The Business of Style

Style is huge. I mean, big bucks are made off of the mere concept – from advertising to magazines and not to mention all those who benefit from the ever evolving retail trade. But now, as more and more women are turning to the internet via blogs as their next career, the business of style is accessible to you too. 

One woman who has done this to great success is Nikki Parkinson. She is the author of Styling You and has a lot to offer REAL women on style. What we LOVE about Nikki is that she shares the business side of blogging with her readers every step of the way.

In 2008, when Nikki said goodbye to a 20-year journalism career in fashion and beauty to focus on being a stylist, Styling You was born. She thought, “Hey, why not style everyday women, not just models?” In Nikki’s words: “I kind of stumbled into this blogging game when I asked a web designer for a website I could update myself.” The web designer informed Nikki that she needed a blog.

Initially it was a way for Nikki to market her styling business. In four fast years, Nikki has risen to become the winner of the best Australian blog in 2011. During that time, Styling You has grown to attract more than 50,000 visitors every month (and up to 170,000 page views). The premise of Nikki’s  blog remains the same: to write fun content that is useful and contains information that helps women feel good about themselves.

When did you realize you could make money off your blog?

About three years ago. I was being mentored by an internet guru who opened my eyes to the possibilities. From that moment on, I looked at different ways to leverage my blog to generate an income. The main thing I did from that moment was concentrate on the content on my blog because, without building on that and creating a reason for readers to come and visit, I realised I would not have a platform from which to make a living.

What is the main form of revenue? Is it advertising or key note speaking, or another?

My main form of revenue is advertising – mostly in the form of sponsored posts and ambassadorships. I also make advertising income from banner ads, affiliate ads and network ads (Nuffnang). Other business income comes from speaking engagements, freelance writing and online memberships.

What was the action that helped you reach your audience? (Twitter, mainstream media, or networking with other bloggers… etc?)

Social media has been huge. Facebook is by far my biggest referrer of readers to my blog. Twitter has been a great industry networker. Competitions have also helped me to build my email subscriber database. A whole stack of my readers still reach my blog via this weekly email. All of this aside, it’s the content that brings people to the blog and then brings them back. That’s a ball I cannot drop!

How much money can a good blog make?

I would be unable to put a figure on this but I truly believe that with the right ingredients (content and engaged readership), bloggers will be increasingly sought out by brands to form partnerships that were once the domain of celebrities. So how much money you could make will be up to you. It comes down to the amount of work you’re willing to invest in your blog business to see it grow.

This year Nikki went to BlogHer in New York City. BlogHer.com is a community and media company created  in response to the question, “Where are all the women bloggers?” Founded by Lisa Stone, Elisa Camahort Page and Jory Des Jardins, they have a team of 50+ employees in offices in New York and Silicon Valley.

BlogHer is the largest community of women who blog: 40 million unique visitors per month (April 2012, Nielsen Site Census). BlogHer shares the best conversations led by women in social media, they seek to share advice, opinions and recommendations. BlogHer’s team works hard to bring you the best and brightest conversations, writers and speakers – online and in person. They host the world’s largest conference for women in social media. This year, Nikki attended the BlogHer conference in New York and below, she shares the 22 things that she learnt from the conference. Team WMS was inspired by Nikki’s report and we hope that you (budding entrepreneurs) enjoy it too! Perhaps we might see you at BlogHer 2013 – we just registered for our ticket!

22 things Nikki learned at BlogHer 12*

1. Everyone has a story. Just because you live it every day doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to others.
2. If pitching yourself to mainstream media as a source or contact (great for raising your blog’s profile), be real, eager to help, accessible and likeable to the journalists or producers concerned.
3. When you start treating yourself like a business, other people will treat you like a business. Even if it’s just you at home in your pyjamas in front of your computer.
4. If you’re savvy enough to come come to a blogging conference, you’ve already invested in your blog and yourself. That is a good thing.
5. Consider investing in an assistant to do the jobs in your blogging business that you least like doing, freeing you up to stick with the creative side of your blog.
6. As a personal brand, you’ll never be a success in this space if you’re a jerk in real life.
7. It takes five to seven years for a business start-up to be profitable. A blogging business is no different.
8. Find the blogging people you want to be when you grow up and stalk them.
9. Blogs give voices to people and allow them to be authentic.
10. When working with brands you have to speak the language of the people who are going to pay you. What ROI (return on investment) can you offer?
11. Know your blog’s demographics. Eyeballs (page impressions) are important but the better you know your audience, the better you’ll be able to reach out to brands for the right fit.
12. Give brands the stats they want and don’t lie about it. You’ll only get caught out.
13. Big readerships are not everything. Do you have a “rockstar” influence over a smaller group of readers? Then that will work for you too.
14. Are you engaged with your readership? On the blog and on social media networks?
15. Don’t get so wrapped up in yourself that you forget that you have an audience and that they are your customer.
16. Become a real resource to people so they come back to you.
17. From a marketing perspective, in order to start charging for anything, you need to show you’re an influencer. You have to know that your audience will purchase something you write about before you approach a brand you’re keen to work with.
18. Decide what you are willing to do for free. Value your services so that other people value your services.
19. If you want someone to give you money for something then you need to be worth it. There are a lot who are not.
20. What is it about you and your blog that makes you stand out from the crowd? Own it and sell it.
21. Don’t be afraid to ask brands for money – or more money – if you don’t ask, it won’t happen.

The overwhelming message that came through for Nikki during her time in and around BlogHer ’12 was that it’s OK to make money off – or because of – your blog. This is something that US bloggers have been leveraging for more than six years. Many of the big-name bloggers Nikki spoke with were quite surprised that this was even an issue for bloggers. The moral of her story is simple: treat your blog like a business and watch the returns pour in. Turn your style into more than a fashion statement and, like Nikki, your own success story could be only a few clicks away.

 

View the full Styling You article here.