IFB - Page 7 of 9 - Independent Fashion Bloggers

10 Modern, Mobile Friendly, Responsive (Free!) Themes for WordPress and Blogger

More people are checking in on their favorite websites and blogs from their phones, tablets, e-readers and other devices that aren't laptops or desktop computers. If you want some of that traffic, your best bet...

Where to Get Cool Blogger Templates for Fashion Bloggers: Jelly Design Studio

For those of you on Blogger wanting more designed templates to make your fashion blog stand out, it's not always so easy to find great designs as most custom templates are for Wordpress, Tumblr has some really ...

The Guide to Affiliate Companies Every Fashion Blogger Must Know

You probably already know that affiliate programs are one of the easiest ways to monetize fashion related traffic. Even if you only participate in affiliate programs to answer your own questions: how many clicks does it take before someone buys something? is...

The Ultimate Cheat Sheet! Post Titles for Fashion Bloggers

You have a fraction of a second to get our attention. Your post is inspired, your photos are gorgeous, your readers are going to love your post, but wait... what do you title your post? Believe it or not y...

How to Blog Like a Boss With an Editorial Calendar & Content Idea Bank

Here on IFB, we write a lot about your 'editorial calendar' and 'keeping your content fresh.' What does an editorial calendar actually look like, and how exactly does one keep coming up with new and fresh i...

Keep It Simple: 4 Tips for the Part-Time or Hobby Blogger

Many of the members in the IFB Community are hobby bloggers or part-time bloggers, myself included! I'm sure by now you've all realized that blogging can quickly take over your life if you let it and that maintaining a blog-work-life balance can be incredib...

The Fashion Blogger’s Quick Guide to Monetization

Now that you've figured out it's time to monetize your fashion blog, how do you do it? There's no "one" right way or the "best" way to monetize your blog, you'll just have to figure out what works for you a...

Are You Selling Anything Yet?

Ebooks, digital courses, consulting, t-shirts oh my! On your path to turning blogging into a career that supports you (day job not included), developing a signature product is a super smart way to go. Why? ...

Is Fashion Blogging Broken? 5 Issues Hurting Bloggers

It surprises me whenever I hear an authority in the fashion blogging community say things like, "The bubble has burst." "Things have changed so much, and it just doesn't work anymore." "The fashion blogging community has died... four years ago I di...

Make More Money From Your Affiliate Links By Learning These Terms

For bloggers looking to monetize, affiliate links are often the easiest way to start. While different networks have different requirements, it generally takes fewer visitors or pageviews to be accepted into a...

Monetizing Your Blog: How to Figure Out Your Banner Ad Rates

Despite the increasing popularity of new ad types like native advertising, advertising and programmatic ads, banners are still one of the most popular forms of advertising, and they're usually the first kind ...

Categories + Tags: What Are They & How to Use Them

Confession: I've been blogging almost 6 years, and I don't entirely know the difference between blog tags and categories. They always seemed like a redundant organization system... like, organize your posts by this and then organize them AGAIN! What's the p...

Should You Create an “About Me” Video for Your Blog?

Last year, my tiny living room was transformed into a makeshift studio with two cameramen, lights and a director who actually said "action." I was being interviewed for a documentary about fashion blogging, a...

Daily Inspiration: Energy flows where intention goes… Create your day.

Every morning when I wake up, I like to set my intentions for the day. Things I would like to accomplish, whether it be a task or to keep my cool during stressful times. Without taking the time to set intenti...

6 Tips for An Insanely Effective Blog Giveaway

Brands use contests and sweepstakes to drive engagement and to support new customer acquisition initiatives. Why shouldn't your blog leverage promotions in a similar way? Here are a few tips to help you set up a winning campaign- whether this will be your ...

Daily Inspiration: Creativity is Intelligence Having Fun

Mondays are always tough. You'd think after the weekend we'd all be rested and raring to go, but it takes a minute to get the brain back into it's groove. Which is why I'd like to kick off the week with th...

