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I often review blogger books for IFB, but this is probably the first time I’ll call the piece I’m reviewing a game changer.  Yuli Ziv, founder of Style Coalition and My It Things, recently released her book, Fashion 2.0: Blogging Your Way to The Front Row, the first blogging book for the fashion blogger.  Given that, it’s no surprise that its sales skyrocketed, making her book#34 on Amazon in books on Blogs & Blogging.

Though my site is a member of Style Coalition, I don’t know Yuli close or personally.  That being said, this book made me a fan of her–her brief biography shares insight into this fierce, ambitious, focused, and determined lady, while her anecdotes throughout the piece gives you perspective on how experience, failure, and successes have made her into a savvy and bright businesswoman.

Fashion 2.0 is broken down in to 4 sections, each followed by a Blogger Inspiration profile and a series of Action Tasks from that section:

• Planning: defining your missions, personal goals, creating a business plan, making a budget, and featuring Blogger Inspiration: Kat Griffin of Corporette.
• Content: define and own your niche, develop your writing style, invest in branding, enrich your content with video, and featuring Blogger Inspiration: Gala Darling.
• Relationships: connect with readers, socialize with bloggers, go to fashion week, and make a dream list of clients, and featuring Blogger Inspiration: Jessica Quirk of What I Wore.
• Revenue: outline your strategy, learn when to ask for money (and NOT to ask for money), learn adverting terms and language, along with basic legal terminology, and explore affiliate networks and ad networks, and featuring Blogger Inspiration: Zephyr Basine of College Fashion.

Those are just a few of the topics in each section, and the book ends with an incredible list of resources–from blogging platforms to CSS and HTML help and sites to visit for business planning, legal information, and business etiquette.

Yuli doesn’t cut corners when sharing information, either.  With Fashion 2.0 clocking in at 194 pages, you’ll find the names of major fashion publicists; where to find the contacts for Fashion Week; what to ask for, look for, and expect when shopping for an ad network; the differences between an advertorial, paid review, and sponsored post (hint: I actually got 2 wrong); and much more.

As a full-time writer for IFB and a blogger who’s been around for four years, I consider myself blogging savvy and knowledgeable about the field.  Still, I can say that reading this book was a huge slap in my face.

It was a great reminder to me of where I need to focus my energy, where I’ve lost my path along the way, and provided inspiration (but not ideas) on how I can make changes to make my site more successful.  There were times I’d put it down, look at my boyfriend, and honestly say, “Maybe I should just give up on blogging.”  There were times it brought out every insecurity in me and my ability to create a successful blog.  It made me realize that everything that was bothering about my blog were the things that were holding me back, and it’s ultimately pushed me to realize that success can be mine, if I can focus my time, energy, and content in ways I’d lost sight of.

Select Quotes & Passages from Fashion 2.0

No success is overnight, so if you create realistic goals and stick to them, you will eliminate some pressure of feeling like a failure if your success isn’t instantaneous.

…never apologize for not writing enough, or taking time off from writing.

…establish a set of guidelines, then follow them and clearly communicate them to others. This refers to content, comments, editorial policies, reviews, advertising– basically all elements of your blog.

Build your relationships with other bloggers based on the principles of partnership, as if you worked together for one big corporation called the Blogosphere, and each of you had an effect on how this company is perceived by others, how productive it is, how much its revenues are growing, and how positive the collective employee spirit may be.  When you see yourself part of a bigger, your sense of self worth and eventually your actions impact the bottom line.  Positive relationships only help all of us grow in power and profitibality, and there’s more than enough wealth and prosperity to go around.

For more reviews and feedback on the book see:
Second City Style: Blogging Your Way to the Front Row: A Must Read by Yuli Ziv
Gala Darling: An Excerpt From…
Beauty Sweet Spot: VIP Pass: Yuli Ziv, Blogger, Entrepreneur, and now, Author.

Have you read Fashion 2.0 yet? What were your thoughts on it?

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