Rudolph, Franziska

Successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs - The Business, Marketing
and Benefits
This Thesis is submitted as partial fulfillment for the award Bachelor of Arts in
International Business Management
Franziska Rudolph
Student No: 283296
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Markus Birkenkrahe

Second Reader: Prof. Dr. Carsten Birkenkrahe
Berlin School of Economics and Law

August 2013
12 029 words
2
I Abstract
This research paper presents a set of parameters by which Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs
Business Intelligence is defined.
Approximately 20 Million blogs perform within the area of Fashion and Lifestyle,
representing the most popular blogosphere. Thousands to millions of admirers follow blogs
every day transforming the people writing the blogs the bloggers - into idols and icons in
their field of expertise. Subsequently Fashion Bloggers stage a new form of marketing tools as
their audience rises.
Three blogs have been actively followed for three months serving as case studies to analyze
current successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs. The qualitative research was concluded with
one questionnaire and three interviews. The interviewees were judiciously chosen to cover
different perspective of the subject.
Though the central focus is on a framework on how to establish a successful blog, issues about
marketing, potential sources of revenues, creation and style are essential to this thesis.
Conclusively one omnipotent framework cannot be given, as a) the research is qualitative and
b) the research did not uncover such.
A quantitative research would more valuable clues and possibly also an invincible solution
joined with premises.
3
II Acknowledgments
I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Markus Birkenkrahe for the
useful comments, remarks and quick engagement through the learning process of this
dissertation that helped to coordinate my project. Furthermore I would like to thank Manuela
Sacco for introducing me to the topic during my semester at the European School of
Economics in Milan. A special thanks to the participants of the interviews, who have willingly
shared their knowledge and opinions. Additionally I thank all of the 152 participants of the
survey, who have contributed their views.
4
III Definitions
Fashion:
general definition for a common style, especially
in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup; in what a person dresses; newest creations of

textile designers.
Lifestyle:
typical way of life of an individual, group, or culture and how Fashion
infuses in aspects of ones lives (Jackson and Shaw, 2006).

Style:
goes beyond Fashion, expresses a persons taste and charisma through
the clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup he wears

Style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma. Fashion is something that
comes after style. John Fairchild
Fashions fade, style is eternal. Yves Saint Laurent
Impressions:
measure of number of times an ad is displayed, whether it is clicked on
or not; refers to a page impression, synonymous with page view

Viewers:
only visits the site once, no further clicks are made, views only the
Home page
Visitors:
visits the site, stays longer, returns
Unique Visitors:
visitors who return to site, are only counted once
Blogs refer to Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs.
5
IV List of Tables
Table 1
E-Mail Interview Partners
p. 21
Table 2
Foundation for Business Intelligence of Fashion
p. 66 (mentioned p. 26)
and Lifestyle Blogs

Table 3
Achievements of The Blonde Salad
Table 4
Summary The Blonde Salad
Table 5
Scenario Analysis for CPM Calculation on The
p. 43
Sartorialist
Table 6
Achievements of The Sartorialist
Table 7
Summary The Sartorialist
Table 8
Summary Gary Pepper
Table 9
Summary Framework
6
V List of Figures
Figure 1
Blogs in Millions from 2006 to 2013
Figure 2
Degree Centrality Visualized
Figure 3
Betweeness Visualized
Figure 4
Closeness Visualized
Figure 5
Identity Prism
Figure 6
The Blonde Salad Header
p. 31
Figure 7
Details about Brands displayed on TBS
p. 33
Figure 8
Structure of the TBS Website:
Figure 9
Linkage between the 9 platforms
p. 35
Figure 10
Two Tweets by TBS of 07th July 2013,
p. 36
2.29pm (GMT)
Figure 11
The Sartorialist Header
p. 40
Figure 12
Structure of The Sartorialist Website
Figure 13
Details about Brands displayed on
p. 48
Gary Pepper
Figure 14
Gary Pepper Header
p. 49
Figure 15
Structure of Gary Pepper Website
7
VI Affidavit / Eidesstattliche Erklrung
I declare that I wrote this thesis independently and on my own. I clearly marked any language or
ideas borrowed from other sources as not my own and documented their sources. The thesis does
not contain any work that I have handed in or have had graded as a Prfungsleistung earlier on.
I am aware that any failure to do so constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism is the presentation of
another person's thoughts or words as if they were my owneven if I summarize, paraphrase,
condense, cut, rearrange, or otherwise alter them. I am aware of the consequences and sanctions
plagiarism entails. Among others, consequences may include nullification of the thesis, exclusion
from the BA program without a degree, and legal consequences for lying under oath. These
consequences also apply retrospectively, i.e. if plagiarism is discovered after the thesis has been
accepted and graded.
Ich erklre hiermit, dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbstndig verfasst und nur die angegebenen
Quellen und Hilfsmittel benutzt habe. Wrtlich oder dem Sinn nach aus anderen Werken
entnommene Stellen sind unter Angabe der Quelle als Entlehnung kenntlich gemacht. Die Arbeit
enthlt kein Material, das ich bereits zu einem frheren Zeitpunkt als Prfungsleistung eingereicht
habe.
Mir ist bewusst, dass die ungekennzeichnete bernahme fremder Texte oder fremder Ideen als
Plagiat gilt, selbst wenn diese zusammengefasst, umschrieben, gekrzt, oder anderweitig verndert
wurden. Die Konsequenzen eines Plagiats sind mir bekannt. Die mglichen Konsequenzen
umfassen, unter anderem, ein Nichtbestehen der Bachelorarbeit, den Ausschluss von weiteren
Prfungsleistungen im Studiengang, oder zivilrechtliche Konsequenzen, die mit dieser
eidesstattlichen Erklrung verbunden sind. Diese Konsequenzen knnen auch nachtrglich zur
Anwendung kommen, also nachdem die Arbeit angenommen und korrigiert wurde.
My name:
Title of my thesis:
Date:
Franziska Rudolph
Successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs - The Business, Marketing and
Benefits
30.07.2013
Signature:
8
VII Table of Content
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 10
1.1 Problematic ...................................................................................................................... 10
1.2 Motivation ....................................................................................................................... 11
1.3 Intention and Research Questions ................................................................................... 11
1.4 Composition of Thesis..................................................................................................... 13
1.5 Choices of Examples ....................................................................................................... 13
2 Literature Review ................................................................................................................... 14
3 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 20
3.1 Research Approach .......................................................................................................... 20
3.2 Desk Research ................................................................................................................. 20
3.3 E-Mail Interviews ............................................................................................................ 21
3.3.1 Method ...................................................................................................................... 21
3.3.2 Procedure .................................................................................................................. 22
3.4 Survey .............................................................................................................................. 22
3.4.1 Method ...................................................................................................................... 23
3.4.2 Procedure .................................................................................................................. 23
3.5 Analysis of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs ......................................................................... 24
3.6 Research Limitations ....................................................................................................... 24
4 Foundation for Business Intelligence of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs .................................. 26
5 Overview of Current Fashion and Lifestyle Blogging Environment ..................................... 27
5.1 Media Advertence ........................................................................................................... 27
5.2 Readers ............................................................................................................................ 27
5.3 Environment .................................................................................................................... 29
6 Case Studies ........................................................................................................................... 31
6.1 Chiara Ferragni - The Blonde Salad ................................................................................ 31
8
9
6.1.1 Creation ..................................................................................................................... 32
6.1.2 Business .................................................................................................................... 32
6.1.3 Marketing and Revenues .......................................................................................... 32
6.1.4 Website Structure ...................................................................................................... 34
6.1.5 Social Interaction (from 07th July 2013 ) .................................................................. 35
6.1.6 Achievements............................................................................................................ 38
6.1.7 Summary ................................................................................................................... 39
6.2 Scott Schuman The Sartorialist .................................................................................... 40
6.2.1 Creation ..................................................................................................................... 40
6.2.2 Business .................................................................................................................... 41
6.2.6 Achievements............................................................................................................ 45
6.2.7 Summary ................................................................................................................... 45
6.3 Nicole Warnes Gary Pepper ........................................................................................ 47
6.3.1 Creation ..................................................................................................................... 47
6.3.2 Business .................................................................................................................... 48
6.3.6 Achievements............................................................................................................ 51
6.3.7 Summary ................................................................................................................... 51
9 Framework for Business Intelligence of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs .................................. 53
10 Food for Thought - Fashion Blogging vs. Fashion Journalism............................................ 57
10
1 Introduction
This first chapter hosts a brief background of Fashion and Lifestyle blogging as well as
todays media view on bloggers. In addition, it states my own stand towards blogs and
continues with the thesis intention and research questions.
The structuring of the dissertation is described to further understand the thread throughout
the discourse. Lastly the chosen blog examples are being first appointed and then justified as a
fitting example for this work.
1.1 Problematic
Fashion is no longer an expertise of designers, stylists and Fashion journalists. It-Girls, muses,
musicians, models, practically everyone has a say in Fashion nowadays. One of the loudest
voices has the Fashion bloggers.
In 2011, The New York Times (Kurutz, 2011) published an article about the rising influence
of bloggers focusing mainly on Fashion and modern art. From being seen as Fashion obsessed,
bloggers evolved into tastemakers and savvy marketers. They have representation
management in multiple cities reevaluating their talents. IMG Talents represents Nicole
Warne, the blogger behind Gary Pepper worldwide, following the example of NEXT Model
Management in New York City who manages eleven bloggers, also Chiara Ferragni from The
Blonde Salad. Were treating bloggers as the next generation of people who will be used for
advertising, NEXT explains. In fact Lindsey Calla from Saucy Glossy was the face of the TJ
Maxx 2011/12, Gap used Susie Bubble in a campaign 2010 and Scot Schuman was hired as
early as 2009 by Burberry to shoot for their Art of the Trench project.
This noticeable change of protagonists in advertising developed in the 1990s when Jane
Procter and Kate Reardon, Fashion editors for the Tatler Magazine, started to photograph all
its Fashion content on real people. In the past and also now, readers are more interested in who
the model is than who the designer is. Furthermore, Reardon suggested that the audience is
10
11
more interested in real life people as they can identify themselves with them. (Jackson &
Shaw, 2006)
Bloggers, especially in Fashion and Lifestyle are followed by thousands to millions of
admirers every day. They become idols and icons in their field of expertise, but preserve their
independence and nativeness making them more approachable. Subsequently Fashion bloggers
become the new models and muses. Writing a successful blog and having a good management
allows going beyond advertisement. Fashion and Lifestyle bloggers can earn money by selling
ad space, collaborating with brands, hosting events, and writing sponsored posts.
Fashion and Lifestyle Bloggers are a market of a new generation of Fashion experts, Fashion
journalists and marketing tools. Nowadays, they are the designers, stylists, journalists, muses
and models.
1.2 Motivation
Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs are part of my professional, academic and private life.
Working in the Fashion and modeling industry allows me to have an insight on talent
management. IMG, International Management Group, the company I work for, represents
Nicole Warne, as mentioned above, giving me the opportunity to directly follow the
representation of a Fashion blogger. Furthermore a certificate obtained in Fashion and Luxury
Management provides me with a profound knowledge in the field of marketing and the
employment of bloggers. Moreover I follow 57 bloggers through facebook and 23 on
instagram and I have 5 blog subscriptions.
Ultimately I want to start writing a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog myself, with reflective
information at hand.
1.3 Intention and Research Questions
The information on Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs and Blogging is reasonable comprehensive.
Especially studies about the particular influential blogs and the individual profiles of the
11
12
bloggers are widely found and well researched. But the actually way to success is not covered.
The parameters are so diverse that an exact rule of success is hard to find.
In my dissertation I want to explore the parameters of a successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blog.
The three main fields that will play a big role are the business creation, marketing and benefits
of blogging.
The area of business creation will include the questions of:

-
How to write a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog?
Which blog engine to use?
Which style of communication to use?
How often it should be updated?
What should a blog look like?
When talking about marketing the main points will revolve around the following:
-
Which blogosphere is the blog part of?
How can the social networks help?
How competitive is the market?
What role does marketing play for bloggers?
Benefits will be spoken about in regards towards:

-
How to make money with blogging?
How can blogging enhance a career?
Conclusively the central topics circulate around:
Parameters to a successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blog
Most efficient and effective method to promote a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog
How to use blogs as a basis for a business creation
Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs as the main income source
To find a framework, in which the business intelligence of Fashion and Lifestyle blogging is
limited, will be the aim for my paper.
12
13
1.4 Composition of Thesis
With the already available sources and autonomous interviews and surveys my problematic
covers the success of the Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs in perception of their business building
process, marketing strategies and their gain; not only in monetary terms.
The research method applied will be qualitative within a tight design.
It will start with a basic research and will continue to be applied research and terminate as a
summative evaluation of research.
Literature search, personal interviews, one survey and case studies on three blogs are used to
transpose.
1.5 Choices of Examples
Three Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs are analyzed in this paper: The Blonde Salad by Chiara
Ferragni, The Sartorialist by Scot Schuman and Gary Pepper by Nicole Warne.
Each one of the blogs belongs, at least, to the blogosphere of Fashion and Lifestyle, ensuring a
qualitative comparison. Moreover the blogs were launched from different countries, Italy, the
U.S. and Australia not limiting this research to one particular market.
The Blonde Salad by Chiara Ferragni was chosen to highlight the importance of the social
media networks due to her many followers on various platforms.
Presently, The Sartorialist by Scot Schuman is the most influential Fashion blog. His success
will be taking in great consideration when it comes to the effective creation of a blog.
Additionally, The Sartorialist became one of the most expensive blogs to advertise on. Using
the CPM method he sells ad space to a very lucrative price, taking as an example for the
paragraph about financing a blog.
Gary Pepper by Nicole Warne was selected due to my work related connection.
13
14
2 Literature Review
The following will explore the existing data on the subject in a broad and overview manner.
To better understand the concept of blogging, the evolution of the Web 2.0 and the
development of blogs itself inform as an introductory part. A short paragraph is given to the
analysis of social media to give a synopsis to the influence of these networks. Additionally
Fashion and Lifestyle coverage is communicated, followed by the subject of marketing. For
completion of the topic one section briefly indicates the definition of a start-up, to lastly
summarize.
Internet and Web 2.0

