Be a Beauty Blogger

Being a beauty blogger can have many perks: if you’re successful at it, you can get free beauty products and opportunities to work with famous brands. You could build an audience of thousands of fans. However, as with any job, you’ll need to dedicate a lot of time and work in order to succeed. You should also plan to invest in your brand and be able to support yourself financially while your business gets off the ground. If you have a passion for beauty products and a strong work ethic, over time you can build a beauty blog that people love to read![1]

Steps

Planning Your Strategy

  1. Decide whom you will work for. You may choose to start a beauty blog on your own. Or, you may want to start out working for another company or through an agency. You can also do both. Keep in mind that if you decide to work for someone else, you may be responsible for maintaining a certain amount of social media interest in your material (for instance, through “likes” or “shares”).[2]
    • If you choose to work for another company, you can do so as a freelance journalist or a salaried employee. To browse current opportunities, enter “hiring beauty blogger” into search engines, or use keywords like “beauty blogger,” “beauty journalist” and “freelance beauty” on career search websites.
  2. Plan your finances. Don’t expect to become a successful beauty blogger overnight.[1] If you’re starting your own beauty blog, you will need other ways to support yourself financially – at least at first. Have a strategy for paying your bills until your blog generates enough income to be your fulltime career.[3]
    • You may want to have a full-time job doing something else, with time set aside on evenings and weekends for your beauty blog.[1]
  3. Find your niche. A niche is a topic with a specific focus. Think about what makes your beauty routine unique and try to come up with a topic that relates to you. Make a list of niche ideas, and then perform online searches to assess how much competition you will have in that area. You don’t need to be the only beauty blogger in your niche, but you don’t want to pick a topic that is so general that you will have difficulty making your mark. Keep in mind that you will want your blog to adhere to your niche as much as possible, so don’t choose a topic so ultra-specific that you will run out of ways to write about it.[1]
    • For example, if you have curly hair, your blog could focus on products, tutorials and hairstyles for managing curls.
    • There is a lot of competition in the realm of general cosmetics. If you want to blog about cosmetics, try to think of a way to make it different than what’s already out there. For instance, you may want to narrow the specificity to makeup for a certain skin type or face shape. Or, you may want to blog about a specific style of makeup such as daytime looks for career professionals, or makeup artistry for the runway and special occasions.[4]
  4. Weigh the pros and cons of promotional reviews. Beauty companies may send you free products if you are willing to write reviews about them. Typically, sponsorship opportunities materialize once your blog has an established following. If you are interested in writing promotional reviews but your blog is still new, try looking for start-up companies on places like Etsy or Storenvy – they may be interested in getting product reviews out there regardless of your website’s audience size.
    • The main advantage is that you get to try new things and don't have to spend a penny on it.
    • The disadvantage is that it can affect your credibility. Sponsored posts or “brand placement” may result in your audience trusting you less; they may perceive you as biased since you are receiving compensation for your opinion of the product. If your audience doesn’t trust you, your viewership will likely decline. Be honest when you review products and don’t recommend things you don’t like.[2]
    • Search engines may penalize your website’s rankings over lack of value if you promote affiliate content without providing added worth.[5] If you decide to write sponsored reviews, make sure that each of your pages also is full of original written content. Google suggests that you disclose why you’re writing the review and use nofollow links. Nofollow links tells search engines not to crawl them, so that the links don't affect the page ranking of your blog or the affiliate website. Affiliate links should include <a rel="nofollow"> in them.[6]
  5. Know your audience. Once you’ve figured out your niche, you can determine who your target audience is. Get to know who they are and what they would like to read about.[1] Think about what would motivate the people who would visit the type of content you’re offering.[7]
    • For example, if you want to write about anti-aging products, your target audience will be women over 25 years old who are interested in skincare. To cater to that audience, you may decide to use a mature writing style, an elegant layout, and an overall classy vibe.

