How to Start a Beauty Blog
The barriers to getting online and starting a blog are lower than ever.
There are millions of published blogs — over 570 million, and that number keeps growing. And nowadays, it’s easy to start a blog with no technical knowledge.
If you have a passion for beauty, skincare, and appearance, then creating a beauty blog is a great outlet for you. With a blog, you can share your passion with the world, earn income, and potentially make a name for yourself in the industry.
The beauty business is booming and is anticipated to grow annually at 5.1%. The sooner you get started and make your mark, the better your chances of establishing yourself as an essential part of the industry.
Today, we’re talking about how to create a beauty blog. From planning, creating, branding, building, marketing, and best practices — we’ve got you covered.
Keep reading to learn how to start a beauty blog step-by-step.
Start a Beauty Blog
Beauty blogs are popular and there are quite a few out there you can look to for inspiration before starting your own.
Why do people start beauty blogs? There are many reasons, but here are some of the common ones:
- Connect with a wide audience of other beauty aficionados.
- Provide tutorials on how to achieve the perfect look.
- Build a brand.
- Become an authority in the beauty industry.
- Earn an income doing something you love.
- Inspire confidence in others.
- Access to exclusive or limited edition merchandise and samples.
What is your motivation to start a blog? Your reasons and motivations will help inform the type of blog you ultimately create and the audience you target.
How to Create a Beauty Blog
You wouldn’t build a house without a framework, and the same thing is true for your blog. Now that you’ve had some time to think about your motivations and reasons for starting a blog, it’s time to plan.
There’s no right way to plan your blog — some prefer good ol’ pencil and paper and others prefer to keep their plans online. If you choose the latter, consider using a tool like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Both offer the ability to create, edit, and track documents from wherever you have an internet connection. Your plans are your blog’s roadmap, so you’ll want to keep a record of them to refer back to and make adjustments as your blog grows.
What kind of planning is needed to start your beauty blog? Let’s look at what it takes.
Decide on Your Audience and Niche
We see a lot of first-time bloggers fall into the trap of thinking that they’ll make waves and draw lots of visitors by creating a broadly generic blog that “appeals to everyone.”
But here’s the thing… nothing appeals to everyone.
If you want to establish a well-known and trusted beauty blog, start small and identify your niche. Doing this allows you to define your target market and create content for your blog that resonates with your readers.
Let’s work on defining your niche. Your niche is “the industry or genre that you specialize in and the types of products or services you offer.”
Beauty is a great place to start, but it isn’t your final niche. Think of beauty as a large, overarching category comprised of many subgroups.
Are you an expert on eye makeup? Is your take on beauty inspired by your culture or how you identify?
Representation is important, so for example, your blog could focus on “Indian beauty” or “Trans beauty.” Even those niches could be further refined. Perhaps your beauty blog isn’t about everyday looks and instead focuses on extreme makeup tutorials. The more you narrow your niche, the more your blog will benefit.
What Are Your Goals?
What do you hope to accomplish with your beauty blog? Take some time to think about your goals and how your blog can support them.
Want to make revenue? That means you’ll need a hosting plan that offers eCommerce functionality. Just hoping to make connections in the biz? A more basic hosting plan could do the trick.
At this point, it’s okay to keep your goals high-level. However, as you work on your blog you’ll want to create smaller S.M.A.R.T. goals to keep you on track.
Building Your Beauty Blog
So, are you ready to turn this blog idea into a reality?
To create a tangible blog you need two core things:
- A Domain Name.
- Blog Hosting and Building.
Domain Names for Your Beauty Blog
Ever heard the saying, “The first impression is the last impression?” Your domain name is the first impression someone will have of your blog, well before they ever land on one of your posts or makeup guides.
Now, we’re going to hazard a guess and say that, as a beauty aficionado, you understand a thing or two about appearances and impressions. Don’t you want your first one to be good?
With that said, let’s explore some domain name options.
You really have two choices when it comes to a domain name for your beauty blog:
- Purchase and own your domain name.
- Example: yourblog.com or beauty.blog
- Use a free subdomain that belongs to a larger business.
- Example: yourblog.othercompanyname.com
Of those two options, which do you think is the better choice for making a good impression? The one that emphasizes your blog and your brand — or the one that advertises for another company in the domain name?
Obviously, we think the first option is the better choice for anyone looking to establish themselves as an authority in the beauty blogging sphere.
When you register your domain name, you’re its sole owner for the duration of your registration period. Domain name registrars offer multiple-year registration lengths, and good domain registrars offer a way to auto-renew so you never lose your domain name.