Two decades after the arrival of the Internet (Corner, 2006) with almost two and a half billion
internet users worldwide in 2012 and reaching more than 2.5 billion in 2013, it has become
one of the primary points of access for communication, sales, education, news and
entertainment. With the help of the in 1999 coined Web 2.0 it offers vast opportunities to
reach people in an effective and fast manner. (Graham, 2005) Thanuskodi characterizes a Web
2.0 using website as allowing its users to interact or collaborate with each other in a social
media dialogue as creators of user generated content in a virtual community (Thanuskodi,
2010 : 70). Blogs and Social Media like Facebook, twitter, Google+, instagram and YouTube
are only a few examples using Web 2.0 with blogs being one of the earliest and most popular
Web 2.0 applications. (Chau and Xu, 2012)
Figure 1 indicates that 173 million blogs worldwide were online in 2011, this number
assumingly reaching over 200 million in 2013.
However blogs actually started arising more than 10 years ago. Shortly before Web 2.0 was
coined, in December 1997 the word Webblog was devised as the term for an online journal
web log, which was then shortened in April 1999 to the idiom blog. Though the word was
born then it took another two years until the first easy-to-use blogging tool Blogger was
launched by Pyra Lab. In 2003 Google bought Blogger transforming it to the orange colored
website that we know. Two years later also WordPress.com opened to private testing after
their Word Press 0.7 release in 2003. The same year in January the first Business Blogging
Summit took place to raise attention to the importance and influence of blogging.
14
15
Furthermore in 2005 Fortune Magazine ranked blogs as the most important tech trend of the
year. (Hussey, 2012 : 9) Acknowledging the impact, the Time Magazine names YOU the
person of the year 2006 due to the rise of blogs. Additionally its popularity is trailed by the
introduction of new blogging tools. Tumblr was launched in 2007, reaching 1 billion posts by
August 2010 and 10 billion posts in September 2011, only 13 months later. One of the latest
events took place in 2011 when Google launched Google+ and integrated it with Blogger.
(Hussey, 2012)
Blogs
In the past years blogs have evolved and came from listings of peoples interest in a website
format (Hussey, 2012 : 8) to be diary-style posts in reversed chronological order (Johnson
and Kaye, 2004) that record news and views of individuals. Generally these electronic
thoughts include about 300 500 words, and depending on the blog tool also, or only, pictures
and other visuals. Ultimately blogs are nowadays accounted for a mainstream media (MDM)
due to its easy access, rise in popularity, and daily importance. (Hussey, 2012)
After Hussey, Tumblrs, Posterous and others do not post researched facts but are very
subjective and biased. Nan Hu, Yi Dong, Ling Liu, and Lee J. Yao (2012) go further with the
significance of blogs and believe blogs are playing a role that is as important as that of
newspapers. Contrary to the general reflection definition of blogs by Hussey (2012), the
American and Chinese economists say that various blogs cover topics that are left out by the
mainstream media. It spreads the information wider and faster and also with in-depth
analysis. (Hu, Dong, Liu, Yao, 2012 : 8) They conclude their research with the findings that
blogs are seen as more credible compared with traditional news.
Nevertheless through the shared opinion pieces, reviews and information a connection
between the blogger and viewers is created. The different blog types spread from political,
health and travel blogs to Fashion and Lifestyle blogs. The common interest that the readers
and bloggers share form social links which can lead to blogrings by joining groups,
commenting, or subscribing to a blog and lastly create a so called blogosphere, a complex
social network. (Chau and Xu, 2012)
15
16
Analysis of blogs within a blogosphere
According to Chau and Xu (2012) three different types of measures can be used to examine
blogs within a particular blogosphere. They are based on the underlying social structure in
blogrings. It is termed Social Network Analysis, short SNA, and uncovers the patterns of how
the members of one blogosphere interact and collaborate.
The method lies within the concept of centrality. It aims to identify the most important, most
active and most prominent actor of the network. Hereby the degree, betweenness and
closeness of the various bloggers is assessed.
Degree centrality, in terms of blogging, identifies the activity of a single blogger within his
blogosphere. It is defined as the current direct relations of a single blogger with others, to the
maximum of possible direct encounters (Figure 2). The higher the number the more popular
and the more viewers a blogger has.
Betweeness principle recognizes the indirect connections the nodes between bloggers in the
blogosphere. These nodes are termed geodesics (shortest paths between two nodes) and
represent the communication within a network (Figure 3). A blogger with a high result in
betweeness presents a node himself, a link between different blogrings.
The sum of geodesics a particular blogger has in comparison to all other bloggers in a
blogosphere presents the closeness centrality (Figure 4). The less interaction the lower is the
closeness, which in turn results in less visitors therefore less popularity.
Thus, relationships between blogs have a high influence in the blogosphere. Chau and Xu
(2012) summarize the importance as the enabling of various network functions and processes
(e.g., information dissemination, innovation diffusion, and knowledge sharing) (Chau and
Xu, 2012).
Marketing Possibilities
With thousands to millions of visitors monthly within each blogosphere, blogs do not only
attract interested individuals but also sales oriented companies. Presently corporate
organizations are beginning to use blogs to enhance the communication with its customers and
to improve its marketing. (Bloomsbury Business Library)
Chau and Xu (2012) highlight the influence of bloggers and how they can benefit from a more
effective and efficient strategy. Likewise blogs present a source of first-hand knowledge about
16
17
feedback on products and services, of own company but also of competitors. Especially in the
Fashion and Lifestyle industry the potential in marketing and advertisement terms is immense.
In marketing, tools are used as precise as possible to the most fitting market. Consequently
blogs are segmented into different genres. Besides the different types that have been
mentioned before, the segmentation goes further and categorizes these into further sectors. In
Fashion blogging, one can differentiate between personal style (low and high budget) and
street style blogs, when founded by an individual. For company blogs the direction is paved by
the brands position in the market.
In Lifestyle blogging there is a fine line between those and online magazines. When
classifying Lifestyle blogs there are two main segments embracing-life blogs and urban
culture blogs.
When it comes to luxury brand marketing Kapferer and Bastien (2009) name the identity of a
brand the core. The management should aim for uniqueness and this without comparison to
others as they function in a creativity competitive world.
Considering a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog as its own brand, in a creativity competitive market,
the uniqueness of a blog can be judged by an identity prism based on the one by Kapferer and
Bastien (Figure 5).
The 5 elements that are characterizing a blogs identity are:
-
Reflection: readers view of the blog
Relationship: beliefs and associations
Personality: character and attitude
Culture: set of values
Self-Image: internal mirror of reader
Fashion Coverage
Living in a society where everything must be bigger, higher, faster and better, we are obsessed
with sports, health, entertainment, money, status and Fashion. Since the 90s the western
world has become conscious of the degree to which Fashion infuses their lives in most aspects
and defines what is now called their Lifestyle (Jackson and Shaw, 2006 : 154). Jackson
goes on and entitles our populations self-definition as expressed by the labels we buy. Due to
17
18
this power of brands, mainly in Fashion, we want to be informed and get as many insights as
possible.
Fashion gets more coverage in the media than any comparable area of human interest or
endeavor (Jackson and Shaw 2006 : 154).
When looking for the origin for Fashion reportage, the nineteenth century womens magazines
show first signs publishing repeatedly about clothes and designs. With drawings and later on
photos the essences of clothes were communicated focusing more on the visuals than on the
texts. Later in the 1990s this was followed by a coverage meant to amuse the non-fashion
aware. Even today media is addressing Fashion in a sensation-seeking manner. Reflective
features are being neglected, especially in television but also magazines. Once the Fashion
press did become a profession with an academic-influenced approach, journalists of this field
still had to proof themselves as equal peers to other writers. One reason might be the midtwentieth banal, exhortatory, gushingly descriptive, and tediously detailed style (Jackson
and Shaw, 2006 : 161). Nevertheless nowadays readers are fascinated to see actresses and
celebrities in brands that they wear as well. The population is more interested in who is
wearing what than who is designing what. This shift in acknowledgment can also be seen
when analyzing the audience of Fashion shows. Weeks are spent on the perfect seating plan;
especially the front row is given crucial importance. Where before there were buyers (prt-porter shows) and selected manufacturers (haute couture shows), there are now socialists,
Fashion bloggers, model agents and friends of the designers. A Fashion show evolved from a
solely marketing and sales oriented event into a media magnet that delivers insider
information and speculations about prominent figures. Fashion reporters come back from the
shows with uninformed information: not the designers thoughts or the writers but the
wearers (Jackson and Shaw, 2006 : 169).
The marketing and PR departments of the Fashion brands understood quickly that their
publicity and success is supported by the few socialites and celebrities and they are eager to
keep it. Consequently some journalists get denied access to certain Fashion shows due to their
perspective towards the brand or the designer. This in turn makes the crowd of viewers
grovel, seeking approval and renouncing control and integrity (Jackson and Shaw, 2006 :
170).
18
19
Due to the growing communication media the news on Fashion and Lifestyle are prompt and
immediately blasted to everyone owning internet competent devices. Thus the internet
presents the most efficient medium to package Fashion and its coverage. With short, jocular
and assertive posts a viewer is most satisfied as it does not like to scroll through long texts.
(Jackson and Shaw, 2006)
Start-Up
When being a new entrepreneur to create a business model which is repeatable and scalable as
a company, partnership or temporary organization is the aim. Moreover, growth is the greatest
component. A start-up commences with the development of its activities and thereby
researches for markets.
Branson (2012) states five factors to be successful of which two play a large role in blogging:
innovation and visibility (to enhance marketing effects).
You share, we connect (Hussey, 2012 : 13) presents not only the maxim but also the
essence of blogging. It became a new area for marketing and a new business of its own within
the precedent 10 years. Intertwining with the social media and being an instant news supplier
are the main arguments for its success. It serves as a new investigative source. Fast changes
are foreseen that will most likely adjust the path of blogging again in the future. (Hussey,
2012)
19
20
3 Methodology
The following paragraphs exhibit the applied research methods.

The starting sound desk research continued to develop into a progressing analysis of Fashion
blogs. A great focus was given to the interviews as these were by far the most valuable to this
thesis. Also, a survey was conducted to give more reasoning to the readers view on blogging.
3.1 Research Approach
By reason of becoming familiar with the subject and the prevailing sources about blogging in
general and Fashion and Lifestyle blogging in particular, firstly a broad but fundamental
knowledge was obtained. The data banks Ebsco and Statistica offered by the HWR Berlin
disclosed a vast variety of references and presented the main hub for my desk research. By
means of professional consultation I initially planned two different types face-to-face and email interviews. In the end, only e-mail interviews were conducted. This was due to a
difficulty of the geographic component of face-to-face interviews. Additionally a qualitative
survey was performed to get further information on the audiences needs, preferences and
opinions.
3.2 Desk Research
During the phase of desk research more than 50 articles, books, statistics, and graphs on
blogging were examined. Some dealt with general blogging. The primary source here was the
book Create your own Blog by Tris Hussey which holds general knowledge about blogs.
Others contributed information on Fashion journalism, marketing or social media. The
majority dealt with blogging in general having to apply it to the field of Fashion and Lifestyle.
Besides, most sources were written by US authors followed by French and authors from other
parts of the world.
20
21
The empirical work tries to gather an as complete as possible picture of blogging with the
focus on Fashion and Lifestyle. However not all of the available secondary sources can be
considered as this would exceed the scope of this dissertation.
3.3 E-Mail Interviews
Nowadays blogs do not only include the blogger anymore. The more successful a blog is the
more people are involved in it. It turns into a business that brings along collaborations, agents,
possibilities and others. Considering the extensive management that can result when writing a
successful blog, diverse people with different backgrounds were asked to be interviewed.
3.3.1 Method
Due to my personal interests, prior studies in Fashion Management and current work place, I
had access to great information suppliers. Some persons were consulted through their
management and some directly, and sometimes even the management turned out to be a fitting
interviewee.
Table 1 displays the field of profession and blog when given, name and focus of interview.
Table 1 E-Mail Interview Partners:

