What a time to be alive! In the past few years alone we’ve marked some HUGE changes in the way we live. We’ve left some things behind; some regrettably (one-hour photo labs, we’ll miss you), and some with relief (peace out, slow dial-up internet). Blogs are one of the many things that have been on the come up, especially loudly in the past decade.
As a photographer, you may have caught wind that it’s probably a good thing to do, it helps you with Google ratings, and connects you to your peeps. Maybe you’ve made a blog, and maybe you’re all over it, but if it’s something that you’ve been meaning to start -- but never gotten around to (like repotting all those plants on your windowsill) -- you’re not alone!
For the sake of your photography career success (and maybe for the sake of those poor and forsaken plants), we’ve got a list of reasons that’ll light a fire under your butt and send you rocketing up into the SEO stratosphere.
1. Develop your voice
Go on, give the people what they want. Let people peek into that zany brain of yours, and let them connect with you are. Ok sure, maybe your husband or wife has heard you talk at length about your passion (and maybe they’ve told you to shut up once or twice when you start geeking out about the newest Sigma Art Series lens), but your audience won’t know about the path that led you to where you are today unless you tell them. Share stories about the millions of mistakes you’ve made and the insights you’ve gained. Talk about your motivations. Get real, be honest, and have fun.
2. Connect to your audience
For the people in the back who missed it: connect to YOUR audience. Attract the right people to you. Photography is a personal service; your clients pay for you and your sparkly personality as much as the magic you create. Writing authentically and posting often will attract the right people to your doorstep. If your clients are to let you in on their lives, and trust you with some of their more intimate moments, they’ll probably want to do what all good modern people do these days: stalk you online. Let them, give them some insight as to what they can expect, and put the red hot cherry on top by giving them some helpful reading material while you’re at it, adding value to their lives. Score some bonus word of mouth marketing by posting photos of your sessions. Take it from us: people love seeing themselves on other peoples’ blogs. And once they repost, you reap the benefits of a win-win scenario where you get to say lovely things about your clients and in return they say lovely things about you and everyone gets that warm fuzzy feeling in their bellies.
3. Stay current
We touched on this a little bit in the last section, but one of the best things about blogs is that they allow you to stay current. Unlike the more static platform of your website, blogs are fluid, representing your more current work, with the story attached. Clients who follow your updates are able to witness your evolution, and they show prospective clients that you are a v. busy and v. experienced boss of a photographer.
4. SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of getting traffic directed to your site from search engines like Google or Yahoo (or one of the other ones that barely anybody in the Western world uses). Google is constantly chopping and changing their algorithms at what feels like breakneck and unpredictable speed, but if history is anything to go by, frequency of updates and unique quality content will put your name on top of the search engine stack. I bet Ansel Adams would turn in his grave if he knew the annoying, non-creative reality of being a photographer in the age of algorithms and meta-data. But, you know what they say: if you can’t beat ‘em, make sure to embed your photos with relevant keywords and include links to appropriate information in your blog. The latter, at least, has a real purpose: giving your content credit, and educating your audience.
I know we’ve left you with a lot to consider, but we’ve got something up our sleeve that might help. Built by photographers for photographers, here’s a tool we’re loving this week: Narrative. It’s our preferred platform to use for blogging, and the guys that run it are so lovely and so attentive. There’s really no other platform for blogging for photographers, and it’s super user friendly so you can channel all of your attention into taking killer photos, writing cracking content, and hacking your way to SEO greatness.
Feelin’ stuck? May we suggest some photography blog ideas?
Write about:
- Recent work you’ve done
- Feature past interesting work
- Personal experience
- Answers to audience questions
- Why you love photography
- Behind the scenes
- Promotions at your studio
- How your love affair with photography started
Let's recap:
- Share stories about your life and wear your heart on your sleeve
- Write about your clients – word-of-mouth-marketing is your friend
- Update your blog regularly and produce unique, quality content
- Go forth! You got this
lead your photography
sessions with confidence.
FAQ's
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