Daily Inspiration: People are going to judge you anyway…

As bloggers we're constantly putting ourselves "out there" as personal style bloggers we're putting our images out there, as fashion bloggers we're putting our opinions out there, it can get pretty personal s...

6 Ways to Figure Out Your Blog’s Brand Essence

A brand essence isn't something that is easy to communicate - instead, it's a few words (the fewer the better), that communicates the feeling that your brand evokes. Unlike your visual identity, or a tagline, your brand essence is the intangible, often ephemer...

Daily Inspiration: Don’t Quit Your Day Dream

How many of you like to day dream? I know, I sure love day dreaming! Some may think day dreaming is wasting time, but I like to think of it as exploring the possibilities. What does your mind want to accom...

independence happiness failure impossible

Daily Inspiration: Independence is Happiness

Happy 4th of July! Here in the US, it's Independence Day... which usually means a day off, fireworks, something off the grill... hamburgers or veggie dogs. I usually like to reflect on what it ...

Daily Inspiration: You will never influence the world by trying to be like it

One of the biggest pieces of blogging advice is to have a "strong voice" or to be "unique" or to "stand out." Advice easier given than put into practice. However, why is this advice so important? Why does it it stand the test of time? Well, because in order ...

Daily Inspiration: Well Shit, At Least You Tried.

I literally laughed out loud when I saw this image, followed by a deep feeling of, "Oh, shit. Well, it's true." As we get older, we expect to be perfect, knowledgeable, and experienced the moment we star...

Daily Inspiration: If You Think Adventure is Dangerous, Try Routine, It’s Lethal

As bloggers, we're encouraged to develop routines: post at the same time of day, the same days of the week. Create a brand, and stick to it through all social media platforms. It can be scary to think of ...

Former SEO Manager for ELLE.com Shares Biggest Rookie Blogger Mistake

A crucial strategy for any fashion blogger looking to go pro is increasing how many people come visit your blog each month. Impressive stats appeal to advertisers. They also give you major negotiating power when it comes to brand partnerships, landing that...

Daily Inspiration: It always seems impossible until it’s done.

At the beginning of any journey, the destination always seems so far away. Taking a road trip, running a marathon, graduating from college, having a baby, all seem so far off and maybe even a bit impossible...

Daily Inspiration: Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.

It's so easy to get caught up fixing problems. Particularly on a Monday! Holy moly! But don't let your problems dictate where you go with your life. Sure, learn from mistakes, take your knowledge, but don't ...

Daily Inspiration: Whatever makes you feel bad, leave it.

When it comes to blogging, we're overloaded with messages, content, pitches, you name it. It's easy to feel like you're being pulled in a million different directions. So how do you deal? I used to read every blog that I found out about, or thought was ...

Daily Inspiration: Do something today that your future self will thank you for.

So much wisdom revloves around being in the moment and living for today. So why not hit two birds with one stone and do something today that will also benefit you in the future. Whether it be working on the...

Daily Inspiration: Your dream job does not exist. You must create it.

A few years ago, I went to a talk with Anna Dello Russo who advised everyone to "Invent your job!" The truth is, everyone has special talents that are useful somewhere in some way. We all have our passions,...

Daily Inspiration: Great things are done by a series of small things brought together

There is nothing like having a grand idea. I remember the first time I wanted to do a full day conference, even though had never done a conference before. I had thrown a few events, but nothing like orchestrating 25 speakers, getting people to at...

Why Every Blogger Should Send an Email Newsletter (Plus, What to put in it)

We've talked a little recently here on IFB about how important an email newsletter can be for driving traffic to your blog, but it's still not a tool many bloggers use. It should be. Besides search engine tra...

5 Ways to Find Contact Information for Fashion PR Agencies

Being connected to fashion publicists is great. You get the inside scoop on all sorts of great designer collections, events and opportunities to partner with brands for fun and fame and financial gain. However,...

