How to make money with fashion blog

Over recent years, lots of fashion bloggers have decided to turn their hobby into a money-earner alongside their full-time jobs.
For some, they produce a blog simply for the love of fashion and/or writing, but with money-making opportunities available, what’s the harm? Every couple of pounds you make is a bonus, right?


Publish a sponsored post
Brands or agencies working on behalf of brands often want to publish guest posts which have a link back to the brand’s website, which will help drive traffic to their website. So you could receive emails which ask you if you’ll either write a post for them, with a specified link, or if you can publish a pre-written post on your blog. This is something that more and more fashion bloggers are doing, and it’s a great way of making some money for doing very little!
If you’ve received payment – in money or products – in exchange for writing about something, you are required by law to tell your readers about it. An example of a disclosure statement is “Thanks to Zara for providing this post”.
Review a product for a brand
Similarly, as a fashion blogger you’re in the envious position of receiving clothing for free in exchange for writing a review about it. The brand or marketing agency that sends the item to you will simply want some promotion in return. Make it clear when arranging to review a product that you’ll give an honest review (if it’s not honest than what’s the point?), and it might even be worth stating this somewhere permanent on your blog (perhaps your contact page) so that agencies are aware of this up front.
Add ShopSense to your blog
Affiliate fashion website ShopStyle sells a range of brands, from designer to high street to suit all budgets. ShopSense is a service that ShopStyle has developed which you can add to your blog and will pay you whenever you send traffic to retail sites. You can access the API to have custom integration (you can add things like banner ads, photos of products and interactive shopping widgets) and you’ll get paid for each click. Now Magazine, InStyle and Banana Republic all use this service, so what are you waiting for?
Sell advertising with Google AdSense
Google AdSense will let you show targeted adverts on your blog and then earn revenue from the clicks that are sent through. It’s a completely free service which you can monitor and remove at any time. If you choose fashion-related ads, you’re more likely to get click-throughs (as you can make a pretty educated guess that you’re readers are going to be into fashion and are likely to click on fashion ads). You’re given an HTML code which you can insert into a text widget to display on your blog.
Affiliate schemes
Another way to monetise your blog is through affiliate promotions. For example, Amazon has an affiliate program where you can link to a product on their site and show information about it on your blog. There more products which are purchased via a click on your link, the more you can earn. Similarly, Apple’s app store and iTunes have an affiliate program which lets you link to songs and apps, and earn a commission on sales. If you’re promoting specific services or products that are related to the content on your blog post, then your readers won’t mind and the promotions won’t look out of place.
This post was brought to you by Afro Boudoir partner, ShopStyle.

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How a Fashion Blogger Makes Money

 

I always appreciate getting a “behind the scenes” look at income breakdowns and the nuts & bolts of making a living as a blogger, so I thought I’d get on the other side of it today and give you a peek inside my income stream over the last 5 years. I was inspired by the ProBlogger’s recent income stream post, and although I don’t have 12 streams like he does, I think it’s interesting to look at how the income streams I do have have changed over the years.
To keep it easy, I just measured from January 1 to May 15th of each year:
2013:

This year is the first year I’ve had any freelancing income. And I also just added Google Adsense back into my sites late last year, so that is a relatively new income stream. I used Adsense in the very beginning back in 2004-2005, and it was good income for me, but never “great,” and back then it wasn’t as easy to control or manage, and they were mostly text ads. As soon as I started getting a lot of weight loss ads show up I took all the ads down and didn’t put them back on my site until last year. Google Adsense is always most profitable on sites that get a LOT of traffic, and you’ve heard stories about bloggers making many thousands of dollars from Adsense, but the reality is that for most bloggers, it’s more like hundreds of dollars.

In 2012, direct ad sales made up 34.9% of my income and affiliate commissions made up 65.1%.
In 2011, ad sales made up 47.9% and affiliate commission made up 52.1%.

It kind of goes like this back until 2008 and years prior when the majority of my income came from direct ad sales instead of affiliate commission:

I only have numbers beginning in 2008 when I started using Quickbooks to do my accounting (which I recommend highly), before that, I don’t even want to remember what I was doing!! But I think it’s very interesting to note the shift occurring between more of my income coming from direct ad sales vs. affiliate commission.
There are a few reasons for this:

• In 2008, affiliate programs weren’t new by any means, but they were still relatively under-developed, and definitely not as focused on attracting fashion bloggers. Now, with Reward Style and Skimlinks, it’s so much easier to use affiliate links and create content around them, that I simply use them more often.
• More and more smaller boutiques are taking part in affiliate programs now than were doing so in 2008; they’re so much easier to maintain now, and it’s a great way for a boutique or designer to make sure they are getting a satisfactory return. Several boutiques I worked with as advertisers prior to 2008 switched to an affiliate relationship with me, which led to the shift from ad income to affiliate income.
• Direct ad sales is a lot of work. In the beginning, I spent a great deal of time seeking out and communicating with potential advertisers. It proved productive for me, but in recent years, I haven’t devoted as much time to that as I would need to to keep ad sales up. I also cut the number of ads I show on my sites to only 2-3 because I wanted to work very closely with my advertisers and give them more space to speak to my readers. Honestly, I appreciate that quite a bit of my affiliate income is passive, which makes it easier for me to focus on other projects.

