How to Start a Fashion Blog & Make Money Doing It

A fashion blog falls under the lifestyle blog umbrella and covers various types of styles, accessories, and trends. Some of these blogs also cover news surrounding the fashion industry. Learning how to start a fashion blog is your first step; actually launching it takes as little as a weekend. Savvy fashion bloggers can turn their blog into full-fledged businesses by working with brands and selling products.

1. Select a Blog Host & Theme

We recommend using a self-hosted WordPress blog (through WordPress.org) for your fashion blog, because there are more income-producing possibilities and flexibility compared to using a free service like Wix or WordPress.com. A self-hosted WordPress blog is simply a free, open-source version of WordPress. To use this, you will need a blog host to house all of your blog’s files, and you’ll pay a monthly fee.

Bluehost is our pick for blog hosting because you can get started for as little as $2.59 per month, your domain is free for a year (domain = your blog’s URL), and you get an SSL certificate. Plus, there’s 24/7 support, which is perfect for late-night creative sessions.

After creating an account with Bluehost, you’ll pick a theme. This is simply the style and layout for your blog. WordPress offers a variety of themes for free, but, you can purchase a premium theme from places like Theme Forest or Etsy. You’re probably going to find the best fashion blog-related themes on Etsy, since that’s where many creatives sell their products.

When choosing a theme, read the theme descriptions and features to select one that is responsive. This means that no matter which device your reader views your blog from, your blog sizes appropriately. Many themes are fully customizable—you can change the fonts, colors, and images.

Fashion blog themes tend to be pretty feminine with lots of white space and soft pastels. However, some themes give off a bit of a Vogue vibe with lots of clean lines and black and white features. Whichever your fashion blogging niche, try to pick a blog theme that matches the look. For example, a luxury fashion blogger might choose the clean lines, and a boho fashion blogger might choose pastels and neutral colors.

After downloading your theme files, head to your theme dashboard and upload the zip file. You don’t have to unzip the files before uploading them. Once that’s done, click activate.

A selection of some of the fashion blog themes available for purchase on Etsy

2. Install Helpful Plugins for Fashion Bloggers

Now that you’ve installed your theme, it’s time to customize your blog by adding plugins. A plugin simply helps extend the functionality of your blog. Too many plugins can slow down your blog, though, so just download the basics and a couple of fashion blog-specific plugins.

• Social Feed Gallery: Display your social media photos automatically with this plugin. You can choose from a gallery or carousel view to best complement your blog’s theme.
• Google Analytics: If you want to work with brands, ad networks, and influencer networks, you must have Google Analytics installed. This tool provides data on the traffic your blog receives.
• Social Warfare: This plugin is one of the prettiest social sharing plugins I’ve found, because you can completely customize the colors to suit your blog’s branding. This adds social share buttons to the top and bottom of your blog posts. You’ll need to pay for this plugin, starting at $29 per year.

A screenshot of the Social Warfare plugin in use on IdyllicPursuit.com

3. Publish Your Fashion Blog Posts & Promote

To publish your blog posts, you will use the post editor just like you would a Word document. If you’re well-versed in HTML, Java, and CSS, you can even create blog posts by toggling the editor to “Edit as HTML.” Don’t worry if you don’t know any of that yet (or ever!)—I rarely if ever use HTML when writing blog posts.

Blog titles should be under 60 characters to avoid the title cutting off in title pages or on social media posts. I like to use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer to help me understand which titles work best. It assigns a score to your headline, and you can keep tweaking it until your headline scores 70 or above.

A screenshot of CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer Tool. Because this headline scored less than 70, I would adjust the title until I get a better score.

Although there are different opinions about how often bloggers should publish content, it is recommended that you publish at least one or two new posts a week. It’s important to remember that the frequency matters less than the quality of the content you’re writing for your blog. Take the time to write engaging, informative, and fun content. You should also include high-quality visuals like photos, videos, and graphics.