Field of Profession, Blog
Interview Partner
Focus of Interview
Blogger:
Caterina Ciacatani
Marketing,
www.facebook.com/funshiongr?fref=ts
Development, Chances,
Sales Manager at Studio Accessori
Future
Devotion in Greece
Jury Member
of
Blogger
Fashion Peyman Amin
Challenge by Deals.com and Media
Characteristics, Readers,
Management
Person
Model manager at JustWM, Manager of Stefania K.1
1
by request surname is not named
21
Management, Blog as a
22
Fashion Blogger Chiara Ferragni for
Brand vs Blogger as
French Territory
Brand, Marketing
Source: Author
3.3.2 Procedure
Seven different people were contacted by telephone and informed about the dissertation in
advance to an appointment request. Out of the seven invited interviews, three were undertaken
and are reflected upon.
Previous to the interviews, a focus was matched to each interviewee (see Table 1) to prepare
questions that are specific to each person leading to conclusions about particular topics.
Basically, the interviews were constructed into two parts; with part A being a short
introduction, that was used to identify the interviewee, and part B being mostly open
questions.
Each participant was given a two week reading period before contacting them again for the
results.
The objective of the interviews is the attainment of reliable, first-hand knowledge through
people involved in Fashion and Lifestyle blogging.
3.4 Survey
(Survey)
Blogs that are written, have to be read to get attention and eventually be successful. Thus the
readers are the most important factor. To highlight this reader-blogger relationship, a survey
was conducted.
22
23
3.4.1 Method
The three blogs that are being analyzed in this paper have an audience of an average of 20 till
35 year old readers and viewers. As my social as well as professional network include mainly
age groups from 18 to 30 year-olds, people were partly approached personally. To enhance the
number of participants the survey was spread digitally through the email server of the ECE
Bordeaux and the IBMan Office of the HWR Berlin, and lastly on facebook.
Using the Spanish free online software easygoingsurvey allowed to get 100 responses and a
succeeding analysis.
3.4.2 Procedure
Before composing the questions, the desk research was taken into great consideration as well
as the findings on the three blogs.
Eventually four parts of questions were created; the first being demographics. This
introductory element is very important to classify the different responses. Furthermore it
shows how biased the survey could be.
The second part concerns the bloggers. Even though the questions are designed to find out
about the readers, it will not miss the chance of getting another bloggers opinion.
The following section was then directed to the audience which was followed by questions
about satisfaction, applications, social media and general enquiries.
Lastly one open question was asked to give the survey participants the possibility to express
more thoughts on the topic.
In total 29 questions were posed and the survey was only active for one week.
The results of the survey aim to find out more about the readers of blogs, especially Fashion
and Lifestyle blogs. Harvesting the answers to a total will give on overview of todays current
blog audience.
23
24
3.5 Analysis of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs
From the start of the research, and privately before, five blogs are followed on a daily basis.
Each day their blogs, posts, facebook and instagram profiles are monitored. Weekly also their
other social media presences are examined.
Screenshots, notes, reading sessions as well as trial runs are assessed, resulting in a broad
analysis. Only three blogs were considered for this examination due to their relevance. The
others are, nonetheless, part of the overall outcome.
The findings are described and prcised in an ultimate table with common criteria for all three
blogs, allowing a comparison to eventually conclude a framework of successful Fashion and
Lifestyle blogs.
3.6 Research Limitations
The presented results should be considered within the context of limitations.
Firstly, only Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs created by private entities are being explored that
eventually gained international success. Secondly, all three blogs are now developed into a
business of a professional blogger.
With a qualitative research applied, there is a chance of biased analysis of observations plus
the credibility of the sources might not be equal. Besides it does not generate generalizable
results that are valid in wider implications. Moreover, a qualitative research is neither
prescriptive nor definite, implying further investigation.
The extent to which the dissertation is researched is limited to the following:
-
Importantly with respect to the current research, other interviewees and survey
participants may have produced different results. Furthermore different blogs being
analyzed could have constructed a different outcome.
The survey had to be conducted twice to reach more than 100 people, losing
participants in the loop. It also caused to be biased as participants could have done the
survey various times.
24
25
-
For the Social Network Analysis components the outcome is not put into relation to the
whole blogosphere, consequently no percentage is calculated, but rather an assumption
is undertaken.
Moreover other ways of SNA are being neglected, focusing only on three.
SEO will be neglected due to the complexity of the topic itself
It certainly requires further study for an overall systematic evaluation.

A new investigation should focus on more bloggers throughout more years, being able to
examine the development of followers and the point when the blog shifted from an amateur
blog to a professional blog.
25
26
4 Foundation for Business Intelligence of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs

(Table 2)
Each case study on the three blogs will be summarized in a table as shown in Table 2.
Following the findings of the empirical work, benchmarks were set. It will start with a general
examination of the content, website and audience to further describe the USP of the blog.
Thirdly the business will be introduced to lastly present the achievements so far.
The assembly of research material allows a qualitative comparison of the parameters to
ultimately develop a framework for successful Fashion and Lifestyle blogs.
26
27
5 Overview of Current Fashion and Lifestyle Blogging Environment
An exact number of how many Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs found on the World Wide Web
cannot be given.
According to Technorati Inc, in 2006, 10 % of all blogs, which they analyze, were Fashion and
Lifestyle Blogs. Now, seven years later, this number has, assumingly, increased. Figure 2
(blogs in millions from 2006 to 2013) shows a growth of more than 450 % in number of
overall blogs from 2006 to 2013. Supposing that the increase is originated in all types of blogs,
also the amount of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs has risen by 450% within the preceding seven
years. Consequently there are approx. 20 million Fashion and Lifestyle blogs online in 2013.
5.1 Media Advertence
The media reports on the latest news and trends. As Fashion and Lifestyle blogs publish the
latest trends and news faster due to the simple process compared to the route information takes
through a newspaper or magazine, the media is attracted by blogs with a double interest to
receive information faster and to make interesting information.
The importance of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs grew within the past years, calling bloggers
Fashion experts and transforming them into the new Fashion journalists.
Peyman Amin, model agent and media person, agrees, stating that indeed they have reached a
very high consideration up to leading decision makers. He goes on and further elaborates that
Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs have become a leading source for new trends and the latest
information in these areas. Nowadays they are actually considered as major opinion makers.
(Personal Interview, 2013)
5.2 Readers (Survey, p. 89)
The number of readers of blogs determines their popularity. The more people visiting a
particular blog, the higher the traffic on this website. The higher the traffic on the blog, the
greater the degree centrality, betweeneness and closeness.
27
28
110 000 viewers are counted on The Blonde Salad per day, more than 5 000 unique visitors on
Gary Pepper and almost 500 000 impressions on The Sartorialist.
These numbers show the importance of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs nowadays. The
blogosphere has opened new gateways to the industry and to the readers, allowing everyone to
take ownership of Fashion.
Though the followers of the three blogs analyzed in this paper are from the U.S., UK and
Australia, in general Israel is the country with the longest hours spent on social media and
blogs, mounting up to 11.10h monthly per person. (Statistica, 2012) This goes beyond the
checking in-and-out habit of other blog audiences.
The survey conducted for this research was taken in France, getting international responses but
focusing on the nations France (43.42%) and Germany (36.18%). Knowing that the reach of
social media and blogs in these two countries lies at 73% and 63% (Statistica, 2010) suggests
that the survey, though qualitative, is representative for at least France and Germany.
In Fashion and Lifestyle Blogging there is a larger number of females in the audience. 63.16%
of the people attracted to fill in the questions of the survey were female, the rest 36.84% were
male. Additionally the age of the general target group of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs, is
coinciding with the 84.87% of 19 25 year olds polled.
45.39% (plus 17.76% N/A) are reading blogs, indicating that half of the 19 -25 years old
population are interested in blogs. 41.94% follow Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs. Consequently
Fashion and Lifestyle represent the most popular blogosphere.
16.75% read blogs for faster news, and 16.21% for latest trends. A Swedish study underlines
these outcomes with their findings. (Jackson and Shaw, 2006) Fashion blogs are more
personable and also quicker in indicating upcoming trends.
Only few have a blog subscription, not realizing that most of them follow blogs on social
media platforms like Facebook (54.54%), twitter (14.29%), YouTube (13.00%), instagram
(15.58%) and Google+ (2.60%).
28
29
RSS, Rich Site Summary, which is supposed to summarize the interested information, is not
being used. 44.54% do not know RSS and out of the remaining 45.46%, 42.73% never use this
tool.
56.70 % of the audience wants to see images resulting in Facebook and instagram as the most
influential social media platforms, because these are picture-using media. 36.70% would like
to read full sentences, whereas notes are only enjoyed by 8%. Moving images are also very
popular with 46.70% of the viewer preferring videos.
The Blonde Salad updates her blog more than once daily, The Sartorialist averagely once a
day and Gary Pepper only five times per month. There is a wide gap. With the findings of the
survey, a frequency of weekly updates is optimal, but every other day preferable. 36.49%
follow a blog at least weekly. Moreover 41.44% prefer to receive interesting facts weekly.
Only 31.53% would like to get fitting news at least daily.
5.3 Environment
Analyzing Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs environment on the basis of Porters Five Forces leads
to the following statement:
Threat of new entrants: ~is low as the initial equipment is an internet connection and a
computer.
Threat of substitute products or services: ~there is no substitute with the level of

independence. Online magazine are the closest to a blog.
Influential power of readers: ~is high as they determine the number of hits and
therefore popularity.
Influential power of sources: ~is given. If i.e. a brand or designer does not invite a
blogger to a show, the blogger cannot directly blog about this particular show.
Intensity of competitive rivalry: ~is low. I.e. when reading blogs seldom to never are
there any unfair comments are pitches. But rivalry is given.
29
30
Summarizing, Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs are popular and rise steadily in number. They are
easy to create but require creativity and endurance to receive the needed attention by the
media and readers. The audience is generally female with a preference for pictures and
sentences on a blog. The readers mostly check the updates of a blog on social media networks
like Facebook, twitter, instagram and others, with a daily to weekly frequency. Blogs are
browsed to receive fast news and discover new trends. The media is interested, writing about
the blog or blogger in a story and using blog posts as a source for information and knowledge
because bloggers are currently understood as opinion makers.
30
31
6 Case Studies
The following analysis of three blogs will give insights to how a blog is created, worked on
and used for business. Each of the blogs will be examined in the fields of creation, business,
marketing, website, interaction and achievements. Lastly a summary with the template of
chapter 4 will be used.
The findings of the case studies will greatly influence the outcome of this dissertation.
6.1 Chiara Ferragni - The Blonde Salad
The Blonde Salad - www.theblondesalad.com - is a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog founded by its
editor Chiara Ferragni in October 2009 (Figure 6).
Figure 6 The Blonde Salad Header:
Source: The Blonde Salad, 2013
Chiara Ferragni is a 26-years-old Italian law student, part-time Fashion model, shoe designer,
and full time Fashion blogger. As one of the first Italian Fashion and Lifestyle blogs, detailing
her outfit choices reporting in English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, it attracts Italian and
31
32
international viewers. According to statscrop 30% are from Italy and the rest from USA,
Germany, Brazil, Japan, UK and other 15 countries. (Stats Crop, 2013a)
Today The Blonde Salad alias Chiara Ferragni is invited to the front rows at international
Fashion shows and collaborates with brands from Louis Vuitton to Superga.
6.1.1 Creation
After publishing her daily outfits, photographed by Riccardo Pozzoli, on Lookbook.nu and
flickr for years, she had a loyal fan base that followed her to her own website in 2009.
Within a short period of time, Chiaras blog grew immensely. Four years after the launch
110,000 viewers daily, more than 730.000 unique visitors and 9.000.000 impressions per
month interact with The Blonde Salad, short TBS.
Initially TBS used the blog engine Blogger by Google as the blog-publishing service before it
became its own domain. The advantage of Blogger is the easy transition into its own domain
along with the instant linkage to Google. (Hussey, 2012) Besides, Blogger does not directly
advertise on a blog. But it gives the possibility to later on add adverts to the page to earn
money. Meaning that when a by Blogger powered blog displays ads they are purposively
placed and are a source of revenue for the blogger.
6.1.2 Business
Whereas at the beginning the blog was run by Chiara Ferragni and Riccardo Pozzoli only, it
quickly evolved into a business: TBS CREW S.R.L. P.IVA 07310020966. CEO and CoFounder Pozzoli describes the company on his LinkedIn Profile as a Web-based Lifestyle
publishing, creative agency aimed to Fashion and luxury industry.
6.1.3 Marketing and Revenues
Kiver, a digital marketing enterprise is responsible for the advertising of TBS.