Daily Inspiration: You’ll have a whole eternity to think inside the box.

Anyone can think "inside the box" it doesn't take much to come up with an idea that's already been thought before. But thinking outside the box? That's a challenge. That means taking risks. That's how progress is made. Don't worry about making mistakes or...

Daily Inspiration: Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.

When I saw this quote, I thought of two things... the amazing people who can spot excellence in a sea of mediocrity, and the people who complain when excellence is being appreciated. Finding beauty and goo...

7 Ways You Can Borrow Ideas from Others

I wanted to title this post, "Shakespeare and the Beatles stole from their peers, you can too," but that's a bit long and cumbersome. (And really, it promotes the wrong idea.) I'm a firm believer that there...

5 Ways to Weave Quotations into a Feature Article

by Chanelle Leslie of "Not So Naked" So you've found a designer that takes your fancy - let's call him Karl Lagerfeld - and he's agreed to have you interview him. You email over some questions, receive a reply, and now you're ready to write up an article...

3 Things to do Before Contacting a PR Agency to Send You Free Stuff

Let’s be real: one of the great perks of being a fashion blogger is the opportunity to connect with PR agencies and have them send you lovely things to wear and write about. Who doesn’t love getting goodies i...

10 Outfit Photo Locations You Can Find Amost Anywhere

Taking outfit photos can be hard work just by themselves, but finding a good location? That's tough, especially if you feel like you live in the middle of nowhere, especially if you are looking to find a VARIETY of places to snap the perfect outfit shot. ...

Daily Inspiration: The Key to Failure is Trying to Please Everybody

We've all heard you can't please everybody, and that you shouldn't try to be all things to all people, but have we ever thought about linking failure to trying to please everybody? When I read this quote, ...

12 Reasons You Won’t “Make It” as a Blogger

I've contributed for IFB for the past four years and have written a LOT of posts. I've also received thousands of comments over the years, so I feel like I have an idea of "what the IFB community wants." Su...

The Fashion Blogger’s Guide to Editing Photos Like a Pro

Have you been to a blog that had 10 large photos of the same thing? Did you find it overwhelming? Are you posting multiple photos because that's what everyone else is doing? When it comes to taking photos, the editing process is just as important as the pho...

Daily Inspiration: Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.

Ever get caught up in something thinking it would mean the "end of the world" only to forget about it a month later? Maybe I'm just a drama queen, but yeah, that happens from time to time. The things th...

Daily Inspiration: Be the Best Possible Version of Yourself, and Don’t Settle

We've all heard people tell us, "Be the best you can be!" Hello, army! But what does that really mean? Some days my best is just making it to work, other days my best is pretty damn good. I like the idea...

10 YouTube Stars to Watch (& Learn From)

In the internet galaxy, YouTube is a universe unto itself. In just over eight years of existence, YouTube sees over 1 billion unique visitors who watch over 4 billion hours of video. PER MONTH. While the traffic is insane, it's safe to assume that your blog re...

Daily Inspiration: Life is a Story: Make Yours The Best Seller

My whole life I didn't know what I wanted to do, but it had to be extraordinary. Now, my life didn't turn out to be exactly "extraordinary" but so far, I've been able to accomplish most of my goals on some le...

5 Photoshop Tricks That Will Ruin Your Photos

The invention of Photoshop is at once one of the best things that ever happened to photography and one of the worst things. Now we have several options to edit photos, there are endless photo apps, Instagram b...

126 Niche Fashion Blog Ideas

Do you know your niche? Honing in on a niche for your blog can be difficult in the very general topic of fashion. Fashion is a glamorous, beautiful topic, and it's hard to decide which direction to take when there are so many avenues to explore. However...

Blogger Grammar Basics: Colons, Ellipses, and Dashes

Last week I talked about grammar basics with periods, commas, and semi-colons, and this week I'm getting into the fun and fancy punctuation: colons, ellipses, and dashes. These get used often by bloggers, b...

