How to Start a Fashion Blog on Instagram and Get Paid as an Influencer

There’s no doubt that fashion bloggers are taking over Instagram!

Spend a few minutes on the social media platform and you’ll find photo after photo of stylized outfits complete with jewelry and accessories to pull everything together.

Fashion blogging is one of the most popular types of blogging right now, probably because there’s a lot of money to be made if you play your cards right.

If you’re wondering how to get started as a fashion blogger – especially on Instagram – then read on for more information about starting a fashion blog, making it big on Instagram, and getting paid as an influencer.

What Is a Fashion Blogger?

A fashion blogger is an influencer in the fashion world that uses their blog to grow their audience.

Fashion bloggers can take on many forms and set up their blog in different ways, but each post is usually very photo oriented.

The blogger might show themselves wearing accessorized outfits, for example, or they could photograph pieces of an outfit to display on their site.

Then, they’ll talk about each piece and what brand it is, usually linking to where you can purchase them for yourself.

Fashion bloggers have become super popular over the last decade or so, mostly through the help of Instagram, which has taken off as well.

Instagram is the perfect extension for a fashion blogger’s blog because of its focus on photography, displaying a feed of gorgeous photos and the chance to connect with others who have your interests through hashtags.

Many fashion bloggers build up their Instagram following as much as they work on building their blog and use the two simultaneously for their fashion business.

Although Instagram isn’t technically a “blogging” platform, fashion bloggers often use it as one!

Scroll through some fashion-focused feeds and you’re likely to find pictures you’d see on a fashion blog along with a long blurb about an outfit and where to buy it.

Fashion bloggers with large audiences on Instagram can even link to clothing and accessories in their Instagram photos with their affiliate links to make money.

So, while “blogging” on Instagram isn’t technically a thing, we’re going to use the term fashion blog on Instagram to refer to fashion bloggers using both their blog and their Instagram feed to grow their business.

If fashion is something that you’re into, then fashion blogging could be your next big move.

Plenty of others have done it!

How Much Do Fashion Bloggers Make?

Some of the best stylist blogs on the web bring their owners not just full-time incomes, but also thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per month or more!

In all honesty, fashion bloggers can make a lot of money.

They also can make very little money depending on how much they decide to grow their blog into a business.

There’s not a cap on how much you can make with your fashion blog and Instagram feed.

It’ll mostly depend on how large your audience is and how engaged it is with your content.

The more people share, comment, or like your posts, the more eyes you get on your Instagram posts and blog posts, which means more money for you.

But you also need to remember that, as with most businesses, your fashion blog will also cost some money for upkeep.

In addition to paying for the clothes you wear (at least until you get sponsorships), you’ll also need to pay for:

• Web hosting
• Website domain
• Professional photography
• Accessories, jewelry, etc.
• Supportive tools for your business, like social media schedulers or website plugins
• Freelance writers, virtual assistants, social media managers, or other professionals who can help with your business

As your blog grows, extra services and tools may become more necessary and can cut into some of your profits.

But you’ll also be making more from your efforts!

How Can I Start a Fashion Blog on Instagram?

While you’ll actually be starting your blog on a website, you can use your Instagram account as an extension of it.

Instagram is great for pulling in new visitors who may not frequent blogs but use Instagram daily.

You can post the same pictures you put on your blog and continue to grow a whole different audience for your fashion updates.

Here are the steps for starting and growing your fashion blog on Instagram:

1. Pick Your Unique Niche

Niching down – choosing a specific sub-category for your fashion blog – can really help set you apart from the thousands to millions of other fashion bloggers on the web.

It’s not quite enough to simply label yourself as a fashion influencer anymore.

Instead, you should pick a sub-niche of fashion that really stands out to you.

It could be something like vintage fashion, ultra-modern fashion, or 90’s retro fashion.

You might also choose something like fashion for petite women, fashion for tall women, or fashion for plus-size women, depending on your body type.

In doing so, you’ll get a very specific audience for your fashion blog, which can help you grow it organically as people interested in your niche continue to discover you.

2. Choose a Unique Style

Instagram is all about the photos, so it’s important that you also develop a unique style of photography to help you stand out and make your blog look cohesive.

A lot of fashion bloggers who’ve been successful on Instagram try to incorporate their brand’s colors into their photographs to keep their feeds looking like an extension of their website, for example.

Others photograph themselves only in grayscale while others prefer really bold pops of color in all their photos.

Your style should match your brand and your preferences so that your followers can really see your personality shine through in every post.

There are lots of filters you can download for Adobe Lightroom called presets (many are available on Etsy), and you can make your own with free tutorials on the web.

Presets come in handy to edit photos quickly and keep them with a similar style.

