The Business Of Fashion Blogging; Revenue Sources & Expansion To Other Businesses

 

The Business Of Fashion Blogging; Revenue Sources & Expansion To Other Businesses

It is no question that blogging has become a lucrative business, and if you are aware of what you are doing, access to front row seats at fashion shows and events will be trooping in. In the past few years it is evident that bloggers have taken things to the next level by uploading quality snapshots, coming up with informative write-ups and having people read their blogs for an array of reasons. It’s like having a public photo diary that everyone can’t get enough of.

Online fashion writer Lauren Indvik would say this trend spans almost a decade back, it was born along with the popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Instagram and Flickr. However,Some people have successfully made fashion blogging a lucrative business which makes them close to a million a year. So one might wonder what are the revenue sources of fashion blogging, how has fashion bloggers become relevant and what is the potential to expand to other businesses?

Who are fashion bloggers?    

Do you have a fashion sense? Do you on an ordinary day wear Nnamdi Moghalu dress or skirt matched with nude Louis Vuitton Laureate heels and a Ted Baker clutch bag which matches your Khosi Nkosi head wrap, take lots of colourful pictures and post them online for thousands of likes and comments? Congratulations you have just passed the first test to becoming a fashion blogger.

Fashion blogging is not a hobby, it’s a lifestyle turned into a business for contributors. Fashion contributor Katelyn Herlein says Bloggers are a rare breed of creative types, entrepreneurs, dreamers, and fashion-forward thinkers.

Africa has in the past released its own crop of fashion bloggers who are taking the world by storm. Top of The Guardian newspaper’s list of African Fashion bloggers is Uche Pedro whose website BellaNaija offers African red carpet glamour, gossip and entertainment. Mrs Pedro has managed to make a name for herself in the blogging space and continues to thrive in the industry. London based fashion blogger Jacqualine Shaw’s website africafashionguide.com remains the one of the most trusted source of African fashion content. Soweto born fashion influencers Justice Mukheli, Vuyo Mukheli and Innocent Mukheli travel around Africa dressed in the most fashionable bow ties and braces, fraternity sweaters and slacks showing off their fashion sense which has stolen the hearts of many.  These are but a few of the trusted African fashion enthusiasts with more coming out on a daily basis.

Fashion Blogging As A Business

Experts say before you could think of cashing in on your fashion blog, you need to make sure it is of the best quality and attracts a large number of regular viewers. Popular fashion blog, divinecaroline.com says that in order for one to have a successful blog, they need to have the following;

1. Find a niche

2. Name the blog

3. Buy a domain

4. Hire a web designer

5. Invest in a good photographer/camera

6. Let your personality shine & plan/set goals for your blog

The site continues to add that once the basics have been completed, the blogger needs to build a brand through creating a following on social media and get their name out there,therefore, setup google analytics to help track down one’s followership, create a polished media kit for people to know you, create relationships with big brands who you would like to work with you, prepare to work hard and lastly network as much as you can.

Just like every other business, the business of blogging requires a lot of effort and hard work and the most successful bloggers are the ones who approach it with a positive mind-set, clear and realistic goals as well as determination.

Generating revenue sources

Fashion bloggers don’t only get invites to the most exclusive gigs around or travel the world for free while dining out at expensive places and receiving expensive gifts from people, they also generate a lot of money from affiliate sales, brand collaborations, their own collections, and appearance fees.

Firstly, by becoming affiliates, bloggers who use certain products or promote them on their blogs can have partnerships with the company and get paid to promote them on their blogs to their audience.

Brand collaborations is also a huge contributor to these bloggers revenue. Some brands agree to give bloggers a certain percentage of money from products bought by customers who link their purchase to that blog. For example, South African blogger and personal stylist Tshepi Vundla has recently signed a deal with Clarins cosmetics brand as their ambassador advertising the brand on her blog and social media which obviously comes with a certain fee.

On selling their own product, fashion bloggers tend to come up with items that they feel would be genuinely helpful to their audience, which would in turn expand their revenue. Selling your own product means you have full control of your profits and control of the product success of the business.

Just as big names such as Tiwa Savage and Bonang Matheba charge fees to make appearances at events, established bloggers now get paid to be present at gigs too. This might not be rampant presently Africa but it is rearing its head and in turn will become a force to reckon with.

Rise in power of bloggers

Fashion has become powerful, for years it has been one of the highest grossing industries and it continues to bring in a lot of money. Thanks to social media, bloggers are becoming as relevant as celebrities because unlike celebrities they offer the same benefits to brands at a cheaper cost and because they can reach smaller communities that celebrities cannot it makes it a feasible option.

According to tinshingle.com bloggers tend to cultivate small communities of followers, which are tight knit and loyal because the bloggers provide their honest opinions on brands and products, their followers trust their opinions. Further, because bloggers often reach out to their audiences on a social level, they build trust and strong relationships among those followers.

Potential to expand to other businesses

Once a blogger has tapped into the industry and created enough fan base it becomes easier for them to tap into other businesses. Bloggers who blog about organic facial creams will find it easy to open a store that sells organic facial creams with their experience and with that fan base on specialized items, it is easier to recruit them for product endorsement.