Behind the Scenes: How a Fashion Blogger Makes Money

I always appreciate getting a "behind the scenes" look at income breakdowns and the nuts & bolts of making a living as a blogger, so I thought I'd get on the other side of it today and give you a peek ins...

Daily Inspiration: There are always flowers for those who want to see them.

The amazing thing about perception is that it can be changed. You're having a bad day? Look for the good things? Blog not going as expected? Look at what's going right, look for the things that make you happy. It's amazing how when you look at the br...

Daily Inspiration: Kind Words Will Unlock an Iron Door

It's amazing what kindness can do. It can enrich your life, build the foundation for wonderful relationships. Even when meeting people, paying them a genuine compliment is a nice way to start a friendshi...

How to be a Fashion Blogger WITHOUT a DSLR & Other Things….

Have you ever been afraid to start something - a new blog, a new project, or whatever? Or told yourself you'd start when you have _______ (fill in the blank)? I know I have. We're so good at putting things ...

Daily Inspiration: Be a Voice, Not an Echo

We talk a lot about developing a "strong voice" here on IFB. It's the quality of a blog that's often cited as the single most important. Another way to think about it, are you voicing something original, or are you just echoing what you find to be the m...

Daily Inspiration: You are far too smart to be the only thing standing in your way.

When it comes right down to it. You are the only thing standing in your way. I know this speaking from experience. The times when I day dreamed about doing something more with my life, but didn't because...

Daily Inspiration: Successful people never worry about what others are doing.

Do we have to be overly concerned that other people are successful? Do other people's successes indicate our own demise? I hope the answer is "no." I find that when I'm heads down and working on my own stuff, I don't have time to get upset about what other ...

Daily Inspiration: Tough times don’t last; tough people do.

I don't know what this has to do with blogging, except that having this approach to life will make you a better blogger. Some of my favorite sayings are, "this too shall pass," and "the only thing you can ...

10 Ways to Build an Insanely Loyal Following

The internet is a fickle place. One minute you're hot, and the next minute... well, let's just say people move on quick. Building a loyal following can be difficult in a time where everything changes so quick...

Daily Inspiration: A Beautiful Thing Is Never Perfect

Perfection might be a virtue for some people... but in reality, how much do we really love perfection? Anne Hathaway is seemingly perfect, kind, talented, smart, and beautiful, yet all the gossip columns absolutely hate her. When Jennifer Lawrence tripped ...

Daily Inspiration: Every Artist Was First an Amateur

Yes, it is true, every one begins as an amateur. I would even go a step further and say, we suck at first. Maybe some have a gift and do something ok the first time. But for the most part, to really beco...

10 Surprising Phrases You Might Be Getting Wrong

Many of us bloggers may not have started our blogs out of our love for the written word. There are many bloggers who are "ideas" people-- those who love sharing information about a favorite topic. Personally, I started blogging in spite of the fact writing w...

Get Paid: Invoice Template for Your Blogger Services [DOWNLOAD]

The good news is, your blog is in business. You've got your first project approved by the client, and now what? You need to GET PAID! Sometimes business is done with a handshake, but for tax purposes, b...

7 Common Traits of High Quality Fashion Blogs

"Be so good they can't ignore you." ~Steve Martin I keep going back to this, because it's at once sage advice, and completely subjective advice. For bloggers wishing to become professional, getting noticed i...

The 6 Fashion Bloggers Personality Types

Fashion bloggers are an interesting mix aren't we? Who else takes photos of ourselves (often with a tripod) and posts them on the internet? Sounds strange when you say it out loud doesn't it? But somehow it's the most delightful escape, talking about outfits...

4 Creative Examples of Successful Sponsored Posts

After affiliate links & advertising, sponsored posts are the third tier in monetizing your blog. But how do you present these without them seeming like adverts in the midst of your otherwise heartfelt con...

