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

[wekilledcouture]

Boots, god you are observant!
i removed the line that used to sit above my sidebar!

and thankyou >__<

 

[cologne_rocks]

Do you know if there's a possibility to use that "read more" function on blogspot?

 

[dreams]

Hey TFSers! I would love some advice/critique/amazing compliments (just kidding ) on my celebrity fashion blog Where'd They Get That?

-Do you like the variety of celebs I feature?
-Should I feature more cheaper items?
-Did you find any broken links? (let me know--hate those!)
-Would making a facebook page (in addition to twitter and bloglovin) help get more followers?
-Any other suggestions?

Thanks guys!

Well for one thing I would probably come up with a different name for my blog, but that is just my opinion. There is another style blog with a very similar name.

I can't tell you how many people write me to tell me they named their blog the same as mine or have the same blog name as mine. I guess they think it is a compliment?

I started my blog several years ago and luckily own the domain name and url to blogger and typepad.

Do your research, especially if you want to stand out in the sea of blogs.

 

[kbella]

I'd love some more feedback on my blog too. I've definitely found my style, but i'm worried that to everyone else it's a bit erratic as I post a mix of fashion, my personal style, things i've seen and like, art, etc. and don't know if readers just prefer a single topic? I'd appreciate any constructive criticism (negative or positive)

Again, there's some really great advice flowing on this thread at the moment! The thing I love about blogging is what a great community it is and there's always someone willing to help if you just ask.

I prefer the more 'erratic' blogs (I feel mine fits into this category too) as they seem more realistic and show more about the owners point of view. Think of your blog as your own magazine, with all the different sections it would cover; fashion, books, art, music etc. I tend to post mainly fashion related things, but if I see an excellent photography exhibition or visit somewhere interesting, I won't hesitate to post about it.

 

[wekilledcouture]

Do you know if there's a possibility to use that "read more" function on blogspot?

i use it on mine

 

[Katnani]

Completely agree with everything that's being said in this thread! I love when the blogs are unique and have a bit of writing and personality!

SussanaCole, I am your newest follower!!! I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR BLOG! Your text is amazing and the photos you use are also perfect!

I'm thinking of changing my layout a little bit more again (I've recently add pages and tabs, the lateral sidebar has photos with links for my main categories, I've made the photos bigger and removed most everything I had on the sidebars...) Now I was thinking about changing the letter, make it more personal... Oh, and the header too... Any ideas?

Thanks

Link is below!

 

[Boots & Perfume]

I prefer the more 'erratic' blogs (I feel mine fits into this category too) as they seem more realistic and show more about the owners point of view. Think of your blog as your own magazine, with all the different sections it would cover; fashion, books, art, music etc. I tend to post mainly fashion related things, but if I see an excellent photography exhibition or visit somewhere interesting, I won't hesitate to post about it.

Thanks darling, that's nice to hear!

 

[Boots & Perfume]

Boots, god you are observant!
i removed the line that used to sit above my sidebar!

and thankyou >__<

Well, i've always said I wanted to be a Bond Girl in real life

 

[wekilledcouture]

Something i have found amazingly useful
http://www.sitemeter.com

You can see exactly where your viewers are, what link they enter your page from, what they exit on, who is on right now, what operating system they use (54% of my viewers are mac users interestingly enough!)
and everything from their screen resolution to what they searched to find your page if they arrived through a search engine.

 

[Susanna-Cole]

I agree with McClaire about wekilledcouture and SusanneCole.

Sth I love about your blogs is furthermore the great layout, it's eyecatching but yet minimalistic i like that cause it get's out the usual "blogging" layout, very professional looking! And the imagery of Susanne's blog is just breathtaking, it gives her blog a very secretive yet dreamy mood, love that!

Aw, thank you so much

Completely agree with everything that's being said in this thread! I love when the blogs are unique and have a bit of writing and personality!

SussanaCole, I am your newest follower!!! I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR BLOG! Your text is amazing and the photos you use are also perfect!

Aw, thank you so much! Flattered you like it. Thanks for reading it!

