7 Ways Bloggers Can Build Their Brands Through Meaningful Content

by Krista Peck

Guest Post by Hilary Peterson of Lyst

If you want to be an effective and successful blogger, consider these seven things when looking at meaningful blog content creation.

1.  Creating Influence

You want influence because it gives you leverage to turn blogging from hobby to a career. It is difficult to make a living blogging.  We all know there are both direct (ads, affiliates) and indirect (consulting, book deals) ways to earn money; however, neither option is going to result in a livable income if you don’t have influence.

2.  Content And Distribution

Let’s start by breaking down blog creation into two parts:  content creation and publishing or syndication of that content. Of course we all know that “content is king” and therefore critical to your success; however, creating amazing content and not publishing it in a strategic manner is like writing an amazing journal and keeping it locked away in your drawer.

More tools and channels are available to you today than ever before, which makes it easier than ever to publish content, but harder than ever to rise above the noise. Strategic consideration about what channels to spend time and effort publishing is essential. So how do you decide what tools you will pack in your communications tool kit?

3.  Incentive Behind Blogging

The first thing to consider is your incentive behind blogging.

Passion is necessary, but what is it that you want from blogging? A creative outlet? Fame? Front row seats? Money? To start a media empire? Use it as a launchpad for a new career? All of the above?

Here are a few examples of well-known fashion and style bloggers along with insight to each of their approaches:

Bryan Boy has gone for the fame approach.  Aided with timing and luck (getting noticed my Marc Jacobs early on) in conjunction with talent, he has succeeded. However, his influence is not as much a result of the traffic as contacts.  His traffic is about a 1/3 that of Rumi Neely’s Fashiontoast, yet he still receives the same access.  Marc Jacobs has even named a bag after him.

Rumi Neely, with 3 times as much traffic, has used the blog as a platform to create opportunities designing for Erin Wasson’s line, building an amazing eBay shop and collaborating with designers like Ungaro and retailers like Revolve.

Susie Bubble has talked openly about how her income is generated from outside gigs like styling, freelance journalism, writing other blogs and only a small amount and occasionally from advertising. She saw that focusing on trademarking her brand and promoting her skill set were a better use of her talent.

Tommy Ton of Jack & Jil made a decision very early on not to embrace advertising on his site as it was harmful to his end goal.  With a long-term view, he was better off focusing on using his blog to acquire more photography jobs as his form of revenue.