3. Build Your Following

This is going to be the trickiest part of hitting it big on Instagram because building your followers is often a slow and steady process that you have to be consistent with and know what you’re doing to have it work.

The most important factor that’s going to grow your Instagram audience is your photos.

If you don’t have pictures that stand out on Instagram, you’re going to get lost in the shuffle.

But growth also depends on hashtags, how you market yourself, and how often you post.

On Instagram, it’s important to develop a consistent posting routine, whether you decide you want to post once a day, twice a day, or 4-5 times per week.

Just keep it consistent.

You can use a scheduler like Later to remind you of your times to post.

4. Connect with Other Instagrammers

Instagram is also all about the connections you make with other Instagrammers.

The more you like and comment on other posts, the more you boost your own account.

Start following some of your favorite influencers on the platform in your niche.

Then, connect with them in meaningful ways by liking and commenting on their photos.

Once you’ve started building that relationship, you may even be able to ask them if you can occasionally share their posts on your feed and tag them in it.

You never know – you might just have the same happen to you one day, putting your feed in front of another fashion influencer’s audience!

5. Get Sponsorships

Sponsorships for fashion bloggers are everywhere – you just need to know how to find them and how to have success with them.

Fashion is one of the top industries that looks for influencers like you to share your thoughts on new pieces of clothing or accessories.

One way some fashion bloggers work on getting sponsorships is simply by connecting with brands they want to work with on Instagram.

This is best for those who already have at least a small, established following with very engaged followers.

You can reach out via DM to see if the brand is interested in working with you, but it’s a good idea to foster a relationship and get on the brand’s radar first by spending a few weeks engaging with their Instagram content.

There are also influencer networks on the web that match influencers with fashion brands.

Style Coalition and iFabbo are a couple of examples.

These networks are excellent places to be if you have the required number of followers because they’ll hold your information and contact you if you’re a good fit for one of the upcoming campaigns, taking most of the hard work of finding brands to work with off your plate.

6. Consider Hiring Help as You Grow

Handling a blog and multiple social media accounts can be challenging if you’re doing it on your own, even before you’ve experienced a lot of growth.

It might help you to outsource some of your tasks to other professionals.

For example, you can hire a social media manager to take care of Twitter and Facebook so that you can stick to Instagram.

You could also hire a freelance writer to take some of the blog writing off your hands.

You may even want to hire a PR agent to help you find sponsorships, get your name out there, and grow your business to new heights.

Other Ways to Get Paid as a Fashion Blogger

Making it big on Instagram probably won’t happen overnight.

It’s a good idea to hop on some of these other pathways that can also bring you money as a fashion blogger, at least until your Instagram takes off.

Sponsorships on Your Blog or Other Social Media Channels

Just like you can get sponsorships on your Instagram content, you can also get sponsorships through your blog and other social media channels.

The fashion influencer networks you signed up for will probably have other opportunities outside of Instagram for you, too, so stick with them and keep working on growing all of your channels.

You can also directly reach out to brands for these sponsorships if there are some you’d like to work with in particular.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is perfect for fashion influencers!

You can use a network like ShopStyle Collective to create shoppable looks, widgets, and other tools that let you curate your favorite pieces and outfits for your audience to buy from.

Place your links in your social media posts or on your blog, and you’ll earn a commission when people use your links to purchase.

Creating Your Own Products

Do you have some talent when it comes to crafting, sewing, or maybe even writing?

You can create your own relevant products to sell on your website!

Maybe you can create fashion patterns for others to download and sell.

Or, maybe you can even create your own small fashion line!

You can also write a book on a fashion topic and sell that on your site.

If it’s relevant to your blog and your audience, it’s possible to sell.

Coaching or Styling

Work with your audience as a coach or personal stylist!

Use your love and knowledge for fashion to help others in the world of fashion.

You could also create fashion courses on Udemy or Skillshare to sell to your followers.

Freelance Writing

A bit of a different way to get paid as a fashion influencer is through freelance writing.

You already write for your own blog, so if you enjoy it, you can bring that writing talent to other blogs and get paid to write fashion articles.

Do a Google search to find fashion blogs that pay for guest posts by entering a keyword like “fashion blogs that pay for guest posts.”

The best thing about getting some posts on other sites is that your name and bio will be attached, usually with a link back to your site.

That’s a great way to boost your SEO and start driving more traffic to your blog!

Conclusion: How to Start a Fashion Blog on Instagram and Get Paid

Are you ready to build your brand as a fashion influencer?

I hope this guide helps you get there.

Are you experienced as a fashion blogger? I’d love for you to share any other tips you might have for others trying to break into the fashion business.

Those who are just starting out: Don’t forget to come back here and let me know how you’re doing in your new venture.