3 years ago today, I decided to take my happiness into my own hands and start my plus size fashion blog. To be honest, I didn’t think I would last this long! Other than school, I’ve never really stuck to anything. Five and a half years and 2 degrees later, I even found myself wanting to run away from a career in Accounting, which is what I worked so tirelessly for.
Thankfully, I still took the chance and fell in love with blogging. I happen to enjoy my little website, even on the bad days. Since then, I haven’t looked back, nor have I ever thought of giving up on my blog. I’m so happy about this little space on the internet that I’ve created for myself, and the beautiful women that stop by to visit.
God has blessed me to receive so much encouragement from my family, and some of my readers. I’m glad my blog creates a positive atmosphere for women like me, and that keeps me going every time it gets tough.
3 years might not be a long time, but I have learned so much since the day I pressed publish on my first blog post. Now, I look at the blogging industry with so much respect and honor. To all of the newbie bloggers that have started less than 6 months ago…keep reading. I’m going to be honest…this ish ain’t easy!
1. Perfection Won’t Get You There…Consistency Will
We have heard these excuses many times before. “I won’t take “this leap” until “this” happens” or “I’ll wait and do “this” when I have “this”. Why do we do this to ourselves? You cannot think this way when starting a fashion blog.
Truthfully, I have made the same excuses myself. Sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m doing it. But this mentality that things need to be perfect and the stars have to be aligned in order for you to accomplish something, will only hold you back.
Outside of God’s works, “perfection” doesn’t exist in my opinion. Our individual tastes and desires are what can perceive something as being perfect. When it comes to blogging, the “perfection” of your own work doesn’t happen when you start a blog, it devops when you are consistent with your blog.
Perfecting the craft of your fashion blog won’t happen in a blink of an eye. It takes some time…which brings me to my next point.
2. Success Isn’t Created Overnight
When I first started my blog, I invested in several courses to help educate myself. I also googled my butt off. I read so many stories on bloggers, and “how to” articles. Basically, I became so obsessed with the idea of blogging and the industry, I consumed as much knowledge as I could.
I came across articles with titles such as “How to Blog Full-Time in 6 Months” and “Start Making Thousands On Your Blog Today With This Secret”. When you’re a newbie blogger, and you’re trying to find the best way to go from 0 to 100, these articles will give you false hope.
Yes, there are certain things you can do to accelerate your growth and begin to make money with your blog. But there are no fast track secrets to skip the hard work, and become a successful and profitable fashion blogger.
The best way to be a great fashion blogger is to be consistent with great content that serves your audience in the best way.
3. Make The Most of Your Down Time
Every fashion blogger experiences what I like to call “downtime”. You’re not making much money from your blog…if any. Your inbox is dryer than the sahara. Basically you’re not reaping the benefits of what you’ve sewn into your fashion blog.
What you do during your downtime is very crucial to the type of business you want to run. My best advice is to make sure you are building during this phase. This is your moment to build your brand, yourself, and your talents.
If you want to take your pictures to another level, study on how to do that.
If you’re trying to get better at time management, focus on mastering that.
This is the time to build the person and the brand you want your audience to know and love. That way, once the page views increase, and the financial benefits begin to roll in…you’ll be ready!
-Ashley
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THis was so inspiring!
Aw I’m so glad you found this inspiring Kimberly.
I truly enjoyed this article!