Now that we have a clear idea of what a quality fashion blog looks like, we have better defined what his posts should contain and we analysed some famous case studiesincluding Leandra Medine and Tavi Gevinson, one basic question remains: why would an emerging fashion designer need a blog? Because a simple portfolio is not enough?
I like writing, it comes naturally to me and even amuses me, but not everyone does. And for a blog to get going, you need to write a lot. In order to achieve a minimum level of authority, it needs to be edited and updated regularly, the content of the posts needs to be consistent with your vision and - unlike how you would manage your own personal space where you talk about your latest trip, share your personal blackberry pie recipe or tell how you spend your evenings - writing takes a lot of time; even before you start, you need to spend some time researching the topic you want to cover.
Leandra Medine
If you have already started to have panic attacks and violent allergic reactions at the mere idea of it, I think it is better for you to give up and focus solely on social networking. It is better to concentrate on a short Instagram caption but do it well, than to waste an entire afternoon writing a sloppy post that nobody will be interested in.
Having a blog just because 'everyone has one' or because 'maybe something happens' is not a good idea. First of all, having a space on the web without exploiting its potential is tantamount to not having it at all, or worse. In addition, a blog is not something that will give you surprising results overnight: to gain a minimum of credibility, create a niche audience and start being indexed by Google, a blog takes on average a year.
So why have a blog? Why is it so important? Because it is like having your own medium, a press office, TV channel or radio frequency from which you can convey the message you want and make your voice heard by the target audience you are most interested in.
This, however, is quite different from simply 'advertising', because an advertising-type message is easily recognised and creates an immediate rejection mechanism: 'Help, they are trying to sell me something I don't want to buy! The other risk is getting trapped in your own blog and losing the thread of your posts, which are all nice and interesting, but purely informative and unrelated to you and your brand.
The blog must talk about you, tell who you are, what you do and how you do it. Not because you have started a blog does anything have to happen, but because you have made it a tool with which to build your credibility as a professional. Thus, in the first instance you will create your own following of readers, and eventually some of them will even come to believe that you, with your world view and innovative approach, can be the solution to their problems.
Because that is exactly what people are looking for when surfing the Internet: solving their problems by reading interesting solutions, or maybe just wasting time, but never with the perception that they are wasting time.
Be the person who can solve their problems, and you will win them over. To succeed, you must first listen to what they say and try to understand their point of view.
But more on that next time.
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