Assessing What You’ll Need

  1. Write and check your work. Since you want to become well known, you are going to have to be dedicated to this. You have to practice to be a good writer. No one likes to read things with many grammar errors or typos, so make sure you proofread it before posting it.
    • Fact check and proofread for spelling and proper brand names. Use a program on your computer or online that will double-check your spelling and grammar as well.[8]
    • If you’re launching your own beauty blog, have at least 3-5 posts completed that you are satisfied with before you launch, so that you have good material to put up right away.
  2. Get a camera and proper lighting. Ideally, you will want to either purchase a good camera or arrange to collaborate with a photographer.[1] However, when you’re just starting out, you can use the camera on your phone if you have one. You will want to have a video camera as well if you plan to create video blogs or tutorials.[9]
  3. Get a photo editing program. You will need a program for editing and sizing your images; for example, Adobe Photoshop.[10] You will want to put a lot of images on your blog – the more, the better! Use your image editing program to size them down, and save them as internet-optimized so that they don’t bog down your hosting resources and page load time.[11]
    • Natural or studio lighting are preferable. Make or purchase a light tent with a minimum of three light sources. Consider using a tripod if you don’t have great lighting or a camera flash. If you don't have these things, a room with windows that provide a lot of natural light could also suffice, but you will have to take photos and/or videos during daylight hours.[10]
  4. Get beauty products to write about. You probably need to buy some of the products you want to write about if you’re going to test and photograph them. When you’re first starting out, you won’t have the inventory and free product offers that established beauty bloggers do. However, you can acquire free samples to write about.
    • Visit beauty stores and department store counters. Try saying, “I’m starting a beauty blog and I was wondering if you have any free samples available that I can use.”[12]
    • Purchase some products that you would like to have and use for yourself, which you can also blog about! Before purchasing anything, check with local beauty stores to see if they have a free samples incentive, so that you can extend your purchase with additional new products for free.
  5. Find your voice. In order to have a unique appeal, you will need to have a distinct voice and point of view.[8] You want to stand out from the crowd. In the same way that you talk differently from everyone else, your writing should be different from anyone else.[13]
    • Make a list of characteristics that describe you as a blogger. For example, what are some aspects of your personality that you want to incorporate into the style of your blog? Refer back the list often, so that your brand remains consistent.[14]
    • Reading and writing a lot will help you develop your own voice. Your voice and writing style will likely evolve and be refined as your blog progresses.[14]
  6. Learn about affiliate advertisements. Affiliate marketing is when you post actual advertisements for other companies on your website – for example, banner or text ads in the side bar or above/below your content. These companies may pay you per click, per impression (when the ad is displayed to users), or just for putting their ads somewhere on your site.
    • You can join an affiliate marketing network such as Clickbank, or become an affiliate for entities like eBay and Amazon. You can also sign up for the ad programs through a search engine, such as Google AdSense.
    • In order to avoid ranking penalties from search engines, your site should clearly distinguish ads from the rest of the content on your site. For instance, text should visibly indicate “Advertisement” and ads should not be disguised as articles or site navigation links. The original content of your site should be displayed more prominently than any ads, and the ads should not be overwhelming or overly distracting to users.[15]
  7. Promote yourself. If you can make a TV appearance or get published in a magazine, do it! You can even try guest blogging. Think of creative ways to spread the word about your blog. You may want to consider advertising your website on other sites through a program such as Google AdWords or Bing Ads.[3]

