]

^ I know what you mean. If you ever want an opinion or advise, I would be glad to help you. You can just send me a message.

 

[wekilledcouture]

Yeah I completely see what you're saying, we've just now started writing more but we aren't very consistent. Its hard as I feel like no one reads it or I have nothing intelligent to say, but thats defeatist and I need to get over myself. We have a lot of new and different ideas, its just hard to find the time sometime to actually realize them.

i know its hard to stay motivated.
but its worth it! you have a great thing going. stick with it!

 

[Boots & Perfume]

I mean this in the nicest way possible.

I think a lot of people on here that want to start a blog have got to remember 3 key words, ORIGINALITY and PERSONALITY and UNIQUENESS.

I find that the originality is lacking in the presentation of the blog/blogs. When a person sees the content on your blog it should burn images into their brain. Color, picture-inspiration, etc.

To many pictures makes the person bored to fast.
Each post has got to be straight to the point, color, inspiration and cohesive.

Develop a strong personality in the way you talk and your style (dressing, and post presentation).

Uniqueness is also key. Think outside of the box. If your goal is just to have a blog for you and a few people okay. But if you want your goal is to become very successful and possible internet blogger famous, ya gotta have this.

Ask your self this, what make you different from the other thousands of bloggers.

I can tell you, that asking for other peoples opinions is a fantastic start.

I definitely agree with you Easycool. I'm a blogger myself, but also spend a LOT of time looking at my favourite blogs and finding new ones. It is definitely about personality. I find so many blogs just post pictures from magazines, etc. without any story of their own. This doesn't mean you need to post photos of your outfits - indeed there are already so many of these and they can be a bit dry after a time. I think you just need to be a bit qitty or original, and write thoughts along with your pictures. I try to do this myself, and although it means I can't post as frequently as each post requires thought rather than just a picture, I hope it makes for a better quality of posts.

That said, i'd appreciate any feedback anyone has. And i'm still trying to figure out how to get the bloglovin follower widget and link on my page (i've signed up to bloglovin but this is about as far as I can work out). Does anyone else have a Wordpress page and know how to do this? Thanks in advance if so

 

[wekilledcouture]

^^^ i agree with both of you.
Its important to make posts original.
I try to make my outfit posts with an editorial aspect to them.

And boots i love your blog because it actually has content! something that is becoming more rare these days!

 

[Ponies Need It]

Wekilledcouture - i really love your blog

how did you find your direction? did you know it from the get go?
and how did you learn html? is it challenging?

 

[wekilledcouture]

Ponies need it: oh your so sweet. i love hearing that people enjoy it

My direction was set from the get go and even more so when i chose and decided on the name.
I knew i eventually wanted to do outfit posts, but i had a very set vision of how i wanted to have them look. Not the normal standing-outside-with-a-pretty-background-looking-so-trendy type outfit post, something that was editorial in a way, told a story in some cases, and really expressed the concepts i had created and imagined. hence the description (conceptual. expressional. editorial.)
So i worked hard and set myself up with the appropriate studio equipment.
And the latest posts are the result of the initial plan i wanted my blog to follow.
A mix of my own photo shoots, outfits, clothes i've made (coming soon), shoots i've styled, and sometimes inspiration, also if something really interests me or i find an amazing new designer i can post about or collaborate with.
I am going to be posting something soon explaining the back story to my name. but its something im passionate about and just like anything i want it to be perfect before it sees the light of day.

html to me, was exceedingly easy, i taught myself when i was 11 and have just extended my knowledge and technique since then.
So 6 years of html is a fair bit of experience with it.
The hardest part is remembering all the tags, and if your not familiar with the blogger tags it can be very hard.
Using the standard blogger templates i found the customization very limited.
And all blogger blogs tend to have that template "look"
A generator (http://psyc.horm.org/) can give your blog an instant makeover. and is a fantastic start to learning html as you will eventually learn what everything means.
You can change everything on there.
And then for example if you want to hide the blogger toolbar at the top of the page, you just google blogger layout tweaks or something until you find the code. no need to remember it all! even i dont do that hahaha

 

[Boots & Perfume]

^^^ i agree with both of you.
Its important to make posts original.
I try to make my outfit posts with an editorial aspect to them.

