How To Start a Beauty Blog

Welcome back to my Blogger Tip Tuesday, every Tuesday I will be writing about blog tips for newbies and all the way up to PROs. So you want to be a beauty blogger? Don’t know where to start? Well nor did we back in 2007. But we are in 2015 so it’s kind of different today than it was back then. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?! I’ve been a beauty blogger since 2007 and I have changed the name of my blog three times. SmashinBeauty was a name, which took a very long time to come up with. I was playing around with words on a paper and it came up. So, today I will tell you what it takes to become a beauty blogger. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day nor was any blog too. Today I will share a few basic tips on How To Start a Beauty Blog. 

YOUR NAME MATTERS

What you want for your blog is an original name. You can use your real name if that makes you happy, but I believe using the word makeup by XYXY or beauty by XYXY and similar names, is out. One because the have been around for a very long time. Two is it so worn out and they are already connected to well established bloggers. You want to stir as far away as possible from well-known blog names, you need originality. Using a similar name to an existing bloggers, besides being a possible a trademark infringement, it will not make you stand out in the ocean of beauty bloggers. It’s best to work on the name and if necessary rename your blog. Originality is key to success. Make them remember you.

SET UP

Decide what platform you want your blog on, Blogger or WordPress. Both are really good platforms. I first started off at Blogger because it was much easier and less expensive than WordPress. WordPress charges many additional features, which are for free at Blogger. While WordPress offers many plugins that are not available on Blogger. I first started on Blogger then moved to WordPress and ended up with my own domain and using a hosting. Using a hosting service does require additional monthly and year fees. So I do advise you start at Blogger and then slowly move up to WordPress and with time to a hosting service.

DESIGN

I personally do not think that your layout matters at all. Everyone’s blog looks the same today to be honest. I honestly have never spent too much time around my own layout. I know what I am looking for before I am even looking for it. Main thing it’s easy to get around and you’ll be fine. Most people come to your blog via search engine or the link you shared. Those readers know what they are looking for so usually most of them bounce out of your blog after reading that certain post. My website (then blog) started with a black background, that color was trendy back in 2009/2010. I have changed my blogs layout so many times, I lost count. I have organized my layout so that it’s not only easy for my readers to get around, but for me too. If you like your layout, I believe your readers will too. You can buy a layout, you can make them or you can use one of the many free layouts available online.

CONTENT IS KEY

The most important thing about your blog is content, it is key to success. You have to decide what you will be writing about. Will it only be reviews, makeup, looks, lifestyle…etc. Try decided what is the end goal of your blog. It can be a mix of topics. This will help your readers know what your blog is about. The most important thing is to be as original as possible. Readers like and want original content. If they have read something very similar on another blog, there is a high chances they will skip your post. Try to be consistent. If you only have time to blog once a week then blog once a week. If you can only blog once in two weeks, then blog once in two weeks. Let your readers see your blogging routine. It’s important that they know when to check back for a new blog post.

PHOTOS

When it comes to photos, everyone is writing or saying you need a DSLR camera and this is so not true. You want good and as clear as possible pictures. We live in a era where our mobile phones have excellent cameras, such as iPhone, and I personally believe that those cameras can be good enough for your blog. You want your pictures to come out as clear and well light as possible. You do not need to get expensive lighting, you can use natural daylight. A lot of my pictures now a day have been taken with my mobile phone’s camera. It’s an HD camera, a bit better than iPhone and it comes in a high resolution so I do not need to use my DSLR for certain images. I only use my DSLR camera when and if I need to a micro shot. I personally do not like big pictures on my website. I use normal sized images and focus on what matters when taking the picture. I will be writing a special blog post comparing my mobile phones camera and my DSLR camera to show you how a mobile phone can offer good HD pictures and what kind of pictures I recommend for your beauty blog.

SOCIAL MEDIA

You can but you do not have to be on all social media sites on the planet. There are so many today, that it is almost impossible to keep up. Most social media sites have a lifespan of a hamster, five years top. My first social media site was MySpace then YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and last Instagram. On YouTube, I opened my first channel back in 2007 and closed it around 4 times before I finally made SmashinBeauty. I once lost over 10,000 subscribers just to start from scratch. Back in 2007 that was a huge number. I closed my Instagram and lost my original name SmashinBeauty, because I hated Instagram when it first came out. This is why today my Instagram name is SmashingBeauty. Today I love Instagram. Moral of the story is only use social media sites that you like and will be active on.

Well this sums up the very basics about how to become a beauty blogger. I hope it was somewhat helpful and informative. If you would like to read more, please check out my Blogger Tips column. Good luck with your blog and stay to for next Blogger Tip Tuesday’s post – Photography Tips For Your Blog.