The Beauty Social, Oct. 2011: How to Turn Beauty Blogging into a Career - Makeup and Beauty Blog

From the left: Beautylish Beauty Director and segment host Ning Chao, Temptalia Founder and Editor Christine Mielke, Makeup Bag Founder and Editor Erika Valente, me (looking extra Lloyd Christmassy), and Romy Raves Lifestyle and Beauty Blogger Romy Schorr.

Even though I was a little nervous (blast you, Lloyd!) and blinded by the stage lights, I actually enjoyed speaking on the blogging panel at The Beauty Social terminal weekend, and I wanted to share some of the highlights with y'all while they're even so fresh in my heed.

In hindsight, I wish I'd recorded the session, or covertly taken a few notes, but I practice think almost of my answers (Notation: these are paraphrased, because I tin can't remember the exact quotes) and some tidbits from my beau co-panelists, Christine Mielke of temptalia.com, Erika Valente of makeupbag.internet and Romy Schorr of romyraves.com.

Q: What inspired you to start your weblog?

Me: Well I'd always really loved makeup, and I'll never forget the day when I was 14 and my mom took me on that beginning trip to the Clinique counter… I started the blog in 2007. I was freelancing at the time for magazines, by and large doing travel (for the in-room magazines on cruise ships) and wellness and fitness articles. I really wanted to break into dazzler writing, though, and I kept pitching different magazines, but no i would rent me.

They (the magazines) were mostly drawing from their in-house writing staff, so I kept getting rejected from these dazzler magazines, yet I had this nagging feeling in the back of my heed that I only couldn't let go. I knew that I wanted to create and write about dazzler, but I didn't know how to go about it.

And then in February of 2007, the Barbie Loves MAC collection came forth. 🙂

I call back in every beauty junkie'southward life there's always that one release that turns their casual hobby into a full-diddled obsession, and for me it was Barbie Loves MAC. I went to the mall, got my little haul, and then when I got back dwelling house, that little vox in the back of my head was whispering, "Wouldn't it exist kinda cool if you lot took a few pictures and posted them online?"

So I borrowed a friend'southward camera — and at the time I couldn't take a picture to save my life — took some shots, and posted them online (using a free weblog from wordpress.com).

That's how Makeup and Beauty Blog was born. There wasn't a business organization program, a big reveal or a rollout. It all sort of happened organically, and it'southward been one of the happiest accidents of my life.

Erica: Erica said that she, too, had always been a lifelong beauty junkie, and one of her chief inspirations was her entrepreneurial hubby. She'd ever loved trying and buying new products, simply her dazzler stash had grown exponentially. 1 twenty-four hour period her hubby suggested that they find a way to turn her obsession into a business so that they could write off her beauty expenses, which eventually led to Makeup Bag.

Christine: Before Temptalia, Christine had been actively posting looks on Live Journal. She was in school at the time and recalls posting looks after form. She started Temptalia to archive all of her looks in one place, and her blog has just grown from there.

Q: What was the turning point that made you realize that your blog was successful?

Me: It was probably about six or seven months in, afterwards I'd gotten an invite to cover SF Style Calendar week. The blog had been bopping along as a hobby at the time, with me doing brief product reviews every few days, merely I decided to arroyo that Fashion Week every bit I would a freelance assignment…and I as well used it equally an excuse to get a new camera. 😉

I went backstage, took hundreds of pictures, interviewed makeup artists, the models and the hairstylists, and and so turned the coverage into a series of more involved posts than I'd been doing up until that point.

And the readers seemed to actually reply to information technology. I recollect that's when I kind of knew that the blog could be more than than simply a side gig to freelancing.

Q: What are the most pop types of features on your blog?

Me: Product reviews are always popular, but I think readers besides respond to lots of pictures. A picture actually is worth 1,000 words, and the more someone feels like they're experiencing the product, the ameliorate. I have tons of pictures — of the boxes, of the packaging, of the inside of the pans.