It is a marketing agency specialized in the development of digital initiatives to promote, brand
and interactively advertise. Based on digital contents, the realization is succeeded through
32
33
inbound marketing. Inbound-Marketing is a marketing method which is based on the
premises of the client finding the marketed product or service instead of it finding the client.
The core tool is the content delivered through blogs, podcasts, web-videos, ebooks, social
media etc. Potential clients are being informed about a product or service without being
intruded by it. (Luecke, 2006)
TBS posts always share, on the bottom of the page, what Chiara Ferrgani was wearing. Figure
7 shows an example from the post of 05th July 2013. There seems to be no rule of order, but a
random enumeration of the clothes and accessories worn. Black writing signals that there is no
link to an ecommerce offered. This can be either due to the reason that the brand does not
offer online purchases, i.e. for Chanel; or the product is not available anymore. In red are the
products which by clicking directly open a new tab in the internet browser to an ecommerce
website.
Figure 7 Details about Brands displayed on TBS:
Source: The Blonde Salad, 2013
The multi-brand ecommerce sites shopbop and net-a-porter are used the most frequent by
TBS.
Furthermore my investigation bared a transitional party. To get from TBS to an ecommerce

the visitor is being redirected through a third-party named rstyle.com. rstyle.com, is the web
presence of the London and Dallas based company rewardStyle. rewardStyle is a solitarily on
invitation-based internet tool for Fashion bloggers only. It allows to obtain a service to
33
34
monetize the content of a blog. It represents a source of income for bloggers that is hardly
visible for its viewers and visitors.
I.e. TBS posted her daily outfit on the 05th July 2013 (http://www.theblondesalad.com/2013
/07/hip-teens-dont-wear-blue-jeans.html#more-21185) and communicated the brands as
Figure 7 shows.
When clicking on
a new tab opens in the
internet browser. For less than a second one will be directed to rstyle.me,
before visiting the shopbob ecommerce website with the current Ray Ban sunglasses offered.
For every click from TBS through rewardStyle the TBS Crew generates revenue. Additionally,
when a visitor is purchasing a pair of i.e. Ray Ban sunglasses from shopbop after being
redirected to it, TBS earns a commission.
Assuming that the traffic is being recorded and can be reviewed by all parties, the hypothesis
can be made that the link between i.e. TBS and shopbop represents a possible collaboration
partnership. In the case that a large percentage of visitors of shopbop come from TBS, it
becomes a very interesting marketing tool.
6.1.4 Website Structure
When opening the website www.theblondesalad.com one is immediately fronted with the logo
of TBS (Figure 6). Underneath the different topics are listed. Starting out with two categories,
Home and About, TBS was similar to a blogroll in 2009. Now, in 2013 TBS houses eleven
tabs: Home, About, Press, Webpress, Editorials, Looks, Projects, Beauty, Travels, Whos
Hungry?, Categories. The latest one to be added was the food related topic. Other elements of
the website are shown in Figure 8.
34
35
On the Home page the latest four blogs are posted; one picture each plus the description in
English and Italian. The posts contain usually text. Stefania K explains that the most
important is the precision and pertinence of the text and that more than 20 lines are too
much. (Personal Interview, 2013)
By clicking on the picture or
the visitor is lead to the full post. Alongside
the first picture, more pictures and the clothing description on the bottom is published. TBSs
posts are detailed in images and complemented by the constant social media updates (see
chapter 6.1.5). She writes with a positive attitude, never criticizes and uses lots of descriptive
adjectives.
6.1.5 Social Interaction (from 07th July 2013 )
Every post, every publication is simultaneously networked with Facebook, twitter, Google+,
instagram, bloglovin, YouTube, flickr and pinterest. Meaning, TBSs social network accounts
resemble collections of the original blog with small adjustments.
Seven of the social networks are indicated on TBS side bar:
Figure 9 Linkage between the 9 platforms:

Legend:
linkage to TBS
linkage
from
TBS
linkage
from
twitter
no
links
Source: Author
35
direct
web
36
With every added social media network or internet platform more potential visitors are gained;
and every addition is valuable to the blogger.
twitter
As Figure 9 exposes twitter seems to be a great connection to other social networks. It is not
just in direct relation with TBS blog but also with instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
Two tweets can be read in Figure 10.
Figure 10 Two Tweets by TBS of 07th July 2013, 2.29pm (GMT):
Source: twitter.com/ChiaraFerragni, 2013
As
common
for
tweets
link
is
inserted;
here
fb.me/EADjdBoq
and
instagram.com/p/bdgxwfSDxj/ that when followed shows TBSs Facebook or instagram

profile. This exhibits a good example of how to rally multiple platforms. By linking them,
twitter followers are forced to become visitors of TBSs instagram or Facebook. Being on the
website can lead to following the profile, which will increase the number of audience
members. Till 07th July 2013, 31 912 tweets have been sent and the account is followed by 159
622 people.
Every of the 31 912 tweets is with a web link to another website, meaning that it can be
assumed that every link of each tweet has been visited. Furthermore, Chiara Ferragni tweets a
minimum of 15 times a day, increasing the traffic.
36
37
YouTube
150 videos have been uploaded by the 07th July 2013 and 22 048 have subscribed to the
channel.
Interviews with celebrities get the most views benefiting TBS and the celebrity. It can be
presumed that these interviews increase TBS popularity noticeably as she gains fans of the
interviewee as followers.
However the most viewed video is Chiara Ferragni: 17 things you don't know about me
published on the 16th December 2012. This indicates a switch in importance from the blog
itself to the person the blogger. In Figure 9 one can see that also the twitter account is not in
The Blonde Salads name but by Chiara Ferragni. This conforms to the statement made by
Stefania K, one of Chiaras managers at JustWM in Paris. The marketing is focused more on
Chiara Ferragni than on the actual blog. (Personal Interview, 2013)
Facebook
According to TBSs facebook it has 339 499 Likes, and 25 830 talking about this.
Additionally to the blog posts also other images are published. To the sole blog post, there is
an average of seven other complemented publications daily.
bloglovin
On bloglovin TBS has 186 862 followers. It simultaneously publishes the posts made on the
blog also on the bloglovin page.
flickr
flickr, the American by Yahoo powered online community, hosts images and video. When
clicking
on the Home page, a new page loads with the full post. Except
the first picture all photos by TBS are linked with its flickr account.
pinterest
13 624 people are following TBS on pinterest.
37
38
Google+
On Google+ 38 348 people decided to get the daily post updates by TBS. Plus, this social
media network is advertised on the left bar on the blog. Viewers are asked to follow TBS on
Google+, assumingly because it is predicted that this social media will gain in importance
soon (Leonard, 2013).
instagram
The most mobile app TBS uses, is instagram. Moreover it is the most popular medium of TBS
followers:
1 069 377. Whereas all other web platforms are interrelated, see Figure 9,
instagram indicates no direct link to the TBS blog. This is due to the applications general
settings, because only links to other instagram profiles are possible.
However, just like the other media TBS is using, every brand, person, second or third party
involved will be acknowledged with a notion. Predominantly this notion presents a node in the
blogosphere. With every public impression a connection is made that can lead to a relation
between parties.
Comments and Likes

Every media offers the possibility to leave comments or to like the displayed posts. Other
bloggers use this chance to promote their own blogs resulting in a possible traffic to their
pages. For viewers it hosts the possibility to show the admiration or criticism. TBS does not
react to the comments, therefore leaving it a one-sided communication.
6.1.6 Achievements
Less than four years after its launch in October 2009, The Blonde Salad has had great
accomplishments. Like her management in Paris aims, the expansion in to different regions,
sectors of the Fashion industry and the collaboration with brands is the focus.
Currently, in Spring/Summer 2013, The Blonde Salad can be found on rank 18 for the most
influential Fashion and beauty blogs, being the most influential Italian blog. (signature9, 2013)
In the Table 3, a few achievements and partners are itemized.
38
39
6.1.7 Summary
(Table 4)
The Blonde Salad is named a pioneer of Fashion Blogging by multiple not academic sources.
Within four years she went from an amateur blogger to a full time Fashion blogger and created
a whole business around her personal style blog - The Blonde Salad. Her social media network
usage is very complex and still expanding, due which she has high results in degree centrality,
betweeness and closeness. Though she will always be branded with her blog, her management
tries to establish her as Chiara Ferragni.
39
40
6.2 Scott Schuman The Sartorialist
Scott Schuman, a graduate from Indiana University in Apparel Merchandising and a minor in
Costume Construction, is the photographer and editor behind the Fashion and Lifestyle blog
The Sartorialist.
Figure 11 The Sartorialist Header:
Source: The Sartorialist, 2013

Naming his blog (Figure 11), a person who has an interest in matters of or relating the
tailoring of clothing (sartorialist) fits thoroughly to his education, which defines him.
Ranked #1 on the most influential Fashion Blogs by signature9.com for the past years, The
Sartorialist became a valid member of the Fashion and photography industry.
6.2.1 Creation
In September 2005 Schuman started to wander around New York City taking pictures of
people and their unique styles.
Firstly he used Blogger to publish his photos - www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com. Posterior it

became the custom domain www.thesartorialist.com. During the switch to his freely named
website, Scot Schuman also shifted to a different software. The blog is today powered by
WordPress.org.
WordPress, an open source project, commenced in 2003 and has since then grown to be the
largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world. It provides its users with a maximum of freedom
in customization and can be used without charge. WordPress is available in two different
types. WordPress.com is a free software and website host, whereas WordPress.org supplies the
software only.
40
41
When using the dot org service it means to additionally acquire a domain name and a host.
I.e. for The Sartorialist (domain name) the host is EarthLink, Inc; an U.S. American IT service
and communication provider.
Employing WordPress.org with such a paid hosting service guarantees great customization
and flexibility, which cannot be achieved with WordPress.com, but also requires more
technical knowledge. Furthermore only with a WordPress.org advertisements are possible, as
it is not allowed on WordPress.com.
Within the past eight years The Sartorialist established himself as a voice for street style
Fashion, a happily seen visitor at international Fashion Shows and has a fan base that goes
beyond his followers. Philipp Lim, Fashion designer, describes Scot Schuman as a pioneer in
photo blogs. Today about 13 million viewers are counted per month.
6.2.2 Business
When establishing the blog Schuman made the decision to focus on photography and style
more than on Fashion and brands. Consequently Style.com as an internet reference and the GQ
as a magazine reference were Schumans targets. From the beginning he understood that You
have to constantly spread out your streams, so if one stream starts to dry up you can go on,
(Amed, 2011). Style.com and GQ appeared as a great starting point, once reached, Schuman
tried to collaborate with others too. His management Jedroot handles him and was able to
launch Schuman as a photographer rather than a blogger.
Typical for blogs, The Sartorialist does not market its own blog. In blogging the marketing is
done by collaborating and by tagging and reposting to ensure a high traffic to the blog.
Due to the traffic blogs are an internet marketing tool for others.
One source of revenue for The Sartorialist (with the blog) can be found in ad sales. At the
beginning of his career as a blogger Schuman worked very closely with Style.com also in
41
42
terms of advertising, which he later took back in-house as he, himself, holds a much greater
faculty to sell his ads. He knows the website best and wanted to ensure profitability without
misapplication of ads.
The Sartorialist operates within the concept of CPM or CPI (cost per mille, or cost per
impression). It refers to the cost of an ad displayed. It is an internet marketing tool that is very
effective when places correctly. The formula to calculate the CPI is as follows:
CPI in = Advertising Costs in / Number of impressions (#)
An impression is not always equal to a page view. A page view can include multiple
impressions as an impression is equivalent to one displayed ad. One page view could mean
various impressions.
As mentioned in 6.2.1 Schuman gets up to 13 million page views in a month. On The

Sartorialist blog there is one impression displayed. Hence one page view is one impression.
On the 10th July 2013 this one ad is taken by the brand American Apparel.
Lets make the assumption that Schuman and his marketing partner American Apparel have a
contract that has a monthly payment obligation. Thus the number of impression is 13 000 000.
This gives us the calculation:
CPI in = Advertising Costs in / 13 000 000
As we want to figure out the expenses of American Apparel in this case scenario, we adapt the
formula.
CPI in * 13 000 000= Advertising Costs in
Plus we are talking about the cost per thousands, so we divide the amount of impression by
1000.
CPM in * 13 000 = Advertising Costs in
42
43
Advertising Costs in = CPM in * 13 000
No information has been found on how much the CPM for an advertisement on The
Sartorialist is, but lets predict 3 situations:
Table 5 Scenario Analysis for CPM Calculation on The Sartorialist:

Worst Case Scenario
Base Case Scenario
Best Case Scenario
CPM < = 15
CPM = 30
CPM > = 40
Advertising Costs in
= 152 * 13 000
= 30 * 13 000
= 40 * 13 000
195000
390000
520000
20 % inventory sold
156000
20 % inventory sold
312000
20 % inventory sold
416000
Source: Author
At the indicated traffic level of 13 Million and with the premises that not all the advertisement
inventory will be sold (only 80%)3, The Sartorialist will earn at least 150 000 per month on
ad sales.
Spiegel.de titles Schuman the high-income earner of the Fashion blogosphere. (Nezik, 2013)
With the ads posted on his blog he supposedly generates a gross income of annually more than
one million with which my calculations agree.
The lucrativeness of the CPM concept is that the advertising costs are not pre-set. It entirely
depends on the impressions per month. This is why an impression meter is needed.
The Sartorialist works with a provider named Site Meter. This server tracks and counts the
websites tools and ensures vital information about the audience of the blog.
2
3
assumption made on Technorati.com; minimum CPM they offer is 15

