I absolutely love being a full time blogger and despite it taking a bit of a back seat due to many other projects I’ve been working on, it’s still a job I very much love and absolutely recommend you go for if you’re overflowing with creativity and aspire to make your own online kingdom. I’ve already written a whole (FREE!) e-book on how to create a profitable blog – you can download a copy HERE – and because I’ve been working in the beauty industry for the past year, I’ve decided to give you a few tips specific to the world of beauty blogging and how to create a career for yourself as a beauty blogger.
How to become part of the beauty industry
(& use your blog as a stepping ladder)
AH, THOSE PR SHOPPING LISTS!
Not gonna lie, it’s dead exciting to receive a parcel from *insert your favourite beauty brand that makes you squeal*, spend the afternoon playing with all the gems, slap everything on your face, take a selfie and post it on the ‘gram – job done. And it’s ever so tempting to write a quick e-mail (or just a PM, yes that’s a thing now) asking for a free shampoo in exchange for a post on your social media, but man – just don’t. If you’re on a quest to establish yourself as a beauty blogger, come at the beauty industry with a strategy, a plan on how to conquer it.
- What’s your goal?
- Do you want to review the most recent launches?
- Do you want to create mesmerising make-up tutorials?
- Do you want to be a skincare pro?
- Or perhaps you want beauty to be just your trusty side-kick whilst your main substance is crazy DIY’s for kids?
Everything is possible as long as you know where you stand. And everyone else knows where you stand too. Offering collaboration to brands is perfectly fine, in fact I highly praise you for it, nevertheless do it with tact and sincerity (Hi, I’d like to work with you on a long term basis creating creative content around your latest launches – this would be beneficial to you because I can create XY traffic; rather than: I have Instagram and I ran out of shampoo so like, send me this £30 one for free, okay? I wish I was exaggerating but alas that’s the exact word for word message I’ve received on behalf of a brand, sigh).
KNOWING YOUR WORTH
At the same time you need to be aware of your worth. I’ve already written about it in more detail in this post about media kits however I do want to reiterate that knowing your worth is ever so important. Even if you’re blogging for fun and not for income, don’t downplay your hard work. By creating a successful blog you’ve created a profitable marketing space. Saying that you don’t necessarily need to be charging for your blog posts – but make sure your rate card is straight forward enough. Perhaps you want to blog in exchange for product which you’ll be reviewing? That’s perfectly fine, just make sure you do present that to the brand. Don’t be afraid to set a value, for example you can create a full post about a product in exchange for products in the value of XY; OR perhaps a summary post with a mention f the brand for products in the value of XY. OR you could even establish a long term relationship with the brand with the possibility of them supplying you with all new launches, or giving you a voucher for their store. The key here is to make sure you that both parties are fully aware of the game rules which can of course be negotiated and discussed to suit everyone. Remember, brands are also people!
BROADENING YOUR HORIZONS
There are literally millions of beauty blogs out there at the moment and it’s never been so difficult to stand out. Choose the way you’re going to be different and go that extra mile to shine! You can choose the route to make your reader’s experience extra special by giving them a blog design that’s just mind-blowing, perhaps with exclusive discount code search engine or a forum where they can chat all things beauty, or perhaps a gorgeous newsletter with the best discounts!
Another alternative is to make your content a little extra. Are you a beauty amateur? Don’t be scared to get some formal education to offer more knowledgable content. Direct Line For Business (an insurance provider for small businesses) have created a hub of exclusive content for budding Health & Beauty professionals in their Knowledge Centre. You can find so much useful content on their website from clever Instagram tips to beauty industry insights into education and training options you may have not even heard about. Why not take up a nail art class and then educate your readers on this special skill through your blog? You could then diversify your blogging business and create a little nail art studio on side – which is exactly what you should be doing when you want to create more security in your online career (read more on the topic of blogging income diversification here).
VENTURING TO THE BEAUTY WILDERNESS
Whilst diversifying your blogging income don’t be afraid to try new things. Are you dead good at Instagram? You could try managing Instagram accounts of beauty brands! That means creating beautiful photographs of their products, writing up engaging captions and sometimes even answering customers’ questions. Or perhaps you’re acing the Pinterest game – you can easily approach a brand with an offer to create content on your blog for them, but also add that you would like to offer your Pinterest skills and manage their Pinterest account. “But they surely have a social media manager for that, don’t they?” I hear you cry. Some brands simply don’t. They might be too small, or too disinterested in that particular social platform, or perhaps they’ve never even considered it! The beauty industry is incredibly broad and even when you’re labeled as a beauty blogger, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stick to that label, you can have 57439 labels to make your work days more diverse and fun!
TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER
And perhaps there comes a day when you realise that blogging is a great fun but you don’t want to be doing it anymore. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of! Your hobby – beauty blogging – has enabled you to discover the breadth and depth of beauty industry and you now know that you want to be a full hair dresser, because hair’s where your heart is. Or maybe you want to become a brand manager for your favourite makeup brand?! Your experience in the blogging community will help you get that dream job like no other work experience would! I have landed a dream job in the beauty industry (marketing manager for an online beauty store) after blogging full time for a year. I really went all in throughout that year discovering what my strengths and weaknesses were, what truly made me happy and what I wanted to do as a career in the long run. My blog had to take a step back but it’s still a profitable venture for me, it still makes me fall in love with writing every single time I hit “new post” and it encourages me to dig deeper into all the different layers of the beauty industry. This is yet another point when I’d recommend you head for Direct Line For Business. You can read lots of interviews with gorgeous (& successful) people who have experimented with various beauty outlets (blogging, YouTube, make-up artistry, photography and more!) and get inspired by their career journeys. My favourite one to read is this interview with Carly Musleh, she’s such an inspiring beaut!
Do you work in the beauty industry?
What’s your story?
This post is in collaboration with Direct Line for Business, thank you so much for your support and your tips!