At that place are tons of different ways you can handle pictures, too. You can use a lightbox, which is corking if you want very crisp, clear pics that convey the product accurately. I use 1, but I don't like to do it all the time considering information technology tin get a lilliputian boring, so I'll practice different things similar become in my front end yard and take pics around some leaves, or I'll put things on my windowsill, or sometimes even on my cat.

Other posts that seem to be pop are ones where I mention something personal. I think that people like it when they can relate to things that've happened to you.

A few weeks agone, in a post about the new Bobbi Brown 1991 Lip Palette, which is a new palette to celebrate Bobbi'due south 20th anniversary, I took pictures and did swatches, and and so at the end of the review, I added a list of 20 things I've done since 1991. The things on the list weren't very exciting — like going to school and getting my heart broken — merely for some reason, that piddling something extra seemed to resonate with people, and they responded to it well.

Erika: Erika mentioned that she'due south noticed the same matter, that her more than personal posts receive a skilful response, peculiarly when she shares pictures and stories of her family.

Christine: Christine said that along with her product reviews, people like her Foundation Matrix, which gets a lot of attention, and the other special features on her site.

Q: How is it dissimilar to blog only for fun and to blog as a business concern?

(Notation: Nosotros didn't actually cover this question in the console, but I thought it might exist helpful to answer here.)

Me: Well, I still blog for fun. 🙂 Simply I call up the primary divergence is that I'm much more of a stickler for details now. Back when I offset started, I'd let the typos and fuzzy pictures slide, simply at present I cringe whenever I grab a spelling fault or a picture show that doesn't quite look the way I desire information technology to. Now, I'll retake pictures over and over until I feel like I've gotten them right.

Q: What advice would you requite to a new blogger just starting out?

Me: Write every day. Writing is like a musculus, and exercise makes it stronger. I similar to go along a journal on my nightstand, and then when the warning goes off in the morning, I option it up, and crank out my 10 minutes of free writing for the twenty-four hours.

And read whatsoever you tin get your easily on! Blogs, magazines, books, whatever interests you lot. If you're writing a lot, it's important to replenish your creative well, and reading is 1 great way to do that.

I also think it's important to go on your mind open up, because you never know when or where inspiration will strike. Say yous're walking downward the street and see a cute vintage car with shiny chrome wheels. Constrict that away in your memory bank, considering y'all never know — maybe you'll use that image for a review on a shimmery eyeshadow later that twenty-four hours, or three days later, or three years afterward that.

Lastly, I remember it helps to think of your blog as your living room, and I wish I could take credit for this idea, only I actually got it from Matt Mullenweg, 1 of the co-founders of WordPress, which is the blogging platform I use.

It was at an outcome called Wordcamp SF (at that place may be one coming to a city near you). Matt said that when yous accept a web log, it'due south similar inviting strangers into your living room. If yous treat them with kindness and respect, chances are, that's what you'll get in return.

Christine: Christine suggested being prepared to piece of work very hard, because with a successful blog, there are a lot of things going on in the background that aren't necessarily obvious at first.

Romy: Romy recommends cultivating your ain voice, one that feels natural and works for you.

Fifty-fifty in 5-inch heels, I'one thousand still the shortest one…

Virtually Beautylish and The Beauty Social

Beautylish is an online social network exclusively for beauty, a resource featuring the latest and greatest product reviews, video tutorials, makeup tips and tricks, trends, celebrity secrets, must-take products and more.

The Beauty Social was a ii-twenty-four hours effect held in Santa Monica, California, over Oct. 22-23, 2011. The almanac outcome was organized by Beautylish and featured a variety of speakers, from famous makeup artists, to editors, company founders, bloggers and vloggers.

Your friendly neighborhood dazzler addict,

Karen

P.S. If you've ever held a bottle of pretty smash shine in your paw and thought, "Gee, I'd beloved to brand my ain shine!" bank check out The Beauty Social, October. 2011: Want to First Your Ain Beauty Brand?

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