to avoid over calculation
43
44
On first glance The Sartorialist seems almost like an online magazine. The font used for the
logo is very bold. Plus, the colors scheme used for the website stays within the shades of
white, black, grey and orange (descending) smoothing and not aggressive. In addition, as
mentioned, one ad is used only; the only moving image on the website.
Colorz, a digital agency from the U.S., is taking care of The Sartorialists web presence. Its
focus, written in its pitch, lies in the field of originality, creativity and uniqueness.
Schumans photography emphasizes a two-way dialogue about the world of Fashion and
its relationship to daily life. (The Sartorialist, 2013) He uses little text but persistently
respects his system of titles.
-
On the Street..[street], [country] indicates a street style.
If Youre Thinking About . [style] indicates a trend.
Then there are various other titles that are individual depending on the setting.
In the blog roll-like-website (Figure 12) you do not see the brands used or the description of
where to find the clothes in the pictures. Schumans content is purely focused on the style.
Im not reporting on a bag; whos carrying what bag and whos wearing what dress. Im not
reporting on people, he explained. What I am looking for is a certain grace. (Amed, 2011).
Furthermore his own commercial activities are not published assertively. His cooperation with
Burberry in 2009 he marked with a single link and let the viewer decide if he /she wants to
read about the project.
Though The Sartorialist is the most profitable blog and also the most influential, his social
media contact is rather small compared to other blogs (like The Blonde Salad).
twitter
Through twitter 164 395 people follow the blog. As the tweets represent the blog posts only,
combined with a link, followers do not get a deeper insight. It resembles the blog.
44
45
instagram
instagram is the most differentiated social network since Schuman also displays personal
photos and it is not simultaneously linked to the blog.
144 957 devotees are registered on
instagram.
YouTube
The least supporters The Sartorialist has on the video sharing website. With about less than 2
900 subscribers to his channel and less than 470 000 views of his 26 videos, YouTube
assumingly needs to get evolved.
Facebook
The most followers are monitored on the social media website Facebook.
183 465 likes and 3 491 talking about this are quantified.
The Sartorialist does not value the social networks and its communication as high as research
suggests. It focuses more on the blog and on the presence in magazine and interviews.
6.2.6 Achievements
The Sartorialist developed greatly in eight years. From an amateur photography blog it became
the number one Fashion Blog with estimated annual revenues in sales ad of minimum one
million dollars. Schuman worked together with multiple brands like The Gap, Verizon,
Kiehls, Nespresso, DKNY Jeans, Gant, OVS, Crate & Barrel and also Burberry.
Further accomplishments are listed in the Table 6.
6.2.7 Summary
(Table 7)
Scot Schumans blog The Sartorialist heads signature9s Most Influential Fashion and Beauty
Blogs for multiple seasons. He made TIME magazines 2007 list of Top 100 Design
45
46
Influencers and is known for his eye for style. His subtle, sensitive but intelligent blog
changed his career path and allows him to be a first row guest at all Fashion shows, plus his
expertise in photography offered him multiple collaborations.
In a 2011 held interview he admitted that its tough, but if you work really hard you can
create a business, if youre smart about it and have something real to say. His social media
usage is generally moderate and secures him a medium ranks for degree centrality, betweeness
and closeness. Nevertheless his achievements show is great success.
46
47
6.3 Nicole Warnes Gary Pepper
The Fashion Blog by Nicole Warne is called Gary Pepper - fellt.com/garypepper - and hosted
by a blogging platform called FELLT.
With the blog, also an ecommerce with the name - www.garypeppervintage.com - was created
the same day. The blog and ecommerce are linked but not dependent on each other.
6.3.1 Creation
In 2009, Nicole Warne decided to pursuit Blogging and Ecommerce as her main career. With
2009 still being fairly new to Fashion Blogging, Nicoles advantage was the great
photography, Fashion and vintage style.
Blogger was used as the initial blog-publishing service, before Gary Pepper became part of the
FELLT collective shortly after its launch in 2009.
FELLT is a high quality Fashion journalism. FELLT unites Oceanias most competent, most
engaging and most popular writers. Their content is the foundation of a powerful advertising
platform, as its homepage says. Starting the collective with seven bloggers in 2009, Harper
and Harley, Shine By Three, Tuula, Gary Pepper Vintage, Oracle Fox,Zanita, K is for
Kani and Studded Hearts there are now only six different blogs visible on the website;
Frockwriter, Gary Pepper, Harper & Harley, Oracle Fox, Shine by Three and Zanita.
Within 15 days in the month of July 2013, Gary Pepper reached approx. 467 200 page views
from 74 700 unique visitors, with the majority from the United States (18.1%). Other
followers are from Australia (12.5%), United Kingdom (3.3%) and Sweden (0.9%).
Even though Gary Pepper is not found on the signatur9 list, she is evaluated as one of the most
influential five bloggers in Australia. Now, Nicole Warne is represented by IMG Talents
worldwide, the biggest management agency.
47
48
6.3.2 Business
With the ecommerce Gary Pepper Vintage, Nicole Warne founded the Australian company
Gary Pepper Vintage Pty Ltd. She connected her blog with the ecommerce and vice versa.
FELLT is powered by Sydney Stockholm, a digital media publisher, which takes care of Gary
Peppers marketing. Sydney Stockholms core mission is content. On their website they state
that their content is accessible for everyone everywhere. Furthermore they believe in the
advertisement through the content and not separately on the blogs. Meaning, for i.e. Gary
Pepper, she employs inbound marketing instruments, giving a link to the clothes worn.
Figure 13 Details about Brands displayed on Gary Pepper:
Source: Gary Pepper, 2013

Figure 13 shows the listing of clothes from the post, the 5th July 2013. When clicking on the
one is redirected to a third party ecommerce.
Like The Blonde Salad, the redirection is through the US American and British company
rewardStyle. Deductive, Gary Peppers revenue sources is through redirecting its viewers to
third party websites and through commissions on potential purchases. Additionally, Gary
Pepper uses shopbob.com and net-a-porter.com most commonly, suggesting that these two
multi brand online shops offer certain benefits to the bloggers, or to rewardStyle.
Opening the blog one sees the following, depending on the format of the screen:
48
49
Figure 14 Gary Pepper Header:
Source: Gary Pepper, 2013
FELLT, the collective is written in the far left upper corner. The logo and name of the logo
can be seen in the top middle of the page.
Gary Peppers blog is a blog roll (Figure 15), with an average of 10 posts per month. This
represents a smaller number than the usual Fashion Blogs who are updated daily or every two
days. Within the active 4 years, Gary Pepper has published 476 posts by the 16th July 2013.
Contrary to other Fashion blogs, no further clicks are required to read the latest blog entry.
This limits the clicks from one unique visitor, which in turn shortens the minutes, stayed on
the blog. But it simplifies the handling of the website, which is one of Sydney Stockholms
aims. Moreover, Sydney Stockholm highly values the aspect of journalism. Gary Peppers
posts contain in general more than 200 words.
Gary Pepper is only available in English, which is correspondent to the large audience in
English speaking countries.
The photos of Gary Pepper show either Nicole Warne as the model of clothes being
advertised, or the landscape and environment where the blogger is.
Shot are the images mostly by Luke Shadbolt. Other photographers are also being worked
with and then linked on the blog.
49
50
Target Group
Gary Peppers target group is described as eccentric, optimistic, social and convertible in style.
The average reader of the blog, as determined by Sydney Stockholm, is a 23 year old woman
who admires the blogger. She shops 5.6 times monthly and visits ecommerce stores more than
10 times weekly. This suggests the close relationship Gary Pepper has to websites like
shopbob and net-a-porter.
Gary Pepper can be found on twitter, Facebook, instagram, bloglovin, tumblr (not been
updated since 2012) and YouTube (not been updated since 2012).
instagram
Like The Blonde Salad, also Gary Pepper has the most followers on instagram. 547 500
people follow her. The content is different on each social medium. On instagram more
personal images are posted.
twitter
Directly linked is instagram to twitter. Almost every of the 7 963 tweets have an instagram
link included. 18 151 followers are recorded in July 2013.
bloglovin
As the concept of this social medium suggested all posts are linked to the bloglovin page
which is being checked on by 28 082 fans.
Facebook
This social media platform attracts 121 995 likes and 9 581 people talking about it. The
notion is a mixture of post entries and extra images, but does not offer a greater insight like
instagram.
The research on the websites also gives the info about the device on which the blog is
followed. 79% check the blog on their desktops whereas 21% use a mobile device.
50
51
6.3.6 Achievements
Within the past four years since its launch in 2009, Nicole Warne as Gary Pepper has already
been published in various magazines, i.e:
Cosmopolitan Australia
Elle.com
Grazia Australia
Harpers Bazaar.com
Instyle Australia
Marie Claire US
The Cut
Vogue.com
Other collaboration are with
Lancome 2013
Louis Vuitton 2013
Asos 2013
6.3.7 Summary
(Table 8)
Gary Pepper is one of the five most influential Fashion Bloggers in Australia. With the blog
engaging in a blog collective she loses some creativity in web design and independence in
style but gains in time for setup, maintenance of website and viewer traffic. Visiting the
FELLT homepage, the represented blogs are displayed with their latest updates. Impulsive
clicks will lead to more traffic on other blogs, but ensure to quickly move back to another
FELLT blog.
Nicole Warne does not give social media a lot of attention but rather focuses on qualitative
posts with pictures and emotions written in the text. This has an effect on the SNA results;
meaning that they are lower than the others.
51
52
She has signed with IMG Talents in May 2013, managing her worldwide, giving her the
possibilities to collaborate with more brands.
52
53
9 Framework for Business Intelligence of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs

(Table 9)
After months of visiting the three analyzed blogs, and following them for years, my research
found resembling parameters. Though at the end of the study one successful omnipotent way
of writing a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog has not been found. There are pointers which will help
to write a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog that has the potential to become successful.
Creation
During the research there has been no indication of necessary prerequisites for a blogger.
Certainly an interest and passion for the covered subject is essential, plus a talent to write well
and interesting. Moreover prior image publications on web communities like flickr, bloglovin
etc are helpful. The follower base will most likely support the blog.
Nomenclature should not be overthought. Two vital points should be considered. 1) That in
the URL, when writing without space, the words do not have a double meaning 2) That the
words used do not mean anything different in another language.
When setting up the blog, the most popular blogging software seems to be Blogger by Google.
Due to his advantages it was used by the three bloggers, plus also Hussey (2012) agrees.
Especially when starting from scratch Blogger offers easy handling and simple start-up.
Besides, from the beginning on, one should think about the possibility of acquiring a domain
to lose the affix .blogspot.com.
Blogger layouts are usually viewer friendly and give possibilities to differentiate from other
blogs. Key is to have a large header with the logo and the side bar to the right. Moreover an
About page is interesting for the viewers as they are giving the opportunity to get to know
the blogger better. Plus, marketing experts state, that people do not buy products or services if
they cannot identify themselves with it, nor if they do not like the person/business who is
selling it (Luecke, 2006)
Though the set-up might be a fast endeavor, the time until the blog will have its first success
takes time - an average of 1.5 years. To reduce this time, one should establish an appealing
web presence. No music should be played (Furnham and Strbac, 2002), except when
introducing a song, and not too many moving images nor colors should be used as they will be
53
54
distracting. Other mistakes that should be avoided are pop-up windows, spelling errors and too
many categories with only few content.
Lastly, blogroll or not does not matter. More user-friendly is a blogroll when no subcategories
are used. If multiple tabs are in operation, it has to be obvious and easy to reach the latest post.
Content
Though the web presence is crucial, the content is more important. In the very competitive,
replete blogosphere for Fashion and Lifestyle, the bloggers are fair and genuinely nice to each
other, but rivalry is still given. One has to be unique and publish new posts. The audience
wants to read about the latest trends and be the first to read it. No copying is allowed.
Stefania K (Personal Interview, 2013) gives the advice to Stay true to yourself! and Amin
(Personal Interview, 2013) similarly suggests to find a certain territory of topics which has
not yet been exploited e.g. to specialize on accessories. One important topic to cover is the
international Fashion weeks. As the Fashion business became a global industry every
influential player will be there.
Updates should be at least every two days to keep the viewers loyalty and to still the readers
curiosity; the use of questions is very appropriate here. It will stimulate comments which will
in turn affect degree centrality, betweeness and closeness.
In general text should be used to show the bloggers personality, opinion and taste. 60 200
words are enough per post, as a guideline, and should relate to the topic or image (Amin,
Personal Interview, 2013). Pictures should always be included as a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog
is the exhibition of these.
Furthermore the correct usage of the English language is of advantage as the largest audience
can be reached when writing in English (Staistica, 2010). However TBS publishes in four
different languages. Portuguese was added in 2012. Though an average of only 4.17% of the
worlds population speak this language, Brazil has the highest reach of social media and blogs
of 86% (Statistica, 2010).
Bransons (2012) two main points for a new business are innovation and visibility. Innovation
can be achieved through uniqueness and visibility through social media.
54
55
Social Media
Be visible! Elsewhere than on the blog. expresses Stefania K. during the conducted
interview. Just like Branson, also she believes that the visibility is vital.
As the survey revealed, blogs are actively followed on social media networks. Facebook,
instagram, twitter and also the rising Google+ should be included in the marketing strategy of
a blog. The more followers one has, the more popular the blog is, and in the marketing era
where social media is considered the most powerful (Hettler, 2010) , the blog gains in worth as
a marketing tool. Yet illegal, or in a grey zone, depending on the platform, followers can be
bought. I.e. socialspreaders.com offers a package of 5000 real twitter followers for 35$ and 50
000 followers, bots, for 75$. The ethics and fairness is questionable, but for the completeness
of this paper, worth mentioning.
Amin (Personal Interview, 2013) rather suggests using social media excessively and even
seeking professional management if needed.
The social media is the central actor for attention and the most efficient marketing tool for the
blogger.
Revenues
Moreover the blogger itself represents a marketing tool.
When starting to blog, the followers and viewers per day might not be high enough to attract
brands yet. Thus, a talented writer can earn money by writing for others and publishing it on
various websites. HubPages or Helium offer to sell articles to publishers or brands in need of
posts.
Further, Google AdSense is a source of income. An ad is placed on ones blog and the blogger
earns a certain amount (CPC, cost per click) per click. Once 100$ is reached Google AdSense
pays out the amount. Though it seems attractive, the CPC can be as low as 3 cents. This would
mean that 3334 visitors have to click on an ad per month to reach 100$. Assuming that around
3 percent of your followers clicked on the ad, it indicates more than 100 000 viewers a month.
Reaching more than 100 000 unique visitors monthly, affiliate programs become appealing.
rewardStyle is a widely used inbound marketing tool, connecting a blog with an ecommerce.
Additionally also personally distributed CPM, like The Sartorialist is using, is attractive for
successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs.
55
56
Collaborations
Collaborations with brands are prestigious honors for the bloggers, and embody the ultimate
marketing achievement. As it is always good to be seen, the two-way marketing strategy is
very effective. It promotes the brand plus markets the blog and blogger. From free
merchandise (i.e. Asos and Nicole Warne) to a campaign for the brand (i.e. Superga and
Chiara Ferragni); the blogger benefits.
Also, alliances with celebrities are valuable. TBSs YouTube video with actor Ed Westwick
were one of the most watched.
Amin (Personal Interview, 2013) and Stefania K. (Personal Interview, 2013) name
collaboration with Fashion and beauty brands, magazines and model agencies as the most
helpful.
The Blonde Salad, The Sartorialist and Gary Pepper are Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs, which
have successfully created a business around their blogs.
The Blonde Salads strategy is quantity. She collaborates with multiple brands at the same
time; from high end like Louis Vuitton to the affordable shoe brand Superga. Updates are
made daily on her blog and almost hourly on twitter. Social Media is the focus. The Blonde
Salad is available on eight different social media platforms with her Facebook and intstagram
being the most followed.
The Sartorialists approach is qualitative. Scot Schumans web presence is very settled and
chic. Only one ad is place, which presents the only moving image on the website. He does not
photograph himself but other peoples styles. His blog does not seem overexposed nor overpresent. It guards a high level of professionalism and seriousness.
Gary Peppers tactic is not obvious. As part of a collective, the traffic is manipulated,
strengthening the blogs presence. It is to believe that the blog was firstly introduced to
support the ecommerce store. Nowadays, the blogs seems more successful, bearing the
ecommerce store. Nicole Warnes blog is similar to The Blonde Salad, but focuses less on
social media.
56
57
10 Food for Thought - Fashion Blogging vs. Fashion Journalism
As already mentioned in the continuous text, Fashion Bloggers are called the new Fashion
journalists. Personally I believe that the Fashion journalists will not be replaced by Fashion
bloggers. But Fashion bloggers are becoming crucial for Fashion coverage.
Stefania K. (Personal Interview, 2013) credits the Fashion Bloggers as important as Fashion
editors but not as journalists. In this case, she fears that the independence of bloggers would be
weakened and that the bloggers will turn into sales tools. Here the question arises if bloggers
are not already tools for sales only. During my research I have not found any critical post.
Every single post has been positive and praising. Even in Chiara Ferragnis weekly column in
the Italian A Magazine, she elaborates positively about Fashion, gives suggestions, and
announces trends. Amin (Personal Interview, 2013) worships the Fashion Bloggers as the new
opinion makers. But does opinion not also mean to criticize?
57
58
VIII List of References
Amed, I., 2011. The Business of Blogging | The Sartorialist. [ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.businessofFashion.com/2011/10/the-business-of-blogging-the-sartorialist.html.
[Accessed 17 June 13].
Bloomsbury Business Library. Business & Management Dictionary, 2007.
Branson, R., 2012. Like a Virgin. 1st ed. London: Ebury Publishing.
Chau, M. & Xu, J., 2012. Business Intelligence in Blogs: Understanding Consumer
Interactions and Communities. MIS Quarterly, 36: 4, 1189-1216.
Comer, D., (2006). The Internet book. Prentice Hall. p. 64.
Gary Pepper. 2013. Gary Pepper. [ONLINE] Available at: http://fellt.com/garypepper.

