Now that I know the logistics
of blogging, I need to figure out what to say (and how to say it). What kind of blog will accurately
represent The Pink Petticoat and speak to her shoppers? How do I find my voice – professional,
but fun, informative, but entertaining?
Here are 5 of my favorite blogs (industry and not) and what they bring
to the table:
The Lingerie Journal is a professional blog, serving as a “reliable source to help make your intimate apparel retail business thrive.” The LJ (as they call themselves) provides a source to retail lingerie stores for information about industry, events, marketing, collections, news, and more.
By offering information for retailers outside of brands and events
(like most industry blogs due), such as model information, marketing tactics,
and even a job board (at a retail and corporate level), The LJ maintains a
unique perspective into the wonderful world of lingerie. Branded as “expert advice or lingerie
retailers”, The LJ blog perfectly reflects that expertise in the amount and
variety of postings. It has a
feminine look that is reflected on all POP marketing material, as well as in
all booths at trade shows and events. The LJ drives traffic to the blog through a strong presence in person at
events and shows, as well as a strong presence on all outlets of social media (leading
back to the blog). It’s easily shared fresh content, and the longevity of the
subject matter make this blog a success.
In my opinion, nothing is missing on this blog. Up and coming brands often advertise on
this blog for the exposure (Lilipiache, Dear Kate).
The Suburban Jungle is
a recreational (bordering on semi-professional since she solicits advertisers,
yet doesn’t seem to have many besides other bloggers) blog. Jenny (the author) shares funny moments
from her life as a working mom, and lifestyle expert. Her blog is unique because she actually is a lifestyle
expert: “she’s the humor columnist for South Florida Parenting
Magazine (a Tribune Publication) and writes for multiple parenting sites. She’s
a featured writer on The Huffington Post Parents, Women, and Humor sections,
YahooShine, and has a weekly column at The Stir.” Jenny’s brand is being a fun, educated, and funny mom – who
maintains a full and active life outside of being a mom. All of is reflected on her blog through
her voice, images, and language. Jenny is active on all outlets of social media, driving traffic back to
her blog.
She also links to her
blog on all of her freelance writing pieces as well. She also is a frequent contributor on The Today Show,
utilizing multi media communication to promote her brand and blog. I think she could have better search
engine optimization. Outside of
being listed as a top “mommy blog”, it is hard to search for her via key
words. This blog is successful,
with links to all her social sites, and funny new content posted
regularly. All that is missing to
me is a more exciting layout. It
is a little drab. Some good
advertisers might be the Huffington Post, or other magazines or e-zines on
which she writes. Also, perhaps
she could find advertising from some mommy groups or websites.
Design Happy, the HomeGoods
blog, is a professional blog. Design
Happy has a team of bloggers that contribute of various topics. It serves as a place for customers to
find design inspiration, tips, and ideas.
Design Happy is a perfect reflection of the HomeGoods brand. It mixes eclectic ideas with
traditional design schemes, just like the store. It features items (or similar items) that can currently be
found in store. The layout of the
blog is similar to the store as well:
clean, organized, and easy to navigate. Design Happy is a sub page of the HomeGoods website, so
every website visitor is one click away from the blog. Since HomeGoods does not have online
sales (due to the constant change of inventory), their blog is the best way to
see the types of things and potential of things in store. The blog is also heavily pushed on
their Facebook page and other social media outlets.
The new, trendy, and frequently posted content, as well as
ease of subscription and sharing makes this blog successful. Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, and
recent pins are featured on the side bar.
Though not an option for this type of discount retailer, the only thing
missing from this blog is the ability to click through the featured products
and purchase them. There are no
advertisers, with the exception of HomeGoods itself. Since the goal is to drive business into their own stores, I
think it is best to have no outside advertisers.
The Lingerie Addict is
a professional blog written by Cora Harrington (sometimes referred to as
Treacle Tart). Cora covers all
brands and aspects of the lingerie industry, will a goal to be an inclusive and
informative blog for women of every shape and size.
Cora’s blog is unique because unlike most industry blogs,
her perspective is one of a customer.
She started her blog simply out of a love for lingerie, and now uses it
as a platform to discuss brands, and educate women about proper fit, care,
styling, and quality of lingerie – really everything every woman should
know.
The Lingerie Addict is
branded as an expert on all things delicate, maintaining her place as the top
lingerie blog in the world, with over one million visitors. Her variety of articles and subject
matter, and her objective voice, confirm and reinforce this brand. High
presence on search engines (in the top 5 when searching “lingerie” and “blog”),
as well as a strong social media presence (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
Tumblr), drives traffic to her blog.
Cora hits every mark of a successful blog, leaving nothing missing to
the site visitor. She sells
advertising to some of the top online lingerie retail outlets, including both
fashions and accessories.
HelloGiggles is a
professional blog founded by three women (one being actress, Zooey Deschanel). HelloGiggles is a “positive online
community for women” and serves as a forum for all things that interest
women.
What makes HelloGiggles
unique from other blogs/online communities is that “snark, gossip, and cursing aren't allowed on HelloGiggles.” Deschanel tells Marie Claire, “I just felt it's important to teach
young girls to be strong people, to not think, I can't do this because I'm
worried about what people will say. There are worse consequences, but online
negativity stops people from being creative, part of which is having bad ideas
as well as good ideas. When somebody says, 'That idea's stupid,' you stop your
flow of ideas. We can't have the next generation be so afraid because they have
been attacked." This philosophy
directly reflects the brand – which is essentially positivity. Everything on HelloGiggles is positive
and upbeat, with articles like “12 Things That Make You So Happy, You Shouldn’t
Apologize, Ever”.
HelloGiggles has
high SEO, a strong presence on social media (I particularly love their YouTube Channel), a email newsletter, and constant promotion from its famous founders
driving traffic to the blog.
All
of this combined with fun, clever, and up-beat daily postings, HelloGiggles is
very successful. HelloGiggles
rotates advertisers, currently featured a young-adult friendly book. Other potential advertisers for
HelloGiggles might be other young women centric products: skincare, healthy living companies, and
TV shows that have a strong female lead present (The Mindy Project comes to
mind).
With these 5 blogs as
inspiration, I am confident that I can find a voice, and build a presence, for
my blog as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment