Tag Archives: Blogging

The blogging journey so far. 6 years and counting….Plus 6 tips for you.

November 20, 2018 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , 18 Comments

October 2018 made it 6 years of blogging on Fashion and Style Police. I still remember how it all started. My blogging journey started 6 years ago in our old flat. I was tired of reading other blogs and decided to just to set up mine. Plus it was a course requirement for me to have a blog  I was taking in course in Fashion and Style with London College of Style (LCS), and having a blog was one of the things required to pass the course.

All that is ancient history. My dreams of becoming a fashion stylist never happened for many reasons, but I discovered my calling instead – Writing. I haven’t stopped ever since.

 

Autumn Fashion Image

 

Fashion and Style Police has surpassed my imagination. I never thought it could all the doors of opportunities it has opened so far. Earning a full-time income from it was not really the plan. But it happened and I am forever grateful. It has been a lot of work and I just didn’t get to the position I am now in overnight.

Here is my advice to anyone thinking of earning some blog. They are my best 6 tips, one for each year –

 

Don’t quit your day job or other side gigs

Blogging takes a lot of work and effort. It may take you years to grow your blog to the point of being paid to write about a brand. So don’t quit your day job or other side gigs just yet. Keep doing whatever you are doing and work on your blog by the side. When you start earning a steady full-time income for about 6 months and you have enough to quit your day job, then you can take the leap of faith.

You can also decide to keep working while you blog in the evenings and weekends. It is possible to work full-time and blog regularly. I know a couple of bloggers who do this successfully, so it is worth considering this option as well. It is easier to do this if you don’t have a family. Having kids and a full-time job and blog may be too much.

 

Don’t work for free

I have never worked for free and I won’t dream of asking anyone to work for free. You should be receiving a monetary compensation as well as products if required. Working for free for brands is something you should not do if you plan to be taken seriously. They will always ask, especially with the new bloggers. I still get daily emails from businesses trying to get me to do stuff for me, which I just ignore. Having said that, you can decide to support charities and brands you are passionate about. But just say alert so you don’t get taken advantage of. I am sure you will feel some kind of way if you find that a certain brand you gave free advertisement to, paid another blogger for the same job you did.

 

Get your pricing right

You should decide on the lowest minimum amount you are willing to accept from a brand and stick to it. Setting your prices too low or accepting any offer you get is not advisable. Deciding on the lowest amount you can receive is something you have to figure out yourself.

 

Natural cornrows image

 

 

Post regular quality content

Post regularly and stick to a posting schedule if possible. That way your readers know when to expect a post. You should also ensure you post quality content. Better to publish nothing than to publish a crappy post. A quality post is well written and either entertains or educates your readers. If your readers don’t get anything out of your posts they would stop reading.

 

Focus on your photography

Try as much as possible to take decent photos. It makes your blog pretty and keeps your readers glued to your every word. Having great photos also gets the attention of brands which means paid collaborations and product samples would come your way. Photography is everything. It sits next to quality content if not before.

 

Read other blogs but don’t get obsessed

You should find blogs you like reading and give them a follow. Commenting regularly on the blogs would introduce you to a new audience and get the attention of the blogger which may come in handy. It is also important to see what other blogs are writing about and how they operate. That is free blogging education right there but don’t get obsessed with the blogs and neglect your own blog. That defeats the purpose. Also, no matter how tempting it is, do not copy. It pays to be original. Your blog content would thank you for it.

 

Good luck with it all and enjoy your blogging journey.

 

 

 

Blogging full-time is dangerous

October 10, 2018 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , 24 Comments

Many of us bloggers blog full-time, which means we have no other job/income. Many others bloggers and earn a living doing other things, which is what all bloggers or self-employed person should be doing. I am all for blogging full-time. I do blog full-time but I do other jobs from home that fetch me money. Blogging full-time is dangerous because work can be so busy and you think you are on the right track. And it can go suddenly quiet for months without any notice. If you are relying on money from your blog to pay your monthly bills and you don’t make anything in a month, what happens?

