Is blogging really a business? Media Man Int

Is blogging really a business?, by Karen Jones - 12th August 2015

These fashionistas have turned their passions into a profit making machine.

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Blogging veteran Nikki Parkinson of Styling You. Photo: Sarah Keayes

Forget supermodels – the new fashion superstars live in the blogosphere.

Australian bloggers are making big bucks in the glamorous world of fashion thanks to ambassador roles, runway appearances and affiliate marketing.

Fashion blogging used to be about words on personal styling and musings on latest trends. But that all changed when savvy retailers realised the online reach of these bloggers and started collaborating with them to publicise their latest looks.

Jess Dempsey: started her blog to flaunt her personal style. Photo: Supplied

Melbourne blogger Jess Dempsey launched her site What Would Karl Do? as a means of showing off her latest overseas purchases. It was a hobby she started in 2010 that has since flourished into a full-time business with a social media reach of more than 60,000 people.

"I started my blog to really just show my personal style and how I style myself instead of styling other people," she says.

"I dedicated a lot of my spare time to becoming a blogger and getting out to events, networking and building a name for myself, which happened quite fast because I was one of the only Melbourne bloggers at the time and there was only a handful of us."

Dempsey hit her stride in 2012 when she attended the Paris fashion week at the invitation of haircare giant Weller, hosted two David Jones events, two Westfield campaigns and starred in a TV commercial for online retailer Boohoo.

"It was a huge year from me," she says.

"Those campaigns are where the money is. Aligning yourself to brands that want to use you is the best way forward as a blogger because you're a fashion influencer and your followers trust you to deliver things you want – whether it's the latest trend or the shoe they need."

The rise of the fashion blogger can be seen in the Foxtel series Fashion Bloggers, which stars Nadia Fairfax (Fairfax Journal), Amanda Shadforth? (Oracle Fox), Sara Donaldson (Harper & Harley), Zanita Whittington (Zanita) and Kate Waterhouse (Kate Waterhouse).

Now in its second season, the show follows the bloggers rubbing shoulders with up-and-coming designers and on location at exotic photo shoots.

What all these bloggers have in common is a wide combined social media reach. The more followers they have, the more likely they are to get snapped up by retailers, shopping empires and runway organisers.

Consumers now have social media at their fingertips and it's changed the way we shop, Bernadette Kissane?, apparel and footwear analyst at Euromonitor International, says.

"The digital age is changing the way consumers shop and the increasing uptake in smartphones is leading to robust growth in mobile internet retailing and social media usage," she says.

"As consumers continue to focus on their hashtag goals it is likely that social media and the selfie culture will continue to impact how and what the new generation of consumers purchase."

Nikki Parkinson is the face of Styling You – one of Australia's most established and popular fashion blogs. Parkinson, a former fashion and beauty journalist, counted 4000 unique visitors to her site not long after it launched in 2009. Today her site racks up more than 100,000 unique visitors.

"Being a pioneer in the space gave me a leg-up, but there were less people reading blogs back then," she says.

"When I cottoned on to the stats, I didn't get obsessed with it. But I would track it and set myself small measurable goals to build on it."

Like most successful bloggers, Parkinson employs an agency to manage her financial affairs, including advertising and affiliate marketing. Recently she has complemented this revenue with a pop-up shop, where readers can buy clothes and accessories directly from the blog.

It's just one of many ways fashion bloggers can make an income, Kate McKibbin, of Secret Bloggers Business, says.

"There's a lot of ways to make money and people usually start with advertising, that's blogging 101," she says.

"But advertising is not very reliable and it can take away from the messaging of the blog a little bit. Bloggers should aim to have three different streams of income coming in, especially with advertising jumping up and down."

But all bloggers tread a fine line between sales and editorial, McKibbin warns.

"Be open and honest – readers like that," she says.

"There is a personal style of blogging, where readers view the blogger as a friend and they get grumpy if they think that friend is selling to them."

(The Sydney Morning Herald)