The Genesis Of Becoming A Skincare Blogger
In 2014 when I was working a job that I no longer do, I watched the news coverage about the war in Iraq, and the T.V presenter was talking about a blogger who spent his time covering the news. Upon hearing the word blogger, an idea was birthed within me. I believe in 2014, blogging and influencing was a popular concept, and people had been doing it as full-time jobs by making money endorsing brands or writing about products.
With my love for skincare, I came up with the idea to blog and write about my favorite products that I use; Products that worked for me and products that I used repeatedly. That was the inception of my skincare blog. I started my blog on a free platform – I created a free blog website and started blogging immediately. It was free and easy. I blogged about products I used, and if it worked for me and I liked it, I will recommend it to other people. My product recommendations were the whole idea behind my skincare blog.
Forming Relationships With Brands
My first brand work was in the summer of 2016. We did a summer campaign on using a facial spray to hydrate the skin or setting spray to set your makeup. It was a great collaboration, and from there, other brands started contacting me for collaborations. I have worked with brands across different industries and different social media platforms. All my partnerships have been cordial, and I have come to love certain products because of these by-chance collaborations. When working with brands, it is imperative to have clear guidelines for each campaign. Also, when you exchange emails with brands, make it plain whether you charge for your work or work on a gifting or exchange basis. For smaller influencers, most brands will approach you on a gifting basis, and if that is fine with you, you can express that to the brands – but if you charge a small fee for your backend work such as photography, editing, etc., then it is essential to put that across to the brand.
Steps To Becoming A Skincare Blogger Or An Influencer
Being a longtime blogger or influencer, I think I have some expertise in starting a blog or becoming an influencer. However, there are inevitable mistakes to avoid when it comes to being an influencer or a blogger. Unfortunately, there was not much information on what to avoid when I started blogging, so my journey was trial and error until I got things right. There is a difference between blogging for fun and blogging as a job. When you look to make money from blogging or becoming an influencer, you need to put certain critical factors in place. These key factors include choosing a niche, optimizing your website for search engines, choosing the name of your blog, choosing the best platform to host your website, creating a community, and sharing your expertise in your field of knowledge through your skills and abilities.
Choosing A Niche
There are various industries, and you can find a niche that will help a specific targeted group of people. For example, we have the beauty industry, a big umbrella of small groups of other sectors. From the beauty industry, we have skincare, makeup, hair, fashion, health, fitness. So when you choose to blog about skincare, you will have to select a particular niche to help a specific group of people. For example, out of skincare, you may choose to target people with oily skin, dry skin, people interested in anti-aging, acne-prone skin, sensitive skin, or you may teach people how to use natural ingredients on their skin.
Hosting Your Blog
It is imperative to choose a blog name that is SEO friendly, that is easy to remember, and easy to pronounce. In addition, choose the best domain and hosting company to house your blog. Finally, make sure you utilize SEO early so your website can get juice on the internet – with much juice, it is easy for people looking for your expertise to find your blog.
Create Your Community
As you share your honest views and reviews, educate your audience, give them tips, knowledge, new ideas, and, most importantly, how their lives can be easy with your expertise.
Blogging and being an influencer can be fun if you are passionate about what you do. However, your mission is to serve the community no matter what industry you find yourself working in, and working with brands to help promote products that you believe in should be your primary goal.
I hope my tips will help you if you are looking to become a skincare blogger or an influencer.
Thank you,
Yvonne