Creating Your Online Presence

  1. Choose a platform. If you’re starting your own blog, you can use a free or paid version of a blogging platform such as Wordpress or Blogger. Another option is to purchase a domain name and hosting package and set it up yourself, which may require more technical knowledge such as uploading files to an FTP site. A couple of things to consider when selecting a platform are ease of use and search engine friendliness.[16]
    • Read online reviews of any blogging platform or domain/hosting company beforehand. It will be helpful to read comparisons of different choices that include pricing and features (such as compatibility with beginners vs. advanced users). Choose an outlet that is well suited to your budget and level of technical expertise.
    • When choosing platforms and themes, look into any plugins you may want to use, if applicable. Find out when the themes and plugins were last updated and read their reviews. You don’t want to go with a theme or plugin that will bog down your webpage loading times or use up too many resources through your web hosting.
  2. Make your website look good. Your content should be well organized, with your pages easily accessible through your site navigation. You should have a “Contact” and/or “About” page with a description of yourself. You can make your logo online or you can hire a professional to design one for you. If you hire a professional, make sure they understand exactly what you want.
  3. Network with other bloggers. Add your website to beauty blog directories. You may want to join forums where you can discuss tips and tricks with other bloggers. Get active on social networks, such as joining relevant Facebook groups and commenting on your contacts’ content. Online professional networks such as LinkedIn are also great places to meet and keep in touch with business contacts.[9]
    • Comment on other people’s blogs. You can join a website like Bloglovin.com to keep track of the blogs you follow.
    • Viewing and interacting with other beauty blogs will not only help to spread the word about your blog and promote your content, but can also serve to inspire you!
  4. Build a social media presence. Create a business page for your blog on social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Focus most of your time on your actual blog, and think of social media as an extension of that. Don’t worry about doing too much brand-building on your social media pages; use your posts to reinforce the tone of your brand and to direct readers over to your blog.[3]
    • Keep your social networking sites somewhere on your website so people can easily access them.
    • Provide links back to your blog on your social media profile pages.
  5. Post often. Make sure that you are writing and posting new content to your blog frequently. Aim for at least a couple of posts per week, ideally four to five times per week.[9] However often you decide to post, try to make it into a routine so that you don’t end up tapering off in frequency.[17] In order to secure a decent ranking with search engines, each blog post should be at least 300 words long.[18]



Tips

  • Don’t be dissuaded by negative comments. As you gain popularity, you will probably run into negative comments. Focus on the enthusiasm of those who enjoy your blog. Don’t engage in negativity; if you do respond to any of the negative commenters, do so in a kind way.[19]
  • Be positive. People visit beauty blogs – and use beauty products in general – because they make people feel good about themselves. If you can make people feel happy, they will be more likely to return.[8]
  • Make sure to back up the content of your blog somewhere, either to your local computer or an online source. Alternatively, you can check with your web hosting company to see if they offer backup and restore of your website, in case your website gets hacked or you accidentally delete content.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://www.getthegloss.com/behind-the-brand/how-to-become-a-successful-beauty-blogger
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/the-dirty-truth-about-beauty-blogging-121272834768.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://madamenoire.com/434800/tips-successful-beauty-blogger-gorgeous-grey-founder-ty-alexander/
  4. ↑ http://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/blogging/how-to-start-a-beauty-blog/
  5. ↑ https://www.seroundtable.com/google-blogger-product-reviews-nofollow-21773.html
  6. ↑ https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/96569?hl=en
  7. ↑ https://www.quicksprout.com/the-complete-guide-to-building-your-personal-brand-chapter-2/
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 http://stylecaster.com/beauty/how-to-start-a-beauty-blog/
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/neha-lobana/all-you-need-to-know-abou_2_b_9606894.html
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://www.temptalia.com/series-how-to-start-beauty-blogging-setting-up-what-you-need-how-to-get-readers/
  11. ↑ http://thehauteblogger.com/beautyblogtips/
  12. ↑ https://www.thebalance.com/free-makeup-samples-1356509
  13. ↑ http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/voice-in-writing-developing-a-unique-writing-voice
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 http://simplewriting.org/writers-voice/
  15. ↑ http://searchengineland.com/too-many-ads-above-the-fold-now-penalized-by-googles-page-layout-algo-108613
  16. ↑ http://www.onblastblog.com/best-blogging-platforms/
  17. ↑ http://www.problogger.net/how-often-should-you-blog-hint-the-answer-might-surprise-you/
  18. ↑ https://yoast.com/blog-post-length/
  19. ↑ http://www.allure.com/story/teni-panosian-interivew
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