[…] KP Fusion: Four Tips to Find Your Fashion Blog’s Niche […]
One of the hardest things you have to do when launching (or revamping) your fashion blog is to determine your niche. You’re inspired by so many things, but when it comes time to narrow down what you actually want to write about, it can be frustrating. You want to be consistent with your postings, but you’re either a) too burnt out from trying to cover everything under the sun related to fashion, b) want to shift gears and restructure your site to create richer content but aren’t sure what to weed out, or c) want to start a blog but don’t have a clue on where to begin. This can cause you to keep putting it off and the next thing you know, it’s 6 months later and nothing has changed.
Whether you’re looking to add your unique voice to this crazy world of blogging or a fashion brand that needs a digital counterpart to help spread the word, here are four REAL steps that will help you find your fashion blog’s niche.
Define your keywords
What do you want your blog to be known for? Will it be covering fashion news? The latest trends? Are you combining your love of food and clothing? If someone was searching for blogs to follow, what would they look for? Write out 5-7 keywords/phrases you want your blog to be known for. It doesn’t have to just be fashion (many of us cross over into lifestyle) but it should be specific. Defining your keywords not only helps you with figuring out your blog’s content, but it will also assist you with determining who you want your readers to be.
I’m a Memphis-based fashion blogger and stylist, so “Memphis Fashion Blogger” is one of the keywords I use when tagging my blog. This also helps me when brands are looking to work with bloggers in my area (a post for another day).
Outline Your Categories + Subcategories
Once you define your keywords, the next step is determining what categories your content will fall under. You can keep it simple with just 3-5 general categories, but this little exercise will help you figure out what you want to write about within each one as well.
I like to cover local boutiques (because I’m a Memphis Fashion Blogger), so that naturally falls under fashion.
Build an Idea Bank
Once you have your categories (and subcategories) outlined, take a moment to brainstorm on 2-3 posts you could do under each one. Taking time to build an idea bank will help you on those days when you have writer’s block and stop you from throwing up a random, badly written post just for the hell of it.
If you want to give budget shopping tips, for example, you can do a post on “splurge vs steal”, “the look for less”, or even a roundup of “______ under $________”.
Create an Editorial Calendar (or Not)
How often do you want posts to go live on your blog? Do you want certain categories to go up on certain days? When do you have time to write and take pictures? Having an editorial calendar of some sort will help you balance out your schedule. You don’t have to be rigid with it, but being consistent with your posts is the only real way to gain traffic to your site. Readers can’t come back for content that isn’t there.
Whether I do 1 or 3 posts a day, my goal is to have fresh content daily M-F. I don’t always achieve it but it’s doable (and I saw a nice increase in traffic last month because of it).
FUN FACT: I recently helped one of my friends restructure the content on her site. She’s an entrepreneur first so her blog is secondary, HOWEVER, in this digital age, a brand has to deliver content that ties into their product in some capacity so that they will be viewed as an expert in their field. She knew she needed to make a few changes but wasn’t sure where to begin.
We went over a few key elements related to her overall brand and during that process, we narrowed down her blog’s niche and it’s helped her immensely with creating content. Her blog posts are more focused and consistent, and everything she posts still ties back to her products in some way, so as she expands her reach, she also gains a few customers in the process. Her blog now has a better ROI (Return on Investment), and she actually enjoys doing it even more. She’s already reported seeing an increase in her traffic, so these easy little tips do work.
You already know to be true to yourself and to have a unique voice so that you will stand out, so once you’re done with these exercises, you should have quite a few topics to cover and can now begin the fun part: creating!
What steps did you use to determine your blog’s niche?
Great tips, have been blogging a few months and I believe that I finally have discovered my niche.
That’s awesome Delilah! How did you figure yours out?
I’m so glad i stopped by your blog beacuse these tips will really help me in writing great posts ,i particularly like number 3 (Idea). Thanks for sharing this.
Oh by the way ,You have an awesome site here.
StyleandBeautyLounge
yay! I’m glad they helped. A lot of times I blog on the fly and know what I write, but when I get stuck, I go back to the idea bank for ideas and that usually gives me inspiration for more.
Such a great post, thank you!
X Malena
http://www.Fashioncontainer.com
thank you for reading!
I’m still trying to figure it out. In the process of revamping a few things now, so hopefully it comes soon. (shrug)
it will! once you write a few things out, it’ll really open up your mind to post ideas.
Great post! Insightful stuff. Glad to see you on IFB!!!
http://adornedinarmor.com
Thanks Tara!
This is great advice! I will definitely be back to this page in the near future.
Rebecca
fearinwonderland.com
thank you so much!
Very useful post – thank you so much for writing about this. I will definitely be using these tips. It’s hard for a new blog like mine to define what it really wants to be about and what niche it wants to fill – now I will hopefully have more direction in my posts!
http://www.stephstrays.com
I’m glad it helped! Sometimes we get so overwhelmed and think we’re supposed to write about everything under the fashion umbrella bc it would give us a ton of ideas but sometimes it can be too much. Narrowing down the direction you really want to go in will help sooo much with creating fun, interesting content that’s unique to your blog. 🙂
my post on this topic
https://modoslav.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/your-niche-for-fashion-blogging-7-tips/
This is great advice! I will definitely be back to this page in the near future
thank you!
Nice…It was great article.I am reading your article very nice step to share with your article so I will definitely be using these tips.
thank you so much for sharing great article !!!
thank you!
Great tips. I am new to the blogging world just started a month a go.
thank you!
Such a great post, thank you for sharing.
Great tips, definitely it will increases my blogging skills with same niche….
thanks!
This is great advice! I will definitely be back to this page in the near future…
thank you!
Thanks for sharing this!! Working on my 5-7 keywords as we speak!
Katie | http://www.katieskronicles.org
that’s awesome. thank you so much for reading!
Thank you! What a great post! May I ask you: I am trying to rebrand my blog and I want my blog’s purpose to be helping women achieve higher self-esteem through beautiful dressing and simple every day treats. My primarily category will be fashion (styles that make any woman look pretty) and bits of dessert recipes and beauty tips. Does this sound like a niche to you? Huge thanks!!!!!
Yes, this is totally a niche! Fashion + beauty go hand in hand, and recipes will give it a lifestyle element. Depending on how you decide to create your content with your rebrand, you can actually incorporate your style into your recipe posts; for example, if you bake cookies for a holiday party, wear something festive and get a cute shot of yourself in something festive wrapping up or eating the cookies. You have so many options with your visual storytelling, so have fun with it!
Thanks for this great advice! This tips will be beneficial for me and others.
thank you for reading! xo