Blog: Stylewich
Who: Elizabeth Lee
Where: Los Angeles
Age: 38
Blogging Since: September 2014
Name some of the brands or companies you have collaborated with. Explain how these collaborations came about, and how both sides worked to make it a success.
I’ve had the chance to work with some great up and coming fashion brands such as VIPme, Dezzal, Zaful, Shein as well as more established brands such as Hanro, Coach and Bailey44. These brands found me through Instagram and gave me guidelines that were clear but flexible for me to create content. I believe these collaborations were successful because I received clear guidance on the expectations but also freedom to be creative.
What is the key to building long-term relationships and partnerships with brands?
The key to building long-term relationships with brands is good communication. I am responsive every step of the way, including responding to all inquiries and sending updates when I receive the product and post on my blog and social media accounts. When the collaboration is complete, I make sure to thank everyone for the opportunity. I think it’s important to be professional at all times!
Which way do you find to be the most efficient to organically grow your blog?
Growing a blog is a ton of work! In the beginning, I joined all possible channels for promoting fashion including Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Lookbook, Pinterest, Pose, you name it. I quickly realized that being active on all of them is exhausting and some of my efforts were low yield. Instagram seems to have the largest and most active fashion community. Its members are hungry for good fashion content and always looking for new bloggers to follow. I stopped promoting my blog on the other channels and now spend all my time on Instagram. I think it’s starting to pay off!
With the rise of Instagram and in the era of social media influencers, how does a blogger keep their readers engaged and interested in coming back to their blog?
Instagram is the best platform to give a visually appealing summary of the content I create. It’s a wonderful place to digest beautiful content very quickly but it has its limitations. When I want to tell a story, discuss a fashion trend or provide a large selection of my sale picks or fashion finds, I direct my readers to my blog, where I have total freedom to provide the details to make a reader’s experience more complete. So basically, I use Instagram to give a preview of the greater content that I provide on my blog.
How are you building your audience?
I am building my audience by being an active and engaged member in the Instagram fashion community. As I mentioned, this community is large and growing quickly every day. By making friends with other people who love fashion, there are opportunities to collaborate with them to promote each other’s content to make it more discoverable.
Do you find it important for your business to attend fashion week, and if so, in what ways?
I’ve never been but yes, I think it’s important! Fashion week gives a preview of new trends and the things worth buying in the near future. I think you stay a step ahead when you get to see the trends and styles before they hit the market. Readers and followers also appreciate seeing the fashion week photos and experiences as well. Following my favorite fashion bloggers who attend and share their experiences is the next best thing to attending myself!
What are your main revenue channels, and how have they evolved since you began monetizing?
In the beginning, I was making a small amount of money from clicks on links on my blog. After I gained more readers and followers, I was able to join programs that pay commissions on sales made through links on my blog and Instagram. After I gained even more readers and followers, I am now making money from posts that are sponsored by fashion brands.
How do you measure your most popular posts up to date?
I can tell which posts are popular from the feedback that I receive on both my blog and social media accounts. For these posts, I get a lot more likes and quality comments and make more money from commissions as well.
What kind of opportunities other than blogging do you see rising for you through your blog?
Anything is possible once you gain a critical mass! You can sell clothing, accessories, books, services, anything! If you have enough readers and followers, your blog and social media accounts become a good platform to promote anything that would be appealing to your audience. I hope to write books on fashion blogging and photography someday because I’ve learned a lot and have a lot to share!
What are the most crucial elements to establish to take your blog to a professional level?
The formula is quite simple. I believe you can build a great blog by doing these three things frequently and consistently: providing good content, posting beautiful photographs and actively marketing and engaging in a large fashion community such as Instagram.
Images © Stylewich