 

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What full time bloggers don’t tell you

You would be ok for a while if you have some form of savings. Or if you are still living at home with parents or a partner who could help. But if you have none of these, you would be in a bad position. I see many bloggers aspiring to blog full time and it makes me worry because they have no clue what is really going on behind the happy smiles on Instagram. And the fancy life they see “full time bloggers” living all over social media. If most of these “professional bloggers” are honest with their fans, they would tell them how tricky it can be to rely on a blogging income alone. You could make as much as £5000 in good months and as little as £100 or less in really bad months. Bloggers who have been blogging for many years would have experienced both sides of the coin but may not necessarily share that with anyone.

Blogging is hard work but it is so worth it. It is possible to earn a good income from your blog but relying on a blogging income is not advisable. Especially when you have dependants to cater for. I always advise anyone to have at least 8 sources of income. I currently have 7 sources of income and I am working on another source to add to it. One of my sources of income – eBay is more work than it is worth so I am thinking of replacing it with something else.

 

My Sources of Income

My 7 sources of income in other of priority are –

  • Fashion and Style Police – Blog
  • Social media promotions – Social media ads/collaborations
  • Blogger Outreach Services – Working with brands in recruiting bloggers.
  • Freelance Writing – Writing for other websites.
  • How to Cash In as a Blogger eBook- My eBook on blogging.
  • eBay – Selling new and preloved items on eBay.
  • Social Media Management Services – Managing social media platforms for small businesses.

 

 

Black dress Image

 

I am working on an extra source of income and looking to replace eBay so it is not among my main 8 sources of income. I am hoping to get these done before the end of 2018. If I only relied on my blog income, I would struggle on some months. The blog is still my main source of income and that is one of the reasons why I focus on it. But I won’t risk having only a blog as my only source of income because anything can happen.

My advice to anyone blogging full time or think of going full time is to have other sources of income. Whether a part time job doing something else. Or other working from home gigs. May the forces be with us all!

 

 

Blogging Tips – How to Streamline your Blog Content Creation

September 24, 2018 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , 53 Comments

Blogging is a lot of work. I have been blogging for close to 6 years now and it gets harder the more you blog. If you plan to take your blog from a hobby to a business, then you have to be prepared to do the work. I work pretty much everyday on one blog related job or the other. If I am not writing or articles blog posts, I am taking and editing photos, or scheduling social media posts.

There is always something to do when you work from home and run a business. It is tricky to separate home life from work life because it all happens in the same place. And my team are my family members but it works great for us. We won’t have it any other way.

 

Fashionista Blog Image

 

You can’t succeed as a content creator if you don’t create content regularly. A good way to stay on top of your content creation as a blogger is to streamline your content. Here are ways you can go about doing that.

 

Have a blogging schedule

I blog pretty much everyday, so that is my schedule. Sometimes, I am unable to blog for some days when life gets in the way which is the same for all of us. Having said that, it works better when your readers know when to expect a new blog post. Having a blogging schedule is a great way to grow your readership and stay ahead of the game.

 

Get a blogging journal

Blogging journals are great for writing down ideas and anything related to your blog. I always have mine on me for whenever inspiration strikes. If I am unable to get to my journal, I make use of my iPhone notepad. Have a list of blog post ideas in a journal means you always have fresh ideas for your blog posts.

 

Determine the objective of your content

Before you start writing your posts, it makes sense to determine the objective of the blog post. Once you have that outlined, then the rest of the content would follow naturally. Having a clear objective of your content means you have a good title, relevant focus keyword and additional keywords all good to go. That way the blog post would be interesting to read and easy to find on search engines.

 

Outfit Post Image

 

Keep writing

I write a post pretty much everyday. Sometimes I write about 2/3 posts a day, depending on deadlines and what campaigns I am working on. Writing everyday has helped me become a better writer. And my number 1 blogging tip to anyone thinking of turning their blog to a business, is to read and write as many times as possible everyday.

When it comes to streamlining your blog content creation, the more you write, the more blog posts you would have in your draft. So that means you would always have posts ready to be published even on days when you are unable to write.

 

How do you streamline your blog content creation? Do you have any tips to share?

 

 

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