Something i have found amazingly useful
http://www.sitemeter.com

You can see exactly where your viewers are, what link they enter your page from, what they exit on, who is on right now, what operating system they use (54% of my viewers are mac users interestingly enough!)
and everything from their screen resolution to what they searched to find your page if they arrived through a search engine.

I hadn't heard of Site Meter before, but Stat Counter (which is what I use) can do all this as well, I'm not sure how much usefulness I find in it, personally, but I do find it quite amusing. The searches people make that lead them to your page can be particularly funny, and sometimes downright strange I've found. What I didn't consider, when naming my blog, is how many people would find my blog cause they're searching for where to meet girls in NYC.

 

[wekilledcouture]

Susanna,
That is absolutely hilarious.
I bet they are a bit surprised by what they find when they visit your page!

I don't get much traffic from searches, people just seem to type my url in straight away.
Which is good in a way because i'm assuming my url is memorable and they don't need to search it!


Lots of traffic from twitter, which is to be expected.
Who else uses twitter to promote their blog?

 

[Susanna-Cole]

Susanna,
That is absolutely hilarious.
I bet they are a bit surprised by what they find when they visit your page!

I don't get much traffic from searches, people just seem to type my url in straight away.
Which is good in a way because i'm assuming my url is memorable and they don't need to search it!


Lots of traffic from twitter, which is to be expected.
Who else uses twitter to promote their blog?

I'd like to know what their thoughts are, probably disappointed by the lack of any prospect of hooking up with hot NYC girls.

Yeah, the mass majority of my hits are from "no referring link", so I suppose they've got it bookmarked or something.

 

[cologne_rocks]

How do you get to see which traffic comes from typing the url and which doesn't?

 

[Susanna-Cole]

How do you get to see which traffic comes from typing the url and which doesn't?

Depends on what program/site you're using, but with StatCounter, it's under the Statistics bar, if you hit "Came From", then find the bar that says "no referring link", and you can hit the triangle to expand, and see the user info of your visitors, if you like.

 

[kbella]

^ I have feedjit (which is rather fun) and statcounter for more depth. I know lots of people arrive through google images, but it never tells me which one - so annoying. The other day loads of people arrived on my blog from Poland on one particular fashion week image, and it happened a few months ago with Spain.

 

[cologne_rocks]

Thank you Susanna-Cole!

 

[Boots & Perfume]

Not sure if anyone else has wordpress and is able to help, but i'm having issues with advertising banners. I've just signed up to a few affiliates, but when I try and copy the links into a text box, the banner comes up but the link doesn't work (I've experimented with one for Benefit cosmetics and the link goes to a random wordpress page). I just read somewhere on wordpress that they don't allow advertising - is this true? Is there any way around it?

Any tips you can give would be much appreciated!

 

[Susanna-Cole]

Not sure if anyone else has wordpress and is able to help, but i'm having issues with advertising banners. I've just signed up to a few affiliates, but when I try and copy the links into a text box, the banner comes up but the link doesn't work (I've experimented with one for Benefit cosmetics and the link goes to a random wordpress page). I just read somewhere on wordpress that they don't allow advertising - is this true? Is there any way around it?

Any tips you can give would be much appreciated!

It depends, in some scenarios they allow it, but not for most. I think this link explains it all quite well.

Edit: Oh, and this link gives some other options.

 

[Boots & Perfume]

Thanks Susanna - so I guess unless I can get one of the options on the second link to work, I need to host my own platform (which seems a bit technically daunting for now, but will perhaps consider this in a few months).

Thanks again!

P.S. I feel like I say this to you and wekilledcouture almost every week, but your blog is gorgeous!

 

[entirely officia]

A few months ago I ditched my old blog completely and started anew. See my signature. the MidWestern Front. midwesternfront dot com.

I wanted to do something different, my own niche. It has breaking fashion news, personal style pics, etc.

I added fashion haul videos or haul vlogs to relate back to the ootd photo. I'm also going to be adding some video "outakes" from my "shoots" I'm a better verbal communicator than writer so its exciting to be able to focus on my strengths and leave the writing to the pros. Many of you are quite creative and prolific. Plus the videos are MUCH less time consuming.

I'd love to hear what you think.