I’m excited to introduce a new, regular feature to the Fashionista Lab: Friend Friday! I recently joined a wonderful group of fashion and beauty bloggers who stay in touch over email, and come together (virtually) every Friday to discuss a set topic on each of our blogs. This week’s topic: Being confident about your blog.
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1. Have you ever looked at someone’s blog and thought yours will never measure up?
Absolutely. But then what does measuring up mean? The fashion blogosphere is chock full of different personalities and perspectives; how can you compare? I’ve mostly looked at other people’s blogs and thought they were far more polished than mine would ever be. There are bloggers with professional quality photos, who have time to post multiple times a day, who are and have access to so many things that I’m not and don’t. But I realized that I’m not these people and my blog is not their blogs. We have different personalities, different sources of inspiration, and different resources – whether time, technology or whatever. And none of that changes the value of my blog. So there’s really just no way to compare.
2. Do you (did you) feel pressure to meet some kind of undefined
standard for fashion bloggers?
The only standard I’ve felt pressure on is outfit photos. In the beginning I didn’t do them – but in the VERY beginning I didn’t have any photos at all. That quickly changed when my friends overwhelmingly suggested that I add photos (in fact, since then this is the first post without a photo). I think outfit photos add a great deal of value to my blog and fashion blogs in general – they’re easy for me to put up (provided I’ve already edited the photos), and there’s no better way for readers to understand my sense of style. I think I felt the pressure because it was something I knew would make my blog better.
3. Many established fashion bloggers are also extraordinary DIYers,
bakers, and crafty people. Do you think you need to combine all of
these things to be successful at blogging?
Absolutely not. To be a successful blogger all you need are you own ideas, whatever they’re about. I’m totally not into DIY, but I once wrote a tongue-in-cheek DIY post. I’m not sure if anyone else got the joke but I enjoyed writing it. I actually love baking and do it fairly often but I never blog about it. I’m just more interested in writing about fashion than food. But if I finally spring for an apron from Anthropologie I will be sure to blog about it.
4. The most successful blogs are the ones that have their own personal voice – how are you developing your voice or how did you find yours?
Developing my voice is an ongoing project. The core of my blog is that I’m talking about whatever is on my mind, but I’m constantly trying to un-limit myself. I love writing so I’m prone to posting words; but sometimes just a photo is sufficient. Or sometimes it’s ok to just write a sentence; I don’t always need a paragraph. Either way, the more I post the more I’m aware of what else I might want to do – and then I try it out!
5. Toot your own horn… what’s one thing you do that is unique to you
and your blog? What gives your blog an edge?
I’m just going to put this out there – my nerdiness is unique. I like thinking and discussion and that carries over into my blog. I like to write about fashion in a way that is thought-provoking. Not shock provocation necessarily, but just something interesting that makes the reader pause and say “hm”. Sometimes I write about the business side of things; I also like to champion local events. I used to do that on my blog, but now I do it from my Facebook page.
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I did an interview with hyperlocal blogging platform Outside.in on starting my blog and dealing with a lot of the questions asked here. Check it out!
For more Friend Friday posts visit Friend Friday on Modly Chic.
What's your opinion?