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I think my #1 tip is “Be able to reach the keyboard on your computer” Rosie is not an ideal blogger.

So you want to start a lolita blog! After blogging for two years (holy crap, I can’t believe it’s been that long), I’d say I had a little perspective on what works and doesn’t for lolita blogs, and I thought I would share some tips and tricks if you’re just starting out.

  • Your blog name should be the same as your blog address, and preferably in the language you write in. I’ve noticed this quite a lot in lolita blogs. Conflicting address/titles or complicated names in other languages (most typically I see French or Japanese) can make it much harder for someone to find your blog! If you’re blog’s in English, give it an English title.
  • Be careful with layouts. Make sure your layout is at least somewhat clean-looking, easy to read, and easy to navigate. Avoid neon colors, giant banners, too many animated gifs, etc. Oh and avoid music that automatically plays. I know if a site has music that starts automatically, that’s a sure fire way to get me to close the tab, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
  • Don’t steal other’s photos. I know I’ve talked about this briefly before, but it’s just tacky. Invest in a camera (just a point-and-shoot will do, they work well and they’re reasonably priced) and take your own photos. Or if you can draw, do that!
  • Try to find a little bit of a niche. There’s a lot of lolita blogs out there. I should know, I upkeep the EGL community’s blog list, and I add about a blog a week! You don’t have to talk about one lolita-related subject all the time, but if you’ve got a strong interest in makeup, sewing, or something else more specific, definitely do posts related to that. It can help you build a following of readers with similar distinct interests.
  • Get some basic image editing skills! GIMP is a great free software, and there are lots of photo editing tutorials online. Basic things like cropping, resizing, and adding text can really help.
  • Do a test run! Before advertising anywhere, set up an account, fiddle with the layout, and start posting. Try it for a couple of weeks. It’ll help you see whether or not you’re cut out for blogging. It’s easy to lose steam if you’re not accustomed to it or if you just don’t have enough of an interest. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just better to know before posting your info everywhere.
  • Advertise! But not too much. It’s pretty reasonable to link your blog in forum signatures, on your lj, facebook, twitter, etc. But making 80 posts on the EGL LJ community about blogging won’t help, it’s just seen as rude. One post to introduce your blog and ask for suggestions or the occasional post if you’re advertising contests (make sure to ask permission first) is totally fine.
  • Don’t expect to be SUPER POPULAR OMG overnight, or even ever. There’s a lot of great blogs on the internet that have a small readership. It doesn’t mean your blog is bad, the internet is a huge place! Plus, your blog should be more about sharing what you love and documenting things for yourself than getting tons of followers or hits.
  • Post regularly! You don’t need to post every day or anything, but once or twice a week is nice. If you go without posting for months a time without any particular reason, blogging might not be for you.
I hope this is useful for someone! It can be a bit daunting to start a blog, so I hope that these tips can make your journey into blogging a little bit more smooth.