As a lit student we are taught to research everything. I mean EVERTHING! Short of knowing whether Shakespeare wore boxers, briefs or went commando, I pretty much know all that is to know about him. Therefore, it was but natural that when I decided to get onto the fashion blogging bandwagon I did my set of research. Even before I wrote and published my first blog post I had a set of things I should never ever do. They were clichés I wanted to avoid, faux pas that I had to stay away from and cardinal sins I must never commit. If you are in the market for a new blog, keep these pointers in mind. Believe me, it’s the little things that make the real difference.
First Time Fashion Blogging Clichés and Faux Pas and How to Avoid Them.
1.Do NOT Copy
Where there is art there is a copycat. Like fashion, blogging too has its share of plagiarism. Keep in mind, there is a very, very thin line between being inspired and downright stealing. No amount of fancy packaging is going to disguise copied work. If indeed you are inspired from someone’s work give full name and link credit. You rather not post for a month due to lack of inspiration than blatantly copy paste someone else’s creativity. All your hard work and credibility gets washed away with one act of copycat. Not to self: Individuality is the key to successful blogging. Just imagine if each and every blog was a copied clone of the other the entire blog race would die. What a boring world that would be!
2. Run a Neat and Clean Blog
I recently visited a blog that was over-packed with badges and widgets that they literally spilled into one and other. The poor content was completely hidden under them. No one likes to visit such a blog. Especially if that the first time you dropped by. An unorganized or a cluttered blog is like a dirty bachelor pad. No one wants to go there again! Great subject matter alone won’t make your blog a success. The content plus the overall presentation is what can really make or break a blog. One has to pay attention to proper alignment and spacing. Make sure the pictures fit within the main frame and do not stick out. And keep in mind the backgrounds by no means should over-shadow the foreground. These are the little things that go the long way.
3.Quote Relevantly
Every fashion student, lover or follower has quoted Chanel at some time or the other. But the fashion blogging world takes it to another level. We quote her and then quote her and then some more… By the time you hit the 5th fashion blog you know most Chanel quotes by heart. Seriously, STOP quoting Chanel. One, there are many more fashion designer-no disrespect to Mademoiselle Chanel-in the fashion world to quote form and two; quote anyone. Painters, writers, sculptures, comedians. Remember, it’s not important WHOM you quote, it’s WHAT you quote and HOW relevant the quote is to your piece that matters. Random quoting is equivalent to wrong accessorizing.
4. Keep it Interesting
Here’s a cliché for you, variety is the spice of life. For once give in to it. Even if your primarily aim of blogging is style post or trend report or product review, thrown in some different aspects of your genre. It never hurts to show versatility. This will keep it fresh and also bring a few new readers to your blog. Avoid predictability to a certain extent but at all cost don’t become random and just keep on posting things you discovered on Google. Keep a balance to please the loyalist and appeal to the new.
5. Know Fact from Fiction
Blogs were started so that people could speak what was on their mind. But this must be done responsibly. Firstly, it’s very important to know fact from fiction. You can’t just randomly make-up things. Also, at no time must you or your content be offensive to anyone else. Freedom of speech does not mean you can weave stories to your liking. Similarly, there is just no excuse for using wrong grammar and incorrect spellings. With Google and spell-check these minor misdemeanours can easily be avoided.
6. Channel Your OWN SELF and no one Else.
When I started blogging, I so wanted to sound like Carrie Bradshaw. All cool and hip and super stylish. Big mistake! To sound like Carrie (or any other fashion icon) you have to live her life, which let’s face it, most of us can’t. The reason why we love our Carries and Blairs is because they are strong individual characters who have a unique identity. The wise thing to do is stop channelling your fave fashionista and start discovering your own style and voice.
Mr Oscar Wilde wisely said,“In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing.” With all due respect to to Mr. Wilde, in matters of fashion blogging, both style and sincerity are the vital things.
What did you all think of my article? Is there any specific faux pas or cliché that is a big no-no for you? Share them here. Do drop me a line with your views and thoughts in the comment section.
Till then, tra-la,
Amena!!
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{This post by me was written for and featured on Indian Fashion Bloggers website. A huge thank you to the team of InFB, especially Tanvi and Sonu for giving me this wonderful opportunity.}
{Featured On Links À La Mode: IFB Weekly Roundup (July 19th)}
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