… or ‘Everything You Wanted to Know About Blogging But Were Afraid to Ask’.

The Blogger Bash held last Saturday as part of Dublin Fashion Festival was good fun.  I didn’t trip over my words, I didn’t sound like a rampant narcissist (or so the gorgeous reflection in the mirror told me afterwards) and I got a few laughs.  Ya gotta make ‘em laugh kids! *jazz hands*

From left to right – Becky of Becky Dazzler, Whisty of Whisty Blogs, me and Alex Donald of Alex Donald’s Multiverse (Alex, I’m not going to lie, the minute I got home I bought the top you were wearing.  It’s amazing). I am obviously making a riveting point about, I don’t know, WordPress layouts or something.

It was well-attended and it was very HOT.  Tweed jacket with wooly jumper + lamps and general sweatbox = not a good look.  I’m also struck by how much I look like Hope Davis as Joyce in American Splendour.

Aside from deep-seated personal neuroses, it went well.  I was struck by how many bloggers were there and also the amount of people who want to start their own blogs.

A girl in the front row asked how to jump-start blog traffic and I’m not so sure if my answer was comprehensive enough. So, In case you’re starting a blog and are interested in getting traffic (specifically traffic that will lead to repeat readers and not people who randomly stumble on and off your blog via Google) here’s a few pointers.

• Good, original content is king.  Original content does not have to mean original photos.  It can be original text, an original idea, an original collage – as long as the bulk of your post is completely your work, then you’re off to a good start.
• Your original work also has to be good quality. Easier said than done.
• Comment on other, like-minded blogs.  When leaving a comment, try to make it considerate or funny or thought-provoking – people will be encouraged to comment on your blog if you’ve proven yourself to be an all-round friendly, thoughtful, open person. Comments that say a generic ‘Great post – come follow me at atxyzblog.annoying.whatever’ are a major turn-off for so many people (though I’ve got nothing aginst people just saying ‘great post’.  Sometimes thats all you need to say – try not to say it all the time though).
• SHARE!  Don’t be afraid to share your blog posts with friends and family on facebook and twitter.  And don’t be afraid at the start to ask them to share your work with their friends too – cast a net and see how wide it goes.
• Competitions and giveaways are a great way to expand your readership.  It’s not the best way to do it because you can be inundated with entries from people who are obviously huge competition hounds, but the vast majority of entrants are genuinely nice people who have an interest in what you have to say anyway.

Something else I forgot to mention.  An excellent reference for fashion bloggers wanting to improve their blog at any level, from social networking to writing skills to hardware would be this post from Grit and Glamour.  It’s also a great website for rooting around for blogging tips and tricks.

Now go forth and blog!