Getting a free domain name sounds too good to be true… because it is.
If you run a quick online search for “free blogging platforms” you’ll see a plethora of results. These services are great for the casual blogger who doesn’t intend on growing their blog into their own business or brand. When you create an account with one of these services they offer a free domain name, but be aware that what they’re giving you is really a subdomain. It’ll look something like this: yourblog.bloggingservice.com.
Why is that an issue? Well, if you want to move your blog to another service, you don’t get to take that domain name with you. That means you’ll have to start from square one all over again.
And what if you want to monetize your blog by running ads? Most free blogging platforms don’t give you an option to do that or they might give you a small percentage of the profits from the ads that they run on your blog. Doesn’t sound like a fair deal to us.
Tips to Choose a Domain Name
When it comes to choosing a domain name, you can get as creative with it as you can with your makeup.
While it’s true that .com is the most popular domain name, it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wide array of available domains. It’s also notoriously difficult to get the .com you want because it’s been around so long that many highly desirable .coms have already been registered.
So what are these other domains you should consider? For starters, there’s .blog. That one seems pretty straightforward. Is your blog going to focus on tutorials and makeup guides? There’s .academy, .camp, .expert, .guru, and .info, and we’re only just beginning.
No matter what domain name you choose, keep the following things in mind:
- Make it memorable.
- Keep it short and don’t get unique with your spelling.
- Think about keywords.
- Your readers will likely find your blog via an online search. Help those search engines know you exist by targeting the keywords your desired audience would use.
- Pass the radio test.
- If someone were to hear your domain name on the radio and never see it written down, could they make it to your blog? Keep the hyphens and irrelevant numbers out of your domain name.
Your blog is an investment in your future. While searching for the perfect domain name, you might come across some domains that are more expensive than others. Those domains are probably premium domain names. Premium domain names have already been registered, but whoever owns them has made them available for purchase.
Premium domain names are often short, memorable, and keyword-rich, and are perfect for brand-building. While they may cost more upfront, they’ll renew at regular rates, just like the average domain name, and they’ll only grow in value.
Once you’ve selected your domain name go ahead and register it. There’s no “holding” or “dibs” on domain names — what’s available today may not be available tomorrow.
Blog Hosting and Building Options
You can build and host your blog without any technical knowledge, we promise! If you want to build your blog by coding it, that’s an option, too.
WordPress
WordPress is an immensely popular choice for building websites and blogs. It’s a free open-source software that can be used and edited to build your site, and it powers 39.5% of all websites.
Depending on your skill level and technical know-how, you can either work directly with the WordPress code to build your site, or you can customize a WordPress theme. WordPress offers a great deal of flexibility and customization options, so even if you use a popular theme, your blog can differentiate itself from the rest.
At Domain.com, we offer a few different WordPress hosting plans for your beauty blog.
WP Live
If you’d like in-depth guidance and one-on-one support while working on your WordPress blog, our WP Live plans are the perfect fit. With WP Live, you get unbeatable WordPress help from experts who customize sessions based on your needs. Live screenshares and step-by-step walkthroughs make it easy to follow along and solve issues fast.
And we don’t stop with set-up assistance. When you use WP Live, you’ll receive the following features:
WordPress Hosting Plans
Want to use WordPress but don’t need as much assistance as our WP Live plan offers? We’ve got you covered.
Domain.com offers two WordPress hosting plans: WP Starter and WP Essential, both of which offer unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage, a customized control panel, and a plethora of pre-installed themes and plugins.
Our hand-picked selection of popular WordPress themes are sure to start your blog off right. With a multitude of customizable options, you can edit these themes to build a beauty blog that reflects your brand. And to optimize your initial setup, we automatically install and configure your WordPress website with some of the most helpful and widely-used plugins.
WebsiteBuilder
Getting your beauty blog online has never been easier. With Domain.com’s WebsiteBuilder, you can build your blog in minutes.
How does it work?
No time to waste wading through hundreds of templates? WebsiteBuilder has you taken care of. Our intelligent technology starts your blog design for you. Answer a few quick questions and our AI-powered builder will select the right layout, including images and initial content, for your site.
There’s no need to fret with code when you use WebsiteBuilder. Its mobile-responsive templates offer built-in design protection to help ensure your blog’s look stays consistent and professional across desktop and mobile devices.