And boots i love your blog because it actually has content! something that is becoming more rare these days!

Thank you so much

Yours is really amazing - the outfit posts are indeed editorial-esque, and of such a superb quality. Your whole blog has your personality all over it, and this is what makes it so good.

 

[wekilledcouture]

Thank you so much

Yours is really amazing - the outfit posts are indeed editorial-esque, and of such a superb quality. Your whole blog has your personality all over it, and this is what makes it so good.

Your much too sweet!
i feel like a loser because i put so much effort in and im still unknown
but i just take my own advice and suck it up hahaha.

 

[misscheriedior]

I'd really appreciate some feedback about my blog! It's just new and I'm not really sure of the exact direction I want to go with it but I'd like to hear what you guys think..
thanks!

http://thispoorlittlerichgirl.com

 

[Katnani]

I've changed my blog recently, I was feeling like it was too crowded, to noisy, so I clear it up, add pages, create picture labels and put my post images bigger.

I have to thank you all for the advices, in a month or so I went from 37 followers to 99! I'll try to continually grow and be better and better!

You can check the changes here, and say what you think: http://myfashioninsider.blogspot.com/

 

[wekilledcouture]

misscheriedior: love the interviews and content of your blog, you might just want to work on the appearance a bit.. its got that standard blogger look. otherwise its fantastic. keep it up!

 

[misscheriedior]

Thank you wekilledcouture! and thank you for the advice! I love your blog a lot by the way, I wish I was more talented in html to design a layout that is as good as yours. I may have a go at it after my exams, haha.

 

[wekilledcouture]

Aww thankyou! so sweet

and it's not that hard.
as i said in one of my previous posts up there ^^ a couple helpful tips and a link to a layout generator that is very useable and creates fantastic layouts that you can customize as much as you want!

 

[McClaire]

The reason I like a certain blog is that it has something that I haven't seen before. Unique content. Obviously as a member of TFS I search the threads and see the models eds and such so I'm not really drawn to a blog if it just posts those pictures because I've already seen them and I know not everyone is a member here but I just get a little bored with it and since a lot of Blog Admins post their websites as their signature you might alienate some people who have seen it already.
I'm also one of those weird people that likes to people watch so making your blog more personal (not saying every detail of your life) but just enough so that you can make a connection matters. It goes with what EasyCool said. It comes to personality. On that note I like well rounded people too. I like the blogs to reflect the person and who they really are, if that makes sense. No one is just some person who is nothing more then eds posted on their blogs. I like to know their inspiration and what kind of books they read, movies they watch, make up and of course clothes. This also means engage your readers, I really hate it when Blogger fails to really note that without readers they would have a successful blog. I'm not saying reply to every message or comment but it'd be a little nice for the blog admins to take a minute and just answer a question here and there from their readers. I understand that of course Blog Admins have lives but so do their readers and it's nice to know they're not a phantom and that they "care" (If that makes sense) So many blogs are just empty spaces that have no "feeling" to them.
Also spice it up. Whether that be a video or whatever pictures and text even if it's good gets a little old sometimes. I look through my Blog Lovin and see what catches my eye and if it's something different then what I'm used to then I check it out first and more then likely keep coming back more often to see if that happens again. Yeah I'm a sucker.
As far as layouts are concerned I feel like simple is best. I found this great little snippet about Balance in a blog that I thought was informative:http://www.problogdesign.com/design/7-elements-to-make-your-blog-look-great/

Anyway just wanted to throw my thoughts out there.
EDIT: Jesus, sorry for the long post.

 

[wekilledcouture]

McClaire, I agree completely with everything you just said.

I'm just a sucker when it comes to replying to questions in comments.. I will always try and email the person and answer their questions because.. without them.. my blog would be pointless.