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

[FrenchCactus]

^ Andrea. RL, I think Tumblr might be a better fit for you if you're more into posting pictures than text and it allows you to have different pages and sort your posts out by category

 

[Andrea.RL]

It's what I thought. But wouldnt a wordpress be better to showcase clothes and stuff to sell?
(ps: thank you so much for all of your answers concerning my posts You've been a real help!)

 

[FrenchCactus]

It's what I thought. But wouldnt a wordpress be better to showcase clothes and stuff to sell?
(ps: thank you so much for all of your answers concerning my posts You've been a real help!)

Oh you're welcome! I used this thread a lot to set up my own blog and it has been a major help, so it's normal to give back.

I hesitated between Wordpress and Blogger when I was planning to start a blog and opened accounts on both to see what it really was like as an administrator, without posting anything, just to see which was easier to use for me and what I wanted to do with my blog. I ended up starting with Wordpress because I was intuitively more at ease with their process and layout.
So what I mean is that if your hesitating between Wordpress and Tumblr, you can always open an account on both so you'll really see what it's to write a blog on those and it will be easier for you to take a decision

 

[Andrea.RL]

Yeah thats what i figured. i think i might do a wordpress and divide it into different pages so i can mix written articles and photo articles.
I'll probably be back soon for more questions though...

 

[JolieInTheCity]

I have switched my blog to Wordpress and I LOVE the site. I think the blog looks pretty professional but I'd love opinions.

http://jolieinthecity.wordpress.com/

 

[FrenchCactus]

^ Jolie, the layout does look professional indeed!
Careful about your social pages though: the link to your twitter does not work and apparently there are problems with your pictures on your Facebook page.

 

[PerfectPerfect]

I've been on Blogger the entirety of my blogging, and I've tried Wordpress for another separate blog. While I found Wordpress slightly more aesthetically pleasing, it was more confusing for me! Dont know why? Perhaps just way too used to blogger.

My biggest piece of advice is that the fashion blogging community has gotten HUGE, you dont have to be a small fish in a big pond. Reach out to bloggers, and be genuine! Leave lots of comments and be regular about it even though most wont reciprocate, but a few will and you'll build up your community in that way!

 

[fashionfille]

I completely agree with everything perfectperfect said!!!!! not a wordpress fan; i find blogger really easy to use, play with, and learn on. i've been using it for 2.5 years and have never had a problem. i think my blog looks professional enough, too, so really i find no reason to switch over. i dread using wordpress for my schools' life and style magazine that i'm the web editor for.

 

[yasmine123]

So i've been blogging for a couple of weeks now and am having alot of fun!! I would love some feedback on the layout of my blog....

I am trying to get rid of the profile picture from showing up on my blog and cant seem to figure it out. So if anyone knows how to do it (with out having to delete it from my profile page) please help

http://mypurplegrape.com

 

[PerfectPerfect]

if you go into blogger, click on your design tab, here are all the elements that you can move around. Find the gadget that this belongs to and remove it, I'm pretty sure that you can add it back later if you like through the gadgets themselves!

 

[FASHIONLOVA]

i think most popular blogs feature outfit posts. those without are much less popular.
am i wrong?

i had a blog 5 years ago that was doing great and i stopped it. couple months ago i started blogging again using blogger and i can t seem to figure out how to get my pictures to go side by side in a post.
and i don t like the templates on blogger

 

[wekilledcouture]

^
I would completely agree. I always get more feedback when I post my own outfits etc.
And I hate the blogger templates as well. Mine is highly modified, so now it doesn't even look like a blogger blog! Definitely worth doing

 

[FASHIONLOVA]

i don t really know how to modify templates
well i acually i do a little bit but this one seems complicated

 

[markese91]

i can t seem to figure out how to get my pictures to go side by side in a post.
and i don t like the templates on blogger

When you upload the image upload it with a layout alignment as none. Then when you edit the post, if you're working in HTML mode then put the closing code of one image on the same line as the opening code of the second but if not and you're working in Compose mode then just move the image up to beside the other.

If you want to center both images :

HTML: Go above the first image and put the <center> code and below the second image put the</center> code

COMPOSE: although I have never tried this I'm sure it'll work, highlight both images and click the text center button on the little tool bar.

 

[markese91]

So I've been blogging for a while now and I really am beginning to feel comfortable with blogging and all. I sort of use my blog as a curation of the industry. LIke I pick certain things I want to highlight and then I do it, I don't just repost everything that is posted nor do I do outfit posts. I mean I do have a lookbook but that's unique to my Facebook.

But anyway, I'm really looking to bring more people on to the blog. I'm thinking two right now, a photographer and another writer. I want the photographer to just like take pictures of streetstyle. They can be based wherever, I just want to have a photographer that does streetstyle and posts the images on the blog because I really do want to have that aspect.

In addition to that I want another writer. I really want them to be different than me in some aspect(either they focus mainly on womenswear or they like live on the other side of the world...). The thing is I have no clue how to find such people. Any ideas?

Oh and if you guys can give me your opinions on the blog I'd be entirely greatful. I've been tinkering with it since the relaunch, adding things, resizing things. I want to know if I'm making viewers run away.(the link is in my signature)

 

[nita-karoliina]

This thread has been a relly helpful. Thanks guys!

 

[dancing_supastar]

This post has been extremely helpful. I started my blog a month ago and am trying to get more followers and readers.

 

[wekilledcouture]

One thing i always see people posting about is images.
If you want your images to be bigger, and without the funny borders - do not use bloggers insert image tool
go to imageshack.us
upload your images
and then use the code <img src="DIRECT URL HERE">

 

[PerfectPerfect]

yes, the blogger sizing feature for images is always a little wonky. Either too big or too small for me! I've updated to a flickr pro account that lets me modify it much better.

A trick that has helped me out significantly is when taking photos, I know you always feel trigger happy and are worried about filling up your memory card by taking lower resolution photos. I found this to actually be the worst thing possible. Take your photos at the highest resolution available, the quality will be reflected when you post your photos. They will also be more easy to edit. I always shoot my photos in RAW now.

 

[markese91]

yes, the blogger sizing feature for images is always a little wonky. Either too big or too small for me! I've updated to a flickr pro account that lets me modify it much better.

If you still want to use Blogger, a trick that I use is to upload the image once straight from your computer and then go back and cut the url address from the html code and then reuploading the image via the HTML. What this does is allow blogger to host your image while you get the size you want.

The image will be imported in the actual size of the image and then all you have to do is change the HTML coding to the size you want. But alot of blogs tyr to do this and end up skewing their images because they don't understand ratio. So I'd encourage you to go to google and type in ratio calculator. I use the same one ever time, and you just type in the current size and then in one box type in what your ideal height or width is and it'll figure out the last one for you.