If you’re stuck on what to write about, consider the following:

• Outfit of the day
• How to recreate [celebrity] [event name]’s look
• How to find sustainable fashion
• What is slow fashion and how to adopt the lifestyle
• How to style a dress 10 different ways
• What to include in a capsule wardrobe
• 10 Etsy stores with the best summer accessories
• What to wear for Zoom meetings at work
• 10 timeless fashion trends to adopt
• 5 ways to style a leather jacket

After you’ve written your blog post and added images or videos, share your posts on your social media profiles as well as in appropriate Facebook groups. Learn more about how best to utilize social media for bloggers.

You can also run ads to your blog posts using platforms like Google or Pinterest. I’m a fan of using Pinterest ads because I can get traction on a new blog post for as little as $5. Thanks to the social sharing nature of Pinterest, people will see your ad and save it to their own boards, which exposes it to their audience.

An example of an ad running on Pinterest.

4. Make Money Fashion Blogging

A fashion blogger can make money blogging by participating in influencer networks, affiliate marketing, using an ad network, and by selling products and services. Many bloggers have success participating in each of these simultaneously, while others choose to master one or two monetization methods.

Popular Influencer Networks for Fashion Bloggers

An influencer network connects brands with creators. Sometimes, it’s in a sponsored post capacity, where a blogger gets a flat rate based on their audience size. Other times a blogger receives only free products and a percentage of the sales generated (known as an affiliate marketing monetization method). The brand pays the network and then the network pays the blogger.

Influencer networks like rewardStyle, LIKEtoKNOW.it, and ShopStyle Collective are some of the most popular fashion blogger-centered networks. Other influencer networks include Activate, Izea, and Clever Girls. Some networks have minimum page view and engagement requirements, so be sure to look at each network carefully before applying to join.

An example of a blogger using the ShopStyle Collective to monetize a blog post about what to pack in a carry-on (Source: The Blonde Abroad)

Top Affiliate Programs for Fashion Bloggers

An affiliate program gives bloggers the opportunity to earn a commission for an action taken on an affiliate link. The timing in which a blogger receives commission depends on the network—many pay based on sales alone, but some pay a commission when a reader clicks on the affiliate link, whether or not a sale occurs.

Popular affiliate marketing programs for bloggers include ShareaSale, Rakuten, Amazon Associates, and CJ Affiliate. You first need to apply to join the affiliate marketing program, and then, you need to apply for each merchant once approved (except for Amazon Associates—you only need to apply for the program).

The Best Ad Networks for Fashion Bloggers

An ad network automatically displays ads on a blog. Some pay per click, while other networks pay after a sale occurs. Bloggers typically get paid after 60 days, provided they meet the minimum payout threshold (often $100 minimum).

Popular ad networks for fashion bloggers include Mediavine, Google AdSense, AdThrive, and SHE Media. Many bloggers start with Google AdSense because there aren’t a lot of requirements to join, whereas other networks have 25,000 page views per month minimum requirement.

An example of a display ad on NYC Bambi

Products & Services to Create as a Fashion Blogger

Perhaps one of the most fun ways to make money as a fashion blogger is to sell your own products and services. After all, most fashion bloggers love fashion because they’re creative, so put those talents to use. You can create physical products like T-shirts, jackets, or accessories, or you can sell services like personal shopping, coaching, and design.

An example of a fashion blogger with her own fashion line (Source: YOYOKULALA)

Bottom Line—How to Start a Fashion Blog

Whether you’re creating a fashion blog as a creative outlet or because you want to make money by blogging about something you love, you can have your first blog post live in just a few days’ time. Then, after you’ve created great content, you can begin to monetize your blog. The best fashion bloggers can build an entire business around their fashion blog and even grow big enough to influence future fashion trends.

You want a blog host that can grow with you. We recommend Bluehost because of its 24/7 support, a free domain name for your first year, and an SSL certificate. Get started for as little as $2.59 per month.

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