07 June 2012

Tips For A Successful Nail Blog

So I decided to make a basic tips and tricks page to help all you nail bloggers who are just starting out - I know I have recently started as well but I think I'm relatively successful ;)

If you are interested, click "read more!"




How To Have A Successful Nail Blog

Part One: Picking A Blog Website

Obviously, I have chosen "Blogger" (previously known as blogspot) as my nail blog platform, but there are several other websites you can choose from - your best option is to research other blogs and make that decision on your own - but I can tell you that in my opinion, as someone who has had other blogs, I find Blogger to be the most useful because not only is it great for people who aren't HTML savvy (there are templates for your blog and different gadgets that you can add,) but it also gives great statistics on your blog (ie, how many people visit each day, what type of computer they are viewing your website on, etc.)

Part Two: Posting

a. Content

 This is the most important part of your blog - your content. This is how you will be connecting with your viewers. Obviously an important part of that is deciding what exactly you plan on posting:
- Are you going to be doing nail reviews and posting swatches?
- Are you going to be creating nail art?
- Are you going to be creating tutorials for your viewers?
- Are you going to be posting other beauty tips?
These are a few questions you might want to ask yourself before you begin. Some blogs do all of the above and are successful, but I find that a blog is more successful if it is focused on one or two of those subjects.

b. Photos

A very important aspect of nail blogging is taking crisp, clear photos. I have been guilty of not taking the best photos, but as a blog viewer as well as a poster, here are my tips for taking great photos:

- Make sure your nail beds and cuticles are clean and free of polish before you start taking any photos - this will turn off your viewers and keep them from following you regularly if you make a mess.
- It is also a good idea to moisturize your hands before you take your photos.
- Most bloggers take their photos in front of a white or black background - this can be achieved by hanging a black or white sheet, or working in front of a clean wall in your house.
- Rest your hand on a hard surface and try to line all of your nails up neatly.
- It is better to take a photo from farther away, and then crop your photo using Photoshop or Paint, as this will create a crisper look and you will have more success with your focusing.
- I would generally stay away from taking photos with a phone, but some bloggers use their iPhone and I think they turn out looking pretty good.

c. Reviews

Honesty is your best policy here - if a brand is sending you a polish to review and you find trouble with it, don't lie to your viewers! We want to know the truth, we don't want to be advertised to. If you are uncomfortable completely dissing a product, find something that you DID like about it. For example, "I loved the color of this polish, but I found that the formula was difficult to work with." This is an honest answer and the company won't be offended by what you say.

d. Commenting

When you are just starting out, it is tempting to find every nail website or blog that you can and promote yourself and your new blog. But keep in mind that this will offend MANY bloggers and their loyal viewers - imagine if you were blogging and your only comments were "xoxo chck out mi blog www.insertwebsitehere.com"
In fact, whenever I get comments like those, I simply delete them and ignore the user completely.
There are better ways to promote yourself and there are better ways to comment. For example, if you have tried out a similiar manicure, you might want to say "I love this idea, I tried something similiar on my blog" and that might inspire the blogger to check out your website.
Always be honest with commenting on other blogs. Consistency in commenting will make people notice your name, and they might want to look at your blog if they notice you. This is the best way to promote yourself and make new friends along the way!

e. Consistency

Make a point of posting on a regular basis - people won't want to follow a blogger who posts once every few months, and then every day for a week, and then not for another month. Set aside a time for yourself to blog every day or every other day and you will find much more success. If you find yourself in a creative slump, simply look at other nail blogs for inspiration!

Part Three: Networking

As I have mentioned in Part Two (d), promoting yourself is important but you do not want to do it by spamming other bloggers with your links.
A great way to promote yourself is by having other websites where you can showcase your work -
- Making a Facebook fan page
- Making a Twitter with links to your new posts
- Making a Tumblr with photos of your new posts

At first, you will want to let everyone know about your new blog, but you'll find that as you grow, you won't need to promote yourself anymore!

It is also important to make a decent amount of posts before you begin promoting your blog - if you are sending out your link to people with only one or two posts, they will not be interested. Try to have at least ten posts before you begin networking yourself.

Patience is very important with blogging - try not to get caught up in how many viewers you have or how many comments you have received. Remember, this blog is for YOU.

Part Four: Getting Free Stuff

Don't expect companies to be all over your blog, begging you to promote their new line of polish. This will probably never happen. Once you have a large following, you can begin to contact companies and request that they send you polish for review. Most companies will flat out reject you or not even answer, so don't get your hopes up. If you are lucky, you might have a company interested in sending you polishes.
Blogging should not be about getting free stuff. If that is why you started nail blogging, then maybe it is time to consider doing something else.

I hope this has helped anyone who is interested in beginning their own nail adventures :) I hope I haven't offended anyone, but I want you all to understand what blogging is about!

Send me a message or comment if there is anything you think needs to be added to this tutorial.

8 comments:

  1. Thank You for this post, it's difficult to speak about visitors or comments when you are not really successful because it sounds pretencious... So reading you is helping! Thank again

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  2. thanks for posting this - i found it super helpful! :)

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  3. Great post. Some very useful tips that I shall use on my new nail blog :)

    Laura-Jane x

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  4. i just started my own nail blog so thank u for this! i was looking for something just like it & yours is great because its focused on a nail blog which is what i was looking for.

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  5. Excellent advise. for me it's not the amount of subscribers I have, it's more finding a place to put down my thoughts on the nail polish I worn. It's helpful when I just don't recall what I wore and how it performed.

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