Did we mention that it’s just fun to use? Our drag-and-drop functionality and image library (over 550,000 images for you to freely use!) make editing enjoyable. Or you can also upload your own images and logos to make your site completely personalized. We’re pretty serious about security though, which is why every WebsiteBuilder plan includes an SSL certificate to ensure your data stays safe.
And if you want to grow your beauty blog into an eCommerce site where you can sell your own makeup line (dream big, amirite?), WebsiteBuilder is there for you, offering everything you need to scale your online business.
Beauty Blog Content and Marketing
Once you’ve built your beauty blog, it’ll need some content.
Content is what engages your audience and keeps them on-site and interacting with you. As a beauty blogger, your content opportunities are as endless as your creativity.
It’s a best practice to create a content calendar, somewhere you can track all created and upcoming content to help you stick to a schedule. When you post consistently, your readers take note and will come back to your blog time and time again. Search engines are also fond of a regular content cadence or content updates.
Consider using cloud-based software, like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, to create and maintain your content calendar. This way, you’ll have access to view and edit it wherever you are and can share it with others if need be.
Beauty Content Ideas
What type of content should you create?
Blog posts are essential to success, but don’t stop there. Multimedia content is your best friend in such a visually-driven niche. Videos, infographics, GIFs, tutorials, and guides all appeal to your audience.
Here are some suggestions to spur your imagination:
- Product Hauls
- What are you shopping for? Share your latest finds with your audience and give them all the deets — where’d you get it? Why? What does it do?
- There are many ways to frame your haul, from seasonal hauls to specific-look hauls, your options are endless.
- “Get the Look”
- “Get the Look” type makeup tutorials are immensely popular! How many times have you seen a celebrity or influencer and thought, “I wish I could do my makeup like that,” or “I wonder how they get such clear skin”? If you haven’t, your audience certainly has!
- Not sure what looks to cover? Engage your audience by asking them and give the people what they want.
- Product Reviews
- Pretty self-explanatory. Buy a product, use it, and review it.
- Be helpful above all else. Sure, you can take two seconds to tell someone you did or didn’t like a product, but how does that help them? Tell them the why behind it. Did it make your skin super oily? Did it cause a breakout? Hard to blend? As you provide more information, your audience can make more informed decisions about what they purchase, and they’ll thank you for not wasting their time or money.
- “Empties”
- Okay, so why on earth would you want to share empty and used-up products with your followers? Because there’s no better testament to how much you loved that product!
- Recurring features
- Monthly favorites
- Weekly steals
- Recurring features lead to recurring visitors, so give them something to expect and look forward to on a regular basis.
Content Marketing
There’s one thing to always keep in mind when marketing your beauty blog: You are your biggest champion.
Want people to share your posts and tutorials? Ask them. Need subscribers? Ask them.
Your beauty blog is only part of your brand. We recommend supporting it with social media accounts where you can share your content, connect with like-minded individuals, and grow a larger audience. You don’t need to have a social media presence on every platform, but make sure you’re present in the channels that your audience uses. Instagram immediately comes to mind as a great option since it’s such a visually-forward platform.
Pro tip: Your social media handles should match your domain name for branding consistency.
Email marketing is another great way to keep your audience engaged. Include an email sign-up form on your blog so that you can share new blog posts or recently-published content with your subscribers.
And last, but certainly not least, focus on your SEO!
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s essential if you want to be found via online search engines. Now, it may sound counterintuitive, but SEO isn’t about optimizing search engines. Instead, it’s about optimizing your site so that it performs well in search results. We put together an SEO cheat sheet so you can create perfectly optimized posts, check it out here.
Monetize Your Beauty Blog
You’re putting a tremendous amount of thought and hard work into starting a beauty blog — why not make some money from it?
Remember, this isn’t usually possible when using large, “free” blogging services. If you’re hosting your blog and own your domain name, it’ll be a lot easier to monetize your blog.
To start, consider including ads on your blog. You can do this either by working directly with advertisers or by creating an account with Google AdSense.
If you choose the former and want to work directly with advertisers, then make it easy for them to contact you. Create an Ads Page on your blog that details important information for advertisers like your site traffic, views, and demographics, and mention what ad spots you have available. Don’t forget to include your contact information. You can then share this page with your desired advertisers while pitching your blog.
Start Your Beauty Blog Today
Ready to create your beauty blog? We’re excited to see it.
Once you’ve created your blog, drop a link to it in the comments below. We’d love to hear about your process and learn more about your experience. Don’t hesitate to share any tips or tricks you learned along the way, too.
