Behind the Scenes of a Luxury Lifestyle Blog: Tools and People that Make it Happen

One of the core elements of the blogosphere in the modern day is the aspirational sites which appeal to people's sense of luxury. Perhaps even more important in the current climate, where it has become all the more vital to have something to aim for, luxury lifestyle blogs offer an escapism that is invaluable.

A good luxury lifestyle blog will look almost effortless. But just as the elegant swan can only float majestically on the water because its feet are doing so much of the work under the surface, so it is with a luxury blog. While it may not look like effort is being expended, it absolutely is – and a look at the following information will show you how the magic happens; very useful if you want to start your own blog and enjoy the trappings that come with it.

The creative process

A good blogger will have a voice that sounds natural, like they just sat down with their laptop and decided to throw out a few hundred words of inspirational content. If they're particularly skilled, you will always know it's them because of how they express themselves. Developing a unique voice isn't easy, but it's good to take a tip from actors and show hosts who – largely – just play an exaggerated version of themselves. Your blogger voice should sound like you, but with certain characteristics amplified. If you're an empathetic, caring person, lean on that in your writing. If you're known for clever humor, amplify that side of things.

Using this voice, it's important to tell a story your readers will want to hear. The easiest way to do that is to see yourself as your typical reader. Most of the people reading this will be people like you, so use what you know. In addition, you will be in control of the overall aesthetic of the blog. If you're skilled with photography and graphic design, then you can take the lead on putting that aesthetic in place. If you're better in a background role, then it's good to find a trustworthy photographer and graphic designer who can take your ideas and make them reality.

One thing the best lifestyle bloggers know almost innately is how to tie up the tone of the blog with the look of the piece. Here it is a good idea to have some buzzwords in mind. The energy of the blog, mirroring your own energy, can usually be described with words such as "soft", "acerbic", "happy" and similar key words. There are always going to be certain fonts and colors that spring to mind in relation to those words. Put these into action when it comes to completing the design of the blog, and you'll have a ready-made storyboard for your ideas.

Making use of social media

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The magic number for influencers in the modern age is 360. That's as in 360 degrees, an all-round approach to driving engagement and pulling eyes to your product. Your blog will be at the heart of what you do, because there is so much that you can do with a blog, but it will need to be augmented by a steady social media presence. The idea of luxury is always best underpinned by superb visuals, so an Instagram account is essential; using plugins to ensure that your Instagram feed also pulls through to show on your blog is a good idea.

You should also ensure that you have a presence on Twitter. As much as it may seem to be perpetually on the point of crisis, Twitter is still where people go when a big news story is breaking or they want to engage with trends and memes. If a movie or TV show is being talked about, then you want to be talking about it, and there's really no better place than the bird app. If you're engaging with trends, then people will see your posts, and if you're funny or insightful on the topic, they will follow you too, and this can lead to them becoming organic readers of your blog.

So, memes can be your favorite medium if you want to get into social media prominently. Well, if you do not know how to make memes, don't worry! The process is easy with advanced modern tools.

Web management and development

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Your site is your vehicle for growth of your blogging and influencer channels. And like any vehicle, it can do a lot for you as it is but much more if you know how to use its features. Every blog of note is created using a content management system, and these CMSs are replete with features that can take a good blog and make it great. There's a lot you can achieve just by having a defined writing style and excellent social media game, but to take things to the next level it's always worth working with a skilled WordPress developer who can get the most out of your site.

It's essential that, as well as being fun to read and pleasant to look at, your luxury blog actually works as intended. Skilled developers can make sure that everything works smoothly; your pages load seamlessly, there's an absolute minimum of downtime, and it looks as good as possible on mobile screens. These are the little touches that it is easy to forget about when you're focused on the creative side – and it's understandable that as the brain behind the blog, you would be focused on that. Give the job of development and management to the experts, and they'll see it flies free.

Pivoting to video?

A few years ago, the fashion for content sites was to "pivot to video", with the general assumption being that this was how people would consume most content in future. The overall upshot of this was a lot of content creation companies spending wads of money upgrading their video production setup, and then going bust when they failed to gain the engagement that they were expecting. The lesson to take from this is not that you shouldn't try with video, but you should certainly see video as an additional angle you can use to get people to engage.

In order to make video an effective part of your luxury lifestyle brand, it is key to focus on how video is used in your niche. Without owning your own studio – and you're basically going to need to be a millionaire to do that, in which case you don't need to listen to anyone's advice – it's not going to be possible to produce regular, professional video content. So where professionalism can't go, you'll need to refer back to what makes your blog content engaging; personality, uniqueness and a voice that viewers can recognize. 

Video can still be highly useful in persuading new eyes to your product, as long as you can ensure that the reality matches the concept. A failed attempt at expensive glamour ends up looking cheap, so if you don't have the budget to make expensive videos, center your personality and recognize your limitations both when you come to conceive a video and when you're making it. Lampshading the fact that you're on a budget means your viewers are in on the story, and will engage with your videos as aspirational rather than elite.

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Making a luxury lifestyle blog that people will want to read and engage with isn't about having all the money in the world and the buying power to have all the things you want. It's about knowing what you want and how to make an interesting product that takes that into account. Do this well enough and you'll draw plenty of attention, and with that attention comes the interest of suppliers who can hook you up with the things you want for real.