Fashion blogging has become a new
way of advertising during the past few years. Top bloggers are more and more
influential in terms of what to wear, where to eat out, or what technology to
use. The most significant bloggers, who have a massive following on their blog
and social media sites, even manage to turn their blog into a brand or company
and make a living out of what might have started as a hobby.
Advertisement and a great blog go
hand in hand. A blog with a large number of followers attracts potential buyers
to the site. Companies see the opportunity and they start working with the
blogger in advertisement or collaborations, which keeps the blog going and
helps to turn it into a business. According to Stephenson, bloggers “are seen by readers as
a more trustworthy source of content than traditional advertising methods.” (Stephenson)
Maximillian Arasin, who is the head of Chic Blogger Management (a company that
connects bloggers with brands) says that the reason for the popularity of this
method is the close relationship between the blogger and the readers. (Stephenson)
It is also written in the article that “[t]he brand wants to make a noise and
incorporate commercial content into non commercial settings.” (qtd. in Stephenson)
So asking bloggers to publish sponsored content on their blog is a great idea.
In the following, this essay will show
what three of the most influential bloggers have achieved and how they managed
to turn their blogs into a successful career.
Leandra Medine writes a blog called
Man Repeller, which is about trends that women love and men hate. The unique
concept paired with her quirky writing helped to develop a large readership. Kansara
writes that the blogger says she was conscious about her blog as a business,
and started to collaborate with designers and companies as soon as she could. Since of the launch in 2010, Medine has
written a book, has been featured in several Style.com videos, collaborated
with PJK, Rebecca Minkoff, and recently, NARS. (Man Repeller) In the article
written by Kansara, she says that 60% of her income comes from collaborations.
Chiara Ferragni, another top
blogger started posting pictures of herself in 2009. In an article written by
Wang, she says that her blog became successful because she wears clothes to
which others can relate, but are still fashionable. Chiara quickly became the
most influential fashion blogger (having more than 2.930.000 Instagram
followers), and uses her popularity to make money by advertising on her blog.
She has also managed to turn her name into a brand as she has designed many
shoe collections. Also, she has worked with the biggest designers such as Louis
Vuitton. (Wang)
The story of 16-year-old Tavi
Gevinson is also worth mentioning. Tavi started writing her blog at the age of
11. Her idea was to create a site for teenage girls. Her one-of-a-kind approach
to fashion and pop culture attracted many, and soon she was supported by
established writers. She used her connections with fashion desingers, editors
such as Anna Wintour, who is the editor in chief of US Vogue, and others to
found her online magazine, Rookie, of which she makes a living by collaborating
and featuring sponsored content. (Amed)
All in all, it can be seen that fashion
blogs serve as a new way of advertising, and their popularity is due to the
fact that readers and bloggers have a close relationship, thus bloggers seem to
be more trustworthy when they mention a product in their articles or posts. It
can also be concluded that with the help of social media, collaborating,
featuring sponsored content, and other side projects such as designing,
bloggers are able to make a substantial living out of their websites.
Works cited
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