What I’ve Learned About Fashion Blogging

Hi everyone, and Happy 4th of July! I thought it would be fun to do a quick “Instagram roundup” of my favorite Summer looks from June. Almost all of the exact items I’m wearing below are still available and in stock, and I’ve linked them in the “Shop the Post” section below the photos.

Full post here

Full post here

Dress- Missguided. Currently available in a wine color for Fall/Winter here as well as a pretty nude here

Full post here

Shop the Post

What I’ve learned about Fashion Blogging

When I look back at these pictures it makes me reflect. It’s hard to believe I started this fashion blogging journey nearly a year ago (my first Instagram + blog post went live 8/16/2016)! These last ten and a half months have been a whirlwind introduction to Instagram, a headfirst dive into the basics of website design, and an interesting and challenging experience building my own brand through identifying, cultivating, and presenting my own unique take on fashion and beauty, then distilling it in a way that allows you to replicate what works for you.

Here are the biggest things I’ve learned:

• Content is be-all end-all. When I refer to content, I mean first and foremost visual imagery. Creating a great photo is an art form that takes time, effort, and practice. There is so much that goes into it! In March I purchased a digital camera (Nikon D3400 + 50 f 1.8 lens) and dedicated time to learning its functionality and how to shoot on manual mode. I learned about principles of photography and tried to apply them, then learned about editing and developing a style that’s cohesive from image to image. (YouTube is an amazing resource for all these things!) While I’m not yet where I ultimately want to be, I’ve gotten better and I think this is the biggest contributor to the growth I’ve experienced. What I am finding is when I create really strong imagery it sometimes gets reposted on Instagram by big accounts and then other accounts are much more likely to repost from there. I’ve found this is a great way to drive organic growth and engagement, and it all starts with a compelling image. While visual content is king, written content is also important. I’ve found that my followers respond better to certain types of posts, and so I analyze which ones are getting engagement and try to create more content on the same or a similar topic. The Google Analytics plugin as well as Word Press’ built in analytics have been great for understanding what my readers enjoy most. The last aspect of content I’ve learned to focus on is really thinking about my readers and what they stand to gain from one of my posts. If you are taking 5-10 minutes to read my post, you are investing your time and I want you to be able to come away with information and ideas that you can apply and get positive results from. I pay attention to the value I am giving, and then ask myself if it’s a unique value or something that can easily be gotten from somewhere else.
• Be authentic. Authenticity is a broad term, but what I mean by this is treating my followers the way I want be treated. I could make money through fashion-related ads on Fifteen Minutes to Flawless but I personally don’t like ads when I’m trying to read an article so I’ve decided to steer clear unless I can do this in a way that would not bother me if I were the reader. Another aspect of being authentic is saying no to brands and collaborations that don’t reflect my personal style. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to work with Polo Ralph Lauren, and while that’s an amazing brand it doesn’t reflect my personal style, so I had to politely decline.
• Take time to network. I try to set aside time to authentically connect with my followers. If someone leaves me a kind comment on Instagram, I thank them sincerely and try to visit their page to return a compliment. Not only does this give me the satisfaction of building up others and contributing even in a small way to making their day brighter, I’ve noticed it has worked to grow my engagement and following on Instagram. I’ve also found that networking with other bloggers (both new and established) and seeking honest feedback has been helpful in learning things I can apply to improve. When I reach out to bigger bloggers for the first time I like to send them an email rather than a message over Instagram because it is more personal this way. I also make an effort to leave comments on blog posts I enjoyed reading. Blogs typically get far fewer comments than Instagram, which makes a comment that much more special to the author. When leaving a comment, I put my blog URL below my name. I have noticed this helps drive traffic back to my blog and helps build my name within the blogging community.
• Post consistently. I make an effort to post 1-2 times a day on Instagram and try to post here three times a week (I may change this to two so I can dedicated more time to focusing on content). I’ve noticed a direct link between consistency and growth, and I think it’s because my readers can rely on me for consistently fresh content.
• Keep sight of the long term and set concrete goals. Recently I took time to develop both short and long term goals for Fifteen Minutes to Flawless. Some of these goals are qualitative, but I also came up with quantitative number goals for page views, engagement, and so forth and set time frames. I know if I want to succeed I have to create specific goals to work towards, then measure how I am doing to stay on track. At the end of the day, growing a blog is growing your brand, and I have learned from my corporate job that growing a brand involves some very specific activities: first, defining your brand (what it is, what value it brings, and whom you want it to connect with), coming up with a strategy to share your brand, and finally measuring how you are doing against specific goals you have set.

I could keep going but I realized this post is already long! 😉 I do want to add that I’m still relatively new to this whole fashion blogging world and by no means an expert; the things above are just what have worked for me. So much time, thought, and effort goes into fashion blogging and at times the intricacies can be overwhelming. When this happens I have to step back and remember why I’m doing it all in the first place: I love creating beautiful, wearable looks while sharing my favorite beauty and fashion tips to inspire and ultimately help you look and feel your very best. <3

A huge shout out to my wonderful fiance Ridge. He takes 90% of my photos and has put in the time and effort to figure out the photography thing with me. I’m so blessed to have him, and without Ridge Fifteen Minutes to Flawless would not be where it is today. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for following along. It means the world to me!

XO,
Terra