1. Introduction
“Beauty bloggers are people who post photos of themselves on social media and make the most out of the social media platform by posting photos that make them look more beautiful.”
This is a pretty stupid definition, but it probably sums up why there is so much confusion over what “beauty bloggers” are. It seems as though when people think of beauty bloggers, they just think of “beauty selfie girls.” That is not what we are doing. We are creating brands and communities around our products, through content that is not only useful but also attractive to people.
2. Why Beauty Is a Good Niche for Bloggers
Before I get into the meat of the post, I just want to say that if you’re shy about this topic, please feel free to skip ahead to the next one. This post is a long-term investment in my own growth as a blogger and it’s not just about me. It’s about sharing what blogging and beauty blogging can do for people.
I’m going to start with a few general observations and then talk specifically about my own experience. First, let me say that I think we are all good at finding things that make us happy and content, but don’t necessarily make us money (or even have enough value for others). To my mind that means there are many subcultures worth following: fashion, food, movies, politics, etc. Make sure you don’t end up in one of those – or any other subculture – if you think money is everything.
I grew up in Vancouver and went to school here where I learned how to love photography and makeup. Then I moved away from Vancouver for college (which was fine by me as it helped me be less focused on my career) and came back a couple years ago (and am still here). Since then I’ve been finding other things that make me happy (and some that aren’t quite so expensive!) even though they aren’t high value to me personally. So now it seems like everyone wants something different from beauty blogs: they want tips on how to do makeup or they want advice on which products work best or they want “how-to videos” on specific topics (skincare/cosmetic care/makeup/nails/hair). They might even try out a new product every month because they think it will be the next big thing!
It doesn’t matter what your niche is: there will always be someone trying out some new thing for the first time ever so there are bound to be many posts doing this. If you choose your niche well then you should certainly have something valuable enough that people will pass along your blog links over time; but more importantly than all of this attention is something else: word of mouth! People tell their friends about you!
It also helps if you have something unique – something nobody else has written about before – because no matter how good your blog is people will always ask questions and find out more about different things in their lives just by
3. How to Blog as a Beauty Expert
Vancouver is a city that has risen to prominence over the past decade. It’s a pretty crazy place, and these bloggers (like myself) help highlight that crazyness. Most of us don’t have the time or inclination to spend hours researching and writing posts. Instead we focus on styling, editing and posting photos of our hair, makeup, skin, nails and more in an effort to share what we love most about Vancouver.
If you are interested in doing the same thing, it’s important to understand how people respond to beauty information. That is what I’m going to try to explain here in this post about how to blog as a beauty blogger. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about blogging or writing; I will assume you are new and just want some helpful tips on how to get started.
I will also assume that you already have a blog; if not, please register one with WordPress now before reading this post!
4. How to Monetize Your Blog
Blogging is a great form of marketing, and one that many people have been using for years. For those who are just starting out, it can be very difficult to scale up.
I don’t know about you, but when I first started blogging I was determined to get it up and running and make some money from it. I thought that if I could just hit the traffic levels of an established blogger, then I would be making significant sums of money. Well, things didn’t work out quite like that. In fact, one of the reasons why things didn’t work out quite like that is because my site has been essentially stagnant for almost three years now (the site itself has been untouched for the same time).
Admittedly, there are times when you have to start from scratch. And in this case, the blog was a side hustle in its own right (and by “side hustle” I mean “work job”). The main reason why this blog wasn’t successful was because it was never really made to be a business as such: sales were never really part of the equation. If you look at other blogs which operate on similar principles — including some high profile ones — they are often very much business-minded; they are trying to make the most out of their success by monetizing their efforts across multiple channels: writing articles, hosting them on different platforms (such as WordPress), etc. They all have their own unique selling proposition and each sell something different. And while they may not be able to compete with the big boys in terms of overall revenue (and often not even within their niche) they all make enough money each month to cover operating costs (and if they do well enough at it too), so they generally don’t need to worry too much about managing funds as such.
Since there is no single product offering here (for example, we don’t offer auto-responder support or paid features), people will generally pay for what they want or need instead of what is required by some ideal customer segment or others (like paying for ads or using affiliate links). If you want to offer a service or product which does require purchases/support or paid features then you should definitely try your hand at monetizing your blog — though it should never detract from your core purpose and mission in life! I think that most people think that blogs mean nothing more than a way for them to
5. Conclusion
This is an extract from the introduction to my book, which can be found here: http://www.jasonnichols.com/books/totally-the-book/
Today we are going to be looking at a different kind of “beauty blogger” — that is, a beauty blogger who happens to live in Vancouver and blogs about Vancouver’s beauty scene. We will be looking at your business models, marketing approaches and products. These insights are intended to help you determine if you are actually doing what it takes to become a real beauty blogger in Vancouver (and beyond), and ultimately make sure that you have a sustainable competitive advantage when it comes to your product or service.
First off: don’t forget that the landscape of vancouver beauty blogging hasn’t exactly been shaped by corporate interests either. Unless you think the above is some sort of an insult aimed at haute couture, think again! At least we have managed to keep things organic — no Clear Channel here! Instead, we have been blessed with some great talent and community building efforts like the vancouver media directory (and so on) as well as some real gems like The Beauty Bloggers , which has consistently ranked among Canada’s top blogs for over 6 years now (I had nothing but admiration for their work). Like most people around here, I am also a huge fan of the blogosphere in general — I know it has come under fire recently but I think its impact on business (both in terms of growth & profitability) has been real, not just theoretical. It deserves recognition for that as well as other things.
Second: If you haven’t already done so, take some time out and read through this post about the difference between beauty bloggers and “social media influencers”: http://www.jasonnichols.com/2016/04/16/the-dangers-of-becoming-an-influencer/. This post should give you some food for thought — particularly if you are considering starting up a business around vancouver beauty blogging (or any number of other niches).
Finally: If this post and others like it seem superficially similar to previous posts about marketing yourself as part of your startup or start-up ecosystem by going into more detail on one aspect or another then please do reach out through LinkedIn , Twitter or other mechanisms if you have additional questions or thoughts along these