Collaborate: 23 Beneficial Ideas To Do With Blogger Friends

By Jessie Holeva of trendhungry.com Blogging can be lonely. Whether you blog in the early morning before your 9 to 5, on the weekends, or 24/7 it’s usually a solo task. But take a look on Instagram. A lot of your favorite bloggers are friends. They’re invited...

Beginner SEO Tips for Fashion Bloggers

When you take a look at your analytics, where is most of your traffic coming from? For many blogs, as much as 50% of traffic can come from search engines. With IFB, 44% of our traffic comes from Google organ...

Daily Inspiration: Some days you just have to create your own sunshine.

There are days where everything goes wrong. Toothpaste drops on your silk blouse, late for work, given bad news, accidentally deleted a 1000 word post, someone says something rude to you... ug. There are th...

7 Signs You Might be a Professional Blogger

"I want to be a professional blogger." We've all said it, but what does it mean? I imagine that for each of us the definition of professional blogger varies. For some of us, being a professional blogger may mean working as a blogger full-time and being p...

Daily Inspiration: Doing what you like is freedom, Liking what you do is happiness

The search for happiness goes beyond the ages, as is the quest for freedom. I've found that after working a day job for most of my life, day jobs I never really suck with, that doing what you like is sup...

Daily Inspiration: The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It

We've all heard the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" cliche. It's a great saying that keeps us aware that we tend to compare ourselves and think that other people have it better. It's perce...

8 Business Books to Inspire the Entrepreneur Inside You

As the sunshine finally returns to those of us who've been under a long winter, why don't you head outside to get some vitamin D with a book that will help you take your blog & business to the next level. These are a few of my favorite reads that will in...

Daily Inspiration: Small Things Become Great When Done With Love

Never underestimate what love can bring to the table. Your blog might be small, your tweet might only reach a few people, but if you show up and put your heart into what you do, it will show. When you...

Daily Inspiration: It takes nothing to join a crowd. It takes everything to stand alone.

One of the characteristics of the fashion blogging community is that we have a strong desire to be liked. I say this as compared to celebrity blogs, political blogs, hey, even tech blogs, all are here nor t...

Six Tax Tips for Bloggers

Have you filed your taxes yet? In the business of blogging, taxes are the biggest drag. For most of us at least. In fact, you many be reading this post in procrastination of actually doing your taxes. But no matter how much you try to avoid the subject, you ...

Daily Inspiration: Sometimes Good Things Fall Apart So Better Things Can Fall Together

There was a lot of great energy this week, but over the last few days I've heard of a theme of things falling apart from various people. When I saw this quote it struck home, as every time something I wante...

nothing great ever achieved without enthusiasm

Daily Inspiration: Nothing Great Was Ever Achieved Without Enthusiasm

The thing about blogging is that it is a long term activity. It's easy to be enthusiastic in the beginning, but as time goes on, it becomes easier and easier to become jaded, frustrated, burnt out. And true,...

Daily Inspiration: If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams…

One of the best beauty tips I know of is to be happy. Happy people radiate a beauty like nothing else that can be found in a jar. It's the truest kind of beauty. I know, sometimes we can have bad days. I have them. And sometimes it's just a matter of t...

23 Ways to Promote Posts & Increase Your Blog Traffic

Writing your blog posts is just a small part of growing your blog. The rest is getting readers to your blog...and that's not always as easy. While there are some tried and true means of growing your blog, t...

6 Graphic Design Resources For Fashion Bloggers

Great graphic design is a critical part of branding your blog. It's as important as your Twitter strategies, your photography, hey, I would go as far as to say as it's as important as your text. Why? Becaus...

Actually, Bloggers DO Influence People to Buy

Sometimes getting feedback on the impact of blogging can be tough. I keep thinking about how Mickey Drexler once said, “I have yet to see a correlation in my industry between great social media and great numbers. You’ve got to be there, but on the other hand...