While I don’t have 12 income streams like ProBlogger, I have 4 and I’d like to see that number increase, especially after really seeing how much my overall income has gone down slightly the last several years. A lot of things have changed in the world of blogging generally and for me specifically that have contributed to that:

• The sheer number of fashion blogs out there now as compared to 2008 or before is staggering. I simply have much more competition now. Not that I’m complaining, but it definitely has an impact on my ability to make as much money as I used to.
• I had to remove a large, very lucrative component of one of my sites several years ago, which I’ve never really been able to recover from. That was a BIG mistake and I regret it everyday, but I am trying to pick up and move on.
• I am spending much more time creating content than I am reaching out to potential advertisers. I enjoy that more, but it has definitely contributed to a drop in income.

Overall, I’d like to do more consulting and freelancing to diversify my income quite a bit. I do feel like I’ve already let myself sort of fall behind on that, just trying to keep up with blogging, but my goal for this year is to add at least “consulting” to my income stream. In six months I’ll do a follow-up on this post so you can see how it goes!
What are your top income streams for your blog? Do you see a large % difference in ad sales & affiliate commissions?

Huge Clothing Haul May 2013 Featuring Zara

Zara Orange Shopper Bag - £22

This might just be the most perfect bag I have ever laid my eyes on, I can't believe it was only £22 - I would have happily paid much more. I cannot wait to wear it.

Zara Brown Sandles - £19.99

These are absolutely perfect for my holiday and go with almost all the outfits I have planned. I did make this Zara order online and the sandles came in there own separate white bag inside the delivery box, it was such a nice touch.

I hope you have enjoyed having a nosey at what I've been buying - feel free to share your opinion and let me know If you have any of these items.

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The Spectacle Guide to Tinted Lenses

Did you know that the colour of your lenses can affect the performance of your daily activities?  It's best to inform yourself on which lenses are well suited for your needs prior to purchasing eyewear.  Don't worry - Spectacle is here to help with our guide to tinted lenses.

Green lenses have numerous benefits.  They help to transmit all colours evenly, dim glare, and brighten shadows. They are perfect lenses for all outdoor activity - rain or shine - and are the original choice of pilots and aviation enthusiasts.

Amber / brown lenses help to improve contrast, even on cloudy days.  They are best for golf, tennis, high-altitude sports, boating, or any other activity where distance needs to be judged.

Blue, purple, and double gradient lenses are also a fashionable option.  They help to reduce glare, enhance contours, and improve colour perception.  These lenses are best for indoor and outdoor arenas and are especially helpful in misty, foggy, and snowy conditions.

Pink and red lenses are very popular this season for both men and women.  They are great at enhancing visual depth, reducing eye strain, and providing clearer road visibility.  They are excellent for snow sports such as skiing and snowboarding and are also perfect for summer activities like cycling.

Whichever lens colour you choose, Spectacle is sure to have the perfect pair of shades for your lifestyle needs - no matter the season.

Happy Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day!  In celebration of the holiday, all Spectacle locations will be closed today - Monday, July 1st.  Enjoy the day and we'll see you Tuesday!

Kim Kardashian Before and After

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More MOSCOT SUN Styles Available Exclusively at Spectacle!

MOSCOT SUN has a brand new collection of 6 exciting styles - and Spectacle is the exclusive carrier of the line in Toronto!  Here is a closer look at 3 of the new pieces.

The CARRINGTON

The CARRINGTON is a feminine round shape that won't overwhelm your face.  It comes in beautiful colours and is great for Summer!

The CARRINGTON in Brown Fade

The DUCHESS

The DUCHESS is a unique style that looks great on all face shapes.  It's a bold model without being too over sized and makes a great daily, wearable shade.

The DUCHESS in Khaki

The VICTORIA

The VICTORIA is a gorgeous sunglass inspired by Sophia Loren.  According to MOSCOT, the butterfly-shaped, glamour goddess is so effortlessly chic and stylish, it's the perfect beach accoutrement.

The VICTORIA in Bordeaux

The entire MOSCOT SUN collection is available at all Spectacle locations now so come by and take a look soon!