Top Tips from Bloggers Lips - Part 1

FACT: Us bloggers all have different aims, styles, audiences and approaches. We've all had different experiences that we have learnt from. For a while now I thought it would be great to compile a post of top tips to a successful blog, a blogger friend prompted me to do so and last week I finally decided to contact a few blogger friends and ask them what tips they had to share. I received some great feed-back from them all. If I'm honest, I was hoping this would be, well, a chain reaction I guess! That after reading this, you would all feel inspired to share the things that keep you motivated in developing and improving your blog. So please read, take a few mental notes and then share your wisdom with the rest of us!

My top tips

1. Create a brand for your blog. Make sure people know what your blog is about from the moment they see your header or read your blog-name/address. It is important and it gives you direction, consistency and inspiration!

2. We all want people to visit our blogs but we want them to visit for the right reasons. Think about the kind of comments you like to receive! You want to know a person has read what you have spent time writing and photographing. Leaving a thoughtless comment like ''Nice Blog, please follow me!'' isn't likely to make someone want to come to your blog. You have to give to get back, that is the first thing I ever learnt about blogging.

3. Money doesn't matter. Many of us don't have bags full of money to spend on living a fabulous lifestyle but that doesn't mean your blog wont be interesting! It is your talent and interest in the subject you blog about that makes your site special. Who cares if someone has a pair of designer glasses and yours are from the high-street. Own what you blog about. Love what you blog about. Most importantly invest your time, dedication and personality into your blog - money only takes a person so far...

Joyce's tips - Joyful Outfits

1. Join hearifb.com : great resource for everything about fashion blogging as well 

as meeting other bloggers. After joining IFB, submit your link to the links a la mode because that can increase your traffic also.

2. Try to post regularly by having a schedule. For example, I post on Tuesdays, Thursdays,

and Saturdays. But you can also choose to post once a week or maybe everyday, it depends

on each person.

3. Increase traffic by joining sites such as lookbook.nu, chictopia, pinterest, polyvore etc.

Courtney's tips - Sartorial Sidelines

1. Find your blogging voice. This is my number one tip for a reason. I've seen so many blogs that read very artificially and lack a genuine authorial voice but the ones that are my favourites are those that read like a real reflection of the personal style and taste of the blogger behind them. Sometimes (especially in the beginning) it can be daunting to find your voice as a writer and generate blog content that truly reflects your own individual tastes and loves but it's a challenge worth tackling and will make blogging a more enjoyable experience for you as the writer and editor and for your readers.

2. Branch out into other forms of social media. Develop Facebook and Twitter pages for your blog. Get a Bloglovin' account. Join the Independent Fashion Bloggers consortium. Use Instagram. Sometimes managing all these accounts can be a headache but they are great ways to reach a wider audience and develop more blogging connections.

3. Assess offers for sponsorships and commissioned reviews carefully. It's always nice to make a little cash with your blog or get some free products but (and this links back in a pretty prominent way to my first point) you want to be careful not to endorse things that do not fit with the style and voice of your blog. Doing so can affect your authenticity as a writer and readers of your blog will notice.

Bree's tips - Urban Umbrella

1. Blog about topics you're passionate about! Blogging about what you love will never get boring, you'll never want to stop writing. I know since I have started my blog I have written a new article every single day just because I love it so much! Don't blog just to gain followers, you'll never truly enjoy the joys of blogging for what it is.

2. Keep your blog clean! Messy blog layouts with too many images or videos can be a bit overwhelming to look at. Having a clean layout with a few images is just easier on the eyes and the mind.

3. If you're posting photos of yourself/ your style make sure you have copyrighted your site. There are plenty of free websites and actually if you go to my page you'll see a free copyright site link at the bottom of my page.

Maiken's tips - Part of me

1. Communicating with your followers is one of the most important things! It's always nice to read opinions from your readers. BUT comments like "cool", "cute" etc are something I find way too sketchy and pointless, to be honest.

2. If possible, photos should be in same size (width) because it's really good to watch them that way and it's the best for the layout of your blog. And photos should be of high quality and big enough as well!

3. When doing an outfit post I think it's not necessary to add too many photos which actually look mostly the same. It's boring to look at 20 photos which seem to have no variations.

Christine's tips - Dela Chic

1. Keep a running inspiration journal to write in.  This is where the magazine clippings go, future posts, inspiration, or maybe just jot down notes that come up on one of those random times.  I know that some bloggers have a blogging calendar too where they have post titles ready and hash tags for them.  This is also perfect if you want to write something around a holiday or an event. I also like to carry this notebook everywhere as much as possible because you never know when an idea pops up in your head.  Yeah, we can put it on our smart phones nowadays, but I still like the feel of writing and doodling and taping up things on paper.

2.  Give credit when credit is due.  Always always always give credit to the original source.  Link up from the original site.  Don't just do a search.  No ifs ands or buts about it!! 

3.  Be real.  People will appreciate your blog more.  Also, this will be important when you meet other bloggers.  If you aren't what you seem on the Internet...then what does that say? hmm.

To be continued (next week) Please, leave some of your own tips as a comment below or your thoughts on the tips mentioned! I cannot wait to hear what you all think.

Thank-you for reading and to all the bloggers that collaborated with me on this post!!






EDIT: To read PART 2, CLICK HERE!!!!!