Do you spend hours in front of the mirror before going out or logging into Zoom? Do you know your Louis Vuitton from your Nike? Have you been spending a lot of time in your fashion hobby amid a pandemic? Maybe, you want to turn your love of fashion into hard cash. Monetizing your passion for fashion is a great way to earn extra money, especially if you’re still finding ways to recoup recent financial losses.
If you don’t know where or how to start, don’t fret. Here are some great tips to help you make it happen.
Start a Fashion Blog or Vlog
You’re not the first person to think of starting a fashion blog or vlog. You probably already follow one or two popular fashion bloggers or vloggers online. So, before you post your first blog or vlog, it’s important to pinpoint what you want to offer and determine your niche. Is there any topic or niche that hasn’t been explored online? Perhaps, you want to focus on styling tips, makeup tutorials, shoe reviews.
Once you narrow down your niche, think of your blog or vlog’s edge over other similar websites or channels online. One good tip to achieve this is to determine your audience. Imagine the type of person you want to reach with your posts or videos. What do they look like? What are their interests? How can you exactly help them? What platforms do they use to consume online content? All this information can help you create your blog or vlog’s tone, style, and branding. That way, you can attract the right group of audience.
Knowing your audience can also help you choose the right platform. If your target audience consists of women in their 40s who love to read news and articles online, starting a fashion website is a good choice. But if you want to reach out to a younger audience, you can’t go wrong with starting a YouTube channel.
Each platform can help you monetize your content. If you choose the blog or website route, you can earn through affiliate commissions. On the other hand, YouTube and Facebook reward channels and creators who’ve met a set of metrics. You can also partner with brands to make sponsored posts or videos online.
Sell Your Styling Expertise
Some people want to be told what to wear or a quick guide on how to refine their personal style. If you have the knack for giving tips and helping people look more confident, you can monetize your passion by offering one-on-one fashion advice. It’s easy to advertise your service online. You can start on social media and have friends as your first customers. Ask them to submit photos and tell them what’s working or not and how to improve their look. Depending on your capabilities, you can either stick to consultation or add another service, such as personal shopping. You can also build business pages on Facebook or Instagram or even set up a professional website to attract customers outside your circle.
If your styling expertise goes beyond clothing, you can consider other business avenues. A closet storage franchise opportunity is a good example. Help people design their walk-in closets in a way that reflects their fashion style and taste while making it easier for them to maximize storage space in their homes.
Run a Fashion Instagram Account
If you don’t want to spend hours shooting tutorial videos, writing long-form articles, or talking to customers, running a fashion Instagram account may be a good move. Similar to starting a blog or vlog, you should also determine your niche since Instagram is now full of fashion influencers. Find a way to stand out. Taking great photos and curating your feed won’t cut it. Knowing your audience could also help you in this case. Maybe, you want to focus on streetwear for short guys or androgynous fashion styling.
Once you figure out your niche and target audience, it’s time to focus on engagement. There are several ways to monetize your Instagram account. But the most popular and, arguably, most rewarding is working with brands through sponsored posts. Depending on your number of followers, niche, and other factors, you can earn thousands of dollars in just a few posts. But, of course, before you can cash in that kind of money, you have to build a following or community. That’s why engagement is key. Make sure every content you put out resonates with your audience, so they will like or comment on that post. Also, interact with your followers—reply to their comments, send them direct messages, or comment on their posts.
No matter the platform or service you choose to offer, monetizing your passion for fashion can be a good source of extra income. With hard work and commitment, you may even feel like you’ve struck some oil one day. You can eventually make a living by doing what you love most—and that’s the dream.
