In the world of blogging, fashion & style has definitely grown in special niches online. And while I’m so proud of this blog, it would not be possible if it wasn’t more other fashionable blogs that have inspired me.
One of those fashionable blogs I’m inspired by is Cafe Fashionista. Creator and author, Erika Sorocco says she is a “caffeine-addicted blogger with a passion for fashion and a firm belief that every moment in life deserves a soundtrack. When she’s not working on her book about style or dreaming of New York City, she can be found shopping…er, doing research…for her blog Café Fashionista.”
Eric launched Cafe Fashionista in January of 2009 and almost a year later she is gets on average, 800 hits per day, about 5,600 hits per week and 23,000 visitors per month. Read on to find what it takes to be a successful fashion & style blogger and advice on how to write original content for your fashion & style blog.
Blogger Erika Sorocco,
KM: What experience have you gained as a fashion and style blogger in preparation for the fashion industry?
ES: Two things I’ve learned: it’s saturated and disposable. I’ll clarify.
When I say it’s saturated, I mean that there are billions of people wanting to get into the fashion industry – be it as a model, a writer, a designer – but only a slim few actually achieve that goal. The industry is overwhelmed with wannabes. I think it’s great to dream, and to work for what you want, but always have a back-up plan. I’ll tell you right now, I devote countless hours to Café Fashionista – I stay up late, I wake up early, I stay in on weekends a lot of the time, I miss out on parties; all so I can ensure that I am happy with my content. But guess what? I’m not a journalism major. I’m a double major in Psychology and Business/Marketing. Once I complete my BA I’m going to enter either an MBA or MFT program. I love fashion. I love writing. I will forever hope that one day I can make a living doing a mix of them both; but the reality is that it’s not always possible because of how saturated those particular fields are.
In terms of things being disposable. When I think of blogging, I feel that you’re only as good as your last post. I know that sounds strange, but it’s the truth. I force myself to post every single day. Holidays. Weekends. During Finals. You name it. You will never not see a new post on Café Fashionista. There are so many blogs out there (saturation) that if one isn’t updated for a few days or a few weeks, it’s forgotten (disposable). You need to work hard to get your name out there – whether you’re a fashion blogger, designer, model, whatever. If you don’t, people will dispose you like yesterday’s news and seek out something, or someone, else. You need to be visible.
KM: When did you start Cafe Fashionista?
ES: I started Café Fashionista on January 4, 2009. While Café Fashionista officially hit the web on that day, however, I feel that it took me a few months to really find my voice, and begin to build a following.
KM: As someone who has definitely gained a lot of blog traffic, what advice do you have for beginner fashion and style bloggers?
ES: First and foremost, find your own niche. It’s great to draw inspiration from other bloggers, and to admire the way others put their posts together, but if you don’t execute your own voice, and your own niche, you run the risk of coming off as uncreative and oftentimes boring. When I first started blogging I was bombarded with fashion and style blogs that lacked written content – they catered to photographs of their daily looks and runway style. While I adore looking at these types of blogs, they weren’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to write – for me, writing was my niche. In a way, I created a magazine via Café Fashionista that reaches thousands of people each month. Had I simply copied someone else’s style, or failed to find my own niche that wouldn’t have been possible.
Another biggie, and this is something that a lot of people overlook…blogger etiquette. Basically, if someone comments you, comment them back. I think that a lot of people are unaware of this one fact when they start blogging, and it can definitely set you back in the long run.
KM: What other fashion bloggers are you inspired by?
ES: I really love Cupcakes and Cashmere, the lil bee ,and A Cup of Jo for the sheer fact that they incorporate so many different aspects into their blogs – fashion, food, living. I think that too many people forget that fashion influences everything around us; and, in turn, is influenced by everything around us. The fact that they take note of this always makes me happy – I try to do the same with my blog; incorporate different ideas into my posts to ensure that it touches upon living and not solely on fashion and style.
KM: What has been your most successful post in terms of traffic and original content? What has your biggest challenge been?
ES: In the beginning, I was kind of all over the place. My most successful posts now stem from series I have created on Café Fashionista – Smitten Saturday, Tightwad Tuesday, Thrifty Thursday, Cruisin’ Cafes, Style Secrets…I find that people like to come to a place that is familiar – and on any given day they know what they can expect from “Café Fashionista.”
I will admit that my most popular features, the ones that bring in the most traffic, have been my Cruisin’ Cafes and Style Secrets series. With Cruisin’ Cafes (which I only started about a month ago), I select a location (I use both places within the United States and International), and visit three cafes there – I describe the aesthetic, the items they offer, stuff like that. It has proven to be very popular, and has added a touch of travel to Café Fashionista, which I love.
Style Secrets is a series that basically tells you how to dress for any given situation – First Date, Travel, College – in addition to how-to pieces – how-to wear over the knee boots and such. Personally, I enjoy writing the Cruisin’ Cafes and Style Secrets posts the most due to the fact that I love giving advice. I hope to turn these into a book sometime in the near future.
I really don’t feel that I have encountered any huge challenges in terms of my blog posts. I have been pretty lucky in the sense that people receive my writing well, and enjoy it. The only challenge I feel that I really felt was in the beginning when I was trying to figure out what, exactly, my goal for Café Fashionista was. Once that was figured out, I felt confident in what I was doing, and never really looked back – only forward.
Blogging is only going up from here. It is definitely not a fad. If you ask me, it’s slowly taking over the world – which I adore. The only thing that saddens me is that it’s knocking the publishing industry out. I will admit, I am virtually addicted to the Internet – I spend hours each day blogging, and would be beside myself if not able to connect to the Web (in fact, we had a blackout two weeks ago where I was without the computer for a full day and I honestly felt like I was dying). That said, there is nothing I love more than curling up with a glossy magazine or a good book. There is something about the idea of feeling the pages underneath your fingertips and turning the pages that is so…liberating and exciting. There’s a thrill in wondering what lies in wait for you on the next page that digital media lacks.
In the future, I think that print magazines will be completely obliterated – not something I even want to think about right now. The Internet is the wave of the future – each year more and more products and ideas come to light. Blogging is one of these things. Soon I think that bookstores will be nonexistent – everything will be obtained via blogs or products like Kindle. Like I said, despite my love of blogs, I will forever love true books and magazines – as long as ELLE is on newsstands, I will be a subscriber!
Blogging is only going up from here. It is definitely not a fad. If you ask me, it’s slowly taking over the world – which I adore. The only thing that saddens me is that it’s knocking the publishing industry out. I will admit, I am virtually addicted to the Internet – I spend hours each day blogging, and would be beside myself if not able to connect to the Web (in fact, we had a blackout two weeks ago where I was without the computer for a full day and I honestly felt like I was dying). That said, there is nothing I love more than curling up with a glossy magazine or a good book. There is something about the idea of feeling the pages underneath your fingertips and turning the pages that is so…liberating and exciting. There’s a thrill in wondering what lies in wait for you on the next page that digital media lacks.
In the future, I think that print magazines will be completely obliterated – not something I even want to think about right now. The Internet is the wave of the future – each year more and more products and ideas come to light. Blogging is one of these things. Soon I think that bookstores will be nonexistent – everything will be obtained via blogs or products like Kindle. Like I said, despite my love of blogs, I will forever love true books and magazines – as long as ELLE is on newsstands, I will be a subscriber!
KM: Where do you see the future of blogging in a few years? Do you think it’s just a fad?
ES: Blogging is only going up from here. It is definitely not a fad. If you ask me, it’s slowly taking over the world – which I adore. The only thing that saddens me is that it’s knocking the publishing industry out. I will admit, I am virtually addicted to the Internet – I spend hours each day blogging, and would be beside myself if not able to connect to the Web (in fact, we had a blackout two weeks ago where I was without the computer for a full day and I honestly felt like I was dying). That said, there is nothing I love more than curling up with a glossy magazine or a good book. There is something about the idea of feeling the pages underneath your fingertips and turning the pages that is so…liberating and exciting. There’s a thrill in wondering what lies in wait for you on the next page that digital media lacks.
In the future, I think that print magazines will be completely obliterated – not something I even want to think about right now. The Internet is the wave of the future – each year more and more products and ideas come to light. Blogging is one of these things. Soon I think that bookstores will be nonexistent – everything will be obtained via blogs or products like Kindle. Like I said, despite my love of blogs, I will forever love true books and magazines – as long as ELLE is on newsstands, I will be a subscriber!
Bmore in Style 
March 3, 2010 at 3:23 am |
Erika is awesome!