How to Start a Beauty Blog: Navigating the Beauty Industry

Beauty blogging is a big business. From casual beauty bloggers who write as a hobby to serious beauty experts whose blogs earn them big money, the industry is booming.

Starting a beauty blog can come with a range of benefits, depending on what you want to use your blog for. Having your own space online can be a great way to share your views and build a community of like-minded people and if you manage to grow your audience, chances are you’ll be able to turn your blog into a money-making project too.

Michelle Phan, Caroline Hirons, and Nikki Tutorials all started out with a humble beauty blog and have gone on to grow million-dollar beauty empires. Impressive!

Beauty blogging isn’t new. In fact, it’s been around for well over a decade now, which means there are thousands of beauty blogs already online.

Don’t worry, it’s not too late to start – it just means you’ll need to find a niche for your blog. This means deciding exactly what will make your beauty blog stand out from the crowd and attract readers. 

Your blog needs an audience so it’s crucial to make sure there are people out there who will want to read what you write. More importantly, however, you need to want to read what you write. If you aren’t passionate about your niche, it’ll be obvious to your readers and you’ll quickly run out of blogging steam.

Some examples of beauty blog niches are:

• Skincare for different skin types
• Makeup for glasses wearers
• Beauty for the over-50’s
• Sustainable beauty
• Vegan beauty
• Bridal beauty tips

Content is King when it comes to blogging so before you get started it’s a good idea to think about the type of content you want to create.

Traditionally beauty blogs include everything from product reviews to tutorials and beauty tips and tricks. Of course, your blog’s niche will dictate the type of content you create. 

We recommend putting together a content calendar for your blog, clearly outlining what content you’re going to create, and deciding when you’ll publish it. 

If you want to grow an engaged audience then it’s important to be consistent with your posting, try to start with one post a week and build up to a more regular schedule as your beauty blog grows. 

The next step in our how to start a beauty blog guide is to select a blogging platform. 

Thanks to how popular blogging has become, there are plenty of website builders on the market that have great blogging and content management systems. We’ve broken down our top three blogging platforms for you:

Wix

Wix is a great choice for a beauty blog because most Wix themes already have a blog page included (and there are plenty of templates aimed at bloggers too!)

Wix is super beginner-friendly thanks to its drag-and-drop builder and there are also more than 300 apps that you can add to your site to enhance your blogging experience.

Squarespace

Squarespace is another website builder that has great blogging features and it’s well-known for how aesthetically appealing all of its templates are.  

In fact, Squarespace has some of the best templates and themes on the market, with plenty aimed at blogs. And when you’re talking about beauty, you need to be sure your website looks good, too. 

There are also plenty of blog-focused native features including social sharing and the ability to add multimedia galleries. 

WordPress

WordPress is perhaps the most popular of all the blogging platforms and it’s not hard to see why.

This website builder has been designed with bloggers in mind, and it allows you to create and upload blog posts quickly and easily. 

There are tons of blogging templates to choose from and the website builder is easy to use (although it does require a little more technical know-how than the other builders in the list). 

Further Reading

Unsure which blogging platform is right for you? Check out our guide to the best website builders for blogs for more expert intel! 

Once you’ve set up your blog, it’s time to start creating your content.

Creating high-quality content should be the top priority for your beauty blog and below we’ve listed some of our top tips:

• Think of unique topics that you can position yourself as an expert on.
• Keep an eye on social media trends and consider creating content around trending and popular topics.
• Write engaging headlines that attract the attention of readers.
• Break up larger blog posts with subheadings and bullet points for a better user experience.
• Add images and videos to your blog posts to keep users engaged. 

Further Reading

Why not take a look at our how to write a blog post guide for more expert tips?!

If you’re running your own beauty blog then chances are you’re going to be posting product reviews and recommendations. 

The key to writing product reviews is to be honest. Be clear with your audience about what you have and haven’t tried, as well as what your experience was. 

The more transparent you are about your experiences, the more likely your audience is to trust your opinions. 

Remember, not everyone can like everything and if you give everything a glowing review, your readers will be skeptical about how honest you are.

A beauty blog isn’t complete without readers and to attract readers, you need to promote your blog. 

From social media to email marketing, there are plenty of ways you can promote your content and get it in front of the right eyes. 

Social Media

Setting up social media accounts for your beauty blog is a great way to grow your audience. You can share your posts on the platforms and build an engaged community of like-minded beauty lovers who will enjoy your content. 

Email Marketing 

Building an email list allows you to share your blog posts with an engaged audience. If someone has committed to signing up for your email marketing, you can presume they will be interested in the content you produce. Rather than send out an email for every new blog post, why not put together a bi-weekly or monthly round-up for subscribers? And don’t forget the all-important links and calls-to-action (CTAs) to check out your content!

SEO

One of the best ways to drive organic traffic to your blog is via SEO. Standing for Search Engine Optimization, SEO is the process of optimizing your content so that it appears in search results. One of the best ways to do this is to include your target keywords (the terms you want to appear in search results for) within your blog post copy and headings. Just be sure not to stuff your keywords in too many times, Google hates that!

Networking

Contrary to popular belief. You don’t have to automatically view other beauty bloggers as competition. In fact, they can actually be a great way to grow your audience and promote your blog! If you network and build up genuine relationships with other bloggers, you can consider creating guest posts or promotional material for each other’s websites, opening you up to their audience, too.

Running a successful beauty blog isn’t just about creating and publishing content. You need to engage with your audience too. 

After all, why should you expect your audience to keep coming back to read your content if you aren’t giving them anything in return?

One of the best ways to engage with your audience is to respond to comments. Encouraging your readers to leave comments on your posts, and then replying to them in a timely manner, is a great way to start a conversation and build an online community.

You can also consider “giving back” to your readers to thank them for your support by running giveaways or competitions on your blog.

To ensure your beauty blog stays ahead of the curve, you need to ensure you’re keeping up to date with the beauty industry. 

From the latest trends to the new brands causing a buzz online, you need to keep your finger on the pulse.

Some of the best ways to keep updated about what’s happening in the beauty industry are:

• Network with industry professionals.
• Attend in-person events such as trade shows and conventions. 
• Collaborate with other beauty bloggers and experts.
• Read other industry blogs and content.

So there you have it! Our in-depth guide on how to start a beauty blog and achieve online success.

To recap, the steps to follow are:

1. Find a niche
2. Plan your content
3. Select a blogging platform
4. Create quality content
5. Add product reviews and recommendations
6. Promote your beauty blog
7. Engage your audience
8. Stay up to date with the beauty industry 

Now that you’re ready, all that’s left for you to do is get started and begin your journey to beauty blogging success. Don’t forget to let us know in the comments if you found this article useful and make sure to share any of your own beauty blogging tips with your fellow readers!