[Accessed 27 July 13].
Graham, P., 2005. Web 2.0. [ONLINE] Available

at: http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html. [Accessed 04 June 13].
Hu, N., Dong, Y., Liu, L. & Yao, L., 2012. Not All That Glitters Is Gold: The Effect of
Attention and Blogs on Investors Investing Behaviors. Journal of Accounting, Auditing &
Finance, 28(1) , 419.
Hussey, T., 2012. Create your own Blog. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing.
Internet World Stats. 2012. WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS
[ONLINE] Available at:http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm. [Accessed 23 May 13].
Jackson, T. & Shaw, D., 2006. The Fashion Handbook. 1st ed. London: Routledge.
58
59
Johnson, T. & Kayne, B. , 2004. WAG THE BLOG.' HOW RELIANCE ON TRADITIONAL
MEDIA AND THE INTERNET INFLUENCE CREDIBILTY PERCEPTIONS OF WEBLOGS
AMONG BLOG USERS. J&MC Quarterly, 81/3, 622-642.
K, S. (2013) Personal Inteview (Fashion and Lifestyle Blogging), 24. May
Kapferer, J.N. & Bastien, V. , 2009. The Luxury Strategy. 1st ed. London: Kogan Page
Limited.
Kurutz, S., 2011. Fashion Bloggers, Posted and Represented. [ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/Fashion/Fashion-bloggers-getagents.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0. [Accessed 11 June 13].
Luecke, R., 2006. Marketers Toolkit.1st ed. Boston: Havard Business School Publishing
Corporation.
Nezik, A., 2013. Nahbarer als Models. [ONLINE] Available

at :http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-90535612.html. [Accessed 11 June 13]
Peyman, A. (2013) Personal Inteview (Fashion and Lifestyle Blogging), 24. May
Signature9. 2013. The 99 Most Influential Fashion & Beauty Blogs. [ONLINE] Avaiable at:
http://www.signature9.com/style-99. [Accessed 20 June 13].
Statistica. 2010. Reichweite von Social Networks und Blogs in ausgewhlten Lndern im April
2010. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/160143/umfrage/reichweite-von-social-networksund-blogs-in-2010-nach-land/. [Accessed 08 May 13].
Statistica. 2011. Anzahl der Blogs Weltweit [ONLINE] Available at:

http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/220178/umfrage/anzahl-der-blogs-weltweit/.
[Accessed 23 May 13].
59
60
Statistica. 2012. Top 10 Lnder mit hchster Nutzungsdauer von Social Networks weltweit in
Stunden pro Monat (Stand: November 2012). [ONLINE] Available
at:http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/160137/umfrage/verweildauer-auf-socialnetworks-und-blogs-in-2010-nach-land/. [Accessed 08 May 13].
Stats Crop. 2013a. The Blonde Salad. [ONLINE] Available

at:http://www.statscrop.com/www/theblondesalad.com. [Accessed 20 June 13].
Stats Crop. 2013b. The Sartorialist. [ONLINE] Available

at:http://www.statscrop.com/www/thesartorialist.com. [Accessed 20 June 13].
Furnham & Strbac, A. & L. , 2002. Music is as distracting as noise: the differential distraction
of background music and noise on the cognitive test performance of introverts and
extraverts. Ergonomics, 45, 203 -217.
Thanuskodi, S., 2010. WEB 2.0 Awareness among Library and Information Science
Professionals of the Engineering Colleges in Chennai City: A Survey. J Communication, 1(2),
69-75.
The Blonde Salad. 2013. The Blonde Salad [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.theblondesalad.com/. [Accessed 27 July 2013].
The Sartorialist. 2013. The Sartorialist [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.thesartorialist.com/. [Accessed 27 July 13].
60
61
IX Bibliography
Blogads. 2006. 2006 Gossip blogs reader survey. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.blogads.com/survey/2006_gossip_blogs_reader_survey.html. [Accessed 17 June
13].
Carlsson, J. & Akerstm, R. 2008. Corporate Social Responsibility. Bachelor. Lulea: Lulea
University of Technology.
Ciacatani, C. (2013) Personal Inteview (Fashion and Lifestyle Blogging), 24. May.
Davis, T. 2012. Professional Blogger Spotlight: Saucy Glossie. [ONLINE] Available

at:http://heartifb.com/2011/09/28/professional-blogger-spotlight-saucy-glossie/. [Accessed 02
July 13].
Delaney, K. 2007. Google to Broker Web Ads For Glam Media Sites, Blogs. The Wall Street
Journal, [Online]. Available
at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118092265349123401.html [Accessed 11 June 2013].
Docslide. 2013. Home Computers Qualitative Research Methods Qualitative Research

Methods. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.docslide.com/qualitative-research-methods/.
E Buzzing Social. 2013. Die erfolgreichsten Modeblogs. [ONLINE] Available

at: http://labs.ebuzzing.de/top-blogs/mode?start=20. [Accessed 05 June 13].
Emerson, M. 2012. Blogging to Build Your Business. [ONLINE] Available

at:http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/blogging-to-build-your-business/. [Accessed 22
May 13].
Erfolgsfaktor Weblog: Folge 003 (2013) [Podcast] Essen: Unternehmen 2.0. [ONLINE].
61
62
Available at: http://www.unternehmen-zwei-punkt-null.de/unternehmen-2-0-podcast-folge003-erfolgsfaktor-weblog.
Eridon, C. 2013. How to Transform Yourself Into an Agile Business Blogger. [ONLINE]
Available at:http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34096/How-to-Transform-YourselfInto-an-Agile-Business-Blogger.aspx. [Accessed 03 June 13].
Financial Times. 2012. Style Bloggers Take Centre Stage. [ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/89f8c07c-cfe0-11de-a36d-00144feabdc0. [Accessed 15 July
13].
Financial Times. 2013. Bloggers on Fashion's front. [ONLINE] Available

at:http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/b84a9866-176c-11e2-8cbe-00144feabdc0. [Accessed 15 July
13].
Fraysse, E. 2010. Facebook, Twitter et le web social: les nouvelles opportunits de business.
2nd ed. Herblain: Kawa.
Google Forum. 2011. I get under 50 viewers on my blog everyday. About how much will I
make on adsense?. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/adsense/G8MG_Gj3Nfw. [Accessed 24 July
13].
Gould-Kavet, A. 2011. Fashion tumbls forward. Cultural Studies Year 2.
Hettler, U. 2010. Social Media Marketing: Marketing mit Blogs, Sozialen Netzwerken und
weiteren Anwendungen des Web 2.0. 1st ed. Munich: Oldenburg.
Hongkiat. 2013. 20 Sites To Get Paid For Writing And Blogging Best Of. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/sites-to-get-paid-blogging/. [Accessed 24 July
13].
62
63
Kocher, K. 2009. Revisal and Enhancement of an Existing Model about Individual Reserves of
Value Fluctuations in Pension Plans. Bachelor. Zurich: University of Applied Sciences
Northwestern Switzerland FHNW.
Kovacevic, K. 2011. How to turn your blog into a business. [ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/838565/how-to-turn-your-blog-into-a-business.
Leonard, H. 2013. The Irresistible Rise Of Google+. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-irresistible-rise-of-google-2013-3. [Accessed 02 July 13].
Lewtan, L. 2013. Build A Million Dollar Blog Like The Sartorialist. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://contently.com/strategist/2011/10/11/build-a-million-dollar-blog-like-the-sartorialist/.
[Accessed 03 July 13].
Lookbook.nu. 2013. LB Forum. [ONLINE] Available at: http://lookbook.nu/. [Accessed 20

June 13].
Louis Williams. 2013. Color Hex Color Codes. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.colorcodehex.com/. [Accessed 17 July 13].
MAZIER, D. 2012. Community Management - Votre stratgie Marketing et Communication

sur les rseaux sociaux. 1st ed. Paris: ENI.
Mertens, M. 2013. Modequeen Jana von bekleidet gewinnt erneut Fashion Challenge von
Deals.com. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.styleranking.de/news/Fashionblogs/modequeen-jana-von-bekleidet-gewinnterneut-Fashion-challenge-von-dealscom-201303. [Accessed 30 May 13].
MORIMOTO, M. & TRIMBLE, C., 2012. CONSUMERS' USE OF BLOGS AS PRODUCT

INFORMATION SOURCES: FROM NEED-FOR-COGNITION PERSPECTIVE. Marketing
Management Journal, Vol. 22 Issue 2, 45.
63
64
Pareles, J. 2006. 2006, Brought to You by You. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/arts/music/10pare.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&.
[Accessed 22 May 13].
Percic, E. 2012. WHAT KIND OF BLOGGER ARE YOU? 7 DIFFERENT BLOGGER TYPES
EXPLAINED. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.zemanta.com/blog/seven-differentblogger-types/?wpst=1. [Accessed 02 July 13].
PR-Blogger. 2011. Die 20 einflussreichsten Modeblogs Deutschlands. [ONLINE] Available

at: http://pr-blogger.de/2011/05/19/die-20-einflussreichsten-modeblogs-deutschlands/.
Reiter, G. 2013. Behind the Scenes: How a Fashion Blogger Makes Money. [ONLINE]
Available at:http://heartifb.com/2013/05/17/behind-the-scenes-how-a-Fashion-blogger-makesmoney/. [Accessed 30 May 13].
Statistica. 2011. Fortune Top 100 weltweite Unternehmen mit eigenen Blogs nach
ausgewhlten Regionen 2010 und 2011. [ONLINE] Availabe at:
http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/151747/umfrage/fortune-top-100-unternehmen-miteigenem-blog/. [Accessed 09 May 13].
Statistica. 2013. Cumulative total of Tumblr Blogs between May 2011 and July 2013 (in
millions). [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.statista.com/statistics/256235/total-cumulativenumber-of-tumblr-blogs/. [Accessed 08 May 13].
Statistica. 2013. Deutsche Blogs nach Anzahl der Fans bei Facebook im Januar 2013.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/181786/umfrage/deutscheblogs-nach-anzahl-der-fans-bei-facebook/. [Accessed 08 May 13].
Statistica. 2013. Welche Ttigkeiten fhren Sie in sozialen Netzwerken tglich aus?.
[ONLINE] Available at: http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/29109/umfrage/haeufige64
65
aktivitaeten-auf-social-media-plattformen/. [Accessed 10 May 13].
Tannenberger, S. 2012. Die Soziale Netzwerke-Pyramide. GfWM THEMEN, Vol. 3, 10 - 16.
The Studio Source. 2001. 7 website mistakes that make you look like an amateur. [ONLINE]
Available at:http://www.thestudiosource.com/amateur-website-mistakes/. [Accessed 03 July
13].
TORQUE . 2013. 5 Ways to Make Money with WordPress in 2013. [ONLINE] Available
at:http://torquemag.io/make-money-2013/. [Accessed 02 July 13].
Werner Stangls Arbeitsbltter. 2002. Das Interview. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://arbeitsblaetter.stangl-taller.at/FORSCHUNGSMETHODEN/Interview.shtml. [Accessed
04 June 13].
Blogs, that were followed:
Stil in Berlin: http://www.stilinberlin.de/