9 Fashion Bloggers Worth their Weight in Words

There are more niches in fashion blogging than we could ever begin to cover, but its worthwhile to explore bloggers whose main tool is words, not photographs. Those who are exploring (and blogging about!) fa...

How to Protect your Blog from Plagiarism

Guest Post by Sandra Miller After investing that much time and effort in creating fresh, interesting and completely unique content for your blog, it would be best to also make sure your posts are protected...

Daily Inspiration: Nothing Great Ever Came That Easy

It always fascinates me how people think that bloggers just sit around all day taking Instagrams of cupcakes. For some of us, it might be that easy. But for me, it hasn't. It's important to note that if it were easy to be great, everyone would be gre...

Daily Inspiration: You Can Never Be Overdressed…

Gotta love Oscar Wilde. But it's true, especially in fashion blogging. You can never be overdressed in this industry (even if some say we are "peacocking"). And even more so, you can never be overeducate...

Daily Inspiration: The Only Person You Try to be Better Than

When it comes to fashion blogging, it's hard not to compare. I don't know why we do it, but comparing ourselves to other bloggers: who's thinner, prettier, has more designer handbags, the list goes on, and ...

Daily Inspiration: Don’t Stumble Over Something Behind You

What happened, happened. Learn from mistakes and obstacles and move on. Easier said than done, no? We all tend to carry lessons from the past (if we're smart), which is a good thing. That's how we learn and grow. But if past foibles weigh us down by ...

Daily Inspiration: If Your Dreams Don’t Scare You…

Who would want to have scary dreams? Probably not very many people. When we say, if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough... we're not talking about the kind of fear you see in zombi...

Daily Inspiration: Everyone Is Perfect

"You are perfect, just the way you are." Either you love hearing that, or roll your eyes. But the truth is, that more often than not, we subject ourselves to self-criticism in the name of improvement. Ho...

A Fashion Blogger’s Guide to Covering Events Like a Pro

Last week we did a little bit of crowd sourcing to get an idea of the kinds of posts that the community might want to see from us. One such idea, which I really liked, was to discuss how to cover events as a fashion blogger "without overdoing it." It's a ...

Daily Inspiration: A Head Full of Fears Has No Space For Dreams

When I was young, I didn't really know people who really went after their dreams. Not in the sense of reaching for the top of the top anyway. When I met someone who wanted to be a photographer, and just app...

Create Your Own Digital Magazines With Glossi

Click to view OntheRacks on GLOSSI.COM When I was in High School, I wanted to create magazines. More like fan 'zines with a photocopied issues with handwritten and typewritter'd text and collaged ...

Case Study: Affiliate Earnings With Rewardstyle vs. ShopSense

Are you struggling to make money with affiliate links on your blog? I was too. (Even though this happened.) Let me explain: I've been a part of the Rewardstyle affiliate program for years, but only started really using it in the summer of 2012. As I ment...

Blogger True Story: My Blog Helped Me Get My Dream Job

I met Kiley Stenberg of a Sequin Dress at Breakfast a few fashion week seasons ago at a brunch (where else?) and we've been fast friends ever since. While living in Des Moines, Iowa, Kiley has been working at a...

Quotes from the Lost Generation on Writing

I've recently started reading The Paris Wife; at 70 pages in, I'm completely captivated by this historical fiction piece and forgetting it's not an autobiography. More so, I'm reminded of my fascination and ...

Blogging Tip: How to Write The Perfect About Page

When you start blogging, the first page you should think about adding to your site is the about page. Although it is one of the most important pages on your site (along with the contact page), it is often considered the most challenging when it comes to writ...

Get To Know This Season’s Smart, Sassy & Stylish IFBcon Speakers

As we mentioned briefly in one of yesterday's posts, celebrity clout is not the most important quality in selecting our speakers each year for IFBcon. We work very hard to put together panels and select key...