A Bloggers Online Toolkit

Fashion blogger Vicki Harvey, aka The Magpie Girl, outlines her essential online blogging toolkit

Almost three years ago I stumbled across a blog called Fashion Toast. It was the first blog I had ever read. Six months later, I decided to start my own and had no idea what I was doing. If my current blogger self could go back in time and tell the naïve internet illiterate me what to do, here are some tips I would offer.

In general, although the tools of the trade encompass a bewildering array of social media, websites, forums and blogger platforms there are few basic internet based services that a newbie blogger should make use of.

When you think of social media two words come to mind; Twitter and Facebook. Both are great for expanding your readership, gaining exposure and generally increasing the traffic to your site. By setting up a facebook ‘fan page’ for your blog, you can simultaneously post on your blog platform and on your facebook wall. Facebook word of mouth is a great way to maximise traffic, and can extend your blog to readers who wouldn’t ordinarily surf on blogging platforms.

Copying the link of your latest post to your twitter feed and coupling it with a quick a comment describing the content will also entice readership by offering a teaser preview of your latest entry. Be sure to create twitter and facebook buttons on your blog homepage so that people can find and follow you with ease. Reciprocal traffic will generally follow!

If you are looking for more relevant social media, it is also worthwhile to check out Independent Fashion Bloggers. This interactive website is packed with useful info, links, and discussion boards on the all the latest issues in blogging and fashion. Other great networking tools are Chictopia, Lookbook and bloglovin which allow you to expose your blog to a likeminded world of readers.

Beyond these blogging staples, there are many other great online sources that can turn traffic into revenue. To start out on the road of advertising, check out Reward Style. This website allows you to link items in your posts to similar products on the partner company page. If readers click the link and buy the item you have mentioned on your blog, you can receive a percentage of each sale made.

Another great advertising tool is the “affiliate system”. Lots of top brands have these programmes on websites, and enable you to feature their logo and graphics on your sidebar with a unique tracking code. Your readers can click the link and purchase from the site, generating a percentage commission that can be paid into your bank account or paypal account.

When seeking revenue it is important not to alienate your readership with impersonal and irrelevant advertising, so be careful what schemes you opt for. My advice is to tailor your links and logos to your own interests and, where possible, to those of your followers. For those less confident bloggers, you can hand the reigns over to PR & advertising agents like Glam Media who will set up advertising for you.

Finally, and most importantly, content is king!

In the end, your readership and revenue will depend on how interesting and informative your blog is, so you must endure that your posts are engaging and eye catching. For inspiration and assistance in getting out of a creative rut, check out image board based sites such as pinterest and weheartit.

In addition, because a lot of blogging is visual, be sure to maxims the quality and presentation of your own images. Check out flickr and photobucket, which provide an online image hosting service beyond that provided by most blogging platforms, and a personal favourite of mine, picnik, a great online photo editing software that allows you to brighten, crop and add effect to your photography.

Remember: it can be initially challenging to manage content, readership and advertising, but practice makes perfect. With some time set aside and a combination of the tools above, you will maximise your blogging potential before you know it!