High Snobity: http://www.highsnobiety.com/
Dahlface: http://inspiredbydahlface.blogspot.fr/
Saucy Glossy: http://www.saucyglossie.com/
The Cherry Blossom Girl: http://www.thecherryblossomgirl.com/
Bryan Boy: http://www.bryanboy.com/
Refinery29: http://www.refinery29.com/
Garance Dore : http://www.garancedore.fr/
Man Repeller : http://www.manrepeller.com/
Zukker Mdchen : http://zukkermaedchen.blogspot.fr/
bekleidet: http://bekleidet.net/
Les Mads: http://www.lesmads.de/
Face Hunter : http://www.facehunter.org/
Sea of Shoes: http://www.seaofshoes.com/
65
66
X Appendix
Tables
Table 2 Foundation for Business Intelligence of Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs:

A CONTENT
BLOGOSPHERE
BLOGGER
POSTS
WEBSITE
Term
Opinion
Type of
Analysis
Analysis
Blog
Structure
Loading Time
Update
Categories
Links
Clicks to Post
Ads
INTERACTION
Subscriptions
Comments
Social Media
Implicit
Followers
Communities
Degree Centrality
Betweeness
Closeness
B MARKETING
Personality:
Relationship:
Culture:
Uniqueness of
Blog, Identity
Readers reflected image:
Readers Self Concept:

66
67
C BUSINESS
Date of Foundation
Initial Blog Software
Name
Viewers
Rating
Time until Success
Services employed
Revenues through
D ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Source: Author
Table 3 Achievements of The Blonde Salad:

Catwalk / Modeling
Award
Alberta Ferretti, Fashionshow during
real
women
who
Award:
Newcomer
Blogger of the Year 2011
the 79th edition of Pitti, along with

other
Bloglovin
have
New York Magazine One of the
distinguished themselves in their work
biggest breakout street-style stars of
fields. 2011 idol role
the year.
Lookbook for Luiza Barcelos 2012
Bloglovin Award: Blogger Business

of the Year 2012
Nominated for: Vogue.com social

shopper inspiration of the week 2012
Testimonial/ Godmother/ Host
Personal Work
Furla Bag: Candy Bag 2011
Hogan FW 2011 Campaign Future
Yamamay:
collection since 2010
Roots 2011
Youre
the
Queen
67
Contributor to the monthly A

magazine since 2011
Contest 2011
Shoe Line Chiara Ferragni, third
Brand Werelse with Andy Torres and
68
Pennyblack Vogue Fashions Night
Carolina Engman 2011
Out 2011
Dior Addict event 2011
Maramotti Contest 2012
Superga Shoe Collection 2013
Collection Collaboration
Editorial
Chiara Ferragni for Yamamay 2012
Italian Glamour 2012
Mango, Werelse for Mango Touch
Teen Vogue 2012
2012
LOfficiel Italy 2012
Louis Vuitton 2012
Lifestyle Mirror 2012
ASVOFF by Diego Dolcini 2012
Ermenegildo
Zegna
for
ZegnArt
Project 2012
Max Mara 2012
Bottega Veneta 2012
Style.it (column)
Burberry 2012
Yves Saint Laurent, le touch clat

2012
Etc.
Dior 2013
Charity Projects
Millenium Promise with Tommy

Hilfiger,
spending
one
week
in
Uganda 2012
Source: Author
Table 4 Summary The Blonde Salad:

A CONTENT
BLOGOSPHERE
Fashion
BLOGGER
and Female,
POSTS
Law Images,
68
text
(English
and
Italian),
69
Lifestyle
background, Italian
sentences, generally more than 60 words

Term
Opinion
Type
Analysis
Analysis
Blog
000000
-Questions
-always
-personal
A2A251
-simply
positive
style blog
F3A2A2
written
-never
F3F3A2
-many
complaints
A25151
adjectives
WEBSITE
Theme Colors
Structure
Large
Header
of
with
Image
Loading Time
2.544 Seconds (Faster

than 24% of sites)
Update
More than once daily
Categories
11
Links
yes
Clicks to Post
Ads
Direct 2
INTERACTION
Subscriptions
N/A
Comments
Social
Openly accessible
Media Implicit
Followers
Communities
Instagram1 069 377
Degree Centrality:
Allows links (estimated Facebook 339 499
high
80% used)
Google+ 38 348
Betweeness: high
Not responded to
Twitter 159 622
Closeness: high
Youtube 22 048
Bloglovin 186 862
69
70
Pinterest 13 624
B MARKETING
Personality: fun, confident, girly
USP:
Relationship:
Culture: Wanderlust
social media
Extraverted, direct
Young
dominance,
good Fashion
photography,
good model
Readers reflected image: Fashionista, aspiring
Readers Self Concept: Life lover, stylish
stylists
C BUSINESS
Date of Foundation
2009
Blogger by Google
Name
The Blonde Salad
Viewers
110 000 daily
Rating
# 18
Time until Success
One year
Services employed
Kiver
Digital marketing
Revenues through
RewardStyle
Internet
Inbound Marketing
links, ecommerce links,
CPM
Through Kiver
Catwalk / Modeling
Awards
Testimonial / Godmother
Shoe Line
Brand Collaborations
Editorials
Random
According to signature9
tool,
monetizes
D ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Charity
Source: Author
70
71
Table 6 Achievements of The Sartorialist:
Mentioned in
Events
The Business of Fashion
Saks Fifth Avenue
British Vogue
Burberry
GQ Japan
International Fashion Shows, mainly Paris,
WWD
London, Milan, NYC, Berlin
Books
Photography
The Sartorialist 2009
GQ International
Closer 2012 (2 editions)
Vogue Italia
Vogue Paris
Interview
The Gap
Verizon,
Nespresso
DKNY Jeans
Gant
OVS
Crate & Barrel
Burberry
Style.com
Source: Author
Table 7 Summary The Sartorialist:

A CONTENT
BLOGOSPHERE
Fashion
Photography
BLOGGER
and Male,
Fashion
background,
POSTS
Sales Images, very limited text (English)
US
American
WEBSITE
Theme Colors
000000
71
Term
Opinion
Type of Blog
Analysis
Analysis
-descriptive
-neutral, no -street
style
72
Structure
ED6F2B
-systematic
opinion
blog
DDDAD3
-impersonal
visible
-cultural
9B927D
-chosen
photography
A4430E
image
blog
Large
Header
with
equals
Writting
Loading Time
preference

than 35% of sites)
Update
Daily
Categories
Links
No but tags
Clicks to Post
Ads
Direct 1
INTERACTION
Subscriptions
N/A
Comments
Social
Openly accessible
Media Implicit
Followers
Communities
Instagram 144 957
Degree
Centrality:
low-medium
15% used)
Twitter 164 395
Betweeness:
Not responded to
Youtube 2 900
medium
Closeness: medium
- high
72
73
B MARKETING
Personality: confident, sophisticated
Relationship:
Culture:
introverted, direct
USP:
Sophisticated, NYC
great
style
photography
and style
Readers reflected image: style oriented, art Readers Self Concept: Fashion and art
interested
lovers
C BUSINESS
Date of Foundation
2005
Blogger by Google
Name
The Sartorialist
Viewers
430 000 daily
Rating
#1
Time until Success
3 years
First big collaboration with
After his studies
Burberry
Services employed
EarthLink, Inc
IT
service
communication
Colorz
digital agency
CPM
In-house
Book Releases
Awards
Photography
Editorials
Revenues through
D ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Source: Author
73
and
provider
74
Table 8 Summary Gary Pepper:
A CONTENT
BLOGOSPHERE
BLOGGER
POSTS
Fashion and Lifestyle Female, Australian
Images, text (English), sentences, generally

about 200 words
Term
Opinion
Type
Analysis
Analysis
Blog
DDDAD3
-Questions
-emotional
-personal
000000
-simply
-about
style blog
000051
written
dreams
9B927D
-many
wishes
FF1639
adjectives
WEBSITE
Theme Colors
Structure
Large
Header
of
and
with
Image
Loading Time

than 81% of sites)
Update
10 per month
Categories
Blog Roll
Links
yes
Clicks to Post
Ads
1 to own store
INTERACTION
Subscriptions
N/A
Comments
Social
Openly accessible
Media Implicit
Followers
Communities
Instagram 547 500
Degree

74
low
Centrality:
75
80% used)
Twitter 18 151
Betweeness:
Not responded to
Bloglovin 28 082
medium
Closeness: low
B MARKETING
Personality: chic, clean, confident
Relationship: settled,
Culture: wanderlust,
USP:
direct
Young
ecommerce
vintage shop,
collective
Readers reflected image: Fashionista
Readers Self Concept: socialist and

optimist
C BUSINESS
Date of Foundation
2009
Blogger by Google
Name
Gary Pepper
Viewers
30 000 daily
Rating
Not listed
Time until Success
One year
Become part of collective in
Random
2009
Services employed
fellt
Revenues through
RewardStyle
Internet
tool,
monetizes
links, ecommerce links

D ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Catwalk / Modeling
Source: Author
75
Editorials
76
Table 9 Summary Framework:
A CONTENT
BLOGOSPHERE
Fashion,
BLOGGER
POSTS
Lifestyle, No requirements
Images, text (English +), sentences, from 60

200 words
Photography
WEBSITE
Theme Colors
Structure
Term
Opinion
Type of Blog
Analysis
Analysis
-Questions
-emotional
-personal
-simply
-positive
style blog
Basis: black and white, written
-street style
grey
-many
-photography
Color touches goodly
adjectives
Large
Header
with
Image
Loading Time
1.777 Seconds
Update
Every two days
Categories
Multiple, limit 6
Links
yes
Clicks to Post
1 max
Ads
1, max 2
INTERACTION
Subscriptions
Comments
Social
Media Implicit
Followers
Communities
Should be
Openly accessible
Instagram
Degree
exponential
Allows links
Facebook
medium
76
Centrality:
77
Not responded to
Twitter
Betweeness:
Google +
medium
Closeness: medium
B MARKETING
Personality: confident
Relationship: direct
Culture: wanderlust,
USP:
curious
either collective
or social media
or art
or something
new
Readers reflected image: style
Readers Self Concept: socialist, Fashion

lovers and optimist
C BUSINESS
Blogger by Google
Name
No requirements
Viewers
Starting 10 000 daily
Time until Success
Approx. 2 years
Services employed
Digital Agency
successful
Software
Revenues through
RewardStyle
Inbound Marekting
CPM
D ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Modeling
Source: Author
77
Editorials
78
Figures
Figure 1 Blogs in Millions from 2006 to 2013:

blogs in millons from 2006 to 2013
('12, '13 estimations)
250
200
150
100
50
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Source: 2006 2010: Statistica, 2010

2011 2013: own calculations based on assumptions - stagnation and saturation, calculation:
(x/100 = (x-(x of prior year))/percentage change to prior year)
Figure 2 Degree Centrality Visualized:
# of tags
posted
# of direct links
in posts
Blog
# of links on
website
# of comments
on other
platforms
(blogs, social
media)
# of social
media followers
Source: Author
78
79
Figure 3 Betweeness Visualized:
# of tags
listed in
# of bloggers
as followers
on social
media
Blog
# of links on
other
websites
Source: Author
Figure 4 Closeness Visualized:
Source: Author
79
# of links in
comments
80
Figure 5 Identity Prism:

Personality
Relationship
Culture
Uniqueness of
Blog, Identity
Readers reflected image
Readers Self Concept
Source: Author
Figure 8 Structure of the TBS Website:
Header (Logo)
Tabs (Home, About, Press, Webpress, Editorials, Looks, Projects, Beauty, Travels, Whos
Hungry?, Categories)
Picture
and
Description
Social Media Links
Partner
Facebook
Google +
Four Posts
(one photo only)
On the Red Carpet

My adorable Fans
Blog Archive
Shoes
Bags
Jewels
Disclaimer, Copyright, Info of company

Source: Author
80
New Items
81
Figure 12 Structure of The Sartorialist Website:
Header (Logo)
Tabs (Home, Search, Archives, Press, Biography, Contact, Search
Social Media
Books )
Links
Latest Blog
One Ad
Categories
Random Posts
Book Ad
Twitter
8 posts
Instagram
Links
Subscribe
Disclaimer, Copyright, Info of company
Source: Author
81
Archives
82
Figure 15 Structure of Gary Pepper Website:
Collective
Collective categories
Logo and Name

Target Group description
Latest Blog Entry / Entries
Contact
Current Location
Latetst instagram posts
Gary Pepper Vintage Store
Social Media Links
Press
Collective Members
Source: Author
82
83
Personal Interviews
Interview 1 with Peyman Amin, PARS Management, Jury member for Fashion Challenge by
deals.com and Media Person
Sent: 24.05.2013 via Email, subsequently to a telephone talk
Received: 25.05.2013 via Email
Aim: Research Content, Success, Marketing, Audience
1. What is your opinion about Fashion and life style blogs?

Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs have become a leading source for new trends and the latest
information in these areas. Nowadays they are actually considered as major opinion
makers.
2.
Do you regularly follow a blog? If so, which one?
Yes, Cavier & Cocaine (caviar-cocaine.com)
3.
Do you know any male topic oriented blogs?
I am afraid not.
4.
What differentiates a successful blogger from a good blogger?
A successful blogger reaches a wider range of people. This can be generated by the use of
social networks and even professional management.
5.
Seeing mostly photos and visuals on blogs, for you personally, how much text is too much
text?
The text that is not topic oriented. E.g. if a blog on a Fashion show and it's highlights focuses
on what happened backstage.
6.
What is your opinion on the statement of Fashion bloggers being the new Fashion
journalists?
83
84
Indeed they have reached a very high consideration, but editors and stylists of Fashion
magazines still have a very important status once it comes up to leading decision makers.
7.
What would you suggest to reach more followers and likes on social media pages like
facebook, twitter, instagram etc?

