If you’re a photographer, you’ve probably learned that you can write. You’ve also noticed that more and more shooters have websites. You may have even started one yourself! But do you understand why that blog is so important, and what you need to do to make sure it’s worth your time?
Before we get started, we’d like to thank Erin, one of our wonderful readers, for suggesting this subject. Thank you, Erin; I hope this was useful! So, you may already have a blog or are considering starting one. In any case, let’s get started by discussing why blogging is so critical for photographers.
The Benefits of Blogging for Photographers
Photography is a service, and it’s a very personal one. Your clients are allowing you into their lives and entrusting you with significant events. The more reasons you can give them to feel confident in recruiting you, the better.
A blog is an excellent method for accomplishing this. It allows you to demonstrate who you are, why you became a photographer, and what value you can give a potential client. It gives them insight into your motives and how you handle your customers—information that will help them make an informed decision.
It also allows them to see the most recent and best work! You’ll probably be developing your work at a rapid pace while you’re just getting started (i.e., within your first 5–10 years as a shooter). Portfolio websites have a habit of being static, and many photographers fail to update them on a regular basis. A blog ensures that potential clients see the most recent (and most likely best) photos. That way, they’ll be familiar with your current shooting style, which is likely to change over time!
Since they have regular updates and a lot of tasty content, blogs are also better for SEO than portfolio pages (Google loooooooves tasty content). A blog that is well-maintained and updated on a regular basis will skyrocket in the search rankings!
Another advantage is that blogs are a fantastic place for your clients to share the photographs you’ve taken of them! People are ecstatic to see their own pictures on their photographer’s blog and will share the connection with their entire family and circle of friends. Hello, fantastic word-of-mouth ads!! Your clients may even ask if they can appear on the blog because they’re so ecstatic to be featured. Take the time to write excellent posts about your clients, explaining why you enjoyed working with them, and they’ll enjoy the experience as well as spread the word about you. Win-win situation!!
A blog, at its heart, will enable you to begin developing your personal brand. The narrative style of a blog allows you to express your unique voice. This is not the same as a portfolio, photo-sharing sites such as Flickr, or social networking sites such as Facebook. Your personal brand is what distinguishes you. It’s extremely useful.
The best part? A blog is simple to set up, manage, and is sometimes less expensive than a dedicated website. It is often more successful at generating sales! Now, before you go racing ahead, let us share some of the mistakes we’ve made along the way.
We’ve Made a Few Mistakes During Our Blogging Journey
We met via blogs, and between us, we’ve had about ten in the last five years. We do a lot of blogging. And we’ve made a few blunders that we don’t want you to repeat.
One of them was making an excessive number of blogs. We’re still guilty of it, so we’re working hard to reduce it. Since you don’t have enough resources to devote to each of your blogs when you have so many, they all end up being average. It’s preferable to have one fantastic blog than three mediocre ones. Take on just as much as you can do and render amazing.
We’ve also made the mistake of starting a blog, getting it up and running, and then failing to maintain it. It’s a simple way to let readers down because they get all excited about what you’re doing, and then you abandon them. We’re really sorry for making such a blunder.
We’ve built blogs without really understanding why. When we do this, we end up with just a hazy understanding of who we’re posting about, incoherent material, and a completely different audience than we expected. This causes confusion for both the author and the readers, as well as making it complicated all around. Start your blog with a straightforward goal and outcome in mind!
Finally, we’ve lost sight of the importance of adding meaning to our posts. Instead of genuinely attempting to make it a meaningful experience for our fans, we simply posted to show off what we’re doing. Since it takes time for people to read your blog, you want to make sure it is time well spent. Attempt to provide them with some kind of meaning, whether by entertainment, education, or inspiration. You don’t have to make all of your posts like this, because a lot of a photography blog is about sharing your latest work in a portfolio-style format, but make sure you’re always providing valuable content to your followers!
So now that you know which blunders to stop, let’s go through some key points to remember as you embark on your photography blogging journey.
KNOW WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO.
What is your motivation for beginning a blog? What is the goal? What are you looking to accomplish as a result of your efforts? You will be directionless if you don’t know this, and all of your blogging time will be for naught.
Choosing your aim right away will give you a tremendous sense of power. You’ll know what to do if you need to make a decision about your blog because you’ll remember your intent and desired outcome.
SELECT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
Once you’ve settled on your result, you’ll need to figure out who you’re going to blog about. Many photographers overlook this move. It’s easy to lose sight of who you’re writing about and start writing for other photographers, family members, or wedding blogs.
So, who exactly are you blogging for? Is it to keep your friends and family up to date on your photography progress? Is it for your clients, to keep them informed about your company?
This is extremely important, so do it right now, even if you’ve already started a blog. If you’re writing for clients (which is almost always the case if you’re a professional company), you’ll need to remember that any time you publish something on your site.
MAKE CONVERTING EASY
You’re simply blogging to get new clients as a talented photographer. That is what will result in more revenue and make the blog worthwhile of your time. As a result, you must ensure that your blog contains all of the information necessary to turn readers into customers.
Things like where you are based, what kind of photography services you sell, rates or price ranges, simple contact information, why you rock testimonials, and a call to action (i.e. Book Your Session) are all critical to making this a worthwhile endeavour.