Top 5 Mistakes Made by Beauty Bloggers
How often do you read a beauty blog that is supposed to be a product review but instantly regretted reading it because the content isn’t relevant or comprehensive enough to help you make an informed decision? I enjoy reading beauty blogs because I like to learn about different beauty products and I’d love to hear from reputable beauty bloggers on their take on certain products.
With the same passion, I started blogging about beauty products and services too and I understand that it might get stressful if these products / services are being sponsored. So I want to share with you the top 5 mistakes beauty bloggers make during their course of blogging. Do note that this post is not meant to shame any bloggers out there but to educate so that we can learn from their pitfalls and avoid committing the same mistakes too.
Mistake #1 It is Beyond Beautiful Photos
My Current Skincare Products
Toner: Magic Water from WeCoMed Clinic; Essential Oils: Lavender, Tea Tree, Frankincense & Carrot Seed (Click here for more); Blackhead Control Serum: W.B. Control from Nardia Laboratory; Moisturiser: 7-in-1 Pore Refining Hydrator Serum from SkinLYcious
Do readers read beauty blogs just to see beautiful product photos?
I agree that a picture speaks a thousand words but well, we read beauty reviews to find out whether the products / services are as advertised before we “invest” in them. So looking at mere beautiful photos actually don’t do much help.
Rather than beautiful product photos, we are looking for before / after photos instead.
If you’re uncomfortable to go bare-faced in your photos or show your face, you might reconsider doing beauty blogging because readers want to see RESULTS. They will not be convinced till they see the results on you.
Mistake #2 Lengthy, Uninteresting Content
Let’s face it – the attention span of an average adult is approximately 8 seconds. In fact most healthy teenagers & adults are unable to sustain attention on one thing for more than 20 minutes at a time.
So your content needs to be catchy enough to attract your readers so that they will go easy with the scrolling and read your blog in detail – you’ve got only 8 seconds.
Sometimes you tend to get carried away with your emotions when writing your blog reviews. However, please at least breakdown your text into easy-to-digest chunks so that readers are able to focus on the points you want to put across.
“We live in the Era of Information. Your audience WANTS to learn and dig deep, but they just want to do it in a way that matches their short attention span and need for engaging info. ”
Mistake #3 Wrong Focus
Hair c/o Chez Vous Hair; Sunnies from Cotton On; Jacket from ZARA; Shoes from Sketchers
Many beauty bloggers blog for the sake of receiving sponsored items. In short, they blog for a living.
There is nothing wrong about it because we need to feed ourselves at the end of the day.
However if you focus on pleasing your sponsors – be it PR Agencies / Brands, your blog will be tailored for the eyes of your sponsors & you will never get authentic readers…
As bloggers, we are the BRIDGE between readers (aka consumers) and brands. So if we craft our content solely to please our sponsors, consumers generally not be attracted to read our blogs and hence will not even buy anything from brands.
Mistake #4 Inadequate Product Knowledge
Hair c/o Chez Vous Hair; Sunnies from Primark; Cecilia Flutter Top from TOBI; Shoes from Heatwave Shoes
To be an effective salesman, you need to know your products well in order to give a good pitch.
As for beauty bloggers, we are not exactly selling. Rather, we are educating our readers about the benefits of the products we are featuring on our blogs.
For instance, when I blogged about my love for essential oils, I tried to educate my readers about what essential oils are and why the quality & purity of the oils is so critical. The reason is because I wanted to get as many people off chemicals as possible and if my readers are to buy a cheapo oil from the grocery store after reading my blog post, it literally defeats the purpose as they are slathering toxic on their skin by using oils that are not pure.
Similarly for blogging about beauty products, we need to at least check the labels to see if they are suitable for those with sensitive skin or not. Like it or not, it’s a fact that we owe a duty of care to our readers. We don’t want our readers to head to the store to buy a bottle of Sleeping Mask thinking that it is hydrating after reading from our blog review that “it absorbs like a moisturiser” but yet it does nothing to hydrate the skin.
Once, a reader emailed me after reading my blog review about my private Korean Makeup Lesson with a professional makeup artist. She enquired about my schedule and fees to teach makeup lessons. Apparently she scrolled through my blog post without reading it… Do I blame her for not reading my post in detail? I simply replied her politely that I do not teach lessons & directed her over to the professional makeup artist instead.
In conclusion, don’t get overly paranoid about what our sponsors will think if readers leave comments that are irrelevant to our blog content. That doesn’t show that our blogging skills suck – it shows that at least we have genuine visitors that pop by our blogs & happen to be interested in the products we are featuring! Just be gracious and guide them back to the right path if they happen to misunderstand our blog content.
Mistake #5 Lacking Your Own Voice
Hair c/o Chez Vous Hair; Sunnies from Primark; Cecilia Flutter Top from TOBI
People tend to connect better if you write in your own voice. There is no need to portray that you are high & mighty in your blog – just be yourself and enjoy the writing & engaging process!
Focus on adding value to your readers and educate them on how they can improve their lives – your passion in this blogging journey will attract like-minded readers along the way and you will be able to grow your own tribe in time to come 😉
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Your Favourite Beauty Bloggers?
Do you read beauty blogs for recommendations too?
If so, what are some of your favourite beauty blogs & why do you look up to them?
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