The best is to hire social media experts who know how to maximize the efficiency of a page.
8.
What collaborations can be of help for a blogger?
Mainly those with Fashion and beauty brands and magazines which can be placed on the
blogger's page.
9.
Do you have an advice on how to achieve such collaborations?
The best is to reach out for international Fashion weeks and to report on them as the whole
Fashion industry has become very global.
10. What is your view on the upcoming bloggers that are represented by agents?
I think they are pioneers in this constantly growing world of bloggers and that they have
certainly made the right decision by using professional help.
11. What would you give a new inspiring blogger as a hint?

To find a certain territory of topics which has not yet been exploited. E.g. to specialize on
accessories.
Interview 2 with Stefania K, JustWM, Management of Chiara Ferragni in Paris

Aim: Research Management and Collaborations, The Blonde Salad
1. What is your opinion about Fashion and life style blogs?

84
85
I think it has become one inevitable Fashion point of reference. Bloggers will be as
important as main Fashion editors if theyre not so already.
2. Do you regularly follow a blog? If so, which one?

Not really.
3. Do you know any male topic oriented blogs?

Not really.
4. Seeing mostly photos and visuals on blogs, for you personally, how much text is too much
text?
For a Fashion/Lifestyle blog, more than 20 lines, [] the most important is the precision
and pertinence of the text. I rarely want to know more about the bloggers life, i want to know
more about the model/brand/shop etc.
5. What is your opinion on the statement of Fashion bloggers being the new Fashion
journalists?
I disagree, they shouldnt become that. Fashion bloggers are supposed to be the "voice" of
real people, the ones that want to buy/wear/see something not selling it!
6. What collaborations can be of help for a blogger?

[] with brands, hotels, restaurant, model agencies, any collaboration that could benefit the
content of the blog and vice versa
7. Do you have an advice on how to achieve such collaborations?
Be visible! Elsewhere than on the blog.
8. What is your view on the upcoming bloggers that are represented by agents? Is it
necessary?
Not necessary, but once again it will be the only way that will allow the blogger to be more
successful and eventually be "sold" as a celebrity.
9. What is the long term goal for the marketing of The Blonde Salad?
85
86
The aim is lying in the brand expansion of WM. Chiara Ferragni is the first blogger
represented and WM is willing to represent more.
Chiaras reputation will be highlighted in an international manner, especially in Paris and
France. Because her name gains more and more importance over her blog, she will be
proposed under her own name NOT The Blonde Salad.
10. Which shows did Chiara Ferrgani visit as a front row guest during the RTW show in
Paris, Feb-Mar 2013?
Dior, Nina Ricci, Sonia Rykiel.
11. Is The Blonde Salad bound to write a review after every show?
No.
12. Are there any shows which Chiara is not allowed to visit due to other contractual
obligations?
No.
13. Will the marketing lead to model jobs for Chiara Ferragni?
Yes. Already now brands ask for her as stylists and designers are in love with her. WM tries
to push this and focuses on more editorial shootings at the moment. Eventually, campaigns are
targeted. But this does not yet happen outside of Italy.
14. What would you give a new inspiring blogger as a hint?

Stay true to yourself!
Interview 3 with Caterina Ciacatan, Funshion Blog on Facebook, Studio Accessori Devotion
Aim: Research Marketing, Development, Social Media
86
87
As I am not sure whether I should consider the fact that the audience knows how facebook
works or not. For example every post on a fan page reaches only a certain percentage of your
fans - 20%.
1. Did the number of "likes" on FB change noticeable when launching the competitions?
It's not that simple. It depends on how much you're promoting the post (by creating an add
on facebook.)
There are also two ways to create a contest. The first way is to create an application. I did my
first contest using the application (which cost me 500 euros!) and I've earned around 800 new
"likes". The brand I was promoting with this first contest (devotion) earned only 200, because
the app I was using, was requiring to "like" only my (funshion) page to participate.
So using this method (the app), the brand cannot earn many likes but my page can earn a lot.
The contra of this method is that since I cannot guarantee a lot of new likes to the brand, I
cannot ask enough money.
2.
After how many "likes" (approx) did Devotion contact "Funshion"?
I contacted devotion because we were reaching 2000 likes at the same time and I had the
idea to create a Christmas contest in the spirit of celebration of our 2000 fans.
But in general, many brands started contacting me for inquiries when i reached 4500 fans in
such a short period of time. ( page is running since October 2012 and it's already the first
Fashion page in Greece, with real likes).
A London based eshop contacted me on 3000 likes because the owner was surprised with
the number of the likes in 3 months and he asked to work only for him and to "freeze" my
page.
3.
What is the current agreement with Devotion?
I require 100 euros for each contest but only because I'm creating an eshop in partnership
with the owner of "Studio Accessori Devotion", so I practically will be the only online source
to buy Devotion clothes. I am working with them in an affiliate program as well. For their new
87
88
line "Twins", I am the manager of their Facebook page and for both pages (Twins and
Devotion) I'm earning 150 euros on a monthly basis.
4.
Please describe the concept of Studio Accessori Devotion shortly!
Studio Accessori Devotion is a boutique in Athens with very special products. The owner is
creating unique, handmade accessories with precious stones, so he discovered me through
Devotion and he contacted me in order to help him raise his number of likes.
We created a contest, (not with the application method). I asked him 300 euros for the first
contest and for every next one I asked 150 euros. (So I'm practically "renting" him my page
for a week). He had 160 likes when we started and now he has 2300 after 4 contests with me.
Plus, he asked me to together create an eshop under the name of "Funshion". I agreed to
create the eshop in partnership but not under the name of funshion because I didn't want to
connect
my name
with
an
eshop
only.
Because
promoting the boutiques which have contacted me.
88
then
would
have
troubles
89
Survey
Answered questions:
Sex
152
Total responses
96
56
152
Female
Male
Sex
37%
Female
Male
63%
Age Group
Total responses
2
5
129
13
3
152
0 15 years old
16 18 years old
19 25 years old
25 40 years old
40 55 years old
89
90
Age Group
2%
1% 3%
9%
0 15 years old
16 18 years old
19 25 years old
25 40 years old
40 55 years old
85%
Nationality
Total responses
2
1
2
66
55
4
1
2
1
1
2
1
9
5
152
Austria
Denmark
England
France
Germany
Italy
Mauritius
Morroco
Norway
Portugal
Russia
United Emirates
Unites States of America
N/A
90
91
1%
1%
1% 3%
1%
1%
Nationality
1%
1%
1%
1%
Austria
Denmark
6%
3%
England
France
Germany
43%
Italy
36%
Mauritius
Morroco
Norway
Education
Total responses
53
25
5
41
24
4
152
High School Graduate

Some College
Apprenticeship
College Graduate
Post Graduate Degree
N/A
Profession
Total responses
112
3
27
5
5
152
Student (High School / College / University)

Apprentice
Employee // Self Employed
Seeking Work
N/A
91
92
Field of Study / Field of Profession
Total Responses
9
74
19
29
16
4
1
152
Arts
Business
Finance
Media / Marekting
Science
Technology
N/A
BLOGGER
Do you blog?
Total responses
12
132
8
152
Yes
No
N/A
What is your blog's URL?

arthur.delabaca.over-blog.com
http://cielmylife.tumblr.com
http://cashewtree.wordpress.com/
http://www.thepaydayhound.com/learn/
http://cbecquin.wordpress.com
guillaume.risi.overblog.com
How often do you update your blog?

Total responses
1
1
5
3
15
25
more than once a day

daily
weekly
monthly
less than once a month
Do you leave comments in other peoples blogs?

Total responses
18
55
73
Yes
No
92
93
Why do you blog? (multiple answers possible)
Total responses
6
2
1
3
8
6
6
11
to influence public opinion

to let "steam" off
for money
for fame
to formulate new ideas
to keep track of my thoughts
I'm not sure, but I love it
other
BLOG READERS
Do you read blogs?
Total responses
69
56
27
152
Yes
No
NA
Do you read blogs?

18%
45%
Yes
No
NA
37%
If so, which kind of blogs do you read?

(multiple answers possible)
Business
Fashion
Gossip
Lifestyle
Political
Personal Blogs (someones diary)
Sports
Total responses
23
27
11
38
20
21
15
93
94
If so, which kind of blogs do you read?

Business
10%
15%
Fashion
14%
Gossip
17%
13%
Lifestyle
7%
Political
24%
Do you have a blog subscription?

Total responses
13
72
Yes
No
N/A
67
Do you have a blog subscription?

9%
Yes
44%
No
47%
You read blogs for:

Total responses
31
25
30
4
6
16
9
20
9
25
10
Faster news
Pictures
Latest trends
Transparent biases
More honesty
Better perspective
More honesty
News I can't find elsewhere
Links
Humor
Other
94
95
You read blogs for:

Faster news
5%
14%
Pictures
17%
Latest trends
Transparent biases
5%
13%
More honesty
11%
Better perspective
5%
More honesty
16%
News I can't find elsewhere
9%
Links
3% 2%
Do you leave comments in other peoples blogs?

Total responses
Yes
No
N/A
17
65
70
152
Do you recommend blogs to friends/acquaintances/family members?

Total responses
Yes
34
No
46
N/A
72
152
How often to you visit/read blogs?
Total responses
5
15
27
14
13
78
152

daily
weekly
monthly
N/A
95
96
How often to you visit/read blogs?

3%
10%

daily
weekly
18%
monthly
51%
9%
N/A
9%
How many blogs do you read daily?

Total responses
62
7
2
0
0-3
4-7
8-12
more than 12
Do you follow a blogger on the following social media? (multiple answers possible)
Total responses
facebook
42
Instagram
12
youtube
10
google+
2
Twitter
11
NA
16
96
97
Do you follow a blogger on the following

social media? (multiple answers possible)
facebook
17%
Instagram
45%
12%
youtube
google+
2%
Twitter
11%
NA
13%
SATISFACTION
How often would you like to get updated on news and facts that you are interested in?
Total responses
12
daily
35
weekly
46
monthly
8
10
N/A
41
152
How often would you like to get updated on

news and facts that you are interested in?
8%
27%
daily
23%
weekly
monthly
7%

5%
N/A
30%
97
98
Do you use pop-up notifications to ensure the reception of news?
Total responses
Yes
25
No
85
N/A
42
152
Do you use Apps to follow up on your blogs? If so, which ones?
Vogue
Elle
Flipboard
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
1
1
5
5
3
1
You read blogs via RSS?

Total responses
49
47
8
5
1
42
152
What's RSS?
Never
Occassionally
Often
Always
N/A
You read blogs via RSS?

What's RSS?
28%
32%
Never
Occassionally
Often
1%
3%
Always
5%
N/A
31%
98
99
When wanting to be entertained, you prefer: (multiple answers possible)
Total responses
85
55
12
27
70
2
Pictures
Texts
Notes
Audio
Videos
NA
When wanting to be entertained, you

prefer: (multiple answers possible)
1%
Pictures
28%
Texts
34%
Notes
Audio
10%
Videos
NA
22%
5%
Can you connect more to a blogger or journalist?

Total responses
36
41
75
152
Blogger
Journalist
NA
99

Rudolph, Franziska

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Rudolph, Franziska

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs - The Business, Marketing

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Markus Birkenkrahe

Berlin School of Economics and Law

general definition for a common style, especially

in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup; in what a person dresses; newest creations of

typical way of life of an individual, group, or culture and how Fashion

infuses in aspects of ones lives (Jackson and Shaw, 2006).

goes beyond Fashion, expresses a persons taste and charisma through

the clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup he wears

measure of number of times an ad is displayed, whether it is clicked on

or not; refers to a page impression, synonymous with page view

visits the site, stays longer, returns

visitors who return to site, are only counted once

Blogs refer to Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs.

E-Mail Interview Partners

Foundation for Business Intelligence of Fashion

and Lifestyle Blogs

Achievements of The Blonde Salad

Summary The Blonde Salad

Scenario Analysis for CPM Calculation on The

Achievements of The Sartorialist

Summary The Sartorialist

Summary Gary Pepper

Blogs in Millions from 2006 to 2013

Degree Centrality Visualized

The Blonde Salad Header

Details about Brands displayed on TBS

Structure of the TBS Website:

Linkage between the 9 platforms

Two Tweets by TBS of 07th July 2013,

The Sartorialist Header

Structure of The Sartorialist Website

Details about Brands displayed on

Gary Pepper Header

Structure of Gary Pepper Website

1.3 Intention and Research Questions

The area of business creation will include the questions of:

How to write a Fashion and Lifestyle Blog?

Which blog engine to use?

Which style of communication to use?

How often it should be updated?

What should a blog look like?

Which blogosphere is the blog part of?

How can the social networks help?

How competitive is the market?

What role does marketing play for bloggers?

Benefits will be spoken about in regards towards:

How to make money with blogging?

How can blogging enhance a career?

Conclusively the central topics circulate around:

Parameters to a successful Fashion and Lifestyle Blog

How to use blogs as a basis for a business creation

Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs as the main income source

1.5 Choices of Examples

Internet and Web 2.0

Reflection: readers view of the blog

Relationship: beliefs and associations

Personality: character and attitude

Culture: set of values

Self-Image: internal mirror of reader

The following paragraphs exhibit the applied research methods.

3.1 Research Approach

3.2 Desk Research